The Future of Magic

by Bakanasakusha

Magic is wonderful, magic can do anything. But with Takeo and Sae, it tends not to do quite what they meant. Can their growing relationship (and the greater Tokyo metropolitan area) survive the strains it brings?

1. The Hot, The Cold, and the Magic Kiss

The Future of Magic

A long time ago, I saw the Mahoutsukai Tai OVAs, and they were good. But I wanted more.

Shortly thereafter, I saw the Mahoutsukai Tai TV series, and it was good. But I wanted more.

Much later, I read the Mahoutsukai Tai manga (the shounen version, by Shamneko), and it was good. But it was only three volumes, and I wanted more.

I then found a collection of Mahoutsukai Tai fanfics, and they were pretty good, too. But there weren't very many of them, so I still wanted more.

Then I told myself, look, if you're so keen on having more, why don't you write it yourself? So I did. More and more and more. To the point where, without quite realizing how, I had written an entire novel's worth. So now, for a little while at least, I don't want any more. But perhaps you do. In that case, here you go.

– Baka na Sakusha (バカな作者)

Takeo Takakura is our story's narrator, with everything told from his point of view. It takes place soon after the end of the TV series, so toward the end of his senior year.

It also uses a couple of characters from the (Shamneko) manga, but don't worry if you haven't read it, as Takeo is kind enough to introduce them when they appear.

Chapter 1. The Hot, The Cold, and The Magic Kiss

"So, you brought her back. Congratulations, Takeo-kun." Mizusawa favored me with a wry smile.

"Thank you, senpai, but really, she brought herself back. I was just there to catch her when did."

"True, but it was you that Sae came back for. And by 'you,' I mean all of you, of course, but you most of all." She shook her head. "I don't really understand it, but you've obviously made quite an impression on her."

I could feel my face turning red. Me? On her? "I have? Well, I, uh, of course, she's always been very special to, uh, to me, and, I, of course, I suppose that, uh, well, perhaps she, uh, in a similar fashion, uh, may have, uh, ..."

"No, that's all right. I don't need you to try to explain it. I only have an hour before I have to leave, after all." She paused, then continued, "Did you tell Sae your feelings? Were you able to get it out?"

"Oh, um, yes. Well, sort of. More or less."

"I see. And she ... reciprocated?"

"I, well, I'm not exactly sure. I mean, she did, but I'm not sure exactly what she meant."

Mizusawa shook her head. "I just don't know about you two. But perhaps it doesn't matter. You know, I never answered you before, when you asked whether it was a mistake for you to try to learn magic on your own, without a master to guide you."

"Yes, well, we did kind of mess things up, and ..."

"Yes, you did. And I can tell you the conventional answer, that of course you need a master in charge of you. Not because he's necessarily smarter or better than you. He just knows about the mistakes you're likely to make – because he's familiar with those in the past who have already made them. But ... but ... I can't help but think you're better off for having dealt with your mistakes yourselves."

"Ah, 'experience runs a dear school, but a fool will learn in no other'?"

She laughed. "That wasn't quite what I meant. Rather, a master would have known better than to go against the Bell. But then, it never would have been defeated, with who knows what consequences for the Earth. And a master would have seen Sae's power, and knew it had to be strictly controlled, through force or fear – certainly, that's what my father would have done. Which would have broken Sae, and I'd hate to see what she would have become. But you didn't try to control her. Instead, you simply loved her. And that's what saved her."

I gaped silently at the "l" word. I mean, of course it was true – it was the truest thing ever in the history of the world – that I, you know, that I felt, uh, that, uh, way about ... about ... her, but to just say it out loud as plain as that ...

Mizusawa patted me on the shoulder. "Really, it's quite admirable. Not many guys would do something like this. You must have realized how much more powerful her magic is than yours."

"Um, yes, that's become fairly obvious."

"Which, incidentally, is why she's had so much trouble mastering it. It's like the thoroughbreds who are the hardest to train are the ones who end up as champions. If and when Sae finally succeeds, she could far surpass you. Not many men would be comfortable with that."

"Ah, well, I guess we'll be like Kurillin and Android 18, then."

"What?"

"Never mind. But I don't know, it's not something I worry about."

"Then in that case, I will leave the care of Sae in your hands. Even literally, if the two of you ever manage that. Farewell."

"So anyway, that's the source of Sawanoguchi's issues, according to Mizusawa-senpai. But if we're patient and supportive, she can achieve great things." I was back at the club room with Aburatsubo, giving him a (highly edited) account of what Mizusawa had told me.

He seemed dubious. "I see. Well, I have a much simpler solution to the Sawanoguchi problem. Just kick her out, and we won't have to worry about her magical development at all."

I gave him a cross look. "You know perfectly well that I'm not going to do that."

"Yes, I know. Your love of poor, dumb creatures is part of your charm. Even if it can have annoying consequences. But if you're going to save Sawanoguchi through your 'love'" – and here he made air quotes – "shouldn't you do something to show it?"

"Sh-show it?"

He sighed. "Look, I don't know why I'm telling you this. But think about it – have you ever even asked her out on a date?"

"A d-da-date?"

"Yes, a date. It's this thing where a couple goes out together and has a fun time. Apparently you're not familiar with the concept, so I will be more than happy to provide you with an introduction. A very intimate introduction."

"Uh, no thanks," I said, pushing his hands back. "But you're right, that's an excellent idea. I'll do it! Yes! I will!"

"What is it that you're going to do, senpai?" a voice behind me said.

I whirled around and saw – "Ah, Sawanoguchi-kun, welcome! Just the person I wanted to see, heh, heh. Yes, I – I –" I froze. With that cute face beaming up at me expectantly, all my determination of the moment before vanished. I stammered, "Yes, uh, that is, uh, I was thinking that, uh ..."

I could see Aburatsubo off to one side making a choking gesture. Hmphf. I tried again, but just could not get the words out. Sigh. Rats. Maybe later, when I wasn't taken by surprise, I could manage it. But for now – "Yes, uh, I thought that, after our recent experiences, we could use some practice in magic for personal defense. That way, if we run into something like Jinno again, we'll have some way to protect ourselves."

Aburatsubo smiled. "Yes, and it will also be useful if, say, a lecherous upperclassman ever gets the courage to start making advances on you."

"Huh? What?" Sawanoguchi was puzzled.

"Oh, I get what he means." Nakatomi had just stepped in the room as well. "But trust me, Sae, it's nothing you need to worry about."

"I don't think you'll ever have to worry about that sort of thing either, Nanaka." Aikawa was right behind her, giggling.

Nakatomi turned to face her and snarled, "Maybe not, but you'll definitely wish you had learned self-defense if you keep talking to me that way. And you should call me senpai!"

"Girls, girls!" I intervened before it could get any worse. "Let's get started! Now, the spell we'll be doing today is one of basic perimeter defense. It will slow any physical object coming toward you to the point where it falls harmlessly to the ground. Aburatsubo and I will demonstrate."

I stood planted, feet apart, held up my wand and said the spell:

"Morabi deor! Cadi deor! Laxi deor!"

A faint red crosshatch pattern appeared in front of me. Aburatsubo picked out a wad of paper from a large trash bag. "This is headed straight for your heart, Takeo-kun!" he shouted, then hurled it at me. He got pretty good speed on it, but when it reached the shield I had created, it slowed, stopped, then gently drifted down to the floor.

"Wow!" Aikawa said. "Very nice! Will this also work if someone tries to hit you?"

"Possibly, though there are better spells for that sort of thing. So let's just do it with the paper for now. I don't want you accidentally hitting each other."

"Or even deliberately?" Nakatomi had a touch of an edge in her voice.

"Enough of this," I declared. "Let's head up to the roof to practice. And don't worry, thanks to the Manga Club, we have plenty of paper to practice with."

"In other words," Aburatsubo said, "they dumped their trash on us."

"So what is this stuff?" Aikawa asked. She picked up the paper Aburatsubo had thrown and unfolded it. "Oh, it's a comic page – hey, this guy looks like you, senpai!"

"Oh, I don't know about that."

She pulled out a few more of the paper balls and flattened them out. "No, it's definitely you. He even talks like you, see?"

I glanced at couple of the sheets and saw, ugh, Miyama had quoted verbatim some of the things I had said in the past, but had somehow twisted the context to make it look like the guy was coming on to the obvious-Miyama-double woman.

I grabbed the sheets, crumpled them up again, and stuffed them back into the bag. "Let's just forget about Miyama's obsessions for now. C'mon, to the roof!" I hoisted the bag up and we set out down the hall.

Just then, from behind, I heard a familiar screech of laughter.

"Ah ha ha ha! Well, well, it appears the trash club is taking out our trash. How appropriate!" Miyama's (of course) voice boomed out behind us.

I was about to turn and confront her, when I remembered the big problem that would present. Or rather, the two big problems that would be presented. Instead, I gritted my teeth and called back, "My deepest sympathies, Miyama-san."

"'Sympathies'? What are you talking about?"

"Well, it's clear from this," I said, lifting up the trash bag, "that you've had a major failure of inspiration. How sad. Most artists make it at least into their 30s before that happens. But you – dried up so young – I hope you find some way through the dark days ahead of you. Take care!"

As we left her there sputtering, a thought occurred to me. I had won! For the first time ever, I had been the complete victor in an encounter with Miyama. Oh, sure, she'd eventually come up with some way of getting back at me, but for now, I was the champion.

Surely, now, the girls would appreciate my heroics ...

["Oh, senpai, the way you stood up to that woman was amazing! None of my dozen boyfriends are anywhere near as manly! Please, make me yours!"]

["Not a chance, Akane! You hardly ever show up for practice – you don't deserve him! He needs somebody reliable – somebody like me!"]

["Like you, Nanaka? Don't make me laugh!"]

["Girls, girls, please! Don't fight! And I'm sorry, while I love you both, we all know my heart belongs to Sawanoguchi."]

["Your heart? Oh, yes, senpai, yes, but I want more than just your heart. I want all of you! I need all of you! Your whole body! Please, please, give it to me now!"]

["Sa-Sawanoguchi-kun, what are you doing? We can't do that out here, in front of everybody!"]

["I don't care – I need you now! Please senpai, please, senpai ... senpai ..."]

"Senpai? Senpai? What is it you want us to do?"

I shook myself out of my, let's say, reverie, and saw we were out on the roof, with Sawanoguchi looking at me with concern.

"Ah, yes, I guess we're ready. First, let's practice saying the spell. The pronunciation can be a little tricky. Try the first part: 'Mo-ra-bi de-or!'"

"Mo-ra-bi de-o-ru," they said, tentatively.

"Ah, no, you've got to cut it off at the end – 'deor' not 'deoru.' Let's try again."

Eventually, they got it going to my satisfaction. "All right, I think you're ready to try it for real. Aikawa-kun, why don't you go first?"

"All right – 'Morabi deor! Cadi deor! Laxi deor!'"

A faint red grid appeared in front of her – ok, not a grid exactly, more like a set of wavy lines.

"Hmm, that's odd," I said. "I suppose it could work, but –"

"Here, I'll test it out," Nakatomi volunteered. She scooped up a big wad of paper and hurled it forcefully at Aikawa. When it neared the red lines, it slowed, but instead of falling to the ground, it began whirling around in bigger and bigger circles until it tumbled off to one side.

"Sorry, senpai," Aikawa said. "I don't know why, but somehow my magic always makes things spin."

"Maybe it's because you're such a ditz," Nakatomi declared.

"Now, now," I interjected. "Aikawa-kun, try to focus a little more. Picture yourself under a real attack – like when those whirligigs tried to snatch you."

"I'll try," she said, and put on a determined look. The lines in front of her straightened somewhat, and this time, the missile Nakatomi threw at her only wavered back and forth slightly before falling to the ground.

"Very good!" I said. "I think you've got it. Nakatomi-kun, why don't you go next?"

"All right." She stood up straight, feet slightly apart, grasped her wand firmly, took a couple of deep breaths, then began to repeat slowly and carefully, "Mo-ra-bi de-or! Ca-di de-or! La–"

Suddenly, a wad of paper came whizzing through the air and bounced off of Nakatomi's shoulder.

"Akane! You stupid bitch! I wasn't done saying the spell yet!"

"Well, you'll just have to be faster. If someone were attacking you, they wouldn't wait around for you to finish, after all."

Ugh. This was not going well. "Uh, Aikawa-kun, while what you say may be true, we're still just learning it. Please give Nakatomi-kun a chance to set things up first."

"Oh, all right."

Nakatomi got into position again and practically shouted the spell: "MORABI DEOR! CADI DEOR! LAXI DEOR!"

An angry red checkerboard pattern took shape in front of her, blindingly bright. Aikawa was slightly taken aback, but still tentatively tossed a paper ball toward it. When it reached the barrier, it bounced back violently, shooting like a bullet straight at Aikawa.

"Eek!" she shrieked. She quickly raised her wand and restored her own barrier just in time to block the return fire.

I looked on, stunned. "Uh, wow," I said. "I'll admit, I didn't know the spell could do that. Great work, Nakatomi-kun, but I suggest you reduce the power level for now. In any case, though, both of you clearly have the basic idea. You just need more practice to fine-tune things."

I was a little afraid things would continue to deteriorate from there, but no, fortunately, they started to treat it as a game, laughingly bouncing the paper balls off of each other's defenses. Whew. I have trouble enough dealing with girls under the best of circumstances (big surprise, I know), but when they're bickering, I feel completely lost.

With those two paired up and having fun, or at least not trying to kill each other, that left Sawanoguchi for me. And yes, of course, that had been my plan all along.

"It's your turn now, Sawanoguchi-kun. Let me know when you're ready."

"OK." She took on that super-determined look that I find so cute and inspiring, and carefully repeated, "Morabi deor! Cadi deor! Laxi deor!"

A staticky screen appeared in front of her, sort of like a TV with poor reception, then gradually faded away.

"Ack, I'm sorry, senpai!" she said. "I can't seem to get it."

"Yes, you can, Sawanoguchi-kun! You just need faith in yourself!"

She nodded and tried again. This time, the static firmed up somewhat, and only faded slightly.

I figured it was worth a trial, so picked up one of the paper balls and prepared to toss it at her – and froze. Seeing that pretty, determined face, I just couldn't throw it at her. Even if it was only a little wad of paper that would hopefully be directed away by the spell.

"Senpai? Are you all right?" she asked.

"Ah, ha ha, yes, yes, sorry, just, uh, just stiffened up a bit there. Here we go, watch out!" I tried again, and this time actually threw it, but way off to one side. "Oops, I –"

"Here, let me take over," said Aburatsubo. "You're obviously having some issues."

He picked up a ball of paper and hurled it straight at Sawanoguchi. It hesitated briefly at the screen of static, but then plowed on through and bounced off her nose.

"Almost, Sawanoguchi-kun," I said. "You've almost got it. Concentrate a little more."

She tried, and Aburatsubo's missile did slow noticeably, but it still made it through, hitting her, uh, chest. He laughed. "I admit, this is more fun than I thought it would be." He scooped up an armful of the papers and began peppering Sawanoguchi with them repeatedly. The other two girls stopped and watched. Aikawa giggled, but Nakatomi looked distressed.

I had to step in. "Wait!" I said. I put my hands on Sawanoguchi's shoulders. "You can do this," I murmured into her ear. Remembering what Mizusawa had said, I continued, "Imagine you're not only protecting yourself, but all your loved ones as well. You're all that stands between them and this threat. You must stop it at all costs!" I stepped behind her, hoping to model myself as one of her loved ones.

She repeated to herself, "I must stop it!" She got a sort of faraway look in her eye, gripped her wand tightly, and said, "OK!"

As Aburatsubo wound up to throw, the screen Sawanoguchi had in front of us flickered into focus and began to glow, brighter and brighter. Just as he released the ball, it suddenly flared out and seemed to envelope the entire sky. As quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving behind – nothing. No paper, at any rate.

I looked around, and not only had the ball Aburatsubo had been throwing vanished, but all the other paper as well. Looking more closely, where the piles of paper that had been accumulating around the other two girls had been, there was now only a mound of fine, grayish-white power. The same powder covered Aburatsubo's arm where he had been cradling his ammunition before. Even the trash bag had only paper dust in it now.

A panicked thought occurred to me – had all paper everywhere been disintegrated? But no, checking my wallet, my id and (paltry amount of) money were still intact. Only the paper we had been targeting was affected.

"Well, that ends that," I said. "I guess practice is over for today."

"I'm sorry!" Sawanoguchi said. "It looks like I messed up again."

I shook my head. "No, on the contrary, I'm the one who messed up. I had no idea that spell was capable of all of this. You girls have been a revelation. Thank you!"

As we prepared to go, I remembered about the, you know, the date stuff. Except, was I brave enough to actually do it? Wait, I had just stood up to Miyama. Of course I could do it!

Though the girls were already leaving, so I had best hurry. "Ahem, Sawanoguchi-kun, could I speak with you for a minute?"

She looked startled. "Wh-what? Please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your practice!"

"Oh, no, no, you didn't ruin anything! It's fine. In fact, it's great! I'm really happy with what you were able to accomplish with that spell. But it's something else I wanted to talk about."

"Oh? What's that?"

The curious look on her face rendered her almost unbearably cute, but I had had the foresight to plan out my pickup lines beforehand. Well, sort of.

"Ah, yes, you see, there's a new harbor by the restaurant. No, wait, I mean a new restaurant by the harbor. And the dishes feature, or rather the restaurant features, dishes from Hokkaido, and, well, not being so familiar with that – with them, I thought, why not enlist the help of an expert, and, well, that would be you, of course, so, that is, I was wondering if, perhaps, you might, that is to say, would you be willing to, in a way, possibly, provide some, shall we say, guidance for me?"

"Um ... what?"

You idiot! I told myself. Stop babbling! I steeled myself and tried again, saying each word slowly and steadily. "There's . a . new . restaurant . The . North . Star . which . features . dishes . from . Hokkaido . that . I . wanted . to . try . and . I . wondered . if . you . would . like . to . come . help . me . figure . out . what . to . order."

"Hokkaido dishes? Oh, sure, I can do that. There are all the kinds of crab, of course, plus the melons – except it's the wrong time of year for those – and –"

"Ah, thank you, but I was sort of thinking perhaps in person, there, at the restaurant."

"You want me to go there to tell you what to eat?"

"Well, of course, you would be eating too, because, yes, that would be part of it and ..."

At that moment, Nakatomi, who, I noticed with some annoyance, had been hanging around the whole time, burst out laughing. "I think he's trying to ask you out on a date, Sae."

"A ... da– date?" Her face suddenly turned bright red. "What?"

I could feel my own face turning red as well. "I, uh, that is, uh, no, don't worry, I didn't mean a date, exactly, more like a, uh, well, ok, kind of a date, I suppose, but, ..."

"Oh, no, it's ok. I was just surprised. I didn't think you, um ..."

"But I do. Of course I do. If it's all right with you, that is. I mean, I wasn't intending to pressure you or anything."

"No, no, you didn't. It's fine with me."

Fine? Was she saying yes? "Uh, thank you, but, uh, by 'fine' did you mean the, uh, that is to say –"

"Would you two just stop it?" Nakatomi demanded. "We don't have all day! You!" – pointing to me – "Just ask her out. And Sae, you just say 'yes' or 'no.'"

It was pretty impertinent of her to order me around, but she had a point. "Uh, ok, Sawanoguchi-kun, would you like to go out to dinner with me this Friday?" I asked, my face burning hot.

Her face was equally blazing. "Um, sure," she said in a small voice.

"S-sure? Great! I'll, uh, I'll pick you up around 6. And, uh, thanks!"

I had done it! Maybe not in the most elegant fashion ever, but I had asked Sawanoguchi out on a date, and she had said yes! And this was just the start – we'd have another date, and another, and then, when the mood was right, we'd find a private little place, just the two of us, quiet and warm, she'd loosen a button or two to get more comfortable, I'd run my hand in and over her – wait a second, Nakatomi had cornered me –

"Hey, listen up! If Sae's willing to go out with you, that's fine, but don't try anything weird with her, got it?"

"Weird? What? Of course not! I have every respect for her!"

"Uh-huh. Just so long as I don't hear her complaining afterward."

Still feeling somewhat miffed about the exchange with Nakatomi, I was headed back to the club room when there was suddenly a shout from behind –

"YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ART!?"

Don't turn around! I reminded myself. Don't look at her, and you'll be fine! "If you're talking about that trash," I said over my shoulder, "we disposed of it, as requested."

"I didn't mean that! I meant my beautiful current project. LOOK!"

Before I could react, Miyama grabbed me and dragged me into their club room. She pointed to the drawing table, which was covered with a familiar grayish-white powder. "And not just here," she said. "Even in the files!"

She pulled open a file drawer and shoved my face into it. There I saw with interest that while a couple of the folders were indeed filled with the same powder, the papers in all the other ones looked intact. Thumbing through them, I realized that they were either sketches by other club members, or pages by Miyama that one of her assistants had inked. Apparently, Sawanoguchi's spell was limited to Miyama-only pages. That was a relief. If we had destroyed all the paper in the school ...

"Well?" Miyama demanded. "This was some stupid trick of yours, wasn't it!? I don't know how you did it, but I want my drawings back!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, trying to keep my tone as neutral as possible. "This looks to me like insect damage. Have you had people eating in your club room? That can attract all kinds of vermin."

"Vermin!? What!?"

"Yes, sorry, but you really need to keep this room cleaner. I mean, look at this," I said, pointing to an empty box of Pocky I saw lying on a table. "I'd hate to think how many crumbs this left behind." I took advantage of the distraction to slip out from her grasp and make it to the doorway. "Sorry for your loss, but I hope this experience will permit you to avoid this sort of issue in the future. Goodbye!"

I'll admit, that evening and school the next day passed by in a blur. All I could think about was Sawanoguchi – no, Sae, as I started to refer to her. I mean, we were dating and soon, no doubt, would become lovers, so why the formality?

["Takakura-senpai, I–"]

["Please, call me Takeo. We're dating, after all – no need for any senpai/kouhai barrier between us."]

["Oh, you're right. Let's have no barriers – no barriers at all!"]

["Sae, your clothes!"]

["But Takeo, clothing is a barrier, too. No barriers! No barriers! ... barriers ... barriers ..."]

"... barriers. Do you know what these barriers are about?"

"Huh? What?" Sae – er, Sawanoguchi – er, I'll stick with Sae – really was speaking to me. I looked around, and saw that we, and the other club members, had somehow arrived at the club room. Except we weren't quite at it, as there were barriers set up in the hallway preventing us from getting too close.

Aikawa spotted a tag attached to the partition wall blocking us. "Warning, fumigation in progress. No entry," she read. "What's this about, senpai?"

"Oh, uh, the Manga Club apparently had some sort of infestation." Not wanting Sae to be upset, I figured it was better not to get into the details of what had happened. I went on, "Unfortunately, our room seems to be blocked, too. Probably just as well, as the fumes are no doubt getting into it also."

"So what are we going to do about practice?"

"Since when did you care about practice, Akane?" Nakatomi was skeptical.

"Oh, but this new stuff is fun! And useful. What's today's spell, senpai?"

"It's another defensive spell. Last time was more of a perimeter defense; it wouldn't really help if someone was inside your barrier. This one is direct defense of your body, from someone touching or grabbing it."

Nakatomi snickered. "You'll want to have this one ready for tomorrow, Sae."

"Tomorrow?" Aikawa was curious. "What's happening tomorrow?"

"This guy," Nakatomi pointed to me, "is actually taking Sae out on a date. Believe it or not."

"Really? Oh, that's perfect! You two make such a cute couple!" Aikawa grabbed our (that is, Sae's and my) hands. "We should make it a double date! Let's see, which boyfriend should I choose? Jiro's been kind of pain lately, so not him ... Hmm, maybe Keiji? He's about the same height as you, senpai; you'd look good together ..." Seeing my distressed expression, she laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only joking. I know you two will need your privacy. First love is so precious!"

"Ahem, yes, enough of that," I said. Aikawa was definitely not one I wanted discussing my love life. "Getting back to the spells, this one will give any undesired person who touches you a minor electric shock."

"Our own personal Taser! Nice!" Aikawa seemed rather too pleased at the notion. I shuddered. Beautiful but deadly.

"Uh, sort of. Anyway, even more than the last one, it's important that we get this calibrated properly. Too little, and your assailant will hardly be fazed; too much, and, uh –"

"And Sawanoguchi will fry you to a crisp," Aburatsubo laughed.

"I'd never do that to senpai!" Sae cried.

"Of course you wouldn't," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder for, you know, reassurance. "But the nice thing is, there's an easy way to train yourself on this one." I reached into my bag and pulled out a device and some wires. "The Electronics Club lent me this voltmeter. We can use it to measure the strength of the field we generate. Let me demonstrate."

I set it up, attaching one lead to a nearby pipe and holding the other in my hand. Grasping my wand, I intoned the spell:

"Fulmen proteget, inpulsa tutele, actuat!"

A soft yellow glow appeared briefly around my body, and the meter jumped up to almost 100 before settling back to hover at 55. "OK, see that?" I indicated the reading. "It's sort of like biofeedback – you'll learn to regulate your level based on this. Now, for most circumstances, you'll want to aim for something between 50 and 60. More persistent cases may need something a little higher." I concentrated, and the meter went up to 87.

"How hard is it to learn to control it like that?" Sae seemed a little nervous.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. It's like riding a bicycle – just a matter of balance. Only here, you don't even have to worry about falling."

"Thank goodness for that!" she said with a smile.

And her smile – this is going to sound bad, but Sae doesn't normally smile that much around me. Mostly, she'll look anxious, or shy, or fiercely determined – all of which are cute in their own way, but nothing compares to the warmth of her smile. It makes life worth living, even if it also (indirectly) led to what happened next.

"Yes, and like with a bicycle, it's a little harder to maintain your balance at slower – er, lower – levels. But it's really good practice. If you can take the level down around 20 and keep it there, you'll have mastered this." I deliberately closed my eyes, cleared my mind and felt the voltage relax. When I judged it to be about right, I opened my eyes and was pleased to see it read 19.

"Would we ever really use something that weak?" Nakatomi asked. "I mean, that's no more than a couple of 9-volt batteries."

"Not under most circumstances. But when the resistance is lower, like when the skin is damp from rain or in the bath, you need to be careful to avoid too great of a shock –"

And that's when I glanced up and saw Sae was still smiling and I thought ... the bath ... resistance ... shock ...

["Sa-Sae – I'm sorry, but I'm still in the bath –"]

["It's ok, Takeo, I'm happy to share. To share everything."]

["Sae – your towel –"]

["Does this shock you? Please, I need you now!"]

["Oh, Sae, I can't resist your smile! My resistance is zero! Oh! Ah! Ahh! Ahhh! –"]

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The real-life scream yanked me out of my fantasy. Looking around wildly for its source I saw – huh, Miyama was lying on the floor next to the barrier? What was going on?

That was a good enough question to ask out loud: "What's going on?"

"It was strange, senpai," Sae said. "You got this weird faraway look in your eyes, then Miyama-san came rushing down the hallway and said, 'Move!' and tried to shove you out of the way, but there was this 'bang' and she fell to the floor."

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought 19 volts could have that kind of –"

"Actually, Takeo-kun," Aburatsubo interrupted, "the reading shot up over 200 right before she grabbed you. Your body must have reacted instinctively to the threat."

"Uh, yeah." Or to something even more exciting. But wait a second, over 200? Was she – was she dead?

I quickly deactivated the spell, then kneeled down next to her and – gulp! – pressed my hand underneath her ample (don't think about it, let the CPR training take over) bosom. Whew, there was a heartbeat.

Breathing was another matter. Even right over her face, I couldn't detect any air movement. Sigh. Time for – double gulp! – mouth-to-mouth. I tilted her head back, opened her mouth and checked for obstructions, then leaned down and –

Suddenly, she coughed, opened her eyes, yelled, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" and slapped me hard, knocking my glasses off.

I scrambled to retrieve them and said, "Sorry, you collapsed, and it didn't look like you were breathing, so –"

"So you decided to take advantage of me!"

"What? No, no, of course not! It was just CPR!"

"Takakura-senpai's right!" Sae rose to my defense. "He would never do anything dirty like that!"

Miyama looked over at her suspiciously. "You don't know him very well, do you?"

"Yes, I do! And he's been nothing but honorable with us girls!"

"Uh-huh."

"Excuse me," I interrupted, not wanting this sort of discussion to continue, "but you've clearly had a bad shock. We'd better get you to the nurse's office to make sure you're all right."

"I'll help!" Sae volunteered, much to my relief. While you could perhaps make the case that what happened to Miyama was somewhat, partially, oh, all right, completely and entirely my fault, so I maybe had a bit of a responsibility to ensure her well-being, I didn't relish the thought of being alone with her for even the minute or so it would take to get her to the nurse. I hoped that having someone else present would restrain her.

And it did, sort of. Sae and I helped her up, then walked her down the hall.

"What exactly happened?" Miyama asked while we walked. "You were standing there, oblivious, blocking the hallway, but when I tried to get you out of the way, suddenly, BANG, I'm on the floor, and you're trying to do I don't know what to me."

"Oh, you got shocked by senpai's – er, I mean –" Sae abruptly halted herself.

"I think what she means is, with the cold weather and dry air lately, the chances of a static shock are much higher," I smoothly intervened. "Normally, that's no more than a minor irritation, but under the right circumstances, it may have startled you and caused you to lose your balance. But we'll leave it to the nurse to see if there's some other issue. A seizure perhaps."

As I had hoped, the notion caught her off guard. "S-seizure? You mean – could I have epilep– could there be something wrong with me?"

"Probably not, but better safe than sorry." I felt a little guilty making her worry, but, well, not guilty enough not to do it.

She was silent for a moment, but then, out of nowhere, it seemed, suddenly asked Sae, "Just who are you, anyway? I notice you've been hanging around this idiot a lot lately."

"M-me? I'm, um, Sawanoguchi. Sae Sawanoguchi. I'm a second-year student."

"I see. So what, are you his girlfriend or something?" she sneered.

To this day, I still can't explain exactly why – maybe because I was feeling triumphant after (sort of) besting Miyama three times in a row, maybe because I was still caught up in the bath fantasy, maybe because I really am an idiot – but before Sae could do anything other than turn red, I blurted out, "Yes, she and I are dating."

I kind of knew that would embarrass Sae – and it did, with her face turning almost purple – but what I hadn't expected was how Miyama would react. She gasped, staggered back against the wall, and stammered, "Y-you? Da-dating? H-her? I can't – I can't believe it!" She seemed almost as shocked then as she had been from the spell a couple of minutes earlier.

She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, almost knocking my face into her, uh, protuberances. "You – you haven't done it, have you?" she demanded. She looked me up and down twice, then pushed me away. "No, obviously not. Someone like you – never!"

I wasn't quite sure what this was about, but was pretty sure I didn't want to know. "Yes, well, never mind all that. It's neither here nor there. For now, the important thing is to make sure you're all right."

We got her to the nurse, and I quickly explained, "Miyama got some sort of shock and fell and hit her head. She seems to be ok, but we felt it best if you'd check her over to make sure."

"OK, thank you," the nurse replied. As Sae and I turned to go, though, she stopped me. "Wait, is that a bruise on your face?" she asked. "Were you two fighting? Some sort of lovers' quarrel?"

"What? No! Certainly not!" Miyama and I replied in unison. I stopped, but she went on, "I'd never have anything to do with this idiot!"

She went on to say other uncomplimentary things about me, but since I'm the one writing this, I don't have to record them. Somehow, Sae and I managed to extricate ourselves from the office and head back to the club room.

"I'm sorry you had to witness all that," I told Sae.

"Oh, that's ok," she said. "You know, Nanaka says that Miyama treating you like that, it's because she secretly likes you."

"Really? Ugh. The feeling is not mutual, I assure you." I hesitated, then went on with the other issue. "Also, I hope you're not upset about what I said to Miyama about, uh, about us. I admit I was maybe, uh, anticipating a little ..."

"No, it's fine," she said, blushing. "I don't mind. In fact, I like being called your –"

"SAE!" Nakatomi called out from the other end of the hall. "There you are! C'mon, I've got your stuff. Let's go!"

Ah well. I had kind of wanted to walk her home, but no matter. There was always tomorrow.

Which subject I brought up at dinner that evening. "Oh, by the way, I'm going out tomorrow night, so don't plan on dinner for me."

"Going out?" my sister, Takako, asked. "What, with a girl?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Not that it's any of your business."

"What? Really? Wait – is it that girl with the weird hair?"

"You're hardly in a position to call someone else's hair 'weird'."

"Ha, at least I don't have any stupid rattail. 1989 called, it wants its hairstyle back."

"Thank you for the tip, style queen."

"All right, enough, you two," our mom said. "Takeo, is this true? You have a date? It's not just another one of your club activities?"

Ugh, I didn't really want to get into it with my parents, but had no choice. "Uh, yeah. I mean, she's in the club, but this isn't a club thing."

"So what's this girl like? What does she have that my Takeo finds so captivating?"

"Ah, jeez, Mom. You're being embarrassing!"

"Sorry, sorry. But we are curious about her."

"Uh, well, she's really great. She's nice to everyone, she's very dedicated to the club, she always puts her best effort into everything she does –"

"Is she pretty?"

I could feel my face burning. "Yes, she's very pretty. And very talented. And kind and generous."

"She must be, if she's willing to date you," Takako snickered.

Dad, as usual, ignored all that to get to the important part. "This girlfriend of yours, she's not going to interfere with your studies, is she?"

I had a safe answer ready for that one. "No, on the contrary. She's such a hard worker, I have to do my best just to keep up."

"Really? Well, that's, uh, that's good to hear."

"I don't know, all this talk about hard work and dedication," Mom opined. "It sounds kind of dull."

I laughed. "Sae's not dull, I assure you."

"'Sae'? I knew it was the weird-hair girl!" Takako exclaimed.

Dad continued, again ignoring everyone else. "So, where are you taking this admirable girl tomorrow?"

"Well, uh, her family is from Hokkaido, so I thought I should take her to that new Hokkaido restaurant, the North Star."

"Oh, how sophisticated!" Mom said. "Not many high school students would do something like that."

"Sophisticated, maybe, but also rather expensive," Dad replied. "Are you sure you can afford it?"

"Uh, yeah, of course." To be honest, I hadn't even thought about that. It had just been the first thing to pop into my head when Aburatsubo had said "date," because of the whole Hokkaido thing. How much money did I have, anyway? I had spent an amount to get that "Interpreting the Hermetica" book, after all. Not to mention the dictionaries, and the materials for making those replacement wands, and ... Ah well, even if I went broke, Sae was worth it, right?

It turns out I didn't have to answer that question. After dinner, Dad beckoned me into their room. "Takeo, could you come here for a minute?"

I was a little afraid of what that could mean, but was surprised when he pulled out a jacket from his closet. "Here, try this on. It doesn't fit me anymore, so –"

I put it on and it looked, ok, it made me look like a junior salaryman, but it did fit well.

"There, perfect," Dad said. "If you're going to impress this girl, you'll have to look your best." Then, even more surprisingly, he reached into his wallet, pulled out a wad of bills, and stuck it in one of the jacket's pockets. "So you're not embarrassed when the check comes." Seeing my obvious shock, he added, "Back when I first started dating your mother, my own father helped me through some of the initial awkwardness. Now it's my turn to pass it on to you. Just promise that, when you and this Sae get married and have a son, you'll do the same for him."

"M-married? S-son?"

He laughed. "Just joking! Go on, have fun!"

Well, that was weird. My parents had never so much as mentioned girls and dating to me before. Though to be fair, I had scrupulously avoided mentioning girls to them either, even though, as you may have gathered, girls are what I pretty much constantly think about. But now, one casual mention of a date and they were all over me. Ah well, at least I got some money out of it. When I got back to my room, I pulled out the cash and – yikes, it was 15,000 yen!

I should explain here that we're not one of those families where the parents are constantly showering money and gifts on their children. I think the most my dad had ever given me before was the occasional 500 yen coin. So whether or not all this would impress Sae, it certainly impressed me.

Other stuff happened the next day, like Sae burning out three fuses in the voltmeter before she got the hang of the electrical spell (fortunately I had thought to get an extra set of them beforehand), but let's jump ahead to 5:59 that evening.

This being January, it was already dark and more than a little chilly by the time I knocked on Sae's door. Sae's sister, Saki, answered.

"Good evening," I began. "I'm here to –"

"Oh, my, aren't you the distinguished-looking gentleman! Come in, come in!" She practically dragged me inside. "Sae will be down in a few minutes. She's just finishing getting ready." She then added in a whisper, "Actually, Sae's been ready for a while, but I told her she needed to make you wait a little, so she wouldn't seem too eager. Of course, me telling you this does kind of give the game away, but really, it's about time the two of you got together. Sae's been mooning over you since basically forever, but she'd never do anything about it on her own. So I'm glad you're striking now while the iron is hot. Though 'hot' doesn't quite apply here, more like lukewarm, but I'm sure you'll manage to heat things up eventually, assuming that – oh, look at me going on and on. Sorry, I'm usually not such a chatterbox, I guess I'm just excited that Sae is finally getting out."

"I, uh, I see." I didn't know what else to say to that (somewhat embarrassing) flood of words. Then I remembered, "Oh, this is for you." I handed her one of the roses I had, on a whim, picked up from a flower stall on the way over. "Thank you for always taking such good care of Sae."

"Oh, how thoughtful! My boyfriend could pick up a tip or two from you. Hmm, maybe we should do a double date sometime so you can instruct him ... Just kidding! I know you two will need your privacy. Speaking of which, I probably won't be home when you get back, so if you need to, well, you'll figure it out ..."

She went on for a while longer in that vein, but I'll spare you. Sheesh. I had been excited, if a little nervous, about the whole date thing, but now I was reaching the point of being annoyed, what with the way everyone was reacting. I almost wished it were all over and things were back to normal.

As soon as that thought came into my head, though, it evaporated, as at that moment, Sae called out, "I'm ready! Sorry to keep you waiting!" and came down the stairs.

I turned and saw – a goddess.

Oh, all right, Sae was still a mortal being. But you have to understand, when people talk about Sae, they usually use the word "cute" – heck, even I did, above. Sometimes it's with awe – "She is sooo cute!" More often, it's with condescension – "I suppose she's kind of cute, if you're into that sort of thing." Now, though – gorgeous? stunning? one of the most beautiful sights of my life? An angel in human form? I can't really come up with an adequate description.

She was wearing a Chinese-style dress, deep blue with tiny red blossoms scattered across it, long but with a slit up the side that showed off her perfect legs. Her hair was done up in ribbons with a spray of similar red blossoms attached. Normally, Sae doesn't wear any makeup – it's not allowed at our school – and even now, she had just a bit, but it was very effective: lipstick matching the red of the flowers, a hint of blush on her cheeks. And when she saw me, she smiled that warm, inviting smile that I've already wasted words on.

"You– you look amazing!" I managed to get out.

She looked down at herself critically. "You think so? My sister lent me this dress, and I don't know, I'm not sure this style really suits me."

"No, it's perfect! You're perfect!"

"You see, Sae?" Saki said. "Listen to your sister; I know what guys like." She grabbed our hands and had us stand together. "Now, let me get a picture of you two lovebirds before you set out."

I admit, I was a little irritated at the time, but I'm glad in retrospect that Saki insisted on preserving that moment. I have a copy of that picture sitting on my desk right now – me, looking like, well, me, but Sae like one of the Four Beauties of Classical China. Diaochan, to be specific, at least the Diaochan in one painting I saw, though Sae doesn't have any of Diaochan's duplicity.

Anyway, we managed to get out of the house and onto the train heading out to the harbor. "I hope my sister didn't bother you too much, senpai," Sae said. "I know she can be a little much sometimes."

"No, she was fine. I mean, you've met my sister, right? Saki is nothing in comparison." Thinking back to my earlier fantasy, I added, "And please, call me Takeo. After all, if we're dating, we're equal – there shouldn't be any senpai/kouhai barriers between us."

Needless to say, she didn't respond by stripping off her clothes. Instead, she said, "Ta-Takeo? Well, if you say so. It just feels a little weird."

I smiled. "What, is my name weird?"

"What? Oh, no, I didn't mean that! Your name is fine! I just have to get used to saying, um, saying 'Takeo.'"

"Well, hopefully you'll have plenty of time to get used to it. And is it ok if I call you 'Sae'? It's such a pretty name."

"Um, sure."

Yeah, it was awkward, and yeah, we were both red with embarrassment, but, hey, at least we were managing to talk! I relaxed a little.

Only to get tense again as the train filled up. As I should have figured, between people coming home from work and people heading out like us, this was the height of rush hour. And I noticed a lot of the guys were staring at Sae. Little wonder, as spectacular as she looked, at least in my unbiased opinion. Fine, guys, look but don't touch.

However, that got to be less of an option as the train became more crowded. I moved closer to Sae as the crowd pressed in. She leaned into me, seeming a little nervous, so I put my arm around her, forcing myself to think only of protection, and not the warmth of her body.

Unfortunately, that only lasted briefly, as the crush of people entering at the next stop pushed us apart. Even worse, it pushed Sae closer to this one guy who had been staring at her the whole time. I watched, feeling helpless, as he maneuvered through the crowd to inch closer and closer to her. I wasn't quite sure what he intended, but the way he had been concentrating on the slit in her qipao gave me a pretty good idea.

Suddenly, it struck me – the way the Fulmen spell worked, it made a continuous barrier over all the skin it was in contact with. So if I held Sae's hand while invoking it –

It was worth a try. Without my wand, I wouldn't get a lot of power into it, but then, I didn't want to shock any of the innocent bystanders. Only somebody trying to get under Sae's coat should be affected.

I pushed back against the crowd and was just barely able to grab her hand. She looked at me questioningly while I quickly invoked the spell under my breath.

Then everything happened at once. The train lurched, and the guy took advantage of it to lunge forward and jam his hand through the slit on Sae's dress, no doubt aiming to grab her ass. Instead, though, he yelped in pain and fell back heavily against the people behind him. They in turn, startled, pulled back, and let him fall to the floor of the train.

He struggled to his feet, sputtering with rage. "That– that girl! She shocked me! What the hell! She's a monster!"

As usual in cases like this, everyone started backing away from what they assumed was a nutcase. I managed to get Sae behind me and turned to face the guy. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said, "but I'd appreciate you leaving my girlfriend alone."

I was surprised when there was a smattering of applause at my statement. A woman in the crowd pointed at the guy and said, "He's the one who was grabbing at me earlier! I'm sure of it!"

"He did the same to me!" another woman said. "I'll bet that was God striking him down!"

"Pervert!" "Serves you right!" "You're a disgrace!" other voices started shouting.

Uh-oh, I thought. Yeah, I was mad at the guy, but the mood in the crowd was getting dangerous. This could result in a beating, or worse. So I was relieved when, just then, the train arrived at the next station, and the guy immediately bolted for the door and ran off.

I turned back around, facing Sae. "Are you all right?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. He just – he barely touched me. That was you, wasn't it? The spell, I mean?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, blushing. "I'll always protect you, I promise."

She smiled. "Thank you. Hopefully I won't need any more of that tonight."

That didn't quite prove to be the case. In fact, it proved the exact opposite of the case. But we did at least make it to the restaurant without further troubles, as the people on the train started giving us a wide berth – I don't think they believed the pervert guy, exactly, but they weren't willing to take any chances.

The restaurant had the northern constellations – Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Minor – made out in lights across its front, with Polaris dangling over the front door. A cold wind chose that moment to start blowing right through us, which I thought was a little too much verisimilitude.

At least inside it was nice and warm. We were greeted effusively, and led to our table, where Sae and I examined the menu.

"Oh, they have Genghis Khan's helmet!" she exclaimed.

"Huh? You eat his helmet? Is that like eating an old boot when you're starving?"

She laughed. "Maybe, if you overcooked things. It's a lamb barbecue, on this tiny grill that looks like a helmet. It's supposed to be like what the Mongols would do when they were on the march."

"Barbecuing over a tiny grill? It sounds a little cute for the Mongols."

"Maybe so. I suppose the cuteness is the Japanese contribution to it. We're good at that, after all."

I smiled. "Yeah, especially you."

I managed to catch her off-guard. "Wh-what?" she stammered, her face turning red.

"Sorry, that was my attempt at flattery. I guess it wasn't very good."

She got even redder. "I wouldn't know. No one's tried to flatter me before."

"Oh. Well, uh, I'm happy to be the first."

I had run out of suave talk, so we sat there silently for a moment, both trying to figure out what to say. I was relieved when the waiter appeared to break the awkwardness.

Except that's not exactly what happened. "Good evening. Welcome to North Star," he began. "I –" Then he stopped dead, staring at Sae.

Sheesh. At one level, I kind of liked that Sae was attracting this much attention, but this was getting to be too much. Was I going to have to shock this guy, too?

He had the decency to manage the shock himself. "Excuse me, miss," he said, "I didn't mean to stare like that, but, uh, by any chance, do you happen to be related to a, uh, a Sakae Sawanoguchi?"

Sae was understandably startled. "What? Yes, of course, he's my father. You know him?"

"Yes, I, uh, I took riding lessons at his – I mean, at your stables last summer. I'm sorry, it's just you look so much like him – I mean, like what he would look like if he were beautiful – I mean, a girl – I mean, uh, sorry, I'm new at being a waiter."

"So you're from Hokkaido?" Sae, considerate as always, sought to rescue him from his floundering.

"Yes, my family owns the original restaurant in Hakodate. But I'm going to college here in Tokyo, so they set me up here."

"Oh, Hakodate, it's such a beautiful city! Which restaurant does your family have there?"

"It's a similar name, Polaris Ikkenya."

"Sorry, I don't think I know that one."

"That's not surprising. It's a ways outside the main city. Out past the airport along the coast."

"Oh, I've never been out that way. We usually just fly in and head straight to the farm."

"You need to come out some time. It's a beautiful area. Very scenic."

"Uh, excuse me," I interrupted, feeling a little miffed that they were apparently hitting it off so well. "I've never actually been to Hokkaido myself. So what would you recommend for a first-timer?"

"First time?" He seemed surprised by the question, like he hadn't even noticed I was there before. "Well, the drive along the coast from Hakodate to Sapporo is among the most beautiful in the world. Then, for skiing, I'd recommend –"

"Uh, actually, I meant here at this restaurant."

"Oh, right. Uh, well, the Polaris Kaisen Don is what we're famous for. It has three kinds of crab, all just flown in this morning. And the Genghis Khan – it's a specialty of Hokkaido."

"That sounds fine with me. What do you think, Sae?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, sure."

"Uh, ok, very good," the waiter said. "And there may be a couple of special surprises for you as well," he added, directing that at Sae.

When he finally left, Sae asked, "Are you upset, senpai – I mean, Takeo? I shouldn't have left you out like that."

"Ah, ha ha, no, no, I'm not upset," I said, even though I was, a little bit. "I should have expected this, that when my companion is this beautiful, she'll attract all the attention."

"Wh-what?"

"Just trying a little more flattery," I said. "Sorry, I'll try to keep it under control."

"I should hope so!" she said, but smiled to show she wasn't really upset.

"But anyway, it's clear I'll have to visit Hokkaido sometime. It sounds really beautiful."

"Oh, it is! The mountains and the seashore are so picturesque, and the air is so fresh and clean, and the people are so friendly ..."

"Great! You'll have to be my guide, then."

"Sure! And you'll have to come see our horses, too. They're really great."

"Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting your family has that horse farm. Somehow, you don't seem like a farm girl to me."

"Really?" She wrinkled her nose. "Because the kids in elementary school sure thought I was. They used to call me country bumpkin, and said I wore overalls and stuff. I guess I did have overalls, but I never wore them to school or anything."

Thinking of Miyama, I said, "Yeah, elementary school kids can be cruel." Thinking again of Miyama, I added, "Of course, kids in high school can be cruel, too."

At that point, the waiter showed up again. "A gift for you," he said, putting a small plate in front of Sae. "Sweet potato dumplings." He then just kind of stood there, smiling at her.

"Uh, thank you very much," I said. "We'll take it from here."

Again, he seemed startled to notice I was there. "Uh, yes, fine, enjoy!"

"Someone's got a crush on you," I whispered to Sae after he left.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "This sort of thing is all so new to me. I don't know how I'm supposed to react."

"No need to apologize. But I suspect you'll face more and more of this in the future."

"You really think so?" She picked up one of the dumplings with her chopsticks and showed it to me. "One of the other names kids used to call me was 'imo atama' – sweet potato head."

"Good thing I like sweet potatoes, then." I picked one up and tried it. "Hey, these are pretty good!"

"You like them?" She tried the one she was holding. "Mmm, these are nice. A little different from the way I make them, but nice."

"Clearly I'm going to have to try yours sometime," I said, smiling.

We went on from there, and it was ... actually, quite pleasant. Which may not sound like much to you, and in no way matched my fantasies, but for me, being able to talk to her like a normal human being, without constantly becoming transfixed, was quite an accomplishment. The waiter did keep up the interruptions for a while, but our evident lack of interest, and the crush of additional customers, finally kept him at bay.

"It's getting close to college entrance exam time, isn't it?" Sae asked at one point.

"Yes, I've got my first one in two weeks, as a matter of fact."

"So, have you decided what you want to do? Where you want to go?"

"Well, I'm pretty good at math, and I like to build things, like the wands and stuff I've done for the club. So my dad thinks I should go into engineering. He does have a point."

"But you want to do something else?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to really learn the languages the magical texts are written, rather than try to get by with just a grammar and a dictionary. But I'd have to go to Europe to do that, and I don't want to be that far away ... that far away from you."

"Oh." She blushed at my sudden revelation, but then went on, "Well, um, at least you have good prospects. I have no idea what I want to do. I'm not good at anything!"

"What? Sae, that's not true at all! You're so talented in so many ways! In art, in cooking, in magic –"

"Magic? But I'm the worst in the whole club! It takes me forever to learn even the simplest spells!"

"Yes, Mizusawa-senpai and I talked about that – the problem is, you have so much power, so much potential, that it's much harder for you to bring it all under control. She said it's like the thoroughbred that's hardest to train often turns out to be the champion."

"Oh, so you two think I'm a horse!" She stuck out her tongue in an adorable fashion.

"What? No, no, that's not what I meant!"

"That's ok. Back in elementary school, kids said my hair looked like a horse's mane. Maybe I am part horse!"

I laughed. "I don't know about that. Actually, when I first saw you this evening, I thought you were Diaochan – you know, one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China."

"Really? Wait, wasn't she the one who betrayed both her master and her lover? I think I'd rather be a horse. At least horses are loyal."

"If you don't mind, I'd prefer you just stay Sae, rather than a horse or Diaochan."

She smiled. "All right, that's one thing I can easily promise."

Things were going so well that I didn't want them to end when dinner was over, so after getting through the (very nice) melon crème brûlée and the (not so nice) last attempt by the waiter to hit on Sae, I proposed going for a walk along the harbor. It was still chilly, but the wind had died down, leaving all quiet and calm. The lights on the boats vied with the stars in the sky for brilliance, making for a scene out of a fairy tale.

"You know, this is the first date I've ever been on," Sae said.

"Well, this is the first date I've ever taken anyone on," I replied. "So what do you think? Am I doing a good job?"

"Well, like I said, this is my first one, so I could say it's the best date I've ever been on." She smiled. "Of course, I could also say it's the worst. But I think I prefer calling it the best."

"Sae ..." I stopped and looked at her smiling face, lit by a nearby fishing boat rocking gently at anchor. A sudden feeling swept over me, and without even thinking, I leaned down and ...

And we were kissing. I held her tight against me, our two bodies making a little island of warmth in the surrounding cold. As we continued to kiss, the warmth rose up and surrounded us. Nothing else mattered; for us, nothing else even existed than each other. Her soft lips pressed against mine, the faint fresh scent from the flowers in her hair, the beating of her heart against mine, these were the world for me.

But the bigger world was calling. We finally broke the kiss, but still held each other in our arms, not quite willing to let go of the moment just yet.

"That was ... that was amazing," I said.

"I can see why people like doing this," she replied.

We started walking again, the warmth of our embrace still enveloping us, and even seeming to spread, flowing outward over the sands of the beach, and into the palm trees overhead, as we ...

Wait a second. Sand? Beach? Palm trees? On the Tokyo waterfront? I looked around and saw we were surrounded by a lush tropical landscape, a warm breeze whispering through the palms and banyans. Huh? Had we wandered into some sort of theme park?

Suddenly, a voice called out, "Hei! Wadaryutu duwin hiya?"

In the dim light, I could make out a man on the other side of the trees, wearing what looked like a guard's uniform. I replied, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Wat? O, ai si. Forenasu. Si ze sain? Puraiveto puropetti!"

I realized he was speaking English. I'm not great, but I tried my best. "I am sorry. I do not understand. Could you say it again?"

He repeated slowly and carefully, "Do you see the sign? This is private property. You understand?"

"Private"? Oh, right, privately owned. "I am sorry. We did not know."

"Fine. Just head back to the hotel. That way."

"What's going on?" Sae asked. "Are you talking English? I can't really follow it."

"Yes. I'm not sure what happened, but we need to head back," I replied.

But when we turned and headed back, there was no Tokyo harbor, no North Star restaurant. Instead, when we emerged from the thicket of trees, there was an imposing white building, some twenty stories tall, towering over a collection of palms, lounge chairs and umbrellas, which surrounded a large pool, which led onto a broad white beach out to an ocean lapping against the shore some distance away.

It was warm, even warmer here outside than it had been inside the restaurant. All was strangely quiet in this dreamlike paradise, only a couple of people wandering around here and there.

"I know this place!" Sae exclaimed. "It's the Waikiki Resort! Our family went here once, back when I was in second grade."

"Waikiki? You mean in Hawaii? But that's over 6000 kilometers from Japan!"

"Yes, well, um ... you see, when we were kissing, I felt so warm in your arms, I started thinking about warm things, and then about how warm it had been when we visited here, and, I don't know, I guess I wanted to share it with you, and so, somehow ..." she trailed off, looking a little guilty.

"Sae – you did this?"

"I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

"What? No, not at all. I'm amazed. So, this was magic, but no one's ever used magic to teleport more than a couple kilometers. You took us all the way to Hawaii?"

"I guess so. I don't know how I did it though. It's just, we were kissing, and I felt ... I felt like coming here."

A strand of hair had fallen across her face, so I brushed it back, then let my hand continue on down her back, so that I was holding her to me again. I smiled down at her. "Well, much as I would love to see Hawaii with you, I think that will have to be for another time. For now, let's see about getting back."

"OK, I'll try." She closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think we need to be kissing, if that's all right."

"It's more than all right," I said, smiling. We kissed again, long and passionately. I could feel the warm glow rising up and surrounding us. When I looked up, though, we were still on the beach in front of the hotel. "Hmm, let's try it again."

And we did, even longer this time, until a voice shouted out, "Hey, you two! Get a room!"

"Sorry!" I replied. Turning to Sae, "C'mon, let's go over there," I said, indicating a patch of trees near the beach.

"What did that guy say?" she asked. "He sounded angry."

"Uh, he was just jealous. Never mind." We made it to the shelter of the trees and tried again. But again, despite the magical warmth of our kiss, we stayed resolutely in one spot. Which wasn't a terrible spot – far from it, on the beach in Waikiki with the most wonderful girl on Earth – but it wasn't where we needed to be then. "Much as I like this," I said, "it's not quite working. We seem to be missing something. Was there anything different the first time?"

Sae mulled it over. "I think the first time, while the feeling began when we kissed, we didn't actually go anywhere until we started walking. I think we have to be moving while still under the influence of the spell."

"Oh, so we can't move until we move. That makes sense. All right, let's try again. Maybe think about us walking home together in the cold, and we can then do it for real."

So, one more time we kissed, and this time I could feel just a hint of a cool breeze penetrating the warm glow that surrounded us. We broke off the kiss, but still kept looking at each other as, holding hands, we stepped out from the shelter of the trees ...

... and into a raging blizzard. Snow pelted us, stinging our faces, and reducing visibility to near-zero. "What is this?" I cried. "There wasn't any snow predicted for Tokyo. It was supposed to be cool and dry."

Sae pointed to a dark mass barely visible through the storm. "I– I made a mistake. You said 'cold' and 'home,' and, um, I started thinking about our house in Hokkaido. I think that's it over there."

"Oh, I see. Can we try again for Tokyo?"

I held her to me again, but she shook her head. "I can't concentrate in this storm. Let's get inside the house and try there."

"Inside the house? But what will we tell your parents?"

"Um, I'll just say it's a surprise visit. To introduce my boyfriend."

I wasn't too sure how that would go over, but it turned out not to matter. When we got to the front door, it was locked. The house was dark, and no one responded to our knocks.

"That's odd," Sae said. "I know it's late, but it's not that late. Someone should be up. Maybe they're in the barn. Let's go check."

We struggled through the blizzard, Sae in particular suffering with the light coat and high-cut dress being all she had to protect her. When we finally made it to the barn, she heaved a sigh of relief. "This wasn't the introduction to Hokkaido I wanted for you," she said. "Sorry! Anyway, let's see who's here."

However, no one proved to be there. No people, and no horses, either. And while the wind was mostly blocked, the barn was still unheated and bitterly cold. Sae said the tack room had a heater, but it was padlocked shut and we had no key. "I don't understand," she said, trembling. "Where did everyone go? Is there something wrong?"

She was on the verge of tears, and I knew I had to do something. I took off my overcoat and wrapped it around her. "Don't worry, Sae," I told her. "I'm sure they're just off with the horses at some event. They had no idea we were coming, after all. Of course, neither did we." I hugged her to me. "I don't think we're going to be able to work the spell when it's like this. It's too cold to think clearly. Is there someplace else we could go to get warm?"

She thought. "Well, there are our neighbors, the Satos. They're very nice."

"All right, let's go there. We'll come up with a story on the way."

I thought briefly about grabbing one of the brooms from the stable and flying Sae over, but decided it would be too dangerous to attempt in the howling winds. So instead, we trudged through the growing drifts toward a house that Sae assured me was just next door.

Of course, that was "next door" by country standards, and not Tokyo ones. I'm not sure how long we were out in the storm – it seemed like hours, but in reality was probably less than 15 minutes – before a small, cozy-looking, and fortunately very well lit house came into view.

We knocked on the door, and it almost immediately flew open. A middle-aged, somewhat stocky woman regarded us with curiosity, then burst into a smile when she recognized Sae.

"Sae! Sae! What are you doing out in this? Come in, come in!"

She ushered us into the warm vestibule. "Why look at you!" she exclaimed. "So beautiful! So elegant! And yet, so impractical for this weather! You must be frozen solid!"

She was pretty much on the mark. While the sacrifice of my coat had helped Sae, she was still chattering and miserable from the cold. And as for me, once I could stop worrying about Sae, I realized my face was numb, and my hands and feet were blocks of ice. I had to hold my hands over a heat register to get them to thaw out enough so I could untie my shoelaces. Finally, we were able to get our outer gear off and stumble into the living room, where Mrs. Sato (I never did learn her full name) had us sit at the kotatsu.

"Here, warm up while I get you some tea," she said. "Sanji!" she called out to another room. "We have visitors! It's Sae, and her gentleman friend!"

A rather muscular-looking man in an aizome-dyed yukata entered, then did a double-take on seeing Sae. "That's Sae? My God, you're beautiful! Sorry, I mean, you've always been a beautiful girl, of course, it's just you're so ... so grown up!" He then noticed me. "Ah, and you, young man, you must be her fiancé."

I quickly stood up and bowed. "Hello, good evening, sir. My name is Takeo Takakura. Very pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." He looked me up and down. "Well, you're not the most impressive of specimens, but I suppose you could be reasonable enough. I do hope you prove worthy of our Sae."

"I hope so too, sir."

Mrs. Sato reentered with a thermos of tea and some cups. "Sanji, are you harassing our guests?" she said. "Sorry, he lacks a filter sometimes."

"I was simply inquiring into the character of this young man."

"Now, Sanji, Sae is a bright girl. I'm sure if she chose him, then he's all right." She set the tea down and poured us all cups. "Though I suppose I'm going to have to temper my assessment of your brightness a little, Sae. What on earth were you doing out in the middle of the worst blizzard in five years?"

"Oh, um, I was ... we were ..." Yeah, we had never quite worked out our story, and Sae was flustered.

I quickly intervened. "Ah, yes, we had some time off, so we thought we'd fly up here and surprise Sae's parents. But I'm afraid we were the ones who were surprised, as they weren't home."

Mr. Sato laughed. "You managed to choose the one time of the year they're away. They're down at the exhibition in Akita now, horses and all. They're supposed to return tomorrow, though."

"So you two will just have to spend the night with us," Mrs. Sato said. "But that's fine. The guest room is all ready, and – oh, where are my manners? Are you hungry? Can I offer you something to eat?"

"Oh, no thank you," Sae said. "We had a very nice dinner. All the specialties of Hokkaido!"

"That's good, at least," said Mr. Sato. "Where's your luggage? Did you leave it at your parents' house?"

"No, I'm afraid everything's still in Tokyo," I said. "We've had a few issues."

Mrs. Sato smiled. "So many disasters on your first trip here! But, they say, get all the bad luck out of the way to begin with, and your future life together will be a fortunate one."

It was a little awkward, the impression they had of the, uh, degree of progress of our relationship, but I couldn't come up with a subtle way of correcting them. And anyway, it was what I hoped for the future, right?

We talked a little longer, but when Sae yawned, Mrs. Sato said, "Oh, dear, you two must be exhausted. Sanji, is the bath ready?"

"Of course, that's what I was doing when they came."

Bath? All I had intended was for us to warm up enough that Sae could work her magic again. But looking at her, it was clear she was exhausted. If we tried it now, there was a good chance we'd end up somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. She really did need to sleep first. Except –

"Excuse me," I said. "Could I use your phone to call home? They wanted to know when I arrived and all, so –"

"Certainly. It's in the kitchen."

Fortunately, they were not inclined to hover over me while I made the call. I first thought about what to say – I try never to lie to my parents, but I am willing to leave out some "details." This is what I came up with –

My mom answered. "Takakura residence, hello?"

"Hi, Mom, it's me."

"Takeo? Where are you? It's getting late."

"Yes, I know. I'm afraid we went for a walk and got a little lost, and by the time we made it back, the last train had already left."

"Oh, no! Should we send a cab for you?"

"No, no, it's fine. It turns out some friends of Sae's family, the Satos, live right nearby. We're at their house now, and they've offered to put us up for the night. They're very nice people."

"I see. You're telling the truth, right? You're not really at a love hotel, are you?"

Yikes! I hadn't expected her to go there. I cried, "What!? No, of course not! You can talk to Mr. and Mrs. Sato if you don't believe me!"

"No, no, that's fine. I was just teasing. I know how innocent you are."

Sheesh. "Thanks a lot, Mom. See you in the morning."

I turned and saw Sae standing there. "I should call my sister, too," she said. In a low voice, she added, "But what should I tell her?"

I replied in the same tone. "I just said we missed the last train and are staying with friends. Then my mom made a bad joke about a love hotel, but never mind that."

Her eyes grew wide. "L-love hotel?"

"Never mind. My mom likes to tease that way."

Sae dialed, then waited a long time while the phone rang. "No answer," she said. "I guess my sister was right about going out."

When we came back, Mrs. Sato said, "Everything all right? In that case, I'll show you to your room."

She led us to a small tatami-mat room. "It does get rather cold in here," she said, "but then you two have young love to keep you warm. And if that's not sufficient" – she led us across the hallway – "the bath is here."

I had a moment of thrill/panic – was she expecting us to bathe together? – but no, the tub was a small one, really only appropriate for one person.

After Mrs. Sato left, I said to Sae, "I think you got a lot colder than me, so why don't you go first, and I'll set things up in here."

"Are you sure? I mean, you lent me your coat and all –"

"No, no, it's fine. Just don't take too long, ok?"

She took a yukata and towel from the closet and headed to the bath while I set up the futon. It was fairly chilly in the room as I changed into a robe myself, but at least the bedding looked warm and comfortable. We should be all right, I thought.

Sae indeed didn't take long, emerging in a robe with her makeup and hair decorations removed, but still looking absolutely beautiful. She was carrying her clothes, neatly folded, with, uh, with her, uh, underwear on top, a cute lacy bra and panty set decorated with little flowers. I tried very hard not to think about that, nor about the fact that it meant she was no longer wearing said underwear, nor about the fact that it meant that all that stood between her and total nudity was a light yukata.

I was trying so hard not to think about those things that it wasn't until I had finished washing up and sank into the warm tub that I realized something else – there was only one futon in the room. So I would soon be (ulp!) sleeping with her in that state as well.

I gave up even trying not to think about that. Snuggled up together in bed as ...

["Oh, Takeo, I was sooo cold! I need your warmth! I need your true warmth! Inside and out!"]

["Sae, are you sure you're ready?"]

["Yes, oh yes, I need it now! Give it to me now! All of it – all of you! I can't wait! I can't –"]

Wait a second. This was really going to happen. I really was going to sleep with her! I couldn't get caught up in fantasy – I had to figure out how to deal with the reality. Except surely a pure, sweet, innocent girl like Sae wouldn't share her bed with a boy! I'd have to, I don't know, just sleep on the floor or in the closet or something.

I got out, dried off, put on the robe and first went to tell the Satos, "Thank you very much for the use of your bath. It was perfect! We're all finished, good night!"

"Good night to you! Sleep well, you two!"

How we were going to do that sleeping is what I now had to arrange. Sae, who had been lying half-asleep in the futon, started when I entered. "Did you have a good bath?" she asked.

"Yes, it was fine. Look, uh, how about if I just sleep over here with, uh, a couple of towels, I guess. That should work."

She sat up and shook her head. "What are you saying? You can't do that; it'll be way too cold and uncomfortable. Come on, there's plenty of room in here."

"Are you sure? I mean, you're all right with me being in the, uh, the same bed as you?"

She smiled. "Now, senpai, er, Takeo, don't be silly. I trust you. I know you'd never do anything naughty to me. Well, not now, anyway. I mean, I know about boys and girls and all, and maybe we'll do that someday, just not tonight." Her smile faded, though, as she continued, "But that's not what I'm worried about."

I got into the futon next to her and tried not to think about boys and girls and naughty stuff. "What are you worried about?" I asked.

"I still don't know exactly how I managed to transport us here. What if I can't do it again?"

"Well, then I guess we really will make a surprise visit to your parents."

"I suppose. But what if I try to do it again, and we end up someplace dangerous? Someplace we can't get out of? Someplace we get killed?"

I put my arm around her. "Sae, don't worry. I admit, I don't really understand your magic, but one thing I can say, is it's never hurt anyone. Confused us, maybe, even inconvenienced us at times, but never, ever hurt us. I just don't think your magic works that way. So no matter where you take us tomorrow, I'm sure it will be fine."

"If you say so." She leaned against me, still looking concerned. "But now I have to wonder, if all this happened just because we kissed, what will happen if someday we, you know, do the other things? Will we end up on Mars?"

I hugged her tight. "I guess we'll just have to do astronaut training, then. But for now, let's stop worrying, and get some sleep."

"All right, I'll try."

"But first, you need a goodnight kiss." And I kissed her one last time. A bit of the warmth started rising up again as we held it, but no more than that.

Sae sighed when it was over. "This is still pretty good even when we don't go anywhere."

"Anywhere with you is pretty good, Sae," I said. "Well, maybe not inside the Bell. That wasn't so great. But here is fine for tonight. Goodnight, Sae."

"Goodnight, Ta-Takeo."

Sae turned out the light and quickly fell asleep, but I lay there for some time, looking at her pretty face. If someone had told me I would end up sleeping with Sae on our very first date, I would have ... well, actually, I probably would have felt sort of like I did now. Disbelief, mixed with excitement, mixed with nervousness, mixed with, uh, to stick with Sae's phrasing, naughty thoughts.

Sure, the reality of it was way different from anything I had imagined, but it was still a pretty good reality. And there would be plenty of time for those things I had imagined in the future. Sae basically said as much. Even if we'd have to wear spacesuits to do them. Imagining myself drifting along in space with Sae, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke early the next morning, except not really. That is, it was early morning, but I wasn't exactly awake. Instead, I was in some weird half-dream state, where I imagined I was snuggled up in bed with Sae, that we had somehow spent the night together, and even now, her head was resting on my shoulder, and I ...

Wait a second – suddenly it all came back to me. It wasn't a dream, she really was fast asleep, lying next to me with her head on my shoulder and her arm around me, here in a warm futon in a cold tatami-mat room in a small house in the middle of nowhere in Hokkaido, one thousand kilometers from home.

I wasn't sure why she was hugging me in her sleep, but I sure did like it. However, I also couldn't let it continue, as I had to get up and go to the bathroom. "Sorry, Sae," I whispered, as I attempted to extract myself without disturbing her.

I wasn't successful. She mumbled, "I'll be up in a minute, Saki," then suddenly opened her eyes wide. "Huh? What? Who are you – oh, senpai?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. And you can just call me Takeo, remember?"

"Oh, right, I –" At this point, she obviously realized she was holding onto me. "Ack!" she said, letting go. "Sorry, when it's cold, I sometimes like to hug my pillow when I sleep, and you were so warm I guess I thought ..."

"No, it's fine, you can hug me all you want, except if you'll excuse me for a minute," and I slipped out and took care of my business.

When I came back, Sae was writing a long note, filled with little hearts and pictures of birds and fish. "I didn't want to leave without saying anything," she replied to my questioning look. "So I'm thanking them for their hospitality, but saying we had to go back suddenly. I hope that will explain things."

"Ah, good idea. Well, I guess we'd better get dressed and ready to go. I'll go get our coats and all."

"OK, but don't come back in here until I open the door. No fair watching me change."

"Of course, of course."

I quickly changed in the bathroom, then went and gathered our stuff. I glanced outside; the storm had stopped, and the clouds were beginning to break up as the sun was just starting to think about peeking above the horizon. At least today would be nicer if we ended up stuck here.

But that wasn't going to happen. Sae opened the door, and I brought her her coat and shoes. We put the coats on, but stuck the shoes in our pockets, because you just can't walk on tatami with your outdoor shoes.

We stood in the middle of the room, with me holding Sae in my arms. "All right, are you ready for this? When we step through the doorway there, we'll be stepping right into your bedroom in Tokyo. One room to another, that's all."

Sae started putting on a determined look, but it then melted away. "I– I don't know if I can do it. Last night, it just seemed to happen, but now, I feel so unsure ..."

"Sae, I know you can do it – I mean, we can do it." I took a deep breath, and pulled out my secret weapon. "We can do it, because what powers your magic is love, and I– I– I love you, Sae."

Her eyes grew wide and her face grew red, and I pulled her to me and we were kissing, kissing hard. The warm glow immediately rose up and filled the room. When I judged it to be at its peak, I stood back, holding her hand, and said, "We're ready, Sae. Let's go." And we stepped through the doorway ...

... and into a very familiar-looking room just starting to be illuminated by the early-morning sun.

"We did it, Sae!" I cried, hugging her tight to me. "I knew you could. You're the best ever!"

It was then I noticed tears running down her cheeks. "Sae, why are you crying?"

"I was so worried!" she said. "I kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong, but when you said, that you, that you loved me, I was so surprised, then everything happened at once, without me even thinking."

"All that matters is we made it. I think we need to perfect your new skill at some point, but for now, let's stick to conventional means of getting places. So we'll just stay in place when we do this –" and I kissed her one last time.

We sat down on Sae's bed, and I heaved a sigh of relief. While I had been sure Sae could do it, I wasn't sure whether we'd take a side trip by way of Peru or Norway or someplace first.

"This has got to have been the most amazing first date in the history of humanity," I said, "but I think I'd better be getting home now. And even if it takes longer, I'll do it by walking rather than your special method, if you don't mind."

"All right, but as long as you're here, why don't I fix us breakfast?"

"Breakfast? Sure, of course!" Sae's cooking was not to be missed.

So we stepped out of the room and into ... no, not Peru or Norway, but Sae's sister.

Saki was shocked. "You – the two of you – all this time – I was quiet when I came home because I thought Sae was asleep, but ..."

"No, no, it's not what you think!" Sae cried. "We just got home ourselves! We were out late, and, um, we, um ..."

"We missed the last train home, so we ended up staying at a friend's house," I intervened. "Sae tried calling you to let you know, but there was no answer. I guess you weren't back yet."

"A friend's house, eh?" She raised an eyebrow. "This friend wouldn't happen to run the Funabashi Love Hotel, would he? The one right near that restaurant you went to?"

"No, of course not!" Sae said. "We were with the Satos. Er, that is, I mean –"

"The Satos?" Saki seemed puzzled. "Our neighbors in Hokkaido? What?"

Sae was too flustered to come up with anything, so I said, "Oh, it's just some people I know named Sato. It's a common name, I suppose."

Saki shrugged. "OK, whatever. I don't really need to know. And don't worry, I'm not about to say anything to Mom and Dad."

"Thank you, but I assure you, nothing untoward happened," I said.

"Oh, I suppose not. I'm just taken aback by how quickly my little sister is growing up."

Sae and I looked at each other. "Uh, would you like some help in the kitchen?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

"Sure."

So we did indeed make breakfast, and it was good, and then it was finally time for me to go. I lingered by the door with Sae, very conscious that her sister was watching us. "Um, thanks for a memorable time," I said in a low tone, trying unsuccessfully to keep Saki from hearing us.

"Memorable is right. I don't think I'll ever forget last night," Sae replied at a similar level.

Our ambiguous conversation was definitely drawing Saki's attention. Oh well, may as well compound it. "Let's have many more memorable nights in the future," I said. And I kissed her, for really the last time.

I opened the door to leave, but Saki touched my shoulder and said, "Wait, before you go –"

"Um, yes?"

She smiled. "No, I don't want a kiss, too, but I do want to thank you for being such a good friend to Sae." She shook my hand and patted me on the side for some reason. "Just a little advice – for all those good times you have together in the future, you've got to be prepared, understand? But for now, goodbye!"

I stepped out into the morning sunshine feeling exhilarated. What a night! Except wait a second, there was something rustling in my dad's jacket pocket? I reached in, and pulled out a handful of ... condoms.

Oh, great, Saki obviously slipped them in there as one last little jab. I don't think I'll tell Sae about this. Well, until maybe we reach the point that we're ready to –

"Senpai? You're out early, too? And so dressed up?"

I whirled around and – "Oh, Aikawa-kun, good morning!"

"Good morning to you, too! I'm off to a photoshoot – the photographer is really enamored of early morning sunshine, unfortunately. So what has you up at this hour? Oh, wait, this is Sae's building, isn't it? And –" She noticed what I, like an idiot, was still holding in my hand. "Oh! Oh my! Oh my! You – I never would have thought!"

I quickly thrust the things back into my pocket. "No, you don't understand. Sae's sister just gave these to me as a joke, is all."

"I see. But, um, you still spent the night with Sae, didn't you?"

"Well, uh, yes, but uh, you see, it was magic and –"

"Oh, I'm sure it was magical. And now I'm jealous. You two are so far ahead of me now. Oh, well. See you later!" And she took off.

Great. Ah, well, I'll get it straightened out on Monday. Time to head home.

At home, Mom greeted me with, "Our prodigal son has returned! How are you? Did you sleep well? Have you had breakfast?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine. The Satos were very gracious hosts."

"You're lucky they were," Dad offered. "I hope you'll have enough sense to keep track of the train schedules in the future."

"Now, dear, you know how it is with young love," Mom said. "Remember when we took that boat ride out to that island and –"

"Ahem, yes, well, that's neither here nor there. Just be more careful in the future, all right, son?"

"I will try my best, Dad," I replied.

And that was that. Or so I thought.