Chapter 5: Kanata's Greatest Wish
Miyu walked towards the living room where she could hear voices. Ruu-kun spotted her as soon as she opened the door.
"Daa!" he chortled and flew towards her, cuddling against her chest.
"Miyu-chan! So good to see you again!"
Seiya hadn't changed a bit. His Earth-disguise of faded jeans, yellow T-shirt and blue jacket were the same as ever. So was his trouble-maker smile.
"Seiya-kun! Finally!" exclaimed Miyu "Now you can just explain everything before I kill you!"
"He he" he sweat-dropped "We should wait for Kanata."
"Where is Kanata-san?" asked Wanya "Is he still mad?"
"He's meditating, so that he doesn't strangle you with his bare hands" said Miyu and smirked at the shocked expressions on Wanya and Seiya's faces.
"He didn't say that!" said Seiya incredulously "Did he?"
"Oh yes, he did!" Miyu nodded firmly "Ever since you left that lamp and letter for him, he has been in a towering rage. I don't think he has ever had such horrible days as the last three."
"Oh…" Seiya trailed off "It was only a bit of harmless fun."
"You haven't met Chris-chan and his fan girls yet" said Miyu, giggling as she settled down on a cushion in front of the low table.
"But where is Kanata-san?" asked Wanya once again.
"He went inside the main temple hall when he saw your spaceship" replied Miyu "By the way, what happened to your ship?"
"Oh…he he" mumbled Seiya, sounding embarrassed "I lost a bet against my sister. So I had to give her my spaceship. I had just gotten it upgraded too." He sighed.
"Then whose ship is that out front?" asked Miyu
"That was her only spare one. So, I had to take it" Seiya looked quite sorry for himself.
"Ai!" said Ruu and he suddenly wriggled away from Miyu's lap and flew out of the room.
"Ruu-chama!" exclaimed Wanya and started to go after him.
"Wait, Wanya" said Miyu "I hear someone coming. I think it's Kanata."
Sure enough, they could hear someone padding quietly down the hallway. They could also hear Ruu gurgling and Kanata speaking to him softly.
"Seiya-kun, hide behind Wanya for a bit" said Miyu hurriedly "Just in case…"
Seiya gulped and ducked behind the sitter-pet just as Kanata walked in with Ruu.
"Kanata!" Miyu jumped up and went towards him. "Here, let me take Ruu. Why don't you sit and relax for a bit?"
"Ah! That's right, Kanata-san" chimed in Wanya "Have a cup of tea."
Kanata simply smiled at all the uproar and hugged Ruu closer.
"I'm going to hold him for a while longer" he said "I was very rude to him today morning, but he has forgiven me, so we are gonna make up for the last couple of days and play. But, I could use that cup of tea."
"Oh!" said Miyu, surprised. This was the Kanata she was more familiar with.
"Give some tea to Yaboshi too, Wanya" said Kanata with a smirk at the alien who seemed to be trying to become invisible. "He has a LOT of explaining to do."
"Erm…" Seiya squirmed but Kanata looked unconcerned as he settled at the low table and placed Ruu on his lap. He took a squeaky toy lying nearby and gave it to the baby who seemed to be in heaven, enjoying the attention of his 'papa'. Soon, all of them were sitting down with steaming cups of tea and some pumpkin chips Miyu had unearthed from the kitchen cupboards.
Kanata took a sip of his tea as Miyu (predictably) began the interrogations.
"So, Seiya-kun" she said "What is going on?"
"Please start at the beginning because I know even less than Miyu-san and Kanata-san" implored Wanya "I am sick of being kept in the dark!"
"Daa!" said Ruu and squeaked his toy as though to emphasis this statement.
Kanata couldn't help laughing at the expression on Seiya's face. However, Miyu scowled at him, so he raised his cup to hide his smile.
"Go on, Seiya-kun" said Miyu, with a glint in her eyes "You are not moving from there until we have satisfaction!"
Seiya gulped and looked pleadingly at Kanata.
"Oh no, don't look at me" Kanata shook his head at him "This was your brilliant idea."
Seiya sighed and sat back in his chair.
"You know that I travel a lot through the galaxy" he began. "During my various travels, I have come across many types of technology. I'm pretty good with gadgets, so I designed one, combining some cutting edge alien technology."
"The lamp?" asked Miyu
"Yes" He nodded.
"Ano, what lamp?" asked Wanya in confusion.
"This lamp" said Kanata as he brought forth the Lamp of Doom from within his bag.
Seiya's eyes gleamed as he looked about but no Seirei appeared. 'So, Kanata has used up all his wishes, eh?' he thought and looked at him.
Kanata was looking at him steadily and Seiya blushed faintly, realizing that he had guessed his ulterior motive in arriving a bit earlier than he had given them to understand. Kanata placed the lamp in the middle of the table and sat back with his cup of tea. Ruu became curious about this new object and crawled up on the table and started playing with the lamp. Wanya and Miyu were both eyeing the lamp in curiosity.
"What is this thing?" asked Miyu "A genie lamp?"
"A genie lamp?" Wanya was looking more confused than ever.
"Oh, right! You wouldn't know about that" apologized Miyu "A genie is a mythical creature that lives inside a lamp like this one. When summoned, he will grant you three wishes."
"Huh?" To an alien like Wanya, the secrets of the Arabian Nights were probably more mysterious than dimensional holes.
"A genie is a magical being capable of granting your wishes, Wanya" said Seiya "Humans have some pretty amazing legends and myths. I heard of the genie while I was visiting the gulf region a couple of years ago."
"Oh!" said Wanya "Why does this genie live inside a lamp?"
"Erm…" Seiya and Miyu sweat-dropped as Kanata burst out laughing.
"Oh, Wanya!" said Kanata, still chuckling "Trust you to ask the relevant question!"
"The lamp is something like the genie's prison and only his master can free him from it" explained Seiya "Once free, he has to grant his master's wishes."
"You know, I have always wondered…" said Miyu in a faraway voice "Why is it always three wishes?"
"Why does Cinderella have to leave the ball at midnight?" countered Seiya "That's how the stories go. Who knows why."
"Hmm… you do have a point" said Miyu
"Let's come back to ours" Kanata reminded Seiya "So you made this lamp. Why did you leave it here for me?"
"I wanted to test it" said Seiya
"And you couldn't test it yourself?" asked Kanata drily
"Where would be the fun in that?" Seiya spread out his hands in a pleading gesture.
Kanata merely shook his head but Wanya looked shocked.
"Seiya-san!" he said "Alien technology can be dangerous! What if something bad had happened?"
"But I designed this for humans" protested Seiya "I wanted to sell this on Earth!"
"Seiya-kun!" said Miyu "You should have said something."
"But I did!" said Seiya indignantly "Tell them!" He turned to Kanata who sighed.
"Actually, he did tell me" said Kanata "In that letter he left."
"But still…"started Wanya
"You had better tell them the rest too, Yaboshi" Kanata interrupted "Otherwise, these two will make a toast out of you."
Seiya sighed and continued his tale. "Look, the lamp is a device made using nanotechnology. It grants its user three wishes, one wish per day."
"What?" exclaimed Miyu "How is that even possible?"
"There are certain limitations to the wishes" explained Seiya "You can't just wish for anything. It has to be within the realm of possibility of your surroundings and life."
"Huh?" Miyu was getting a headache trying to understand all this. No wonder Kanata had been so grumpy for the last couple of days.
"It's not magic, Miyu" Kanata tried to explain "I don't completely understand it myself. But, if your wish is materialistic and possible, it will happen. Like, if you wish for boiled rice, you will get a pot full of it."
"So that's how we had rice today morning!" exclaimed Wanya as that mystery was solved.
"But, how?" Miyu was still not convinced "How can this device get you a pot of cooked rice?"
"That, I don't know" said Kanata and looked at Seiya who sighed again.
"I told you, it uses advanced alien technology. Getting a pot of rice is child's play."
"You know, I have heard of some kind of nanobots developed for doing things like that" said Wanya
"Oh!" chorused Kanata and Miyu
"I wish I had one of those" said Miyu "I wouldn't need to cook another dish in my life."
That put a smile on everyone's faces.
"So, this lamp granted you three wishes, eh?" said Miyu as she turned to face Kanata.
"Of sorts" he replied with a glum look.
"This particular lamp was designed to grant your most powerful wish" said Seiya
"What's that?" asked Wanya
Kanata too looked at him with interest. This was one point he wanted to clarify as well.
"Look, humans wish for any number of things on a daily basis" said Seiya "But, how much you truly desire those wishes to come true differs."
"You mean…" said Kanata as he finally saw the light.
"Yes" nodded Seiya "You might wish for rice and you might also wish for a haircut. But you must have wanted rice more than you wanted a haircut if the wish you got granted was a pot of rice."
"What made you wish for rice so badly, Kanata-san?" asked Wanya
Miyu whipped around to look at Kanata to see him trying to hold back his laughter.
"I guess I was just hungry" he said with a smile.
Wanya and Seiya looked at each other in confusion.
"Daa!" shouted Ruu as he threw the lamp against the wall. Unbeknownst to the teens, he had gotten fed up with the lamp for some reason. He now flew up in the air and pointed his chubby hands towards the lamp, causing it to vibrate. For a moment, everyone sat frozen around the table. Then suddenly they all jumped up and tried to stop Ruu from using his psychic powers on the device.
"Ruu-chama! You mustn't!" cried Wanya as he flew up to try and catch Ruu, but he merely flew higher.
"Ruu, stop! You might get hurt!" said Kanata as he clambered up on the table to try and catch him.
"Seirei!" moaned Seiya as he tried to catch a hold of the floating lamp which was vibrating rather fiercely. Suddenly, a projection appeared on top of the table that looked eerily like Seiya.
"Even-song, Kanata-sama" it said in a voice full of static before disappearing again. There was a sharp 'zing' and a tiny explosion. The lamp fell on the floor, slightly smoking. Ruu finally floated down, low enough for Miyu to catch him in her arms.
"Ruu-kun, are you okay?" she asked worriedly
"Doo!" said Ruu, subdued but unharmed.
"Oh, thank Buddha!" Kanata sighed in relief
"Arigatou, Miyu-san!" Wanya had twin rivers coming out of his eyes.
"My lamp!" Seiya moaned again as he tried to pick it up from the floor. But he quickly dropped it again since it was too hot. "Ow! I think I burned my fingers."
"Seiya, please don't bring stuff like this here again" said Kanata seriously "It might be harmless, but if anything goes wrong, we wouldn't know how to deal with it. If it had been just us, it would have been okay, but we are taking care of Ruu now. His safety comes first."
"You are right, Kanata" said Seiya "I am sorry. I didn't think this one through." He turned and bowed in apology to everyone. "Gomen, minna-san."
"It's okay, Seiya-kun" said Miyu, as forgiving as ever "No one got hurt, so no harm done."
"I had better take this away" sighed Seiya as he nudged the smoking lamp with his foot "I think it's broken."
"Ruu-chama's psychic powers are growing" sniffed Wanya.
"Finally!" whispered Miyu "He's asleep."
After all the adventures of the afternoon, Ruu had become quite hyper. He hadn't settled down even after Seiya had left. Wanya, Kanata and Miyu each had tried to get him to sleep, but it was Miyu who had finally succeeded. She quietly slipped out of Ruu's room and gently shut the door. It was past midnight and Wanya had fallen asleep some time ago. Miyu stretched and went to the kitchen to warm some milk for herself before going to bed.
Feeling sleepy after her glass of milk, Miyu walked back down the corridor towards her room. To her surprise, she found Kanata sitting on the porch and star gazing.
"You're still up?" she asked as she sat down beside him.
"Mmm.."murmured Kanata.
"You look better" said Miyu, staring at his profile
"What do you mean?" Kanata said as he lowered his head to look at his housemate.
"You looked so stressed out the past couple of days" explained Miyu "You look peaceful again."
"Huh…" he smiled and looked back up at the stars.
"Ano…Kanata?" said Miyu "What were the wishes you got granted?"
Kanata looked back at her and shook his head "What took you so long to ask me that? I was expecting that to be the first question out of your mouth as soon as you heard about Seirei."
"What's Seirei? That projection-thingy that showed up on the table?" asked Miyu
"Yeah" Kanata replied "Yaboshi said it was the interface for the lamp."
"Oh…" said Miyu thoughtfully.
Kanata went back to star gazing.
"So, your wishes?" reminded Miyu
Kanata sighed and chuckled "You know what my wishes were, Miyu."
"Huh?"
"Think! You saw my first wish, you know about my second one" said Kanata "As for my third…"
But Miyu was frowning in concentration, going over the past three days. (Not an easy task for a scatter-brain like her.)
"That record" she said finally "The one you gave Santa-kun, the one he was so excited about."
"Bingo."
"Then you wished for rice" Miyu continued with a slight blush "My cooking was spectacularly bad that day, wasn't it?"
But Kanata merely smiled at her. She once again turned to face him.
"What about the third wish?"
"It's right in front of you" said Kanata
"But you're in front of me!" Miyu frowned as she looked over him carefully. Kanata was dressed in a pair of blue shorts and a white T-shirt. On his lap rested a sprig of beautiful white orchids. Suddenly, she gasped. "Are those…?"
Kanata picked up the sprig of flowers and held it up. Then, he offered it to Miyu who took them with an awestruck expression on her face.
"They're so beautiful!" she said
"Mmm…beautiful…" said Kanata, but he wasn't looking at the flowers.
Miyu looked up to see a soft expression on his face. For some reason, her heart began to beat faster as they stared at each other.
"Keep it" Kanata said softly "They're for you."
"F-for me?" stammered Miyu
"Here, let me…" Kanata leaned forward and plucked the sprig out of her hand. He raised it to her head, and twisting some of her hair around it, arranged it over her right ear. He let his fingers trail through the soft golden locks. Their gazes locked and Kanata felt his mouth go dry. Heart beating fast, he leaned closer to Miyu slowly, allowing her ample time to back out, if she wished. He raised his other hand to softly trace it along her warm cheek. Miyu's mouth parted on a sigh as Kanata closed the gap between them and covered her lips with his own. His eyes closed of their own accord as he savoured the soft taste of her lips. Miyu leaned into his body and closed her eyes, her hand clutching Kanata's shoulder for support. Their lips melded as they finally accepted the truth that had been in their hearts for a long time. The stars twinkled from the heavens, silent witnesses to innocent love.
Meanwhile, on board the spaceship bound to the planet Sharaku, Seiya was tinkering with his broken lamp. Finally, he held up a small microchip in triumph. "Yes! The memory chip is still intact. Now let's see…" Muttering to himself, he inserted the chip into the ship's mainframe computer and began to type furiously. Accessing the files on the chip, he began to search for the one storing information regarding granted wishes. Reading the data, Seiya couldn't help smiling widely. "There's hope for you yet, Kanata."
THE END (only of this story; Kanata's troubles with his fan girls continue, as does his love for Miyu…)