"So you're really engaged?" one of Mori's guests asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
"Ah," he nodded.
"What about the Host Club?" another guest asked, her eyes wide and panicked.
"I would never ask Takashi to leave the Host Club" Thorne said softly.
"Even Megan doesn't complain," Amber piped up, "and she's more the jealous type than Thorne. Not to mention Tamaki's a huge flirt, and Mori's not."
"Well that's a relief," the girl sighed. "I don't know what I'd do with my time if he suddenly wasn't here!"
"We are graduating, though," Amber pointed out.
"But we'll have time to think about what to do."
"That's true!" She giggled.
"Thorne!"
Kirin ran into the room, making a beeline for her eldest sister.
"Thorne, I need your help!" She grabbed Thorne's sleeve, a panicked expression on her face.
"What's wrong, Kirin?"
"I don't know how to do this!" She held her physics textbook out for Thorne to see.
"Did you ask Umehito?"
"Ume didn't know either! What do I do?!" She wailed.
"Calm down," Thorne sighed. "Let me see the book."
Kirin handed the book to her, kneeling down on the floor beside her. She waited anxiously while Thorne read the problem.
"You have to use FATAP," she said after a moment.
"FATAP?" Kirin blinked. "But I only know the displacement in the Y and that 55kg land in the truck every second."
"What's the equation for delta-p?" She asked.
"Mv-final minus mv-initial."
"What's mv-final?"
"It's at rest at that point, so zero."
"And what are the derivatives of kg/second?"
"Umm... Delta-m over delta-t?"
"And what do you get when you divide FATAP by delta-t"
"F equals mv-initial...over delta-t!"
"Yep!"
"So F equals -55 kg times v-initial over delta-t, if I call up positive."
"Yep," Thorne nodded. "And then you have to find the velocity using ME-one equals ME-two."
"ME-one is just PE, and ME-two is just KE... Mgh equals 1/2mv^2... The masses cancel out... So v equals the square root of 2*g*h... The height is 2m and g is 9.8m/s^2... So v equals 6.26m/s."
"Right. Now input that into your derived FATAP."
"-55kg/second times 6.26meters/second... -344 Newtons."
"Yep!"
"Thorne, you're a lifesaver!" Kirin hugged Thorne ecstatically. "Thank you!"
"Any time," Thorne laughed softly.
Kirin smacked a kiss onto Thorne's cheek and ran off. She burst into the Black Magic Club Room. Umehito was sitting on a table.
"I got it!" She squealed. "Thorne helped me! It's so much easier than we were making it out to be!"
"That's good," he smiled, pulling her into his arms. "Reiko just texted me saying she's on her way, so we'll have to work on it after club."
"'Kay," she climbed up onto the table and crawled into his lap.
The door opened a few minutes later, and Reiko came in.
"All right, here's the mugwort infusion," Reiko said, handing Kirin a flask. "Do you know the incantation?"
"Yes," Kirin nodded. "I memorized it last night."
"Ok, good. Then lets set up the candles and the crystal pyramid."
Umehito had chosen a simple third eye opening spell for her first spell, to be done 3 days before the full moon.
Umehito pulled a crystal pyramid from a shelf and set it on the floor. Reiko pulled 13 purple candles from her bag and set them up around the pyramid. Kirin sat down in the center, facing the pyramid. Umehito handed Kirin a lighter. He and Reiko sat off to the side while she Kirin lit the candles.
"Asariel, Archangel of Neptune and ruler of clairvoyance, open my third eye and show me the hidden light. Let me perceive the kingdoms of the unknown. Let me understand the wisdom of the universe."
Kirin chanted the mantra three times, gazing into the crystal pyramid. She slowed her breathing, relaxed her mind, and tried to focus on opening her third eye.
She felt her mind clear. Her nerves tingled and her senses heightened. It started out subtle, grew to an intense roar, and simmered down until it was nothing but a vague feeling of hyper-focus.
She blew out the candles, stood, and stepped out of the circle.
"Good job, Kirin," Umehito kissed her cheek.
She grinned up at him.
"Yeah, good job, Kir," Reiko smiled as she started to pick up the candles.
"Thanks for your help, Reiko," Kirin said, helping pick up. They set the candles on a shelf to cool, while Umehito returned the pyramid to its shelf.
"Any time. I'll see you tomorrow."
"'Kay!" Kirin hugged her goodbye.
"See ya, President," Reiko waved, leaving.
"So, does this mean I can do spells and rituals with the club?" Kirin asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and grinning cheekily up at him.
"Yes," he chuckled.
"Yay!" She squealed, bouncing up and down.
He leaned down and kissed her. It started soft, but quickly intensified. In minutes they were on the floor beneath his cloak, half-undressed and devouring each other.