Tenth Spell: The M Line
Scratching his chin, Higa waved his hand around the bathhouse. "Let's think of the mist in the air as the vegetable. How much strength would you need to cut it?"
"A lot, since there's a ton of mist around," Haru guessed.
"Wrong! You don't need a lot, because the mist itself doesn't weigh very much. So therefore, not much concentration is required to metaphorically cut it. Also it helps to know the difference between Charms, Spells, Hexes, and Curses."
Haru's eyes widened. "There's a difference?"
"Of course there is. While Charms cause minor positive effects on the environment, Spells have stronger positive effects. By contrast, Hexes create minor negative effects and Curses cause strong negative effects within the environment. So the spell's intention for good or evil is another factor to consider apart from its strength and effect."
Thinking back to Warumo, Haru wondered, "Do you know what spell Warumo-Uragi used to blow up my house?"
"Not exactly. But if I had to guess, it was probably the Inferno Curse Jigohibào which creates a large uncontrollable fire."
As Haru pictured his adopted parents burning alive, his teeth clenched.
"I'm sorry I said that," Higa apologized.
"No, it just means I wasn't strong enough to protect them…or Daichi," Haru murmured. "I need to get better, and quickly so Daichi doesn't meet the same fate as our parents."
So Haru got out of the heated bath, rinsed himself in cold water, and dried off before picking up his wand which he had been carrying on him at all times. He aimed it at the mist within the bathhouse and muttered, "Moyayí!"
In an instant, the mist drew back like curtains on a stage creating a path between Haru and Higa. While most of the guys in the bathhouse seemed mildly interested, one guy pointed out that wands couldn't be used in public bathhouses. So Higa apologized on Haru's behalf and the two went back to their room.
Early the next morning, Higa helped pack the extra clothes he bought for Haru to wear on weekends apart from the school robes along with his school supplies. They used the same magic stone to leave Tateroji and wound up back at the Tamaneko teahouse. Not staying long, the two made their way to the Kyoto Station where fast trains came and went every hour.
"You'll have to take it from here," Higa said to Haru once they reached the station. "I have to bring Dōmeki-Sama her…you-know-what. But here's your ticket, which just came in the mail yesterday from Mahoutokoro."
Higa then gave Haru a paper card, which had 'M Line' and 'Platform 13 1/4' printed on it. Before Haru could ask Higa what either of these things meant, he was gone in an instant. So Haru was forced to enter Kyoto Station by himself, and when he came up to the ticket reader he expected the card to not work.
To his surprise, it not only worked but the environment suddenly changed. Now instead of being packed with people wearing face masks and modern clothes, the station was now occupied by half as many people who wore traditional robes or older styles of clothing. Confused, Haru carried his luggage around till he found a map. Yet there were small figures constantly moving around the map making it hard for Haru to figure out where he was in relation to the platform he needed to go.
"Can I help you?" said a female voice that was accompanied by a pair of eyes and a mouth appearing on the map.
"Ah!" Haru exclaimed. "What are you?"
"I'm Chizu-Seirei, but you can call me Chi-Chan!" said the female voice from the map. "Where would you like to go?"
"Um, I'm looking for…Platform 13 1/4."
The map zoomed in closer to view like a magnifying glass, showing where Haru stood as a dotted line appeared between him and a platform that was several hundred feet away.
"Platform 13 1/4 is to your left, past the subway gate, and up the stairs to your right," Chi-Chan said. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Smiling, the face said, "Thank you! Have a pleasant day!"
While the face vanished on the map, Haru immediately walked away. He tried to follow the instructions, but he missed the stairs he was supposed to go up and ended up in a shopping center within the station by mistake. As he tried to get his bearings, he noticed a large family heading way back the way he came that was led by a sharply-featured woman with short chestnut-brown hair. Following at her heels were four girls and a young boy with similar-colored hair who all doubled their pace to keep up with her.
Out of curiosity, he followed them. As a single unit, they ascended the stairs he missed. He was relieved when he saw a sign at the top of the stairs that said, 'Platform 13 1/4'.
Looking around, Haru saw the biggest bullet train he had ever seen pulling into the station. But unlike modern bullet trains, it was more ornamental with the front shaped like a dragon's head and metallic red-yellow scales along the main body. The windows were circular with glass that shimmered like pearls, and the brakes above the wheels resembled claws. At the very back, the train narrowed to a tail-like point as the frilly end was glowing a bright orange.
"We made it," the woman with the short chestnut hair said out loud before glaring down at her children. "If we had been a moment late, you would've missed orientation!"
"I'm sorry, Momma!" said one of the girls who had medium-length chestnut hair.
"Yeah, it was Rui's fault we almost missed the train!" interjected one of the older girls, who had long chestnut hair tied into a ponytail.
"Totally!" agreed a third girl, who looked exactly like the one with the long chestnut hair.
"Enough, you two!" shouted the oldest of the girls, whose hair was cut so short that she almost looked like a guy. "Now let's get on the M Line already!"
To be continued…
