Mei was impatient.
She had been waiting for two months but her companion barely did anything about Satoshi. Instead, he ordered Mei to sneakily follow Satoshi and the stupid short man. At first, Mei refused to do so. Why would she watch Satoshi and his boyfriend? Rather than being the observer, she would prefer to be the one whom Satoshi kissed.
But, her companion insisted that she should do as instructed if she wanted Satoshi back. Her attention shouldn’t be on Satoshi. It should be about the boyfriend whose name Mei learn later to be Kazuya. Mei should focus on the way Kazuya talked and walked because it would be useful later on. Even though she didn’t see how it could benefit her, she decided to follow the instruction.
It was hard following them without magic. At first, Mei had suggested using her companion’s crystal ball to watch them. She could do it from the comfort of her house. But, her idea was rejected. She then suggested using a spell to conceal her as she stalked the lovebirds. Once again, it was rejected. Her companion explained that Kazuya would be more alert if they used magic. Apparently, he could sense magic, which means that he could be from the same place as Mei’s companion, wherever that place was. Hmm, so it meant that Kazuya could do magic too. Her companion didn’t say much about Kazuya’s ability but he seemed to imply that Kazuya could be powerful. The love spell that was cast on Satoshi became ineffective because of Kazuya.
As expected, Mei’s heart wasn’t in the task that her companion had set for her. How could she watch Satoshi with another guy when it should be Mei at the receiving end of the treatment? How did this insolent short guy who appeared out of nowhere take everything that should be hers? It’s obvious, isn’t it? She hated Kazuya. If she could do magic, she would make Kazuya suffer.
Seeing that Mei didn’t take the task seriously, her companion finally explained to her the plan he had for Satoshi and Kazuya. Her companion had been asking Mei to study Kazuya so that she could take his place. The plan sounded absurd to Mei.
“You should just make him disappear,” argued Mei. “Kill him. Once he is gone, cast the love spell on Satoshi again. Satoshi and I can be together after that,”
“It will be risky to do that, Miss,”
“What do you mean?” asked Mei, her voice rising.
The man remained calm despite Mei’s tone. The man was always like that. He would always remain composed, would always know what to do regardless of the situation. However, since Kazuya appeared in their life, he had started to change. And that’s another reason why Mei hated Kazuya. Her companion had started to pay more attention to Kazuya, trying to figure out who Kazuya really was rather than helping Mei with Satoshi.
“Why can’t we do my plan?” demanded Mei when it appeared that her companion wouldn’t make any efforts to explain. If he expected Mei would just obey him, he was wrong. “Why can’t we kill Kazuya and then bewitch Satoshi to love me again?”
And, for the first time, Mei was shocked to see a glimpse of anger in her companion’s eyes. Her companion had always looked at her with admiration. However, since she had been pestering him about Satoshi, he had started to change and Mei knew this was all because of Kazuya.
“What is wrong with my plan?” Asked Mei, trying to sound softer. She needed the man to get Satoshi back. There’s no point trying to make him angry.
The man softened his gaze on her. She smiled, knowing she still had some power over him despite his obsession with Kazuya.
“It won’t work,”
“Why?” Once again, Mei failed to keep her annoyance in check. Thankfully, the man didn’t seem to mind it this time.
“Because I don’t know the true extent of Kazuya’s magic, Miss,”
Mei tilted her head, waiting for her companion’s explanation. Mei had seen Kazuya. He looked ordinary, which made it hard for Mei to believe he was more powerful than the man standing in front of her.
“Do you remember the first time the love spell I cast for Satoshi stopped working?” Asked the man. Mei nodded. Of course, she remembered when it happened. She was supposed to be on a date with Satoshi on that day. But, Satoshi came late for the date and started to treat her differently. He had been ignoring Mei since then. When Mei went to his house two weeks later, she found out her boyfriend had forgotten her because of the stupid Kazuya. Even more humiliating, Satoshi chased her out of the house right in front of the other man.
“Kazuya… As you may have already figured it out, he comes from the same place as me,” The man began explaining. “In our place, he is known as the Child of Light,”
“The Child of Light?” Repeated Mei, frowning. The name sounded so lame to her ears. “What does it mean?”
“Unfortunately, my knowledge about the Child of Light is insufficient,” responded the man. “My people believe it is just a myth, myself included. Furthermore, I was removed from my birthplace before I had a chance to learn more about our ability,”
“So, what kind of special power Kazuya has, being a Child of Light?” Asked Mei, trying to steer the conversation back into Kazuya and his power. Indeed, she was interested to know more about her companion before. But, right now, her only concern was to get Satoshi back. Ergo, knowing Kazuya is more important right now.
“Our people believe that whenever a Child of Light is present, dark magic will not work,” explained the man. “And, as you may or may not know, the love spell that I cast on Satoshi fell under this category,”
Mei stayed silent, pondering over what her companion just told her. The course of action was very clear in her opinion. If Kazuya’s presence was the reason the spell was not working, he should just be eliminated as Mei had previously suggested. But, why wouldn’t her companion do it?
But, Mei knew better than to question him right now. She didn’t want to risk his anger just like she did a few minutes ago.
“I need to confirm something with you again, Miss,” requested the man. “Was Kazuya with Satoshi-san the first time the spell failed you?”
Mei shook her head, certain with her answer. Kazuya may be plain but she would notice if he was there. Furthermore, Satoshi looked distracted at that time, too preoccupied with his thoughts. If Kazuya was with him at that time, Satoshi would only have his eyes on that short man. Urgh, it annoyed her. She hated to see the look on Satoshi’s face when he looked at Kazuya.
“See… here is the problem, Miss… I could only think of two reasons why the spell failed even though Kazuya was not there,” explained her companion. “One… maybe his power could affect people in a wider range than I thought. Let’s say, maybe dark magic would not work if it was cast 1 km or 10 km from Kazuya’s location. So, even if he wasn’t physically there, it would still affect the spell,”
“Okay, that sounds plausible,” agreed Mei. “What about the other one?”
The man didn’t rush to answer. He looked at Mei and she recognized the look on his face. He felt sorry for her.
“Kazuya’s magic has a permanent effect on Satoshi,” said the man, earning a frown from Mei. She didn’t understand what the man meant.
“Permanent effect?”
The man nodded. “As you know, Kazuya is different. The shape of magic around him is so fascinating to look at. The colour is so beautiful around him,”
Mei suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. It was always like this wherever her companion talked about Kazuya. He was too obsessed with the short man.
“And, whenever Kazuya is with Satoshi-san, the colour will be brighter around them as if there is a connection between them,”
“It could be because they are in love,” suggested Mei. She didn’t understand what the man meant by seeing colour and shape. It was something that only a freak like him can see.
At this point, she had already lost her interest in knowing about Kazuya and his magic. If she continued letting her companion explain about it, he would only talk about Kazuya with sparks in his eyes.
“Whatever,” She told the man. She had to be the one to lead this conversation, not wanting to hear another compliment about Kazuya from her companion. “So, if Kazuya’s magic has a permanent effect on Satoshi, your love spell will not work on him again even if we take Kazuya away?”
“I’m afraid so,”
“So, what is your plan to ensure I will get Satoshi?”
“Learn about Kazuya, Miss,” said the man, repeating the thing he had told Mei before. “When you have fully understood him, let me take him and I will cast a spell to change your appearance to be like him. Take his place and be with Satoshi-san,”
“What’s wrong?”
Satoshi’s voice beside her put an end to her reverie. She smiled at the man sitting next to her. It finally happened. She was with Satoshi once again. At first, she was against the idea of being Kazuya. But, with the way Satoshi had treated her during their picnic just now, thinking of her as Kazuya, she didn’t regret it at all. Serves you right, Kazuya. Now Satoshi is hers and she will never let Kazuya come back. Her companion would make sure of that.
“Nothing,” she answered, smiling. An award should be presented to her. She perfectly imitated the way Kazuya acted. Satoshi didn’t suspect that she was not Kazuya at all. “Oh, we’re almost there,”
Mei looked outside the car, noticing that they were not far from Satoshi’s house. After their picnic just now, Satoshi had invited her home. Of course, she would agree. It’s been a while since she was there. And, it wasn’t out of character for her to agree. Kazuya had always spent his time there.
The driver stopped the car in front of Satoshi’s house. Satoshi grabbed her hand as they stepped outside. They held hands as they walked towards the door. He only let her go for a moment to unlock the door.
“I’m not going to let you go home today,” said Satoshi as he pushed the door open. He winked at her, letting her enter the house first. She only smiled, looking forward to what they would be doing tonight. Ah, it’s been a while since the two of them spent a night together.
However, when she stepped into the house, a streak of red light hit her and almost immediately, she fell. She tried to move but to no avail. Her whole body was paralyzed and she felt pain in her head. She looked up, trying to see who had rudely attacked her. Another man was inside Satoshi’s house and she recognized him as an employee at Satoshi’s office, the thick eyebrows guy.
“Satoshi…” She looked around, searching for Satoshi. Her boyfriend hurried towards her, making her happy. She knew the man was worried about her and would punish the thick eyebrows guy for hurting her.
But, what he said next surprised her.
“Where is he?”
“Where is who?”She asked back. He couldn’t be asking about Kazuya, right?
“You know who I’m talking about,” said Satoshi. “Where is my boyfriend?”
She wanted to feign ignorance but it’s impossible to do so under Satoshi’s intense stare.
“What are you talking about?” She tried to laugh, hoping Satoshi was only joking. “I’m your boyfriend,”
“Oh, really?” Satoshi sneered at her. “What’s your name?”
It was a weird thing to ask, she noted. She looked at the thick eyebrow who was staring at her intently.
“Why are you being weird, Satoshi?”
“WHAT’S YOUR NAME?” the man bellowed.
She was taken aback by his loud voice.
“Kaz-Kazuya…” She had no choice but to answer. The man frightened her and she didn’t want to test his patience. “It’s Ninomiya Kazuya,”
Satoshi snorted at her and laughed.
“Who is Kazuya?” said Satoshi, standing up. “My boyfriend’s name… it isn’t Kazuya,”
Mei frowned. She didn’t understand what had just happened.
“It’s Kazunari, not Kazuya,”