Positive Mana

Chapter 1: The Quiet Kid

Maho Yurei.  She was the written definition of a social outcast.  She never smiled, never cried, never showed any trace of feelings.  The only times any part of her face moved was to blink or to speak, only when necessary, in a monotone voice.

She even sat in the back corner of your university classroom, silently noting everything the teacher said.  You assumed.  No one ever actually got a single glimpse of her notes, though everyone was pretty convinced they were just class notes, since she got every answer to every question correct.

Even when it was break time, or when anyone had a conversation, she would be writing something down.  Most people just avoided her, but not you.

"Hey, Yurei, can you please explain this to me again?"  You caught up with her in the hallway after class had ended.  She opened to a page in her notebook, and scribbled something down.  She tore the page and handed it to you.

It was a perfect explanation on the exact thing you needed help with.  "Yes but, how does this part work?" And she was left with no choice but to speak. 

In the end, you managed to understand.  "Hey, let me buy you a coffee to thank you!"  Maho Yurei seemed to think for the first time ever, then accepted.

You talked about some random tv show while you walked with her, and she nodded, taking notes on your expression and the tone of your voice.  "You wanna watch it too? Is that why you're writing it down?"

She still stopped to think, "yes, I suppose I am."

You never really saw Maho eat or drink, but then again she didn't seem like the type of person who would eat or drink something because she found it tasty. Rather she would eat or drink to survive.

Because of this, you gladly admired her features while she sipped a hot coffee.  You didn't really expect a girl like Maho to be the type of person with blue hair, but her cold green eyes matched her pretty well.  Even a straight girl had to admit she was gorgeous.

After more small talk, you both started to make your way to the dorms at your university.  "Did you have fun, Yurei?"  You asked as you were about to leave her at her room and head to your own.

She felt a tug at her lips, was this 'happy'? "Yes, let's do it again."  You were pretty pleased with yourself.  You made the girl who never made any facial expression smile.  You smiled right back before saying goodbye and going to your room.

Maho closed the door, trying to stay composed. What was this? She felt her heart beating more than it should be, and her face was growing hot. Was she sick? Was there something in that coffee? Yet something didn't add up.

She clapped her hands together, then twisted the left forward and the right backwards. She slid one hand over the other in a weird ritual.

She started to chant and soon the odd event came to an end when she opened her hands. She stepped through the tear in this universe, she needed to ask an important question.

She presented todays notes to the creator, who looked through them then turned to her, "what is it."

It was more of a demand. Maho described the events of the day, specifically the hour or two she spent with you. The creator looked through an organised pile of papers. After taking a few out and reading through them, a diagnosis was made.

"I believe that it's 'love'."

This was one of the feelings Maho understood less, yet the creator couldn't be wrong. Maho understood feelings of greed and sadness better, because it only made sense to her that humans put themselves before all else.

What she couldn't understand was why anyone would dedicate themselves to another person for no real reason, and called it love. Yet this was the situation.

"What do I do now?" She asked the creator. Who looked through more papers. "Love can last from mere seconds to a lifetime, it may wear off after a while."

This was the best option? Just wait it out? Either way, if anyone knew anything about it then it was the creator, so this was the best advice.

It had been a few weeks now. You and Maho had been on 5 coffee dates in total now. Not much at all, that summed to less than 10 hours of communication between you both. But it was enough for Maho.

All she could think about now was you. She suggested taking a photo with you, and you happily complied, thinking that she was opening up to you. The reality was, she wanted to look at you for longer.

It was currently 2:46 am on a school night, but Maho had her phone open, the brightness hurting her eyes, but she stared at you. She rarely even blinked, she didn't want to miss a split second blinking when she could be looking at you.

She loved your smile, she had discovered this after watching you in classes. She loved when you listened intently to the teacher, and wrote down what was being said, and she hated when you were upset because you couldn't do something.

After a while, she started to hate when you were smiling at the teachers explanations. Did you like it better than when she explained it to you? Would you stop asking her for help?

She wanted to have you. She wanted you to keep teaching her emotions. Anything in the universe was easy to her, it all followed some type of logic, but feelings were something that never made any sense.

She wanted you, because you taught her how to feel things. She learned to react when her coffee burnt her tongue, and she learned to cry when you're far from her. She learned to laugh when you said something funny, and she learned to be angry when you smiled at anyone else.

The creator was pleased with her progress, since this meant there was a better understanding of feelings and more to improve on in the future creations.

Maho, however, was not pleased at all. She wasn't pleased because you were something she couldn't obtain. After some consideration, Maho came up with a plan.

She smiled widely as she knocked on your door, her smile growing as you opened it. "Hey Yurei, you need anything?"

Your smile was slightly nervous, but Maho, with her own creepy smile, didn't notice it. "Aren't we close enough to be on first name basis?" Her eye twitched, but maybe it was only your imagination.

"Sorry, I didn't know you considered me that close, hah," you were a little uneasy, but Maho couldn't tell.

"So, what's up?" Maho asked to come in, which you hesitantly let her do.

"I want to show you something," Maho clapped her hands together, and started to chant.