Celebrity Love Adventure

Episode 3

Encounter of the Magic Breaker

~May 27, 2029~

After a few weeks at staying with Runa in Ikebukuro, Nanaka was in her temporary bedroom, reading at her desk. She wore a shiny strapless orange dress, which had a thick black ribbon and bow around her waist, and the dress itself reached close to her knees. She also had on a pair of fluffy blue house slippers, and flipped through the pages of the book she was reading. She was used to the empty comfort of staying with just her sister-in-law; Ayumu and the Kujo couple had yet to make their return to Japan, but both Nanaka and Runa still missed them. The city itself was quiet, but there were magicians who would come to Café Darling and spend time on the first floor. Eri would also check on Nanaka and hang out during most of the days that had passed by. For Nanaka, it was sort of too bad she was exempt from school for the rest of the month, but knowing how Takuji felt towards teaching Human Studies, it was more fortunate for the latter to have another watchful eye on the lectures. However, Nanaka had actually studied during her long break from school about the world she was in. It would still be much to Takuji's chagrin to know how she was spending her time.

She glanced at the photo that was all the way to the back of the left edge of the desk. It had Ayumu on the left (he was actually on the right from when the photo was taken); he had brilliant rose hair with his bangs swaying more to his right side, French rose eyes, and his closed smile was full of life. He wore a dark brown medium-sleeve plain thin jacket, a white T-shirt, and tan pants. Another girl to his left, who had long dogwood rose hair flowing down to her knees, and fuchsia rose eyes, was wearing a true blue plain sundress with a horizontal lining in front above her chest, and the dress also had thick straps. Nanaka was on the girl's left, wearing an unmellow yellow collarless tee with sleeves that nearly reached her elbows, just a few inches above them, which also covered her waist; and she wore a middle blue green flared skirt that reached above her knees. Rui was on her left and had worn a mulberry cardigan over a light moss green blouse with long sleeves cut inches from her wrists. She also had on a deep peach pair of medium-length shorts covering her thighs. The photo was from a few years ago, so the four of them were younger: Ayumu and Rui weren't even in high school at the time, but they were older than the two younger girls.

The day seemed to be a bit slower for Nanaka as she sat on the mahogany chair, staring at the photo. Ayumu had not come back to the country; neither did Taiga and Nao. However long they would be away from Japan would take a while, but how much help did this world need from them? Surely, café baristas and employees in general weren't likely to be away for several days—a few weeks—from their "headquarters." Café Darling only had Runa and Nanaka to help out, sometimes Eri had to be there with them to work, but it was nonetheless the place Taiga and Nao Kujo started their new life in [as a married couple]. Runa, on the other hand, had to be born in Neon because all magicians would die if born in the Human World.

Yet, these were facts all magicians knew. Their Books of Neon were constantly updated, after all.

Sitting there, Nanaka felt a slight urge to have a change of pace.1 She was used to Ikebukuro as it currently was; it was a few seconds later that she stood up from the chair and pushed it in with her right hand, while the book was left open. Soon, she walked out of the matching mahogany door to her bedroom, strolled toward the flight of hickory stairs straight across the hall, and stepped down. There was a circular staircase with golden railings that led to the six floors of the building so anyone travelling up or down the steps wouldn't have to zigzag from going up different staircases and walking in the opposite direction of the hallways of every floor to get to the staircases. Oddly enough, Taiga had acquired a fancy to not having an elevator—or, multiple elevators—built into the café for privacy matters since it was also a home. Talk about being somewhat playful but protective of one's wife and only daughter, along with other known guests.