Chapter Text
“I’m Kusanagi Nene, a second-year student at the Phoenix Academy.”
”I know!” the girl exclaimed. “Professor Seiryuin said. I’m Ootori Emu!”
”I know,” Nene sighed.
They were walking across the courtyard after leaving the professor’s office.
”What brings you to the Academy in the middle of the term?” Nene asked.
”I came to learn about magic, of course! It’s a magic school, right? Why else would I come?”
”Okay…” Nene said. “You’ve technically answered the question but you’ve entirely missed the point.”
”Maybe you have the wrong point, Nene,” Emu said.
Nene gritted her teeth to avoid saying something she’d regret. “I don’t think I’m the problem here,” she said.
Emu gasped. “Wait, do you think I’m a problem?”
She looked so pathetically sad at the thought that Nene couldn’t help but feel bad she had said it.
”No,” Nene said. “You’re not a problem, necessarily. I just don’t have a lot of extra time, and you’re going to take my time up.”
”Oh,” Emu said. “What takes up all the rest of your time?”
”Research. It’s vitally important that I find a certain spell.”
”What kind of spell?”
”I’m not going to tell you that,” Nene said. “I don’t even know you.”
Emu frowned. “Okay,” she said. “But maybe I could help.”
”I don’t think so,” Nene said. “It’s pretty personal.”
”Okay…” Emu said. “But I’m pretty good at magic, you know.”
”Is that right?” Nene said.
”Yes! When I need to get something done, I just whoosh bang kaboom! And then it’s fixed!”
Nene stared at her. “Did you just say ‘whoosh bang kaboom’?”
”Exactly!” Emu said excitedly, grabbing Nene’s hands. “You can tell me what’s wrong, I’ll help you!!”
”Right… Let me just think about that, okay? I’m pretty sure it’s a spell that requires speaking coherently.”
Emu frowned again. “I was speaking coherently! You know how magic goes.”
”I’m pretty certain it doesn’t go ‘whoosh bang kaboom’,” Nene said drily.
“Maybe you just haven’t seen that kind of magic,” Emu said, putting her hand on her chin as if she was thinking hard.
Nene tried her best to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling without audibly sighing.
“Maybe I haven’t,” she said.
”I’ll show you then!!” Emu said. She grabbed Nene’s hand again and began to run across the courtyard.