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Among Mizusaki Tsubame’s many advantages over other anime fans, there was one that seemed pretty innocuous: the sheer size of her house allowed her to speak fairly loudly in her room without being heard elsewhere.
It was among the main things that helped her indulge in one fantasy: trying to do a Hadouken every night before bed.
Every night she would fail and feel disappointed for it, of course; reality was reality, fiction was fiction. And yet, she kept doing it, whether to please her inner child or out of habit, or even out of a sincere, silly belief she hid from herself that, one day, if she moved just right, if the stars were aligned, she just might…
Tsubame knew the pose by heart, by now; it was second nature for her to do it. There were no such things as ki blasts, of course, but she had the motion down pat. She looked at the open window of her large bedroom; she would always open it before attempting the move.
Just in case.
Pose. Focus. Imagine the blast as you move. Pull your arms back. Join them, hands open at an angle. Push.
Fire.
– Hadouken!
This time, mid-motion, she knew there was something different.
Her room lit up behind her. Then in front of her.
A glowing ball of what she could only imagine was ki fired out of her hands and into the night.
It was all dark again, except, of course, for the glowing orb of light that kept on traveling, further and further away, until it disappeared into the clouds.
Tsubame fell on the floor, sitting, out of sheer shock.
– Wh… wh… wh…
Luckily enough for her, her parents were away on a trip for work. Otherwise, they would have to wonder why their daughter was still sitting on the same spot, in the morning, with her eyes wide open, the haunted eyes of someone whose entire reality just changed, trying to wrap her mind around all ramifications of it, for her and for the world, all the while the back of her mind repeated, over and over again, the words Be careful what you wish for…
*
Even with the furniture Tsubame had brought to it, the semi-refurbished space that was the Motion Picture Club was in very stark contrast to the model/idol’s spacious bedroom and her luxurious house. However, as Tsubame entered the club, she could not care less about that contrast; she did not mind it and her mind was otherwise occupied, after all. Sayaka Kanamori was the first one to raise her eyes from a few spreadsheets she had been examining, as Asakusa was a bit too engrossed with a spaceship she had been drawing to hear the door opening.
– Why, hello, Miss Mizusaki – said Kanamori. She then paused, looking at Mizusaki’s harrowed face. And her usual grimace changed into a look of admittedly mild concern. – Is something the matter?
That got Asakusa’s attention, as she dropped what she was doing and looked at her friend.
– What’s goin’ on, Mizusaki? – she asked, more clearly concerned.
Tsubame sat on the couch, trying to think of how and where to start.
– E-every night, before I go to bed… – she began. – N-no. I… Y-you wouldn’t believe it.
– Try me – said Kanamori. – We are friends. Whatever the claim is, surely you can at least expect me to consider it. If it makes things remotely easier, you can attempt to prove the claim even before making it. A picture is worth a thousand words, Miss Mizusaki…
Tsubame nodded and climbed up to somewhere with enough room a direct path to an open window.
– L-look… – she said. – I-I don’t know if this will work. I’ve seen a lot of anime where trying to prove it fizzles and…
– Make the attempt, Miss Mizusaki, whatever it is – said Kanamori – If you fail, make the claim and then I’ll decide if I believe it. What will not do is for you to keep acting shifty and harried…
Tsubame nodded.
Pose. Focus. Imagine the blast as you move. Pull your arms back. Join them, hands open at an angle. Push.
Fire.
– Hadouken!
A glowing ball of ki shot out of Tsubame’s hands and into the crisp air outside.
– Wha… Wha… The government! – shouted Asakusa. – Aliens! Aliens must have given… We need to keep this under wraps! No one can know, or else the government would…
Kanamori slammed her fist on a desk, loudly enough to interrupt Asakusa’s panicked train of thought.
– Listen carefully, Miss Asakusa – she said. – We need to analyze this and think things through. We do not know if there are aliens involved. We can, however, be fairly certain that the government would never kidnap a famous idol and model on account of her having this sort of power, even if we fail to keep this under wraps, which is actually less effort than you might imagine. Japan is not, in fact, a banana republic. Miss Mizusaki is distraught enough as it is. I would strongly recommend against agitating her further. Do you understand me?
Asakusa nodded. She knew exactly how Kanamori could be when she got serious.
– As for you, Miss Mizusaki, first of all, know that you have our support – said Kanamori. – Second, we need to figure out how and why you obtained this sort of power.
– W-well… – said Tsubame. – I tried so many times…
– That does not explain it, at all – said Kanamori. – Other things that do not explain it: the intensity of your wish; the imitation of the character; the position of the stars; the time of the day; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
– Then what do we have to go on? – asked Tsubame.
– Nothing – said Kanamori, sighing, as she let herself fall on the couch. – Absolutely nothing. Yet.
– So what do we do, Kanamori?! – asked Asakusa.
– We learn more, we think and we research – said Kanamori. And then she smiled. –And now that you managed to get your bearings on the issue, Miss Mizusaki, it might be a good idea to appreciate the fact that, well, indeed, your wish did come true. Correct? “Every night, before I go to bed, I try to do a Hadouken”, you said, that day we were discussing things with the Robot Club. And now, by my count, you did two already. Surely the fact that you now have the powers you dreamt of merits your examination as well?
Tsubame absorbed, albeit slowly, the words Kanamori had said.
And then smiled widely.
– I did a Hadouken! – She shouted, in utter glee, the child within her happier than she’d ever been; happier than she’d ever thought possible. – I did a Hadouken!
Kanamori disliked too-overt displays of emotion, but she had taken the context into account and decided that this one was much better than the alternative.
Tsubame hugged Asakusa, who, for all her discomfort around other people, hugged her friend back; she knew she needed the support.
Tsubame had no idea what would happen next, but everything would be okay.
She had done a Hadouken, after all…