Chapter 28.

  Book 2 Chapter 2.

  My How the Time Flys.

  May 4th, 2014, Tokyo Japan. Ice-cream parlor.

  Tanya put another spoonful of the delicious treat into her mouth and smiled around the spoon as she pulled it out. Ah! This is the best. A little downtime in between projects was healthy and Visha had been increasingly stressed as her language studies increased and they drew nearer to their deadlines for schooling.

  The last thing she needed though, was for Visha to be over stressed; Tanya had noted an increase in the number of episodes they both had when overly stressed. Interestingly, they also seemed to feed off each other’s nightmares. Whenever Tanya had an episode, shortly after, like clockwork, Visha would have one as well, and vice-versa.

  Tanya felt strange all the sudden.

  Looking down at her ice cream, she suddenly found it unappetizing. She had packed it full of all kinds of treats, from fudge syrup to gummy bears and sprinkles. Something past her would have detested but over the last few months hadn’t bothered her, in fact, she had craved it. Now that craving was gone, as well as the strange sensation of constant hunger she hadn’t noticed was there until after it was gone.

  What was happening to her?

  Patting a hand to her stomach, to check if maybe she was just feeling bloated, Tanya still couldn’t find the answer.

  Then she noticed something she hadn’t paid attention to for months.

  Mana.

  In stunned surprise, Tanya noticed that her manna stores were full. How though, she still couldn’t feel enough mana in the atmosphere to pull into herself or form a proper spell form, so where did it come from?

  Then she thought of her mana theory classes back in Mage College. It was a well-known fact that when constantly using mana mages needed to consume more high calorie foods then other soldiers. But that was because their bodies needed more energy to burn in order to fuel the increased speed and strength of their muscles and bodies, right? It wasn’t that their bodies could convert calories to mana could it, was she just misremembering her training?

  Talking it over with Visha, they concluded that in the other world there had been enough mana in the atmosphere, that their bodies didn’t need to bother with the conversion. Here, however, was a different story.

  No wonder Tanya hadn’t been gaining any weight, even with all the food and supplements she’d been eating. Her doctor had told her not to worry, and that these things take time, but Tanya had seen the concerned look in the woman’s eyes, and the serious way she flipped through all her lab data, searching for an explanation.

  Had all her extra food and calories really just been burned to make more mana to fill her stores? More testing was in order.

  Over the next few days Tanya noticed a major decrease in her appetite. It was so extreme that even her grandma noticed, asking her what was wrong and worrying that she was sick.

  Stepping on the scale one morning, Tanya finally had some conclusive evidence. She had finally gained weight.

  ~

  May 11th, 2014, Tokyo Japan. Kaizaki Residence.

  Tanya leaned her head against the bedroom wall, as she rested in her bed, the same wall shared between her and Visha’s rooms. She didn’t even have to try in order to hear the voices and sounds coming from the other side. Those two idiots, just what was she paying that woman for?

  She noticed immediately when yet again, after another lengthy back and forth discussion ended, the theme song to a popular anime started up shortly after. Then both Visha and her ridiculously expensive tutor, began singing along to the music.

  Leaning her head away from the wall, most of the sound was dampened but she could still hear the annoyingly catchy tune play out, as it tried it’s best to invade her psyche and build up its position there.

  Tanya was of half a mind to barge in and rain on their little showtime parade but reminded herself that tomorrow was Visha’s birthday and stayed her hand. She had not been planning on doing much beyond getting her friend a simple gift and maybe taking her out for dessert. Then her grandma had gotten wind of the event. Now Tanya was being forced to participate in a “surprise party” for her dear old adjutant.

  Oh well, she thought. Maybe the embarrassment and shame of it will be enough to finally get back at her friend for all the outfits she had had to test out over the last few months. She couldn’t wait to see the dumb look on Visha’s face when she came home to see everyone waiting for her. If Tanya were in her shoes, she’d be mortified at the unexpected social obligation.

  ~

  Visha finished up the work sheet she was doing and then proceeded to have a conversation with her teacher about what she had learned, in Japanese. She was so excited, she was finally feeling like she could understand what people were saying to her.

  For a while now she had been able to say what she wanted and get people to understand her, but whenever they responded back, she felt her brain slow as it mentally translated the words from one language to another and the conversation became stilted and slow. And that was if she even understood them at all. Some people spoke so fast and tended to combine or cut off the ends of words, making it very frustrating to understand them.

  “Very good, Serebryakov, your conversational skills are coming along well. Should we take a little break from classroom curriculum and do some cultural studies?”

  “Oh yes please! I’ve been dying to know what happens, poor Risa-chan, she must be heartbroken. And her and Otani are such close friends. How do you come back from a rejection like that, miss Koyanagi?”

  “Visha-chan! How many times do I have to tell you? During cultural studies, feel free to call me by my given name, ok?”

  “Sorry big sis Hanako. It’s hard to transition sometimes, now are you ready?”

  “Ready! Together!”

  “Kimi no koto dou omou ka?...”

  ~

  May 12th, 2014. In A shopping Mall Somewhere in Tokyo Japan.

  “Really Tanya you didn’t have to, I know it’s my birthday but that doesn’t you have to go out of your way to look so cute for the occasion.”

  “We are celebrating your seventeenth birthday, on a shopping outing together and you are wearing that, I would look more out of place if I didn’t dress up to match your standard. Anyway, are you sure you really want to do this?”

  “Yeah, come on it will be fun, Momo says karaoke is the best and I want to try it out with you. It’s a pity she couldn’t join us because of that after school exam.”

  “Exam, yeah, well those exams pop up sometimes, so it can’t be helped.”

  Tanya had hoped that Visha would take it easy on her, but she was out of luck and ended up singing just as much as the other girl.

  As they rode the train back home for dinner, Visha gushed.

  “That was so much fun! We definitely have to do that again sometime and bring along a few others. You have a nice voice by the way, it has a gravelly almost sultry tone when you’re singing, sends shivers up my spine. Maybe we should start an Idol group, we could even wear our old uniforms!”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Tanya tried her best to ignore her ramblings, while repeating to herself over and over.

  She’s the birthday girl, she’s the birthday girl, don’t spoil the mood, it’s her birthday. You’ll get your revenge once you get home. After all Visha was in for one hell of a social obligation, that of being the center of attention throughout the majority of the party.

  They arrived home and Tanya made sure everyone was ready via silent text to Momo, with the phone in her pocket. Allowing Visha to enter first, while she “checked the mail,” Tanya was trailing behind as Visha stepped into the living room and heard the shouted.

  “SURPRISE!”

  Visha let out a squeal of joy and jumped into the air, waving high to everyone who had come.

  It wasn’t long before a round of greetings and hugs followed. Momo was first followed by Grandma and miss Koyanagi. Reimu had to take a 4-hour train ride to get here but she had made it and would be staying the night. A few other acquaintances had sent their well wishes in the form of cards, people that Tanya barely even remembered.

  Far from her expectations Visha seemed to thrive in the environment. Flitting from group to group, talking and smiling with everyone.

  Then came the cake and a few simple gifts. Visha easily blowing out every candle on her first try. The lungs of a high altitude arial mage were not to be trifled with. As the evening wound down, Tanya found herself sandwiched between Visha and Momo as they leaned against Visha’s bed and talked late into the night with Reimu.

  The conversation topics were varied and mostly inane. It seemed that Momo and Reimu were mostly just excited that they could finally talk with Visha and not have to struggle so much to be understood.

  Eventually Tanya was asked a question directly that made her pause before she answered.

  “A trip?”

  “Yeah, my parents are planning on going to Okinawa for summer break and asked if I wanted to invite anyone along. I think they only meant for me to invite one person but if we pool our funds, I’m sure we could get enough for everybody. I’ll just sweet talk my parents into renting a bigger place, or an extra room.”

  “Okinawa? That’s where Hina-chan is from, right?”

  Visha asked, excitedly while slapping her hands to her cheeks and looking directly at the ceiling light. She was probably still high from all the cake, having recently refilled her own mana stores, the sugar was probably affecting her more than usual.

  “Yeah, I messaged her the other day when my parents brought it up. She lives not too far from the resort we will be staying at. We could all meet up and have a sort of reunion. Plus, it’s always good to have a local to show you around.”

  Tanya was seeing the whole scenario beginning to spin out of her control and she knew well the power of momentum. She needed to get ahead of this train before it derailed her whole plan for the summer.

  “Well, I don’t know if that will be possible, it sounds fun, but Visha and I will need to be studying for entrance exams. If we want to transfer into a school when term starts back up in August, we need to be prepared ahead of time. So…”

  “What if I pass all my mock exams with adequate results, could we go then? I promise to work extra hard to be able to earn this reward!”

  All three of her roommates looked at her with eyes filled with hope and pleading. Visha’s eyes in particular, had a wide watery look to them, highlighted by her rosy colored cheeks.

  Stunned, Tanya was forced to acquiesce to their shared demands, lest she end up with a mutiny on her hands.

  “I suppose that would be fair, as a reward for your hard work.”

  Looking over into Visha’s eyes, it was in that moment, Tanya knew, she’d fucked up. Her best friend cast a smug look her way that came through loud and clear.

  GOTCHA BITCH!

  Tanya somehow knew that she wouldn’t even need to bother checking Visha’s mock exam scores, she would pass. And Tanya had foolishly agreed to the deal without including her own scores as a prerequisite for the reward, so she couldn’t even prevent the trip by sabotaging herself.

  Maybe she was making a big fuss out of nothing though. It was still a trip to a tropical resort. It should be nice, relaxing even. How bad could vacationing with three maybe four teenage girls end up being?

  ~

  The next morning as Momo left and Reimu’s parents came over from the hotel they had stayed the night at and got a chance to talk about the trip. Far from Tanya’s hopes and expectations, her parents seemed to think it was a great idea. Tanya’s grandmother even added fuel to the fire, the old hag. So now, her grandparents would be going too, paying for Momo, Visha and her.

  Tanya heard the adults whispering among themselves about their concerns. Reimu’s parents brought up her struggle with socializing and how this was the first time they had seen her excited to leave the house. While Tanya’s grandparents brought up her and Visha’s trouble sleeping. Both groups expressed that they hoped this trip would be therapeutic for the girls. Great, now she was even more locked in.

  ~

  May 27th, 2014, Tokyo Japan. Kaizaki Residence.

  “Visha… Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Positive, I’ve done my research on how to do it, and I’ve waited long enough, I’m seventeen, plenty of girls back home have already given birth at my age. I feel like I’m ready now.”

  “What if grandma finds out, you know how old fashioned she can be sometimes.”

  “She’ll understand, she was a gangster remember? Even if she didn’t, I’m sure plenty of other girls in her gang did this too. It was an all-girl gang, remember? Statistically there had to be a few members who were a little more daring and adventurous for the time period. Besides, it’s a lot more common now, she’s probably been expecting it. Now do it!”

  “Are you sure, I mean really, here? In your room? With me? Are you sure you don’t want someone with a little experience to do it to you?”

  “It’s fine and it’s better if it’s you, I trust you, and this way we’ll always have a memory of it. This is one of those things a girl remembers her whole life.”

  “I’m just a little nervous, what if there’s blood?”

  “Tanya, really? As if a little blood would bother either of us…But… Do…do you think it will hurt?”

  “I…I don’t know, maybe a little. They say it hurts when it first goes in but after that, you’re supposed to leave it in there until your body gets used to it, and then you can pull it out and put a different one in if you want to try something else.”

  “Ok, I’m ready.”

  Leaning in, Tanya held the device in her hand and was moving it into place when she paused and asked one last time to make sure Visha was positive she wanted this. Feeling Visha’s nervous breath on her neck as she spoke.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Just put it in already! Or do you just not want to do it?”

  “No, I’ll do it.”

  Tanya sighed and forcibly stopped her hands from trembling, she would need to be steady if she was going to get this right, while causing minimal pain to her best friend. Lining everything up Tanya committed and pushed in, activating the device.

  ~

  Visha stood in front of the mirror admiring her first pair of earrings. They were simple studs with a fake diamond, but the silver was real. Tanya had insisted she didn’t want to deal with an infection and so had sprung for a higher purity metal.

  It had been a real hassle convincing her friend to get the self-applied, at home kit, but Visha didn’t see the point of paying for a professional when she could just heal anything that went wrong. Plus, what could possibly have gone wrong with her beloved commander taking charge of the, “operation.”

  Visha hadn’t even tried convincing Tanya to get her own ears pierced, she knew well enough that that would never happen, no matter how cute it would look.

  ~

  June 4th, 2014, Tokyo Japan. Kaizaki Residence.

  Ever since her party, Visha had been turning her usual 8–10 hours a day of studying into 12-14 hours a day. She really wanted to go on that trip, but she knew she would have to work for it. She was currently on the brink of pulling her hair out though. Why did this written language have to be so complex? Who has three systems for writing, why! She wailed.

  Hearing her door slide open Visha didn’t even bother looking up as her tutor entered the room. Taking the opportunity to air her complaints for the millionth time, she whined.

  “Why is writing so difficult, you guys are sadists for making kids learn this.”

  “No more complaining, I have an exercise that I think you might like, and it might help you with your writing. Here.”

  Taking the stack of pages, Visha saw that it was a printout of a visual story. Like the manga her teacher liked to sneakily pull out and read while Visha was working through an assignment. Only this story just had the pictures, the dialogue boxes were blank, with no words written in them.

  “Here Serebryakov, try writing out the story that you see play out on the pages. Fill in the dialogue boxes as naturally as you can and practice using language that people actually use, rather than only the stuff from the workbooks.”

  Visha got started and struggled for a bit at first but soon found herself feeling excited to be creating the words of the story. She soon found herself looking up different phrases and their ulterior meanings. The next thing she knew, hours had passed, and she was done for the day.

  “Very good student, you seemed to enjoy that exercise quite a bit. Well, that’s it for the day, I’ll print out some more for you to work on next week. Unfortunately, you can’t work on those every day, you still need to practice conjugation and verb usage.”

  Visha smiled and nodded her head, after finally finding a way to actually enjoy this part of her study sessions.

  “Since we are done for the day, does that mean we can start a new show—I mean cultural research?”

  “Oh ho ho, Visha-chan you know me so well, now have you ever heard of a show called Spice and Wolf? It’s one I think even your Tanya would enjoy…”

  ~

  June 8th, 2014, Tokyo Japan. Kaizaki Residence.

  Visha wasn’t the only one who had been working hard since the birthday promise. Tanya too, had been working frantically to get her friend’s temporary residency card upgraded so that she would be permitted to travel to other prefectures.

  She also had a confidential side project that she was secretly working on.

  Ever since she had topped out on mana, Tanya’s body had been going through some… changes. She had been gaining both height and weight at an astounding rate. It felt like her legs and shins were constantly in pain these days and on her visits to the doctors she had to deal with their surprise as well.

  Her pediatrician was genuinely astounded by her rate of growth. The best her doctor could do to explain the phenomenon, was theorize that her body had stored up what nutrients it needed and was now trying to rapidly get back on track, triggering a massive growth spirt.

  Tanya had her own theories, however. Now that her body was not pushing everything into refilling her mana stores, the reverse was happening and any excess mana she did produce was being used to build up and recover her body.

  Tanya was very pleased with most of the results, if only it didn’t ache so much, and come with other, downsides.

  And thus, she noticed the need for her secret project. Her clothes were starting to get to the point where they no longer fit her. Every day was one step closer to the day when the only clothes she had left that would fit would be those dresses and skirts her grandma had bought for her. Once in a while was no big deal, but she didn’t like the looks she got when she went out in public in them.

  So, ever so slowly she had been adding to her wardrobe. However, there was a new problem. This Godforsaken trip.

  Tanya just knew that somehow, this was going to end up being a beach episode. And there was no way she was going to be sucked into some cliché, real life filler episode situation. Where Visha and Momo got to pick out her swimsuit in some convoluted and terribly embarrassing way.

  NO! No, Tanya was already preparing ahead of time for that little pitfall that she just knew Visha was already digging for her. She had done some research and already knew what type of swimwear she would be using. Though the research in itself had been its own form of trial, but Tanya refused to think about that any longer.

  She had gone with a nice pair of knee length shorts and a long-sleeved top. She didn’t want her arms to burn, after all. U.V. rays were known to cause skin cancer, and she didn’t like the idea of missing parts of her back she couldn’t reach with sunscreen.

  Yes, her choice was perfectly logical and had nothing to do with her lack of desire to walk around with that much bare skin showing. She had even gotten a pair of shorts with a “cute” frill around the waist to satisfy her grandmothers sensibilities.

  Yes, she had prepared everything ahead of time and had everything she needed.

  ~