It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 6
“Are you deaf?”
Nino was startled when the woman at the door suddenly talked with a loud voice. She wasn’t screaming but her tone seemed to suggest that she wasn’t happy to see him. Damn, Nino was too focused on the dark magic around her. That's why he didn't pay attention to her facial expression.
Thank goodness, Ohno decided to take charge of the situation. The boss walked to the living room, frowning to see the woman.
"Excuse me, miss," said Ohno. "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"
Eh? She wasn't Mei? If she wasn’t Mei, who was she, then?
The woman widened her eyes, shocked to hear what Ohno said. But, the shock was short-lived as she suddenly burst into laughter. Both Nino and Ohno looked at each other, confused to see her reaction.
“You are so funny, honey,” said the woman, still laughing. She approached Ohno with her hands extending for a hug. However, when she was getting closer, Ohno pushed her away.
“Satoshi, what’s wrong with you?” said the woman, raising her voice. “Why are you treating me like this? Are you still mad at me for sulking the other day? It’s your fault, remember? You were late for our date. And, when we went out, you ignored me. So, why are you mad at me?”
“I think you are crazy,” responded Ohno, trying to hide his anger. Looking at Ohno right now, it reminded Nino of how the boss was when they first met. Now, the boss was still childish but he was easier to deal with, making Nino wonder if it had anything to do with the magic around the woman. “I don’t know who you are. Why do you want to hug me?”
“Satoshi, this is not funny, okay. So, stop joking,” said the woman. “I am Mei, your girlfriend,”
Oh, so she is Mei, thought Nino. But, what happened? Why didn’t Ohno recognize her?
"I don't have a girlfriend. I don't even like women. I am gay, okay?"
"What?"
"You better go now, miss. If not, I will call the security to take you away,"
"But…"
"NOW!"
The woman was too frightened to say anything when Ohno yelled. So, with a confused look on her face, she turned around and walked towards the door.
“Wait,” Ohno stopped her. Hearing that, she looked at them once again. Her expression brightened.
“Satoshi honey…” She said, sounding like a spoilt brat. It was irritating to hear. But, why did Ohno stop her? Did he finally remember who she was?
“I know you are just joking,” Mei continued. “You just want to tease me, right? Let’s chase this man out and then we can…”
“What are you talking about?” snapped Ohno. “Nothing is going to happen between us. You are still going to leave,”
“Then, why do you stop me?”
“I want my house key,” said Ohno. He took a large step to get to her before snatching the key in her hand. “How did you get my key? Did you steal it?”
“No! You gave it to me, remember?” She said. “What’s wrong with you, Satoshi? Why are you treating me like this?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation. I don’t know who you are. So, now, go,” chided Ohno, pointing at the door. Mei stomped her feet and refused to leave. She was so childish. No wonder, everyone in the office dislikes her. However, seeing the fierce look on Ohno’s face when she did that, she changed her mind and left the house as ordered by Ohno. Before she left, she cast a look at Nino’s direction as if blaming Nino for what happened.
“I don’t feel well,” Announced Ohno as he closed the door. “I think my head is going to explode,”
The man almost stumbled to his feet so Nino quickly approached him. He put Ohno's hand around his shoulder to help. Fortunately, the man didn’t refuse help and allow Nino to lead him to the couch.
“You should rest,” advised Nino. Then, he looked at the kitchen, thinking of what he could do to soothe Ohno’s pain. The way Ohno was shutting his eyes tightly and rubbing his head suggested that the man must be in a lot of pain. Did it come from Mei?
"Do you mind if I use your kitchen to make a cup of tea?" Asked Nino.
Ohno didn't answer. A nod was the only thing he could do at the moment. So, without hesitating, Nino quickly moved to the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea for his boss. Once he was done, he added a healing spell into the tea, hoping it would help Ohno feel better.
"Here you go, Ohno-san,"
Ohno couldn't even afford to say his thanks. He weakly took the cup from Nino, hands shivering as he did so. Seeing that, Nino quickly took it from his boss, afraid that the hot tea would spill.
"Ohno-san," Nino said softly. Of course, he could cure the pain that Ohno felt. But, by doing so, it would expose his true nature and Jun would not be happy if he knew about it. Not to mention, Ohno might freak out. Still, he couldn't let Ohno like this. He had to help the boss. "Hmm… would you let me cure you?"
A grunt was what he got as a response. Nino took it as a yes. He put his hand on Ohno's head and then started chanting the healing spell that he learnt from school. It was the same spell that he put in the tea. When Ohno's face started to relax, he took his hand away. The spell worked. That was a relief. But…
"What is that?" Said Ohno, sounding confused. "What did you do to me? How did you make the pain disappear? What are you?"
Nino fidgetted on his seat, not sure how to answer. He knew this would happen. He was prepared to see Ohno freak out because of it. Still… he had no idea on how to answer those questions.
"I don't mean you harm," he said. That's the only thing he could think of. "I know it's weird but…"
"What are you, Kazunari?" Asked the boss. He sounded amused and genuinely curious to know about Nino. “Are you like Harry Potter?”
“Harry Potter?” What is that? Had he heard the name before?
Seeing his reaction, Ohno chuckled and then lightly pinched his nose. There was something intimate about the way Ohno touched him and frankly, he loved it.
“You are not from around here, right, Kazunari?”
Nino gulped as he tried to maintain his neutral expression. He didn’t know what to say about that. Jun would be super furious if he talked more than necessary.
“So, you can do magic?” Ohno continued, still trying to probe for information from him. And, Nino couldn’t stop himself from nodding weakly. Ohno already knew about it because he had exposed himself earlier. What’s the use of trying to hide it?
“Matsujun is also the same as you, right?”
Nino’s eyes widened, surprised to hear the revelation. How did Ohno know about Jun?
But, don’t panic. Maybe, Ohno didn’t mean what he was thinking about,
“What do you mean?” He asked for confirmation.
“A wizard,” said Ohno casually. Then, he added. “Like you and Harry Potter,”
There he goes. Ohno said the same name again. Who is Harry Potter? Why does he sound familiar?
“Who is Harry Potter?” Nino asked. “Do you know someone else like us? Did he tell you about our world?”
Another laugh, that’s what he got from Ohno.
“I will tell you who Harry Potter is if you tell me the truth. You and Jun… both of you are wizards, right?”
Nino nodded weakly. “Yes, we are wizards. But, we’re not from here. We come from a place where magic is widely used. You cannot go there. And, even if I want to go back, I cannot,”
“Why?”
“Only Jun can bring me back. He has the ability to travel between worlds. But, he could only bring one person with him. Before I know him, I don’t know this world exists. No one else in my kingdom knows,”
“Oh…” Ohno hummed. “Do you mean, everyone has their own ability?”
“Sort of,” Nino explained. “Most people can control the elements like water, air, fire and earth. And some are gifted with another ability in addition to controlling those elements,”
“Are you one of those too?”
Nino only shrugged him off, hoping Ohno wouldn’t ask further about his ability. He didn’t feel comfortable to talk about it. “I’ve told you enough. So, who is Harry Potter? How do you know him?”
Ohno smiled teasingly at him before he pulled out his phone. He typed something on it and then handed the phone to Nino. Nino took it and his eyes widened as he looked at what was on the phone. It was a picture of a foreign little boy with a lightning scar on his forehead. Wait a minute… he had seen this before!
“This is a movie, right?” Asked Nino and the laugh that came from Ohno was enough to answer the question. Damn! He was stupid! How did he end up getting tricked by Ohno?
“Can I tell you something?” said Ohno, looking serious all of a sudden. “I lied earlier. I know the woman who came to my house just now,”
The frustration for being tricked about Harry Potter was quickly replaced by a surprise when he heard the confession.
“You know her? Then, why do you lie?” Asked Nino.
Ohno let out a sigh. However, instead of answering Nino, the boss asked him another question to confirm what he thought.
“She is using magic on me, right?”
Nino neither confirm nor deny the speculation. “Are you aware of that?”
“Hmm…” Ohno looked thoughtful for a while. “I don’t know how to describe the feeling. We met in a coffee shop. Each time I’m with her, I keep hearing voices in my head, urging me to do something that I don’t want. And, I’m not proud of it. She made me ditch my work… forget about my responsibility… rude to Sho-chan and the others… do things that I will never do with her. Urgh, it was humiliating to think about it,” The look on Ohno’s face as he recalled those things was enough to tell Nino how he was disgusted by the things he did. “Even when I’m away from her, I will be thinking about her, thinking about how to please her. I’m like a fool. I tried to resist her influence on me. But, it was impossible. Until…”
Ohno didn’t have to continue. Nino knew what he meant. The effect of the love spell that Mei used on him started to weaken because of Nino.
“It’s because of you, right?”
Nino chose not to answer. And, Ohno seemed to understand it as he suddenly changed the topic.
“Let’s make the curry-pan,”
“Sure,” agreed Nino. “But, can I ask you a favour?”
“What is it?”
“Don’t tell Jun-kun about this,” Nino pleaded. “He would be angry at me for exposing our world to you,”
Ohno responded with a chuckle. He tapped his chin with a cheeky smile on his face. “That’s weird. Do you want to know a secret?”
“What secret?”
“I saw Matsujun used magic once,” said Ohno. Nino’s eyes widened. That man! Jun kept telling him to be cautious. But, it seemed like, he violated the rule.
“It happened a year ago. Matsujun might not notice I was in the office. I went to the pantry to get my coffee. Then, I heard him say something weird before he drank his coffee. Maybe he did that to warm his drink. I saw some sparks… thought it was just my imagination. But, after I talked to you today… well… I looked at the incident differently,”
Nino could only smile. Oh, Jun… so much for being cautious, ha?
Mei opened the door furiously, still thinking about what happened earlier. Her boyfriend, Satoshi had rejected her. No, he didn’t reject her. He didn’t remember her. At all. Why? How? This was hard to believe!
Not only that, but he also looked at her with disgust. Urgh, that was unacceptable!
But, the thing that bothered her the most... the guy who was in Satoshi’s home… who is he? It was a baseless accusation but she had a hunch that the spell didn’t work because of him. But, how did he do it?
“Miss…” Her companion appeared from his bedroom. As usual, there was barely an expression on his face. He always spoke in a monotone voice that bored her. “You are home early. I thought you will not return tonight. Didn’t you go to see Satoshi-san?”
“It’s your fault,” she glared at her companion.
“My fault?” The man repeated. “What did I do, Miss?”
“Your spell didn’t work,”
And, for the first time, Mei could see an evident change in his expression. He was perplexed. Mei never thought she would see that look on his face.
“Tell me more about it,”
And, so, Mei did as she was told. She recounted the humiliating event that happened earlier.
“It shouldn’t happen. My spell is perfect,” said the man, looking thoughtful. “But, I am curious about the guy who was with Satoshi-san when this happened. Have you seen him before?”
Mei shook her head.
“Hmm… then, maybe this happens because of him. Will you allow me to go and observe him, Miss?”
“Sure… But, make sure you can solve this problem,”
“Don’t worry, Miss. I believe that it will be easy to get rid of him,”
A/N: Was it too soon for Ohno to know the truth about Nino? Initially, the plan for this part was different in my head. It involved Nino taking care of a sick Ohno. But, I changed my mind. I think this will be the perfect time for Nino to tell Ohno about magic. Then, they can start working together to stop Mei's plan. I hope it is okay.
And, I hope it wasn't weird that Ohno was nicer to Nino in this part. Maybe, it's his way of showing how he grateful he was because Nino helped him getting rid of Mei.
As always, let me know what you think about this part, ne? It will be very much appreciated :)