It's Kazunari, not Kazuya - Part 10
Nino woke up in a dark room, where he could barely see anything. However, despite the darkness, he knew he wasn’t alone in the room. The magic was strong and it centred right in front of him. It was the same magic that he always sensed from Mei. But, the other person wasn’t Mei, he was certain of that. So, this must be the person who helped Mei bewitch Ohno.
Nino chose to be silent, waiting for the other person to talk first. He didn’t have to wait long, though.
“Great, you finally wake up,”
The voice belonged to a man. Surprisingly, he had heard the voice before. But, where?
“I’ve been dying to meet you, my dear Child of Light,”
Nino’s eyes widened, surprised to hear what came out from the other man. The man had called him Child of Light, proving that he was indeed from the same place as he and Jun. If not, how would he know about the name, right?
“I thought it was just a myth,” the man continued. “But, here you are. Right in front of me, making the love spell I crafted for Satoshi-san useless,”
“What you did was wrong,” said Nino. “You shouldn’t force Satoshi-san to love your mistress,”
“Well, she is kind to me. So, I will do whatever it takes to make her happy,” answered the man. “But, this isn’t the time to talk about her. Instead, we should be talking about ourselves. How did you come here? Did you have the magic to cross the world?”
“I guess so…” lied Nino. This man had no right to know about Jun and his magic. “How else did I get here, right?”
Even though Nino couldn’t see the man, he knew the mystery man was smiling in amusement.
“So, in addition to being a Child of Light, you could also cross the worlds…” said the man. “This is unfair,”
Nino shrugged him off, praying that the man would believe him.
“Will you bring me home, then?”
“Do you want to go home?” Nino asked back. In the back of his mind, he wondered if the man had the magic to travel between the world. The question made Nino think that the man had no such ability. But, if he can’t, how did he come here in the first place?
The man said nothing, perhaps to ponder the question. It would be better if Nino could see the man. He could see what face the man was making. Did he long to get home or did he enjoy living in this world?
“I never once thought of the place as my home,” answered the mysterious man. “I believe that would be enough to answer your question. I will not go back. I will stay here,”
It was tempting to ask the man how he got here. Did he have the same ability as Jun? It seemed unlikely, Nino deduced. The way he asked whether Nino would bring him home earlier implied that a small part of him wanted to go back to their world. If he could, maybe he would go back and forth between these two worlds. Unless…Nino tried to form a theory. Perhaps something awfully bad happened to him. That’s why he refused to go home. Was it similar to what happened to Nino? Hmm, the more Nino thought about it, the more curious he got.
“What are you doing here, Child of Light?” Asked the mysterious man. The silence had accompanied them until the man had once again opened his mouth. And, could he stop calling Nino with that name? He hated it!
“I am not obliged to answer you,” responded Nino. How he wished he could see the man’s face. The familiar voice made him wonder who the man was. And, despite not seeing the face, Nino knew the man was smiling.
“You’re interesting, Child of Light,” said the man. “I wish that we could have more time to get to know each other,” The man let out a sigh, pretending to be disappointed. “Too bad, you have to go now. Go home, Child of Light. Go back to where you come from,”
“I will not,” Nino stated firmly. “You should let me go. I’ve been gone long enough. Ohchan will be looking for me,”
The man didn’t restrain him. Nino wasn’t tied. But, he knew better than trying to escape. A spell was keeping him in this dark room.
“Is he?”
The man sounded amused, making Nino wish, once again, that he could see his face. This drove him crazy. He really wanted to see who the man was. He had heard the voice before but why couldn’t he put a face to the voice?
But, that’s not all. At the back of his mind, Nino knew the man did something to Ohno. That would explain why the man was certain Ohno wouldn’t be looking for him.
“What did you do to Ohchan?” Asked Nino, raising his voice. “I swear if you hurt him, I will…”
The man laughed hysterically, cutting him off.
“You don’t have to worry about Satoshi-san, Child of Light,” said the man. “I wouldn’t dare to hurt him. My mistress will be mad at me,”
“You put a love spell on him!” Nino pointed out. “He couldn’t think properly because of the spell,”
“It’s a harmless spell, Child of Light,” responded the man. “It benefits everyone,”
“It only benefits your mistress,” said Nino. “Let me go. You have no reason to keep me here,”
The man chuckled. “Of course, you have a reason to be here. If I let you go, it will only confuse people,”
"What…"
Nino didn't have the chance to ask the man what he meant. Something else had caught his attention. A crystal ball was lighting up, allowing Nino to finally see the mysterious man's face. Oh man, no wonder his voice was so familiar. Nino had seen him a few times. He worked at the cafe where Nino often goes with Ohno to have a cup of coffee. The very same cafe that they went to just now. And, the man was the barista who prepared their drinks just now. The man barely talked to other people and that’s why Nino didn’t recognize it was his voice.
However, it wasn't his concern right now. He was more interested to see the image projected in the crystal ball. Ohno was in it, having a picnic in the park. He wasn't alone. Someone else was with him.
The mysterious man laughed while Nino kept looking at the ball. He was having a hard time accepting this. Knowing what the man could do, Nino knew it wasn't impossible. But, living in this world without magic made him forget about it.
"Now…" The man said. "Do you understand why I won't let you go? And why Satoshi-san won't be looking for you? It's because he is with you,"
Indeed, the other person who was with Ohno right now looked exactly like Nino.
A/N: How long has it been since the last time I updated this one? Almost a year, I think. I know this part is super short. But, I think it's the best time to stop. Let's hope the next hope will not be next year. I intend to finish this fic by this year. But, I don't know if I could fulfil it.
Anyway, if you're reading, please let me know what you think of this. It will be very much appreciated. And, I hope you will enjoy it.