Feeling Hayashi Shuichi's burning gaze, Akane Koizumi abruptly stopped her pen and slammed her palm down to cover the notebook. "What do you want?"
Her guilty, "caught-red-handed" expression only made Shuichi more suspicious. Moreover, the moment she stopped writing, his sneezing fit miraculously ceased.
The timing was far too convenient to be a coincidence.
"Look! There's a UFO outside the window!" Shuichi suddenly widened his eyes, pointing toward the sky.
Such a cliché trick would never work on a seasoned high schooler, but for Akane—who had spent her life away from public schools—it was surprisingly effective.
"What's a UFO?" Akane tilted her head, her face full of genuine confusion as she turned toward the window.
The moment she was distracted, Shuichi's hand darted out like a viper, snatching the paper from under her palm.
"Hey!"
Akane finally realized she'd been duped. Her face flushed with indignation as she lunged forward to reclaim it. "Why did you take my thing! Give it back!"
"What on earth is this?" Shuichi ignored her, frowning as he inspected the paper. It was covered in jagged, twisted runes, with his own name written squarely in the center. The entire page seemed to radiate an unsettling, ominous aura.
"Give it to me!" Akane stomped her foot in frustration, her cheeks turning a bright, angry pink.
"Tell me what this is first!" Shuichi held the paper high above his head, using his superior height to keep it far out of her reach.
"Give! It! Back!"
"What did you draw around my name?"
"It's none of your business!"
"My name is right in the middle of it. How is that not my business?"
The bickering escalated, their hushed whispers turning into a full-blown scuffle in the back row.
"The two of you!"
The math teacher, watching them fight and disrupt the class, finally reached his limit. He slammed a heavy fist onto the podium. "Out! Both of you, go stand in the hallway!"
Under the sympathetic or mocking gazes of their classmates, the pair stood up and slunk out of the classroom like two scolded puppies.
The moment the door clicked shut, Akane transformed into a feisty kitten, pouncing on Shuichi in another attempt to seize the paper.
Since the hallway was deserted during class hours, Shuichi stopped playing nice. He swiftly stuffed the paper into his blazer pocket and, in one fluid motion, grabbed Akane by the shoulders and pinned her against the cold wall.
"What exactly was written on that paper?" Shuichi demanded in a low, dangerous whisper. "And why was I sneezing uncontrollably until you stopped?"
"Sneezing?" Akane blinked, her anger momentarily replaced by confusion. "You were only sneezing?"
"Yes!"
Shuichi leaned in closer, the distance between them shrinking until he could count her eyelashes. "Don't you dare tell me it had nothing to do with you. The moment you stopped writing, it stopped!"
"Dammit... so the curse really didn't work on you..." Akane bit her lip in annoyance, muttering under her breath.
Despite her low volume, Shuichi caught the keyword. "A curse? You were actually cursing me? Have you no conscience? I'm the one who lent you money yesterday!"
"If it weren't for you, my mother wouldn't have kicked me out and sent me to Tokyo!" Akane pouted, her eyes welling with a sense of grievance. "Do you think I want to be at this school? I'd much rather be at home studying magic with her!"
"Magic?"
Shuichi had suspected something of the sort, but hearing it confirmed out loud was still surreal. Does this world really have magic? And what does her being sent to Tokyo have to do with me?
"Of course this world has magic!" Akane puffed out her somewhat modest chest with pride. "Standing before you is the legitimate heir to the Red Magic lineage!"
"And if it weren't for you distorting my fate, there's no way I would have ended up in Tokyo!"
"Red Magic? Wait, isn't that Akako Koizumi's..." Shuichi paused mid-sentence, a realization hitting him like a freight train.
Based on the current timeline and Akako's age, she shouldn't even be born yet. And the Koizumi family of witches... they usually practiced matrilocal marriage, where the husband took the wife's surname.
Wait. Is this girl actually Akako Koizumi's mother?
Akane tilted her head in confusion. "Who is Akako Koizumi?"
"Never mind," Shuichi muttered, not bothering to explain.
"Tch. Probably another imaginary person like that 'Sakai Izumi' you mentioned," Akane scoffed. "You called me a little liar, but you're clearly the big one here!"
"You said I influenced your fate," Shuichi said, raising an eyebrow. "But we've never met before today. How could I have possibly affected you?"
"Fate is a complicated thing." Akane crossed her arms, mimicking the serious expression her mother used when teaching her. She nodded sagely. "Not only can the past influence the future, but the future can also cast a shadow back onto the past."
"So, does that mean something happens between us in the future?" Shuichi smirked, intentionally teasing her.
"Who would want anything to happen with you!"
Akane's face turned scarlet in an instant. she looked away hurriedly, though she couldn't hide the deep red glow of her ears.
Magic...
Shuichi looked at the girl, his thoughts drifting. Though he had lived in this world for over a decade, the confirmation of magic sparked a dormant hope in his mind.
If he was able to transmigrate here, was it possible to travel back to his original world? He didn't have much to miss from his previous life, but the idea of being able to visit occasionally was a tempting thought.
"Hey, why are you staring at me like that?" Akane shifted uncomfortably. "Let go! You're gripping my shoulders too hard!"
"If I let go, how do I know you won't curse me again?" Shuichi kept his face stern, though he loosened his grip slightly.
"My curses don't even work on you!" Akane huffed. "I tried to hex you a dozen times just now, but other than the sneezing, absolutely nothing happened."
"Why doesn't it work on me?" Shuichi asked, genuinely curious.
"How should I know!" Akane rolled her eyes. "It probably has to do with your destiny. You aren't even supposed to exist in the first place, so who knows what's going on with your soul!"
"Do you have a way to..."
Shuichi started to ask about the possibility of crossing worlds, but he swallowed the words. Though she seemed naive, she was still a witch. Even a few careless words might allow her to deduce that he was an interloper from another reality.
"What were you going to ask?" Akane asked, puzzled.
"Nothing." Shuichi shook his head.
"If it's nothing, then let me go!" Akane grumbled.
"Only if you promise not to curse me anymore," Shuichi said, looking down at her. "Even if it's just sneezing, it's still annoying."
"Serves you right," Akane whispered.
"What was that?" Shuichi leaned his face closer. "I lent you money out of the goodness of my heart. Is this how you 'witches' repay a favor?"
"You're too close!" Akane reached out, her hand pressing against Shuichi's face as she tried to push him away. "Let go of me!"
"Swear it first!"
"No!"
"You really won't swear it?"
"I'd rather die!"
They continued their stubborn deadlock, neither willing to back down.
Suddenly, Akane's eyes lit up as she looked over Shuichi's shoulder. She shouted with a mix of relief and mischief, "Murakami-sensei! He's bullying me!"
(End of Chapter)
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