Snowstorm

It is snowing, in the middle of what is meant to be a sweltering summer. Flakes drift aimlessly, exploding into crystals or settling on the concrete of outer suburbia.

The only two people on the isolated street, a boy and girl, halt on the sidewalk, pulling out coats that are way too thin for the occasion and running off to the nearest bus stop for shelter. The boy also grabs out his phone, punches in a number with a finger that is gradually shaking from the sudden cold, and holds it to his ear.

"Hello? Shinagawa residence."

"Toshifumi! You won't believe this! I haven't seen snow ever since I was 3!"

"Calm it, Hazuki. What do you mean?" Toshifumi's voice is relaxed as he reclines deeper into a worn maroon sofa.

Hazuki hangs up unceremoniously, for the duo at the bus stop are being approached by a figure in a white kimono with waist-length white hair, barely discernable from the snow as they step across the snowy roadside in sandalled feet. The girl, Christie, brushes snow out of her brunette hair as she realises this figure is present, yet she does not question how the figure got there.

Finally, the figure speaks, in a serious voice that neither defines them as male nor female. "You two have been chosen to be magicians-in-training."

Meanwhile, Toshifumi rapidly mashes in Hazuki's number and listens for the call's connection, but the snow is so heavy at this point the signal can't get through.