Of severed connections

“There, now you can make yourself comfortable” Reisen said that evening, after having transferred her basic personal effects in her parents’ bedroom and given the kid her spare futon.

Yukiya, however, was standing hesitantly on the threshold of her room, hugging to their chest the colourful backpack containing their few possessions. “… I know I already asked, but are you sure I can stay here?”

Reisen rolled her eyes, sighing. “Yes, I’m sure.” Before they could open their mouth to speak, she added: “And no, you’re not intruding. As I’ve already told you, let’s see…” She checked an imaginary notepad. “Ah, yes, seventeen times now. But please, don’t let this deter you from asking again.”

The kid pouted, hugging their backpack closer to them. “You’re making fun of me.”

She made a faux shocked expression. “No, what gave you that impression?” They just pouted harder, if that was even possible, and she shrugged. “To be fair, I think I deserve to make at least a little fun of you.”

Yukiya shifted their gaze to the side, but didn’t reply otherwise, and Reisen sighed. It was even worse when they didn’t talk.

“Listen, kid… Yukiya. Seriously, there’s no problem, you don’t have to worry so much.”

They mumbled something unintelligible.

“Want to run that by me again?”

“… I feel guilty for kicking you out of your bedroom…”

“I don’t particularly care about that, really, it’s not like you wanted all this to happen. Besides, I’ve had more problems with people inviting themselves over when I was younger.” They still didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t know what else they wanted her to say. She’d long since finished her stock phrases for reassuring people. “Now, put your backpack wherever you want and make yourself at home. Yell if you need something.”

The kid stayed silent, so she mentally shrugged and started heading to her temporary bedroom. She desperately wished for that day to end already, but she still had a few things to do before finally going to sleep: first she had to-

She didn’t get very far, in the literal sense as well as with her mental to-do-list, because Yukiya grabbed the hem of her once again white hoodie, which had been washed with their other clothes and repaired by granny Miyako while they were resting – despite that, the four mended gashes present on it, similar to healing scars, courtesy of the elemental beast, were a stark reminder of what had happened –. She turned to ask what was wrong, but the kid stole a march on her.

“… I’m sorry for all the trouble I brought” they said in a small voice, their head down and their expression shadowed. Their backpack laid abandoned on the floor of her bedroom.

They weren’t referring only to their last conversation, that was painfully obvious. Reisen took a deep and slow breath: right now, she couldn’t allow herself to mess up. She got closer and put a hand on their head. “Kid, that’s not your fault, it’s not like you wanted all this to happen.”

“But- If I hadn’t come here-” They lifted their head, and for a moment she managed to see their glassy eyes, but then they glanced away.

“Hey, no, look at me.” When they didn’t, she gently put her hands on their shoulders. “Yukiya, look at me.” At that, they hesitantly did as they were told. “Listen, maybe whoever’s behind this was following your movements and I got caught in the crossfire, maybe they were after me all along; maybe it was all a big coincidence, maybe not; maybe nothing would’ve changed even if you didn’t come here, but it’s useless to think about this: we can’t know. What I do know, however, is that it’s not your fault. Okay?” She would’ve loved things to be different, or to have the possibility of returning to when Yukiya was only a young and strange customer obsessed with magic: she very much disliked the magical mess she’d found herself involved in. However, the past couldn’t be changed: that was her situation now, and she just had to deal with it.

The kid’s eyes widened, and they sniffled wetly, but then their expression morphed into a wobbly smile. “… Okay, Miss Reisen.”

“Just Reisen.”

“Okay, Reisen.” Their smile became a touch firmer and truer. “Thank you.”

Reisen felt her demeanour soften despite herself. “Don’t mention it.” She ruffled their hair. “Now, go to sleep. It’s way past your bedtime anyway.”

As expected, they frowned indignantly, crossing their arms over their chest. “Hey, I don’t have a bedtime anymore, I’m fifteen!”

“Sure you don’t” she said, smiling to herself. Not that the kid could see that: she had already turned and was waving at them while finally heading to her temporary bedroom. “Goodnight, Yukiya” she added, just before opening the door and consequently closing it behind her.

The kid wasn’t far, though, so she heard a sigh and then a small, soft “Goodnight, Reisen” in response, after which there were the sounds of steps and another door closing.

*

The next morning, Reisen was in the living room and kitchen, staring at her cellphone for one of the many things on her list that she had to do. She didn’t need to search for the number, it was among her few favourites and most called, she simply wasn’t looking forward to the task ahead: after one more minute, though, she tapped the name and brought her cellphone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end of the line to pick up and grinding kilometres in the meantime.

One, two, three rings and then her mother answered, her voice as sweet as always. “Hello? Rei, dear, how are you? How’s it going?” She sounded surprised, but Reisen imagined that it was quite fair: she didn’t call that often, after all.

“Hi mum, I’m…” She thought about the sewn gashes on her hoodie and the phantom pains in her side, while her mind got flooded with all the memories from the previous day, and decided that her mother didn’t actually need to know about all that, otherwise she would’ve just worried uselessly, and she would’ve told her father too, and their holiday would’ve been ruined. “… fine.” White lies were perfectly excusable if they were for her parents’ mental well-being. “Are you enjoying the hot springs?”

“Oh, yes, we really needed them. Also, Suwa is really nice in this period of the year, your father is taking a lot of pictures.”

“I’m happy to hear that.” She smiled for a moment, but then her expression turned sad. She was glad her mother couldn’t see it. “However…” She hadn’t called because of something cheerful at all. “I’m sorry if I ruin your morning, mum, but…”

“Did something happen?” Concern, a tinge of anxiety.

“Yeah, it’s-” Why wasn’t she managing to speak? People always told her she was straightforward, sometimes even too much, so why wasn’t she managing now? It was stupid, so she forced herself to go directly to the point without beating around the bush. “It’s the shop, mum. Someone, I don’t know who, tried to… break in, I think.”

“Break in?”

“Yes, uh, with a magical construct. Moreover, an elemental chimaera was sent near Narai-juku by probably the same person… Granny Miyako should have already called the Mages Association for this, though.”

“Oh dear, did you say a chimaera? Are you okay?” Reisen could practically see her worrying and fussing.

“Yes mum, I’m perfectly fine” she hurried to reassure. “The Association should be able to solve this no problem.” It was literally their job, after all. “However, do you remember if we have… I don’t know, important magical artefacts at home, or something similar? Something that somebody powerful would want to possess? Sorry if it seems like a stupid question.” It was better to try and ask, anyway, rather than wonder.

“I don’t think so, dear, I wouldn’t forget if it was the case…” She stayed silent for a few seconds, probably reflecting on it, but in the end she simply sighed. “… Actually, Rei, your father and I wanted to talk about it when we returned, but after what happened in town it might be best if I tell you now…”

“Tell me what?”

And then, her mother proceeded to shatter with only a couple of words one of her few certainties in life: “The thing is, we were thinking about closing up the shop.”

Suddenly, the thin glass she was standing on, that she previously thought was solid ground, cracked under her feet, and she fell into a frigid lake of disbelief. Suddenly the weather outside wasn’t sunny anymore, and she was once again under the thundering rain, getting shocked by the cold. “The shop. Your beloved magic shop. The same shop our family has kept open for the past nine generations. That shop.”

“Yes Reisen, that shop.”

“And you want to close it?” That couldn’t be real. It had to be a bad dream, but when she pinched her arm she just managed to hurt herself.

“Well, you aren’t very interested in magic, and your father and I haven’t being able to do spells for quite some time now, we might be getting too old for this…”

What should one have done when a part of their world was breaking? Reisen didn’t remember what she said after that, it felt as though she wasn’t even in her own body anymore, looking at herself from outside; she didn’t even remember ending the call, at some point she simply realised her phone was silent again. The world around her didn’t exist for a time that seemed infinite, until she was brought back to reality by the kid hesitantly entering the room.

“… Reisen? Did you finish the call with your parents?”

“You were right, Yukiya” she said listlessly in a non sequitur, not even feeling like herself. That wasn’t acceptable, though. She had to get it together, and do it fast. She was the adult there. “My parents started losing their magic.”

The kid froze on the spot, while their eyes widened. “But… But your family has always loved it. It’s what you told me.”

“And yet.”

Suddenly, they looked like they were on the point of crying again. “… I hoped to be wrong” they said in a small voice. “I really, really hoped to be wrong.”

Before she could offer some sort of empty platitude, or reassurance, or maybe even optimistic resolve, her phone rang, startling the both of them into sudden attention. The caller was granny Miyako, so Reisen answered, not without a certain dose of surprise. “Hello? Granny?”

“Ah, Reisen, thank goodness you picked up quickly.” She sounded worried. “I fear that there is a problem.”

Another one? “What happened?” she asked instead, already feeling her insides churn. The kid was looking at her in concern.

“Reisen, the Mages Association is not answering any of my calls, and I have been trying all morning.”

Why? Why now, of all times? “Maybe they’re having complications on their end” she said, trying to think logically about it.

It was silent for a few seconds, but then granny Miyako replied, sounding more serene. “Yes, you are right dear, I am sorry for being this anxious. I will try again in another moment; if that still does not work, I will send a good old letter.”

“Thank you, granny.”

“Of course. Have a good day, Reisen, sorry for the small scare.”

“Don’t worry about that, you too have a nice day.” When the call ended and she let her hand fall down her side, she turned to the kid. “Apparently, there could be problems at the Mages Association too.”

Yukiya’s troubled expression probably mirrored her own, but they had no time to actually reply, because her phone chose that exact moment to beep again.

“Oh, for-” She looked at the ceiling, her patience fraying. “What is it this time?” The answer was, apparently, a message from her épée instructor. “… oh.”

“… So? Reisen, what is it?” the kid inquired, worried, after the silence had stretched for a few too many seconds.

She looked at them. “A sudden friendly fencing tournament has been organised in Osaka, and I’m invited to participate.”