Chapter 7:

Chapter 4 ✨ MagiFair

✨ Nopan Mahou Shoujo ✨


"Kouhei-kun!!"

The boy was woken up from his mid-break slumber while stretching his arms across his desk in the classroom. Hanako was proudly standing in front of his seat presenting two pieces of paper.

"Look! This is what I got from a lottery on my cereal box!!"

Kouhei slowly analyzed the piece of paper that was waved in front of his face. It read MagiFair admission tickets. Printed alongside the title was a mascot character, which had way too big of a head.

"What exactly is MagiFair?"

"Don't you know!? It's the annual magical girl exhibition!! There are lots of booths displaying new releases and merchandise, they even have a show floor for exclusive showings of new products! And I won two tickets!! Let's go together on the weekend!"

On the weekend. That meant... "This will be a d-d-date then?"

"Teehee, call it what you want, but please go with me! There is no one as experienced in magical girls like you Kouhei-kun!"

He decided to give it a thought during the remaining classes for the day. After school had ended, he was ready to give her his answer.

"I think we should go, I guess."

"Really!? Thank you!! Thank you!" She was way too happy for just being able to visit an exhibition.

"However..."

"However..!?"

"It would be good to combine this occasion with some training you normally don't get." He spent the previous two lessons of the day to work out a new scheme.

"But I already am working hard!"

"I know, you are doing really good, I have to admit. But it is always with the same skirt of your uniform. If you consider real magical girls, they have different outfits and not their uniforms, correct? Sometimes they even get a new outfit with more power as the story progresses. Look at these ones for example," he showed some of his illustrations which he prepared during the lesson, "look at how fluttery some of their skirts are. It's not even comparable with your uniform."

"You are right! That's so true!! Like Purinpurin-chan from Magical Pudding Guardian!"

"Y-Yeah, exactly, Magical... That one!" He had not the slightest clue what she was talking about, but was trying to not let her notice this. He never heard this character's name nor the title of the show she mentioned in his entire life.

"I don't have any really fluttery ones though...." she announced with a frown on her face. Her school uniform's skirt was fluttery to some extent, but not in the way that Kouhei imagined and that Purinpurin-chan wore.

"Don't fret! I got you covered! I already have something in mind! Also: Once you will be able to transform, you won't know what you might end up getting the first time, right? So you have to be prepared for every possibility."

"Yeah, I understand! This is so obvious!" She was very easy to manipulate for Kouhei, as long as she believed in the existence of magic and as long as Kouhei would just add the smallest amount of logic to his statements.

Making good use of the life in the metropolitan area and its benefits of quick delivery times from online purchases, he was able to order a skirt online that was to his liking and suitable for this practice run. Even though he felt a bit iffy as a boy to order this piece of clothing.

There were still a few days left until the date, but he didn't want to waste a moment to see her reaction to the bought item, so he showed it to her as quickly as he could right on the next day.

"Kouhei-kun... Is... Is this a skirt..?" Hanako was doubtful of the item being presented to her.

"This is indeed what people refer to as a skirt. Do you think you can do it?"

It was a skirt, but not close to one a middle school girl should even consider wearing. The bright white fabric made it look pure and innocent. A stark contrast to the length and the lightness of the material. The type he picked was basically designed for fluttering with the smallest blow of wind.

"It does look like it's from Purinpurin-chan!"

"I- It does!? I mean. Yeah! It does! That's why I got this one!"

"I want to try!" Hanako smiled brightly on the thought of dressing similar to one of her favorite characters.

And like this, Sunday came. It was a nice summer day, with pleasant warmth and lots of sunshine. Not too hot, and there was plenty of fresh air. The shopping district was filled to the brim with people who also enjoyed their day off with a shopping spree or various other destinations.

"Pyun~!"

Uttering this sound effect while forming a sideways V-sign in front of her eye, she greeted Kouhei. It was a common thing done by Purinpurin-chan who Hanako tried to imitate. It was a cute gesture.

From time to time, whenever she felt a light breeze, Hanako was making sure to hold down the skirt which Kouhei got for her in order to not let it reveal more than it should. After a ten minute walk from the station through the crammed pedestrian street, the couple on the impromptu date arrived safely at their destination which seemed to have been a movie theater before. The venue for the...

"... Great Fishing Bobber Exhibition...?"

"Wait, wait, wait. This can't be! It's the correct place!" Hanako doublebecked with the tickets.

"Let me take a look...

...They expired a week ago!!"

"..."

"...Well. Fishing bobbers it is, then?"

"Noo!" Hanako didn't seem to be a big fan of fishing bobbers. Or she was just depressed that she missed her chance for the once-a-year MagiFair. "This is awful..."

It was a grim situation. Hanako was sad and it was hard for Kouhei to see her like this. So he tried to lighten her mood a bit.

"Hey. There is a cotton candy store. It looks popular. Do you want some? It is my treat!"

"I guess, I shall take one..."

After a few minutes of waiting in the queue, it was their turn to place an order. Hanako got a raspberry flavored cotton candy, while Kouheis was just plainly sugar flavoured since that's the cheapest one.

"It's not bad, right?" He wanted to make sure that she was feeling at least a little bit better. The pricing was also on the more luxurious side, with Hanako's choice being twice as expensive than his.

"It is good."

"Over there is an open bench. Let's sit down for a bit", he pointed towards the only bench around. For a day this busy, it was a miracle that no one was already using it. They fought through the endless waves of humans and finally reached the bench.

While nibbling on the enormous sweet which consisted of nothing but sugar and air, Kouhei tried to keep his face straight. It proved to be a struggle because the pupil of his eye was constantly trying to take a glimpse of Hanako's legs and the skirt he had chosen for her. In the end, he was just your typical teenage male driven by his instincts.

She was even sitting closer to him than at any other time. In school they always have their separate chairs. Yet here she was sitting directly next to him, their bodies almost touching.

By precisely examining with the most attention he could use in such a short blink of an eye, he noticed how sitting on the wooden bench gently affected the shape of her slender thigh, adding a very subtle curvature. He wished for this image to be burned into his memory.

"Now this is real magic" is what he thought. "It's insane. They look so smooth. I bet they would feel absolutely amazing... Heck!! This is a date right!? Now or never!"

His perception of time slowed down and his heartbeat got louder and louder, intensifying. Did the people passing by in slow-motion would notice his heart beating?

Like a magnet being pulled by an invisible force, his palm approached the topmost part of the unsuspecting girl's exposed leg. In the meantime she was distracted by slowly eating away at her cotton candy. He moved closer and closer, while his pulse accelerated even more and some pearls of sweat started to form on his forehead.

The instant before finally making contact with her leg's bare skin, his eyes spotted something - or rather someone - surging from the sea of pedestrians.

"Oh crap..! It's Mashiba! Run!"

"Eh!?" Taken by surprise, Hanako was dragged by Kouhei who took firm hold of her wrist, contrary to his original plan.

"You will be absolutely done for if he spots you wearing this!"

"W- Wait Kouhei-kun! I can't run like this! This is dangerous!"

But it was too late. She was pulled by her master through the booming shopping district to not run into Mashiba, who was just spending a nice summer afternoon with his wife and daughter, completely off-duty minding his own business.

With one hand holding the half-eaten cotton candy and with the other hand being dragged by Kouhei, Hanako was out of options to protect herself. She forcefully shut her eyes as tight as she could, like a kid playing hide and seek, while in the belief that she can't be seen by a person she can't see in turn. She followed Kouheis dragging blindly for a bit and almost slipped.

Finally she opened her eyes again after realizing that this didn't work as a solution for the situation. Still not being able to see clearly, now because of blurred vision from tears that were accumulating in her eyes, she tried to stop him.

"Kouhei, wait! This is a problem!!"

"Yeah, I know! We can't let him see you like this. That's why we are running!"

"No! Not just him! Everyoneeeeee!!"

Her face was as red as never before but Kouhei didn't even realize when dragging her behind himself through the crowd. Also passing Marin and Saya who coincidentally also were at the same place and just eating their own cotton candy. They didn't notice the two getaways being there because it happened too quickly.

"Hm? Wasn't there some commotion right now?" Mashiba thought. He quickly rejected the idea and focussed on his family trip on his way to the great fishing bobber exhibition. He was looking forward to this event all year long. Finally a change of pace from his stressful life as a teacher.

Hanako and Kouhei dashed for a few minutes and finally escaped the shopping street. Out of breath they stopped. Hanako's wrist was finally released. She was still blushing like an overripe raspberry herself. She kept a firm hold of the cotton candy all the way as well, because it was a treat from Kouhei.

"Uhm. Sorry, I guess", Kouhei actually felt a bit bad about what happened, "this is all my fault... This is a terrible date..."

"Don't say that! I... had fun!!" Hanako tried her hardest to smile with her eyes closed so Kouhei wouldn't notice her teary expression. All in order to lift Kouhei's feeling of guilt.

After a short moment of trying to grasp the situation and not being sure if he should cry or laugh at this response, Kouhei continued, "Your future contractor has to be super proud of you. Should we be going then?"

"Yeah."

"By the way, why are you blushing so much?"

"Baka."