Say my Name!

“So are you going to tell me what’s next, loverboy?”

“I don’t know, are you ever going to use my real name?”

“What do you mean? Isn't it normal for couples to have cute little pet names?”

“I’d hardly call that a pet name, but I guess it could be worse.”

“Yeah it could. Would you like me to give you a new one?”

“No thank you. I could only imagine what you would come up with while having that devious little glint in your eyes?”

“Aww that's too bad, I was just thinking of some really good ones.”

He rolls his eyes.

“So I was thinking we could start today with a walk. Is it ok if I give you coordinates instead of an address for that magic teleportation of yours?”

“Yeah I can make that work. But why exactly are you giving me coordinates instead of an address?”

“I just figured a little mystery would make things a bit more entertaining.”

“Ok well what are the coordinates?”

“42.818468, -1.643007”

                                                                               *

They found themselves in yet another labyrinth, but this one was far different than the eerie setting of the haunted hospital. They were within a maze of plazas, narrow canyon like alleyways, and ancient streets of stone. The architecture was filled with the rich culture of this town’s history.

“This place is absolutely beautiful, but don't tell me you ran out of thrilling ideas already?”

He reaches over and brushes away the hair on the side of her face.

“Can’t you just trust me a little bit and enjoy this walk with me?”

She swats his hand away from her face.

“I’ll try my best, but this better not be another creepy themed attraction.”

“Nope I promise there’s nothing creepy around here. Let’s just enjoy the scenery a bit.”

They continue walking around town viewing the mosaics and murals that paint the town with such vivid colors.

“These are really beautiful pieces of art, it's almost like walking through a museum exhibit. “

“You’re right but I'm still not quite sure exactly where we are.”

“You don’t need to know that in order to have a nice time. Besides, you haven’t even seen the surprise yet.”

A sharp smile appeared across Haru’s face.

“I’m not so sure I like that look on your face.”

Loud screams echoed in the distance.

“Why do I hear screaming?”

Sharp sounds of scraping against stone could be heard drawing closer and closer to them.

“What is that!?”

“We should probably get ready to start running soon.”

“What do you mean? I thought we were just out here for a walk?”

Suddenly just beyond the corner of the street ahead of them a wave of flames and sparks comes rushing toward them. They immediately turn around and start running with all their might.

“What is that! Did you take us into the labyrinth of some magical beast!”

He starts laughing uncontrollably.

“Of course not. We’re in Spain and that right there is the exciting surprise that I promised you.”

Behind them was a bull outfitted with torches at the end of each of his horns. His head lay low to the ground creating flying sparks as it made contact with the ground in an attempt to remove the torches and regain its full field of vision.

“And just how exactly are we supposed to get away from this thing?”

“I haven’t exactly figured that out yet so I'll get back to you.”

“You can not be serious right now.”

“Just keep following me. Oh! That'll work right over there.”

They quickly escape its view and run down a narrow alleyway. A high balcony comes within sight so Haru jumps and pulls himself up to safety. He then partially reaches over the railing toward Minori.

“I’ll help you up here if you ask me nicely and use my real name.”

“You would choose now to be so petty. Just hurry up and pull me up there before that bull catches sight of me again.”

“I don't think I heard you say my name Minori. Don’t tell me you forgot it already. I'll help you out, it's Haru H-A-R-U Haru.”

She stubbornly refuses to use his name at all costs.

“Fine I guess you leave me no choice, I'll have to use my scythe then... Looks like we'll be eating beef today.”

She lifts her hand to reach for her kanzashi only to realize that it's missing.

“Wait where is my—"

She looked up to see Haru smiling with her kanzashi in his hand.

“You better hurry up, I’m sure it’ll spot you at any moment now.”

“You are so annoying! Fine, can you please help me up there… Haru?”

He reaches down and pulls her up to the balcony with a huge smile across his face.

“See that wasn’t so hard. I really hope you don’t forget my name again.”

She hits him with a hard karate chop to the head.

“Ok, I may have deserved that.”

“You certainly did. So are you going to explain to me how you even got your hands on my kanzashi in the first place?”

“Sure, it wasn’t anything too special. I just used a little bit of sleight of hand when I brushed the hair away from your face earlier.”

“You sure are a clever one. I'll have to keep my eyes on you.”

“Yup so don’t you go underestimating me just because you have a bit of magic on your side.”

“Yeah yeah yeah. You won't be able to trick me like that again.”

“We’ll see. So did you at least enjoy that little chase of ours?”

“Your methods for these adventures are a bit unorthodox and catch me off guard, but I must admit that I am enjoying myself a tiny bit.”

“Oh just a tiny bit huh? Well, do you want to try something else with a few bulls that don’t have flaming horns?”

“Hmm, you have my attention. Try to explain your plan this time.”

“Ok I saw this cool video where people wear these protective zorb balls and get tossed into the air by bulls. We would just have to see if anyone sells them at this festival.”

“What is a zorb ball?”

“Here, look at this.”

He pulls out his phone and shows her a picture of it.

“Let me just search for somewhere to—”

“There's no need to.”

She snatches her kanzashi from him and writes out two ready to use zorb balls in midair. Just as with the padlock she created, a large wisp of black smoke appeared in front of them before transforming into a pair of fully inflated zorb balls.

“That's amazing. I had no idea you could do that too. It never even occurred to me how you created that padlock before. This is going to make it so much easier to plan our next adventures. “

They jumped down from the balcony and each grabbed a zorb ball. After securely placing them over their upper body with a firm grip on the inner handles, they ran toward the commotion they heard a few streets over.

“There has got to be a few bulls down here right?”

“Yeah but how do you know it's not a flaming one?”

“Haha! I don’t know for sure, but I do know that there's usually only ever one outfitted with torches so we're less likely to run into that trouble again.”

“You better hope we don't. You did tell me we would try this with normal bulls.”

“Yeah, I know I know.”

“Don't be so nonchalant about it. You do know these aren’t fireproof right?”

“Yeah. I know that.”

They finally reach the commotion and come face to face with a bull flipping everyone and everything in its path.

“This ones perfect! We're sure to get tossed by an aggressive one like this.”

“Well why don’t you go and show me how it's done.”

Haru wastes no time and runs straight for it. The bull immediately takes notice of him coming and tosses him in the air. He screamed in excitement as he soared through the air and bounced along the walls of the buildings like a pinball before landing upside down on the ground.

“Come on Minori, give it a try.”

She rushes over and attempts it herself, but instead of bouncing against the walls, she immediately gets tossed into a nearby river down the street. Haru bursts out in laughter and decides to follow her example. Angling himself just right, he charges at the bull again and lands beside her in the river.

“You sure know how to get tossed with style.”

“Well not everyone can become a human pinball Haru.”

They both share in each other's laughter as they float beside each other.

“So do you have any plans for what's next?”

“Yup I was thinking that we could try the giant zorb balls next.”

“Giant? And what do we do with them?”

“Oh you’ll see when we get there.”