Winters in Hokkaido were longer than any other prefecture in Japan. Typically lasting a solid five months starting early November and finally letting up around the end of March. A fun fact about a world that could use magic was that it spent less time and resources extracting and burning what it found in the ground. So essentially the global cataclysm that is Global Warming doesn't exist here.

Not that humans of this alternate Earth weren't still killing the planet in different ways.

I digress.

With the sounds of trickling water from the still melting snow coming through my bedroom window I really took a moment to appreciate the serene calm of this place. While I still loathed the Yukihana's private mountain top fortress most days, I would admit there was something nice about the isolation and the deeper connection to nature. Something primal and deep that one feels when they are taken back to their ancestral roots. I couldn't remember a time in the last ten odd years where I spent time outdoors just for my own pleasure.

"Make sure to pack well," Uncle Takei said as he walked by my room. "After the parent-teacher interviews are done we'll head to the train station. We'll be arriving in Tokyo late tonight."

"Yup, I'm all packed, Uncle."

Fuck ya! Let's go…!

Finally after what felt like an eternity of this frozen hellscape, I would be returning to civilization! Just the thought of it made me feel overwhelmed with emotions. A feeling of returning to where I truly belonged. Besides… What was anyone really expecting from a full blooded city boy? Could anyone honestly expect me to just upend a life of 24/7 convenience stores and contact free delivery for a little pollution-free air?

Absolutely not!

The best part was that we would be gone for two whole weeks! No Grampy to slight me for looking at him the wrong way! No Nobuo peering over my shoulder every free moment he has! Of course the pièce de résistance was how I could actually sleep in for as long as I wanted! It seemed a little redundant now that I required less sleep but knowing I have the option of it was an indescribable feeling!

Honestly the only thing keeping me sane was still my magic training. It helped keep my mind occupied from all the little comforts I had lost as a result of coming here. While having Takei around more had softened the discomforts I was forced to deal with, I still would be jumping ship once all my plans here were complete. A day I couldn’t help but be even more excited for.

For now I would settle for this small reprieve before the next school year starts. There was also summer break to look forward to and the five weeks of freedom I would abuse to levels a budding eleven year old could only dream of! The timing of it worked out perfectly as my time being grounded was now at an end as of today. Today was just for the students to collect the things they needed to bring home while the parents discussed issues and other matters with the teachers.

Hopefully this would be a quick matter so that we could get on the road. There were some places I wanted to check out in Tokyo that involved important plot points in the game. Right now I was at a level where I felt comfortable breaking off from Uncle Takei for little reconnaissance missions.

While my previous outings to the backwoods played a part in my rapid growth before being barred I wouldn’t claim my increase in my magical related capacities were solely attributed to fighting monsters. I’ll admit I put in more all nighters working on my magical tailoring than I cared to admit. Nothing I made so far was all that spectacular but still resulting in fine tuning my abilities in controlling my magic power. Yes, my scores in Magic Control, Recovery and Quality shot through the roof by simply sitting at my desk while fumbling through sewing two pieces of cloth together. While that analogy was a lot more complicated than I was making it out to be, that’s essentially what it was.

It still made me laugh thinking how Grampy essentially let me hone my skills with the blade that would eventually cut him down. Fitting, given how his own prideful nature disregarding my Null Magic as inferior was why he didn’t care about this hobby I picked up. The man just seemed content that I was quietly spending time in my room and out of his sight.

Again, his fatal mistake.

I ran out to the front gate exactly like a child on their last day of school – gleeful and filled with excitement bursting out in waves.

…Oh boy did that come crashing down like a ton of bricks.

“Our travel arrangements have been set, Master Takei.” Nobuo stated, shattering my hopes and dreams for the next two weeks in one single motion. “I’ll go bring the car around so that we can head out.”

“Thanks, Tatawaki-kun, you’re a lifesaver,” Uncle Takei replied, seemingly happy that this family trip now had this eyesore tagging along with us. “Ah! Good morning Hisato-kun~!”

“Ya… good morning.” I raised my back to return the exuberant wave Takei was greeting me with – more shaking it like it was made of jello though. Ugh! I didn’t want to go anymore! Believe me when I say trying to do anything fun with Nobuo around was more exhausting than simply subsisting in my room. At least there I knew I needed to keep my guard up. With all of Tokyo about to be at my fingertips I was potentially flanked on all sides.

“Sleep well?”

“Not anymore.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing. Is Toki ready to go yet?”

“She’s already waiting at the bottom for us.”

Of course she was. She seemed more happy to be taking her Dad to her school than spending time away from her home. A part of this trip to Tokyo was to see Yukiko; Uncles Takei’s wife who was in the intensive care ward at the General Hospital. He didn’t mention how long she had been there but the inflection I got from him was that she had been there for several years now. With Toki still extremely young it was likely that going to see her mother in that state wasn’t pleasant for her. I wouldn’t blame her for that given how far away Tokyo was and how often she was able to visit.

The other reason why Toki seemed unhappy to go was that I was tagging along as well. She had done her best to stay away from me as much as possible. Our brief interactions these past few months mainly an angsty silence on her part. Whatever nonsense Grampy was filling her head with seemed to be running hard. I couldn’t even remember the last time she spoke more than ten words consecutively with me.

Now she and I were going on a two week trip where she couldn’t avoid me.

Oh boy was this trip really shaping up.

“Hurry father!” The girl yelled as we were nearing the bottom of the steps.

“Ha ha ha! No need to rush! We have plenty of time!”

Toki was shuffling with excitement next to the Yukihana’s Benz. Nobuo was waiting beside her with the passenger doors and trunk open to store our luggage. I didn’t like the idea of him touching my stuff so I moved quickly to place my suitcase in the back while he took Takei’s.

If this was happening then I would be sure to draw a clear line to show that I wouldn’t tolerate his usual actions towards me now that I was leaving the realm of the all mighty Yukihana family. The local towns and villages in the area were one thing but even a family as old as the Yukihana were small fries compared to the powers that lurked in this world’s Tokyo. If the Love Hero Chronicles had any meaningful message it was that there was always some asshole with some world ending power around every corner.

“I would get in quickly, Osawa-kun, otherwise I might just wind up leaving you behind.”

“Two weeks away from you doesn’t sound too bad.”

The creepy bastard smile widened like he always did when trying to hide his disdain for me. “I was thinking the same thing. Please behave while in Tokyo. I will make sure to–”

“–Tell Grampy everytime I act out .Punishments waiting for me when I return. Blah, blah, blah! Ya, I’m aware.”

“Well… So long as you're aware.”

Not sparring another word to our usual song and dance I piled into the back next to Uncle Takei while Nobuo took the wheel and Toki the front passenger seat. This was the first time I had taken in a vehicle since I stopped working for Doctor Takahashi. On that front he had tried reaching out to me once or twice since that night. It seemed like Grampy unintentionally did something right by me and told the old Doctor that my talents were solely for the Yukihana’s use.

I'd question him on the reason but not the outcome.

Whatever relationship Takahashi had with the Sharpe family was better left unexplored. That didn’t mean I would just lower my guard on that front. I wouldn’t put it past Devin Sharpe to have started keeping tabs on me. The devilish man had done something similar with the player character after the numerous times they interfered with his plans. I’d feel flattered that he had such an interest in me after our first encounter but my interest in not being used like a disposable toothbrush was really high up on my list of things I would rather avoid at all costs. It was just above avoiding being pushed off a cliff but just under having to buy into NFT’s.

That was a far deeper rabbit hole I’d rather not get into.

When we rolled up to Hibiya Elementary school it was already a cluster of people from all over Horonobe and other outlying residents. Since this was a small town they only had one school for each level. Since I wouldn’t have to be stuck going to High school here once I started attending the Magic Academy I wouldn’t miss the sight of children screaming and hollering five days of the week.

There was however one crucial bit of information I gathered during my time in this town's educational system. One I was certain didn’t bode well for Toki’s antagonistic mindset towards me.

Horonobe was limited on the amount of teachers they had. Some grades were lucky enough to have enough staff to teach two different classes while others did not. Sadly for the girl that included grade six, our next year. We made it maybe five minutes into the building before that bombshell was dropped on her.

“W-What? What do you mean, Kawamura-sensei?”

“I’m asking if you're excited to be in the same class as your cousin next year,” the middle aged woman asked the stunned girl again.

Toki’s expression now matched mine. The realization of being placed in a situation closer to someone you didn't want around you was clear as day. I would feel sympathy for her if she had a good reason for it. I wouldn’t say I was insulted by her being so incensed by this news but I still had feelings, the little jerk! It's not like being in the same class would suddenly make us have to be best friends or anything.

“Father! Isn’t there another class he could be sent to?”

Takei sighed, likely not pleased to hear his own daughter still disliking my presence. I don’t know how he had the patience for such spoiled behavior so I could only guess that it was Aunty Yukiko that would have laid down the law on such things. “Please Toki-chan. I know you’re not happy but this is what your Grandfather and I decided on.”

“Really? Grandfather too? I… see.” When Takei nodded to confirm this, the last of Toki’s excitement left her. Not going so far as to pout and whine about this like a normal child would but merely putting up a cold front as she would follow Grampy’s example and simply go through the motions of an event he didn’t want to waste his time on. Truly she was an heir in the making. “Father, this is Kawamura-sensei.”

“Yes, we’ve met before. It’s good to see you again, Kawamura-sensei,” Takei offered a customary bow to the grade school teacher.

“You as well Master Yukihana,” the woman returned a much deeper bow. I noticed that she put in a lot more effort into doing up her hair and makeup for this day. The googly eyes she and a lot of the single women around here were making at my unnaturally pretty Uncle was… disturbing. “I’ve been looking forward to speaking with you about Toki’s school work.”

While the staff did their best not to show preferable treatment to Toki, you could sometimes see them show just a little more patience with her than the other students. Always how she was doing more often, offering private tutoring and sometimes asking her more personal questions relating to the Yukihana family. Even out in the boonies there were always those who seemed to strive to have more than they currently had.

Some of them were like that with me too – for different reasons, I imagine. Most people could grasp the concept of the hierarchy of magic when most used it for simple everyday things. It was likely during my short stint as Doctor Takahashi’s assistant that my use of Light Magic was revealed. I wasn’t even trying to hide it and some of the staff got all offended that they weren’t made aware of it. Like it was somehow their business to begin with.

Utterly ridiculous.

At least not everyone in this place was so two faced.

“Oh Hisato-kun! I’m glad you’re here!” Kogumi-sensei said as I wandered off from Takei and Toki. I didn’t have anything I needed to grab since I wasn’t a child that left things to the last minute… anymore. “I have some things I need to ask of you?”

Of course she did.

“If someone tripped and is bleeding again I’m not playing Magic Doctor again.” Every week since the reveal it was; ’Hisato I hurt this’ or 'Hisato can you heal that’? It was no end of annoying how some less than intelligent brats hurt themselves expecting me to just wave my hand and make the pain go away. Boy were they wrong about my patience for shit like that.

That’ll teach them to not jump off the jungle gym! Ha!

“No, nothing like that. I was wondering if I could hold onto some of your homework assignments for next year.”

“You mean to use as examples for the class?”

“Yes. You did so well on them that I think students next year will be able to look at them and help them get a better idea on how to do well. What do you think?”

“Sure, I guess.” I shrugged not seeing the big deal about this. Everything I did was far too simple for me to care. It's really hard to get motivated on doing a 100 word writing assignment about the changing color of trees when I used to write 100 page thesis papers on the specific cultural moments that redefined a nation's entire society. It was super damn easy though in comparison.

“Oh what's this? Is my nephew being praised by his teacher?” Takei coyly asked as he entered the classroom. He already knew I was highly intelligent. Why Takei had to go through this whole song and dance to boost my ego like some doting parent was just too cringey to watch. “It looks like he is. He really is amazing if the teacher wants to keep his school work for herself. I might start to feel sad if she takes it all and leaves me without even a single picture.”

Kogumi-sensei seemed to be amused by how disturbing I found this. Always taking my more mature mannerism with a great deal more humor than others. She sort of had that young unassuming appeal to her natural countenance. Young enough that her superiors didn’t take her seriously. It helped that she could be a bit of a ditz at times too. Leaving me to assist her in wrangling twenty other kids. I didn’t want to but I felt bad since she was new to the job and well… ya that was basically it.

So after describing her like this you can imagine what she did next was downright astronomically propersetous that I nearly didn’t believe it as it happened before my eyes.

SLAP!

Still giggling, she stood up from her desk, likely to greet Uncle Takei who was serving as my guardian. I knew something was off when she stood there without offering or returning a bow when Takei did so like with Kawamura-sensei. The look on Takei's face was one of stunned shock as the result left a very firm and noticeable handprint on his face. There wasn’t anyone else in the classroom at the moment beside the three of us so only one who witnessed this outrageous scene.

Then Kogumi-sensei leaned forward, angrily grabbing Takei by his collar so that she could whisper something into his ear. I was too stupefied to make out what she said but knew the pretty man had just been told something he didn’t like hearing. Enough that he took several steps back, getting on his knees and prostrated himself before the meager Fifth Grade Teacher.

Enough that the powerful man swelled up with tears in his eyes.

“Please, I beg of you. I know I have no right to say this but… Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Why should I?” Kogumi-sensei merely crossed her arms, looking down on my Uncle’s pitiful figure with utter contempt. “I have no reason to believe a word you say. Don’t think everyone in this town is so blind to not see the truth, no matter how much you tried fixing it after the fact.”

“I know…”

“Ahem!” Finally finding my nerve, I coughed awkwardly, trying my best to quickly end this before anyone else walked in and saw this drama playing out. The last thing I needed was more rumors and comments about the Yukihana being pushed my way. “I’m not sure what this is about but could you two do it another time? This really isn’t the time or place for it.”

Kogumi-sensei’s mood slowly changed back, offering me a smile that was filled with more pity than I had seen since I first got here. “Yes… that would be best. Just don’t forget my words or I really will follow through on it next time.”

Takei dipped his head on the floor again, looking several shades more relieved by Kogumi relenting. Whatever leverage she apparently had over my Uncle must have been huge if he was that frightened. I really wanted to pry into the reason behind this but ultimately hesitated. I don’t know why but I just felt like I might not like finding out the reason.

“F-Father? What are you…?”

I wish I could say this bizarre moment didn’t get worse. Context when walking into something like this was crucial. So you could imagine my surprise when I saw Toki standing at the door where she saw her father whom she loved so dearly prostrating himself to my teacher. All the while I stood by looking conflicted as it happened.

Our eyes met. Toki's locking on to mine with an intensity I had never seen before. The look of sheer hatred they held towards me as she made her own conclusion to what happened.

I hadn’t even made it to Tokyo yet and already I knew Grampy was going to have a stroke once Toki relayed this up to him! “Ugh… this is going to be a long two weeks, isn’t it?”