Author's Note) Small And Cute (Aoi)

When the day came for teams to be posted, I was unable to hide my excitement. The girls who were, as usual, talking my ear off for one reason or another, I tuned out completely as I stared over at my new partner. I really wonder who the creepy one is. The girl who only steals glances or me who openly stares.

I have always had this fascination for small, cute things. Puppies, cats, stuffed animals, I love them all. But I had never had such a reaction to humans before until I laid eyes on Watanabe. She gave off the vibe of a small animal since the day I laid eyes on her. “Aoi! Are you listening?”

“Huh? What about?” I turned and looked at Suzune. This girl was the same girl who called Watanabe creepy before. She always has a stuck-up air about her. If I was not trying to behave myself I would not be as nice to her as I am. She also sat in front of me so it was hard to avoid her. But now that I would be partners with Watanabe that meant our seating would change. 

When you partner with someone, you are with them the entire time you are at the academy. This meant that they became your desk mate, and each year, you would be in the same class. The only time you would separate in school was during club activities or maybe lunch when one of the two would go off with their friends.

“You got stuck with the creepy girl. You have really bad luck.” Suzune replied, causing me to glare at her before standing up and walking away. I did not even want to respond to her words. It was already enough that I had not hit her already. But as long as she kept her words to her little circle I would not do anything. But the first time she picked on Watanabe I would probably beat her into the ground.

Everyone was now getting into their groups, but I think I was the only one who felt slightly nervous. I walked over to where Watanabe was sitting, extended my hand, and said, “Let’s get along, partner!”

“Ah… Y-Yes….” She cutely squeaked out. I watched as she nervously held my hand with the lightest touch and shook it. 

“Hehe… Small and cute….” It was so cute that I almost hugged her right then and there, but I held myself back. If she were a cat of a dog, I would not have held back, but I did not wish to scare Watanabe with my weird impulses when I saw cute things. I actually had not even realized I said what I said out loud until I heard: “Huh?” 

Watanabe looked up at me with her big eyes hidden behind her thick-rimmed glasses with a confused look on her face. I had to take a deep breath and try to smile normally as I replied: “It’s nothing. Come on, it seems we are moving to the training room.”

“So we will be working together from now on until we graduate. I hope we can get along.” I began as we walked. I could see that Watanabe seemed overwhelmed, but I continued to talk anyway to try to keep things from getting awkward. From what I could tell, she was very shy and nervous. She kept her head lowered as we walked and clutched her chest as if she was afraid of something.

I wish I could relate to her. But I really could not imagine a life where I had to worry about how I worded my thoughts and also keep my magic in check in case I accidentally harmed someone. But I really did wish to see her magic. I just could not imagine it being something so harmful. I mean it was a unique kind of magic. I really do wonder just how it worked.

“Right… Your name is Watanabe, right, Watanabe Haruhi? The girl with word magic?” I asked on impulse. I had actually asked what I was thinking. 

“Huh? Ah… um… ye-yes…” She answered while giving me a slight nod. 

I know I probably should not be asking this of her, but I couldn’t help it. My curiosity was overflowing. “I thought so. I had been wanting to talk to you, but you seem to like to be left alone, so I did not want to bother you. I have always wondered, what is word magic?” 

As soon as I asked this and looked at the slightly frightened expression on Watanabe’s face, I knew I had overstepped. I quickly tried to apologize: “Sorry, I happen to be kind of pushy at times. If I am being too nosy, please let me know.” 

I really did not wish for Watanabe to hate me. She seemed like a nice person. Unlike others, she did not seem to care about who my parents were or who my grandfather was. She was quiet and kept her head lowered. She was so small and cute that I just really wanted to know everything about her. But what I did not expect was her to answer as she did. “Wha!? N-No… I…. My…. Magic is…. I will show you….”

I think it was then that I fell in love with word magic. The pink butterfly that formed in Watanabe’s hands was so pretty that I was basically mesmerized by it. It made magic truly seem magical. I felt a little sad when I saw it disappear after it flew around for a loop, but truly, it was amazing. There was no other magic like it. You could not just create things out of thin air like she did. Not things that were not elemental. I once more could not understand how my grandfather could call her a ticking time bomb. Not when she could create such a beautiful thing.

Sadly, because of my curiosity, we both ended up getting yelled at.