It was already late in the afternoon, bordering on evening. The fading streaks of sunlight painted the sky a beautiful and melancholic orange, basking the world in a special look only the likes of a sunset could bring. Even if the day was mostly over, Sonoko still knew today was going to be a big day. It was the day of the festival the Heroes had made plans for, both to help set up Gin's confession and do something fun as a little 'send off' for the mages since they were going to leave right after it concluded. They had already gotten approval in advance based on the latter excuse, but that wouldn't have even been needed after the intense battle with what was called the Leo Vertex just a few days ago. The Taisha had taken their terminals earlier under the pretense of working on upgrading them, seemingly rattled by the last fight, leaving the girls to enjoy the event to the fullest without any of their duty hanging over them till they finished in the morning. The Heroes had been a little curious, Sonoko in particular, but their teacher was pretty secretive and said they'd find out more when it was finished. At least Sonoko had managed to get some last-minute substitute phones for the sake of pictures. Being part of the Nogi family had some nice perks.

"With how much Mino-san doesn't like dresses, I didn't think they'd even put on a yukata that easily~." With a teasing giggle, Sonoko commented while stepping a few paces beyond her friends. Sonoko herself had gotten a little dressed up for the occasion, wearing a light pink yukata adorned in several locations with a multi-colored circular pattern, the center held together by her almost maroon sash around the torso. She'd similarly changed her hairstyle into that of a ponytail.

"It looks good on you, Gin." Smiling, and with the restrained glint she got whenever she and Sonoko dressed Gin up, Sumi said with a glance to the girl. Her yukata was primarily a navy blue, with secondary gray highlights, held in place with a yellow sash. A flower pattern was visible like with Sonoko's, but it was more subdued, only sparring around her legs and one side of her chest. "There's a lot going on right now, but let's relax and celebrate our victory today."

Gin's cheeks tinged a hint a red from the comments, but she only reacted with a sigh and exasperated, yet slightly amused grin. She had on a near solid red yukata, with only a few peony's scattered around, outlined in silver but otherwise transparent and copying the main colors. The sash binding it all together was a silver close to her hair color. "Hey, you guys were going in yukata too and it's normal to wear one when going to these kinds of things. Completely different from wearing a normal dress..."

"I don't knoooooooow. You seemed kind of excited~." Sonoko teased with a knowing tone and wink. But, she didn't Gin a chance to respond, moving onto her next target without missing a single beat, taking her camera out. "I haven't seen Wasshi this excited in a while either, the yukata is cute on you too, Wasshi~."

Now, Sumi was on the defensive. "W-Well, like Gin said, it's normal and my parents told me to put this on!"

"And it's good on you, Sumi." With a cocky grin, Gin read the mood perfectly and put one arm around Sumi's shoulder, pulling her closer for an easy camera shot and flashed a wide grin with a wave of her hand, just as Sonoko hoped.

With a giggle, Sonoko snapped a few pictures. "Wasshi looks just like a doll now, doesn't she, Mino-san?" With the fancy outfit and smooth, porcelain-like pale skin, her friend really was the image of a cute doll grown to lifesize.

"I don't know, she kinda soft for a doll." Gin cheekily said, eyes slowly trailing downward. "But this thing hides that really well..."

With an embarrassed squeak and red face, Sumi shuffled away from Gin, accusatory look dashing between them and Sonoko. "H-Hey, t-that's embarrassing! D-Don't take pictures! I thought I'd get a break since you found someone, G-Gin..."

"Oh, that's a good point, we should be teasing Mino-san instead of Wasshi, they have special plans for tonight~." Grinning widely, Sonoko's gaze shot back to Gin.

And once more, the tomboy was back under attack, turning red to match her yukata. "You're switching targets already!?"

"But you're excited for your date, riiiiiight~?" Sonoko teased with a wink, enjoying every minute of the rare expressions brought to Gin's face. Ever since coming to terms with her crush, the girl had been a bundle of confused emotions regarding the topic and it was easy for Sonoko to see. She definitely was a little more confident over the issue, if still quite weak, but at the same time, she had gotten progressively more nervous over the topic as the day approached. Not that it wasn't unexpected, this was Gin's first crush and it'd have been weird to not be at least a little shy, especially for one who got so easily flustered before. But, Sonoko was going to do everything she could to support her friend.

"W-Well..." Gin nervously averted eye contact till she managed to regain it after a second, her voice much weaker. "Y-Yeah, but feels like my heart's gonna jump out of my chest when I think about it… Gonna be hell to make it through this whole festival..."

Initially, Sonoko had thought of using the fireworks to create the perfect 'mood' for Gin to confess. However, their plans had needed a little restructuring after thinking about it. Fate was also coming, which meant they were likely to be pushy on matters of time and leaving once over. Plus, they weren't at this festival only to have Gin confess. It was a fun event they would all enjoy and nobody wanted to miss fireworks. They had still managed to come up with a good plan to give Gin and Negi some alone time anyway. Sonoko's inner romantic did want to see a confession like this, but she respected Gin's privacy over such a personal thing, and knowing people were watching would make it even harder on her. It would all be in Gin's hands from that point.

"Um, it will, it'll be a-alright, Gin..." The current subject matter furthering her already present blush, Sumi tried to weakly reassure. Though not as nervous as Gin got, Sumi still lost her composure fairly easily with romance.

Honestly, sometimes, Sonoko felt like the only one able to keep it together with this topic! It was funny and cute in its own way, but then again, she wasn't the one who had to deal with making a confession and love personally. She couldn't deny having been at least a little embarrassed upon getting her own love letter. If she was in Gin's position, she'd certainly be more anxious than normal. She still had time to figure everything out.

"If you're so nervous, then you won't have any fun~!" Sonoko sympathetically said to her friend, inching closer and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Having fun with the stands is supposed to help you relax and make it easier, not harder~."

Gin inhaled a deep breath and let out a long sigh, one of her typical smiles, if still somewhat weakened, coming over her face, cutely undercut with the still deep blush on her cheeks. "Yeah, I know… Can't give up after coming this far, just gotta have enough guts, right?" Gin half sounded like she was attempting to psych herself up enough for this.

"Come on, let's go then! We don't wanna keep them waiting and miss all the fun right~?" Sonoko cheered, starting to move down the rest of the path again. She could feel Negi and Fate's presence a little bit up ahead. Advancing far enough for magic to start being a more passive part of her life, even untransformed, like any other part of her existence was so cool. It made stuff like keeping track of her surrounding while close to dozing off even easier.

But, despite the fun goal of the day and what Sumi had said, Sonoko had one thing she absolutely needed to address and talk with the mages about, Negi at the very least, about the Vertex. It had to be done before they left. However, there was plenty of time to find a minute for that. She wouldn't let it cast a cloud which ruined all their fun.

Gin had been giving herself affirmations most of the way to the festival, trying to think of how things might go and the best way to make it work, it was hard not to have most of her thoughts preoccupied with the idea, it was part of why they were here. But, knowing what was ahead today, no matter the preparations she had taken, Gin wasn't able to avoid the stronger wave of nerves upon seeing him in person.

The boy was waiting for them near the entrance to the main area and greeted the group with a cheerful wave.. Negi had skipped wearing anything 'festive', instead clothed in the same green suit Gin had seen him in upon initial arrival. It wasn't entirely unexpected, considering they planned to leave once this concluded, but Gin couldn't deny having been a little curious if he'd wear anything special.

Beside him was Fate's form, likewise in the same white suit. His reaction to the group wasn't warm like Negi's, only a curt nod and shifting his gaze over to the Heroes, not looking terribly pleased about being at the festival. With all the fun going on and so many people in casual clothes or yukata, the two looked somewhat out of place in the rather formal outfits.

"Ah, it's good to see you three!" Negi called out with a warm smile.

"Hey Spring-san, Fei-kun~!" Sonoko called out, quickening her pace toward them. "Boo, you two had to wear suits while we got all dressed up, that's no fun~."

Negi smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I never bought something, since I wasn't expecting to do something like this and I was busy the last few days. I think your outfits all suit you very well, though."

"They're a good style right~? I think Mino-san's is extra cute, she doesn't dress up often like this~." With a calculated side step, Sonoko shifted behind Gin to give her the spotlight in the conversation, applying a gentle push of encouragement, but not enough to actually move her.

However, that didn't help Gin much. Put on the spot suddenly like that and feeling Negi's eyes wander over her form, appraising her outfit, Gin felt herself start blushing and a lump forming in her throat. It wasn't she didn't appreciate Sonoko wanting to support her, but her enthusiasm was sometimes still a little much!

"It's cute. The flowers match your hair and eyes nicely, Minowa-san." Without a single beat of hesitation, Negi answered.

Gin's eyes darted sideways against her will, face feeling ready to explode as her heartbeat quickened. Again, there was that word, and again it made her feel a mixture of embarrassment and happiness. It was nice he liked it… But dammit, no! She wasn't going to let herself melt like this already before they even got inside to the stands!

"Um, t-thanks, Negi-san..." Forcing herself to make eye contact again, Gin managed to get out, words on the softer, more shy end. Knowing what exactly stirred up all these feelings in her had helped deal with them a decent amount. Gin considered herself reasonably in touch with her emotions, to the point of often jumping first and thinking later, so knowing that unknown feeling she couldn't explain made it all easier to process. That didn't make the feelings go away though. Even if she didn't mind it so much, part of her even liked it, it was still embarrassing and new to deal with.

At least she could keep looking him in the eye through it. Gin knew she couldn't start shying away from this when it'd take much more guts to get through what needed to be done later. How would she do that if she started chickening out now? No, she had to be strong! No matter how much it seized up her chest or embarrassing it felt, she had to be bolder than this!

With nothing but a single breath to steel herself, despite the butterflies in her stomach and heat in her face, Gin stepped toward Negi. "A-Anyway, hope you weren't waiting too long! Let's, um, go see what kinda fun stuff they have here!"

Not giving herself any chance to start second-guessing, Gin grabbed at Negi's wrist, starting to walk through the path toward some stands close by, luckily followed by the boy she almost dragged along. She had thought about trying to grab his hand, but that was too much for her right now, especially with such a crowded place like this. The very idea made her ready to burst. Later, maybe later. She had some time before the night's end. She could take this a little slow and prepare herself.

Though the festival was on the smaller side, the atmosphere inside it was still a pleasantly fun one. Normal lights and lanterns lining the area enhanced the warm atmosphere of the slowly setting sun, people leisurely moved around the streets and stands, enjoying the fun activities and food for sale, many of them even dressed up for the occasion like the Heroes were. It created almost magical energy to the area, busy and crowded, yet not so densely packed as to stifle the attractions and enjoyment. If anything, it only added to the fun feelings a festival brought.

It'd been a nice help for Gin's nerves.

So had letting go of Negi's wrist and getting food.

"There's always so much good food at festivals like these~" Sonoko called out with a satisfied smile on her face and chocolate-covered bananas in hand.

"The foods definitely one of my favorite parts about these places. All sorts of great sweets and stuff." Gin commented, finishing off her own chocolate banana and throwing the stick in one of the trash bins. She had to at least save some of her money for the games, but no way would she possibly be able to resist at least some of the festival food. The sweet taste was relaxing.

"There's always a special atmosphere to festivals like this, they're a lot of fun." Negi commented, eyes glancing between all the attractions with a cheerful smile. He hadn't picked out anything quite yet, appearing to still be looking for anything that particularly caught their eye.

"Looking for something, Negi-san…?" Gin cautiously asked, leaning a touch closer. Maybe she could use this to buy him something or lead him to a stand.

"I was looking around for cotton candy, but I haven't seen any yet, even with all the good looking food." The boy answered with a quick look at Gin.

"Have either of you been to many festivals before? Are they anything like this one?" Sumi spoke up curiously.

Negi nodded, a nostalgic grin over his face. "Outside of school festivals? I've only been to one before, it was a lot like this."

"None, aside from Mahora Fest." Fate flatly answered. "And that was far larger scale than this."

At the mention of Mahora Fest, Negi's smile vanished in favor of a dry, unamused look, slowly shifting focus toward Fate. "That was the same one you sat and watched me get chased around the entire school for..."

"You brought that disaster upon yourself with how you handled all the extra attention, Negi-kun." Fate answered, a faint trace of magic coming into Gin's senses she recognized as illusions, with the answer. He almost looked amused at the statement. It wasn't a full smile, but more of a half-grin. But even that looked positively foreign on the almost perpetually neutral or annoyed face.

"They chased me with tanks and helicopters, Fate."

"Hardly an annoyance, they didn't even use live rounds. You seemed to be enjoying yourself just fine anyway."

"Well, it was very lively until I lost my magic for a few minutes..."

Sumi's look on in a mixture of horror and morbid fascination to know more. "W-What kind of school did you go to?"

"This school sounds wild..." The more Gin heard about this place, the more she wanted to see it someday. It sounded completely unbelievable with every new fact Negi or Fate mentioned, but at the same time, it felt like a ton of fun to experience. Still, she restrained her dumbfoundedness at the idea of a school apparently using military equipment, or perhaps the other things she heard helped desensitize her somewhat by now, instead keeping her eyes out for a cotton candy stand. Negi's attention was elsewhere and this would be a good chance to find one first.

"Here, Mino-san, I got some for everyone~." Sonoko's voice came with a gentle finger tap on her cheek, drawing Gin's focus momentarily. Beside her, stood Sonoko with a raised hand, carrying a few candied apples in it. "Everyone was busy talking or listening, so I grabbed a few before we went too far from the stand."

"Ah, thanks, Sonoko. Good catch." Gin said, gratefully taking the coated apple. How the hell did she miss that stand? Maybe she was a bit too focused on finding one for Negi and caught up in the vaguely alluded to yet insane incident. Sonoko's eye for detail was sure something.

Pausing the discussion for another time, Sonoko handed out the candied apples, with even Fate taking the one he was offered.

With the lull in the discussion, Gin's eyes finally locked onto what she was looking for. A stand selling some cotton candy.

Instead of calling it out immediately, Gin started half raising her hand toward Negi's, it was a good excuse to grab his and lead him over, but after an indecisive second of raising and lowing her hand, Gin braced herself and quickly took Negi's hand before she could start worrying any more. Getting paralyzed by too much thinking was not her style.

"Um, N-Negi-san, look there's a stand over there!" Gin applied a gentle tug to Negi's hand, pointing over to the place in question while taking a few steps.

"Hrm? Oh, thank you, Minowa-san." Giving Gin a soft smile that stirred up a warm feeling, Negi answered, before following behind Gin over to it.

Coming to a stop, Gin received a quick greeting from the middle-aged man running the stand before she ordered one.

"Don't worry about it, Negi-san! I'll um, buy it!" Before Negi could speak up, Gin quickly stated to the boy. This whole thing made her face burn something bad, holding his hand out in public like this, buying him something, and then the ever-present looming threat at the festival's end. Things were moving fast, she might've preferred a little time to adjust, even if this felt almost as nice as it did embarrassing, but she had to be ready for the trial by fire. This was as much Gin trying to show some interest and affection, as it was trying to psych herself up for later. There would not be a later time or second chance if this was botched.

"Hrm? Are you sure? You seemed so excited about it, I thought you'd want one too with how you grabbed my hand and almost dragged me over here." Visibly confused, Negi asked with a tilted head.

"Err, yeah! Don't worry. You just, um, hadn't gotten something yourself yet, so uh, want to make sure you're having fun." On the one hand, Gin might've started feeling even more nervous if Negi gave signs he knew what she was doing. On the other hand, he seemed to not even have the foggiest clue. If a boy started acting like she was right now toward her, Gin was pretty sure she would start getting suspicious unless they were naturally shy, which she certainly wasn't.

On yet another hand, there was how long she had taken to realize she was in love herself, so maybe it wasn't that out there and she was worrying too much...

"Here you go."

The stand owner's voice drew Gin back to the cotton candy in front of her face.

Oh, that was right. She didn't have three hands and the two she did were tied up with holding Negi's own and her candied apple.

Feeling her face flush for completely different reasons than her crush, Gin quickly let go of Negi's hand, fished out some yen from her pocket, and handed it off before taking the cone and presenting it to the mage. "H-Here."

Much more composed than she was, Negi took the gift with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Minowa-san."

Progress, at least she was making progress so far…

Before Negi could take a bite, he raised an eyebrow, glancing over at something behind Gin with a cautious, confused look.

Curious, Gin spun around to investigate the source as well. She could immediately see why Negi looked perplexed.

In front of some kind of hammer game stand, the kind where you used a small mallet to hit something high up and got a prize based on the height, was Fate being addressed by an elderly man with the game's hammer. Beside him, Sumi watched with a look of caution, as if she expected a disaster at any second, while Sonoko watched with a much more curious look as if expecting amusement.

"I overheard the girls mention this was your first time ever at a festival and you don't look like you go out much, so give it a try, first one's on the house."

Fate looked over at the game, then back at the smiling old man.

With a completely neutral gaze and not so much as looking at the game, breaking eye contact once, or changing posture, Fate grabbed the hammer, flicked his wrist, and smashed the mallet into the game so hard, the small metal piece indicating force practically teleported into the bell at the top and stayed there.

For several seconds.

The stand's owner's head followed the metal piece finally descend back into the starting position with a wide-eyed expression. "What the heck are you kids eating these days…?"

"You can give the prize to them." Unphased as ever, Fate turned and started walking away.

"Oh, oh! I'm with him! I'll take the prize!" Leaning forward and energetically waving an arm to draw the man's attention, Sonoko eagerly shouted.

Beside her, Negi sighed. "Well, at least he's doing something to have fun..."

"Fate-san's sure something..." Gin was unable to suppress the slight chuckle escaping her lips at the silly scene. If it wouldn't be unfairly cheating, Gin would've been curious to see how else magic could've impacted these festival games outside super strength.

"He didn't exactly have the most normal life till recently, so I think this is good, even he's a little unusual about it." More of his good-spirited tone returning, Negi continued. "But anyway, let's go catch up."

The festival had been much of what Sumi was hoping for. A fun time to bond with her friends and make some memorable experiences. It was quite a coincidence it lined up with the plans to help Gin with her crush. Sumi had come across the festival beforehand and had planned on asking her friends, even considering the mages to try making up for some of her skepticism now that they were leaving, to attend it, but between everything and some of her own social awkwardness, mustering up the time and courage was difficult. It had made speaking up about wanting to go when Sonoko gave the option by suggesting it for Gin's troubles easier with another person onboard. Sumi still felt unsure of the whole affair, more so now because of the logistics of being in different worlds, but she saw it made Gin happy so she hoped maybe it could work somehow.

Gin's concerns were far from the only reason they had come though, there was so much to do! Anticipating the festival, Sumi had expected it to be both fun and eventful affair, but even with her growing used to her friend's antics, there was plenty of room for unexpected surprises. Not long after Sonoko took her stuffed cat prize from the game Fate nearly broke, the blonde had tried to buy an entire stand from how much she loved the meat it sold. She had tried giving out her parent's phone number to the bewildered owner, but thankfully Gin had stepped in by literally lifting and carrying off Sonoko under one arm. Gin was always strong, but she had been able to carry off Sonoko with zero effort like she was made of paper. That was not something she could've done without transforming only a short time ago.

It was amazing how used to magic they were getting, without being transformed at that. Sumi was strong for her age due to Hero training, but even without being as good at Gin in reinforcement, it'd become apparent her 12-year-old body had strength well over a trained adult's now. It had even been necessary to start checking herself in some of the games from how used to the enhanced strength she had gotten. Even if it was technically her own power, it still felt like an unfair edge only five people on the entire island had.

However, Sonoko had caught sight of a fun looking game where there'd be no such worry, a shooting one, and made a beeline straight for it, insisting she wanted to try it first, aiming to knock down the largest prize, a giant chicken plushie. With Negi and Fate having vanished for the moment, Sumi and Gin had complied and settle into watching

Things did not start promisingly for Sonoko in the slightest.

Sonoko vocalized a frustrated grumble after taking a few shots, her best success being one clipping a single feather and not even rocking the doll.

Sumi could only let out a good-natured sigh at her's failure. She was making several key mistakes, not correcting for the rifle's aim bias, wrong posture, poorly controlled breathing. However, at least Sonoko was having fu-

Why was her friend pulling out an entire handful of bills?

"W-Woah. Sonoko, i-isn't that kind of a lot when you won another plushie already? T-that looks like all your money." Eyes widening in the same instant as Sumi's, Gin stammered at seeing the huge pile of yen, holding onto her earlier prize while she played the game.

"Not good enough, Mino-san!" Sonoko defiantly stated with a fire in her eyes, taking a stack of cork ammo the size of her head and putting it in her rifle's basket.

"Sumi… I think Sonoko's lost it." Gin muttered in exasperation.

Sumi could only weakly nod in agreement. She had seen Sonoko jump at the chance to get cute toys and random stuff she liked before, but this determination and going all-in at once was something else. "I hope she can hit it..."

Sumi watched her misplaced hopes rapidly dwindle with every shot Sonoko missed, the large pile rapidly shrinking down to individual scattered shots. Somehow, Sonoko had missed almost every single one, once again only managing a few glancing blows.

Now down to only a couple more rounds, Sonoko let out a pitiful whine.

Sumi sighed as her friend started reaching the end of her rope. Sonoko had said she wanted to do it herself, but this was starting to get depressing and Sonoko really wanted that prize. If she missed the next shot, then Sumi would step in to give her friend some help.

Sonoko's sad whine quickly shifted into one of anger as she loaded another cap into the toy rifle. A slowly building magic assaulted Sumi's senses while her friend aimed the gun. "I'll hit it this time…!"

"W-Wait a moment, Sonocchi." Sumi quickly stepped toward her friend, putting a hand on their shoulder. Even if Sonoko was only going to use something simple like one arrow for tracking and force, that would've been risky. Regardless of being frustrated, Sonoko wasn't one to lose her reason, even if that reason was sometimes only understandable by her. If she wanted it bad enough to do this, Sumi had to help. "You want that one in the middle?"

"Huh?" Sonoko blinked a few times, pulled out of her hyperfocus by Sumi's question. "Yeah, the first prize birdie."

Carefully, Sumi positioned herself behind Sonoko, placing one hand each on her's and starting to help align the rifle, not entirely doing it herself, more guiding Sonoko's hands in the proper spot.

"Wasshi? What are you going to do?" Sonoko asked in curious confusion, but otherwise letting Sumi's hands control her's.

"Bet you'll knock it down on the first shot, Sumi." Gin's voice cheered.

"Shhh, Gin, I'm trying to help Sonocchi and focus." Sumi responded, briefly switching her focus to address Gin and discovering she had a camera in hand. The sight started making her cheeks flush. "G-Gin, I said no pictures..."

"Hey, come on! I don't get to see you do something like this often." Gin cheekily answered, her phone making a brief clicking noise. "I don't wanna throw off your focus, but had to get one."

"Don't worry about it, Wasshi. The pictures just mean we'll always remember it. Let Mino-san take some~." Giving her a gentle prod, Sonoko stated, bringing Sumi's focus back to her.

Well, Sumi couldn't fight that… It was embarrassing to have herself photographed when she was acting outside how she usually did, even with as far as she had come with her social anxiety of friends compared to first meeting Gin and Sonoko. Having little mementos and keepsakes of their fun times wasn't so bad though. She'd taken numerous photos of incidents with Sonoko and Gin, so maybe Sumi could let her mature side slip a little and allow it to be her turn.

"I, um, guess a few pictures are okay..." Sumi finally answered, trying to calm the burning in her cheeks. Sumi had stepped in to help Sonoko relax and get her prize, but now she was in need of some relaxation. Especially with cameras now on her, she couldn't fail!

"Okay, Sonocchi. Relax… Control your breathing before you shoot." Saying the advice partially for her own sake, Sumi took a deep breath to try centering her flustered thoughts, with Sonoko immediately following her example.

"I've figured out the rifle's aim bias. Leave the corrections to me." Tuning out her surroundings the best she could, Sumi carefully lined up the rifle to the perfect position. Even though her weapon was a bow, she had studied guns during her history reading. She was more than used to lining up shots in vastly worse and frantic conditions than this.

"Breath in. Breath out." Sumi stated intensely, waiting for Sonoko to follow every step before moving onto the next. "Focus on your aim. Gently squeeze the trigger..."

"Now!"

Sonoko pressed the trigger, launching the cork directly between the plushie's eyes, starting to make it rock backward.

Sumi could feel her excitement skyrocketing once the bullet made contact. This was it! Just one final little push and they'd win! "And now, willpower!" Sumi stuck her hand out with all her intensity, waving her hand forward and focusing everything on willing the oversized plush to fall over. Magic may have been cheating, but wishing hard wasn't!

For several tense seconds, the chicken teetered on the edge between life and death, until with one final sway, it tipped over onto the ground.

"Yay! I did it!" Sonoko screamed with pure joy, jumping around excitedly.

"Damn, taking pictures and I was a second too late to help you guys. Told you you'd get it first shot.." Gin, who had gotten directly beside Sumi without her noticing, commented.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it, Gin. We have something to commemorate it now." Sumi assured her friend with a pleased smile. She couldn't help the swell of pride in her chest at having accomplished this.

"Those cork bullets shouldn't be able to knock this thing down..."

"What do you mean by that?" Sumi's piercing stare shot over to the stand over immediately at the comment. Maybe she should have let Sonoko blast the chicken with magic. She wouldn't blow up the stand. Probably.

"Ah, nothing! Here. Here's all yours." Quickly switching gears, the middle-aged man running the stand handed Sonoko her stuffed prize, which she gratefully took.

"We did it!" Sonoko cheered, smiling down at her reward.

"Put anything ranged in Sumi's hands and she's a master at it." Gin commented with a cheeky grin. "Sonoko missed all those shots and then you two took it down in one hit. Wouldn't have thought Sumi would jump to the willpower thing, that's usually me."

"Well, you were busy taking pictures, so I guess I got a little into it." Sumi answered, a twinge of embarrassment stirred within her, yet overwhelmed by the pride. This was more fun than she'd expected. Sumi still felt some butterflies in her stomach, but it wasn't so bad when just went for it like this.

"Energetic Wasshi is cute, I wanna see that side of you more~." Sonoko giggled teasingly. "You got the pictures, right Mino-san?"

"Plenty." Gin smirked, waving her phone.

"Good~. Now, before we go get Spring-san and Fei-kun-" Sonoko continued before Sumi could respond, holding her hard won prize to the confused stand owner.

"I'll trade this for those three." Sonoko motioned over to three almost identical, small cat keychains. The only distinguishing feature was their different colored scarves, purple, red, and blue. Matching Sumi and her friend's Hero colors perfectly.

With a shrug, the man took the chicken back and set it on the stand, before giving the keychains to Sonoko.

"Here, now we all match~." Sonoko said with a radiant smile, holding out the blue and red scarved keychains to Sumi and Gin.

"Thanks, Sonoko. Putting this right on my backpack." Gin said while taking her's.

"Thank you, Sonocchi." Tenderly, Sumi took her's with a sentimental smile. It all made sense to her now, why Sonoko had been so driven to win and even spend all her on hand money in pursuit of winning. Sumi knew she was lucky to have friends who cared about her so much. Even if they had only been close for several months, Sumi couldn't imagine her life again without them and wouldn't have traded the world for Sonoko and Gin.

"The fireworks should be starting soon. I'm gonna go get Spring-san and Fei-kun. So I'll be back in a few minutes, okay~. And don't worry, I spent all my money, but I know you two still have some. You should have some fun with the games too~." Starting to pace away from them, Sonoko stated with a quick wave.

Sumi raised an eyebrow at her friend's departure, but she supposed Sonoko made sense. The fireworks would be soon, but they still had some time and there were a few more games Sumi wanted to try. "Come on, Gin. Let's look around."

Though he'd still had to come dressed formally, Negi was still enjoying the festival. It made a nice little 'send-off' and memory for his time here. It even lined up well with how long it took to prepared enough magic for another trip, fortunate as while Negi did enjoy the Heroes' company and would miss them, he was still anxious to see how everyone was doing in person. Hearing from Fate that things were fine back home had put his mind at ease, but it had also made them even more anxious to return. It'd been part of his reason for stepping away from the girls as well, bringing up some old memories had made Negi eager to speak with Fate about home once more. He didn't have as much time as he would've liked to reminisce between all the final checks for returning.

"It's still disappointing we were able to pull off something like arriving right after we left. Everyone sounded so worried." Negi stated with a subtle sigh. He wasn't worried about anyone hearing him. Both he and Fate were more than capable of making the conversation sound normal to everyone around them. They were off in a more quiet corner right now anyway, by some bushes away from most of the attractions as an extra precaution.

"We had to essentially try inventing something new with only minimal experience to go off of. It's fortunate we even made it back so quickly." Fate responded.

Fate had a point there, that was a positive at least. The whole affair had been troubling to try and sort or make sense of. He had considered it a possibility, but unfortunately, the amount of time which had passed for them here had also passed over there in his home dimension. Perhaps they weren't time traveling as much as expected? Or maybe it was complications due to their solutions being quickly done? Time travel and alternate dimensions could easily cause anyone a headache. He'd have to look into it at some point if he could, but for now, it worked and that was the important thing.

"There's going to be so much to catch up on. It'll be great to see everyone again, though." Lighthearted resignation in his words, Negi added. "By the way, Fate… You didn't tell Asuna-san about how long I stayed awake here, did you?"

Fate took a long sip from the coffee he'd somehow procured. But the other's silence said it all. And it already made him uneasy imagining how Asuna would react.

"The first question was if you were okay and I merely answered it, Negi-kun. They were quite insistent on details due to being unable to come here with me." Without looking him in the eye, Fate stated once he finally put the drink down. "I don't think I've ever seen such a combination of mortified, frustrated, and exasperated before."

He was going to die.

"Hey, Spring-san, Fei-kun~!" Sonoko's voice pulled both mage's attention over to the girl rapidly approaching them. "I was wondering where you two wandered off~."

"Ah, sorry about that, Nogi-san. Fate and I were just talking a little. Enjoying the festival?" Negi replied, putting concerns about what Asuna would do once he returned on the backburner for the time being.

Sonoko gave an eager nod, pleased smile over her face. "Yeah, it's been a lot of fun~. I won some cool prizes at another game. The fireworks will be soon. You two been having fun in the meantime~?"

"It's a different experience." Fate commented.

"Events like these are always fun, I'm glad Minowa-san asked about it. She's been acting pretty nervous though, so I hope she's alright." Negi answered, tapping a finger to his cheek a few times. He was having fun to be sure, but at the back of his mind, there was a growing suspicion surrounding Gin's recent behavior. Negi knew he was… far from the best at picking up matters of the heart. But though he still wasn't that good, he'd had to learn very quickly after all the events and people who had said something to him, especially after Mahora Fest. That had been a rather sobering experience and forced him to reevaluate some past moments, especially without the ability to give anyone the answer they wanted about who he liked. Gin had been kind of nervous around him before, but how she was acting at this festival felt like something more. But maybe he was overthinking the whole thing, he did that sometimes. He and Fate were going to be leaving and Gin wouldn't have any way to speak to them until he returned, hopefully not after too long. Perhaps she was just getting anxious over that?

"It's something new for Mino-san, I'm sure she'll figure it out by the time this is over~." Sonoko casually answered with a grin, yet after a pause, her features dropped noticeably. It couldn't quite be called serious, but to anyone who knew the girl, it could be easily seen her expression took on a heavy weight to it, smile relaxing to a not quite neutral alongside her eyes growing stern. "But, before we go meet up with everyone else, there was one thing I wanted to talk about. You're making sure nobody can hear us, right?"

Negi raised an eyebrow at the girl. He hadn't really gotten much chance to talk with Sonoko individually, but he at least knew this behavior wasn't typical. He already had suspicions of what topic she wanted to approach. "We are. What is it Nogi-san?"

"Before we fought the Leo Vertex a few days ago, you said something like it appearing was what you were afraid of after the attack before it. I've noticed the Vertex acting differently over the last couple times we fought them, they almost seemed like they were… adapting to how we fought. When you two arrived, two of the Vertex went ahead to distract us from the third one, who stayed back and shot us from range, a lot like how Wasshi, Mino-san, and me fight. I thought it was coincidence, but then the next attack happened and I saw it happen again, with the little guys keeping us busy and fighting with strategy. And then there's what you said..." Sonoko trailed off momentarily to allow her words and the implications to sink in.

But Negi didn't need any time to process all the words, he already knew where this was headed, he could feel Fate's attention pricking at him, the mage mentally communicating with him through Sonoko's entire speech.

{Negi-kun, remember the agreement we had. It would not do them any good to go off half prepared for something they can't change}

{I know Fate, I know. It'll be better once we can come back with more support. I'm not going to completely lie to her like the Taisha did, though.. Besides, we're not breaking any agreement if the Heroes are on their own path to finding out whatever's going on.}

"It feels like there's something more to the Vertex and I had to ask before you left. What did you see in that attack?" Sonoko let the question hang, looking at the pair intently.

Negi crossed his arms pensively. "Well, I noticed what you did too, the Vertex were definitely adapting. They didn't feel like some virus born animals following base instinct. The reason I was concerned is because of those smaller Vertex were clearly connected to the larger ones, so the possibility of something stronger lurking out there didn't seem farfetched. We're more powerful than you three and that made me worried we'd attract the attention of something stronger than you could handle. Fate and I even limited ourselves, but something still came despite it..."

Sonoko listened to the boy's words carefully, tense stare over her features.

"I think there's something more going on with the Vertex too, but I can't say for certain what exactly it is. But they're smart, more than capable of using tactics and strategy in a fight and quickly adapting if you let them." Negi admitted with a sigh, not dropping his stern voice or gaze matching Sonoko's.

"So, you think so too..." Sonoko mumbled to herself with a frown. "You know a lot more about stuff like magic than me. Do you have any idea what's going on? Being related to the virus always made sense to me and I never thought about it, but it doesn't feel right now."

She was already guessing about magic? Sonoko was perceptive, dangerously close on the mark. Even without he or Fate giving her information, it didn't feel like a stretch to believe she would start asking questions and find something secretive on her own at this rate. "As I said, we're not certain, we've mostly been focusing on getting home. There's something more going on here and I want to instigate it once things get settled in my world. Something isn't normal about this 'virus' if the Vertex come from it if that's even what it is."

{Negi-kun, you should be careful how much information you lead with.} Fate's mental reprimand came simultaneously as he vocally spoke, half raising a hand to draw attention. "You are correct in assuming there's more to this story, but we don't know much more than you do. However, one should be careful making too many assumptions or trying to recklessly investigate. If there is more to the Vertex, then it's hard to say what else could be waiting to be uncovered. I understand your curiosity, but you should be careful opening a door that cannot be closed again. We plan on coming back at some point, where it will be easier to investigate whatever is going on than you solely by yourself. Besides, you are scheduled to get an update to the Hero system that will make you more powerful, are you not? You should be fine until we come back."

{Fate, I was getting to that. We can't cut her off too quickly.} Without words or any visual tells, Negi shot back at Fate. He wasn't going to mention everything, he knew that would only make it even harder to reign in Sonoko's worries, yet if he was too cryptic that would also make her suspicious. Fate had a point in that if the situation was worse case scenario, trying to uncover the truth unprepared had the potential to attract something much worse than the Vertex. No matter how unlikely it was, better safe than sorry. They wouldn't be gone too long anyway. The assurance of a system update was the only reason Negi even felt comfortable in leaving now after Leo attacked. He'd pried the information from the Taisha afterward, the organization mentioned how it could make the Heroes strong enough to even deal with Leo. But even with that new power, who knew what could lurk beyond the Vertex.

Sonoko hummed in thought, processing the answer. "That's true. I just wanted to know what somebody with another view thought~." Sonoko's voice, though not quite to her usual level, lightened up with the words. "Promise you won't be gone long and will help us with whatever's going on?"

"Promise." Negi answered, his expression lifting to a friendly smile.

"Once we can ensure matters are taken care of in our world, then I can promise to help." Fate echoed the sentiment.

Affirmed, Sonoko's demeanor shifted back to her customary smile. "Yay~. In that case, let's get going to the fireworks. Wasshi had an idea she wanted to ask you two about~. Come on!" Sonoko made an expectant motion with her hand.

Walking over to Sonoko, Negi internally breathed a sigh of relief at matters being diffused for now. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he and Fate were worried about but best not to take chances when it concerned a world's fate.

Just as he reached Sonoko's side, the girl pulled at Negi's sleeve to draw his attention. "Oh, and Spring-san… Be nice to Mino-san."

Negi felt all his earlier concerns start flaring up with that one line.

After her meeting with the two mages, Sonoko had dragged them back over to her friends, where Sumi had brought up her plan for the fireworks. The mages could fly, so Sumi wanted to see the fireworks from up in the sky if they could make any kind of platform to watch from, which they could. They said it would even be easy to mask their presences to nobody would be able to see them floating in the sky.

With the plans settled, the group had taken to their air, over 100 meters off the ground. The girls had settled on Negi's staff like a bench, lacking flight of their own, while the two mages floated slightly off to the sides.

The anticipation had absolutely been worth the wait.

Seeing such large fireworks from an eye level, or even the explosions below them was a unique perspective. Combined with the high view off the ground, the distant and tiny objects in the distance made a contrast which highlighted the size of the fireworks even more than looking upwards at the open sky did. Making it yet even better was the sun had fully set now, letting the bright colored explosions of the fireworks shine through the night with every bang.

For a time, the group mostly watched in silence at the light show, enjoying the display. It was a peaceful pause after being near constantly drawn to the various attractions of the festival or talking with her friends. The relative quiet brought up some… Unusual feelings in her.

Maybe it was how this was one of the first major 'fun' things the group had done in a while, maybe it was how Negi and Fate would be leaving beyond any possibility to talk till they chose to return, but whatever it was, her heart had a mix of melancholic, yet appreciative feelings, sentimental. Though she wasn't as close to them as Gin or Sumi, the mages had a drastic effect on her life despite being only around for a bit, but now they would be gone for a while, even if they promised to come back eventually. Her mind drifted over toward her two best friends at the thought, who she had also known for a brief time by most standards, only really growing close in the last few months, yet were an inseparable part of her life.

Their initial entrance alone had saved Gin from dying due to not noticing the third Vertex. And then there had been quite a few close calls after that. She had stepped dangerously close to the grave. They would always do their best together, but sometimes events just happened and if only one of those fights had gone even a tiny bit worse, Sonoko could've easily lost the chance to talk to her friends again.

"This's been a lot of fun. Meeting everyone and doing fun things like this. I'm glad I got chosen as a Hero." Sonoko spoke out. Her voice had much of her usual cheer, but it was heavier, unexpectedly sentimental, and lacking the utterly carefree air normally there.

"I'm a weird girl, so it's always not been easy to make friends, but because of that, I've made a lot of new friends and done things I didn't think I would've myself." Sonoko could feel everyone's attention divert over toward her at the suddenly heavy statement. She didn't get like this often, but she couldn't help her sentimental mood. She had thought it plenty of times, but Sonoko had never really said it before. Becoming a Hero and everything which happened from it was the best thing to happen to her, even with the dangers.

"Hey, hey," Gin stated, giving a playful prod to Sonoko's shoulder. "you're not weird, you're fun and that's what we like about you, Sonoko. Everybody's got some unusual sides to them, like Sumi anytime you mention history or whatever happens at Negi's school."

"I agree with Minowa-san. I know I haven't gotten to know you the best, Nogi-san, but I don't think you're any weirder than most of the people I've met. I'm sure you would get along with many of them just fine even." Negi added.

"That's right, you're not weird, you're wonderful." Sumi commented with a small grin over her face.

"Thanks. I wish I could've gotten to know Spring-san and Fei-kun more though. I haven't known Wasshi or Mino-san that long, but I was able to work a lot harder because of them and have a lot of fun. Wonder what else could happen if you could've stayed a little longer." Sonoko's face shifted toward a sweet smile, not like her usual bubbly ones, but more subdued and tender. Part of it was definitely her desire to unravel whatever mystery was going on, but she wanted to get to know them better too. Negi was a nice person with a history longer than his age would've implied and she had barely gotten to know Fate. The boy was still a huge mystery and pretty aloof, but he had his moments and she really wanted to know more about somebody with his unique background.

"We'll be back, don't worry. Maybe sometime, you'll even be able to see what our world's like." Negi confidently answered with a smile.

Sonoko lazily kicked her feet in the air a few times, some of the cheer returning to her face. Visit their world? That was a nice thought. She only knew a little about it, but a whole world of magic was enough to send her imagination running wild. Too bad it wouldn't be possible for a long time because of their duty, maybe once they grew up and weren't Shikoku's only defense. "It'll be a while with our duty, but that sounds like it'd be fun~."

A rapid series of cascading explosions drew everyone's attention back toward the fireworks. The show was reaching its conclusion now, many sparks filling the sky one after the other with loads of vibrant colors and flashes.

"Ehehe… Sorry about the distraction. Something about the fireworks made me think and I wanted to say that while I could, with everything that's happened.." With a nervous chuckle, Sonoko stated, keeping her eyes on the quickly fading display. She had gotten so caught up in the heartfelt discussion, they'd missed a whole section of the show. But, she still was glad to have said it while she could.

"Don't worry about it, Sonocchi. Thank you for saying that." Sumi answered, putting a hand over Sonoko's and gently gripping it.

"Yeah, it was nice to hear. You're just as important to us. You've gotten us through a lot." Gin echoed the sentiment, mirroring Sumi's action with her own reassuring squeeze while the final fireworks went off, leaving the sky in a serene stillness once more.

Having friends like this was a real blessing.

"Well, with that done, we should get going." Fate was the first to speak once the explosions ceased, gaze turned sideways toward the group.

"I guess we should. Let's get back down then." Negi repeated, looking toward Fate and then the girls.

"Wait, wait!" Sonoko quickly interrupted just as the staff started to descend. It was time to move on with the rest of their plan. The mages couldn't leave without Gin getting the chance to express her feelings.

"Hrm?"

"Well, we're used to walking back home, but we're dressed in yukata right now and it's a little bit of a long walk, so could you drop us off at Mino-san's house~? We were gonna have a sleepover after this. Pleaaaaaaase~?" Sonoko asked, putting on the most pleading face and tone she could. They had to adjust plans a little with Fate around, but she had already made backups. This matter wasn't one to slack off with!

"I suppose that's not unreasonable. I can teleport you there." Fate answered, materializing the ever-familiar large black key in his outstretched hand.

"Actually, we were wondering if Spring-san could fly us there~."

Fate shot a thoroughly unamused stare toward Sonoko.

"Being up high like this is fun~. You guys are gonna be gone for a while and I don't think we'll get to do this again for a while, so I wanted to see a little bit more. Mino-san's house isn't that far away~." Not backing down, Sonoko answered.

"Uh, yeah. I saw it once, so thought Sonoko and Sumi would like it too!" Gin chimed in, a touch of nerves in her voice.

"It won't be much more than several minutes, Fate. It will be fine." Thankfully supporting their side, Negi spoke up.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Fate's expression softened toward his more neutral look. "Fine. I suppose we will need some time to do final preparations and make sure the summoning area is secure anyway."

"Yay, I knew you had a soft side~." Sonoko cheered with a happy smile. It was buried beneath a bunch of abrasive layers, but he wasn't so bad when letting it out.

"Don't take too long." Fate said sharply, looking at Sonoko with slanted eyes.

"We won't. Bye, Fei-kun~." Sonoko answered with a little wave. This would be the last time they saw Fate till another visit, so may as well say farewells.

"Goodbye, Fate-san. You should tell us more about the magical world's history next time you're here." Sumi followed suit, more formal in her farewell than Sonoko was.

"Yeah, you should, uh, come talk a bit more next time." Gin, though nervous in her words, tried to speak with her usual outgoing friendliness.

"We'll see what the future holds next time. Farewell." Fate answered, not sounding entirely enthusiastic to the idea, yet not dismissively opposed like he usually answered most things with. Not a second later, the mage vanished.

"Alright, hold on everyone. I'll take us over to Minowa-san's house." Negi stated as the staff begun to move.

To say the ride back to her house made Gin feel tense would've been putting the pounding in her chest lightly. She could barely focus on the passing landscape, which inspired some occasional comments from her friends, with the spinning going on in her head as they approached ever closer to that important moment. The extra wait time was both a blessing and a curse for Gin, because it both let her try to mentally prepare herself for the next few minutes, yet it also sent her worries into high gear. But, she couldn't get cold feet now, not after how far she had come.

"Alright, here we are. I hope you enjoyed the ride and view, everyone." Negi's voice caught Gin's attention as the staff started quickly descended in front of her house.

"Thanks, Spring-san! I'd always wondered what it was like to see the island like a bird~." Sonoko said while climbing off Negi's staff.

"It wouldn't be too hard for us to learn to fly with something like this, but carrying around a staff all the time couldn't exactly be hidden." Following Sonoko, Sumi moved to stand.

Wordlessly, Gin stood up herself, looking at Negi with a burning face despite the urge to avoid eye contact.

"I hope it won't be too long till I can come back, but I enjoyed my time here and getting to know all of you. Sorry I can't stay longer." Negi said a melancholic smile over his face.

"I know we didn't get along the best for a while, but thank you for everything you brought, Negi-san. I learned a lot. I think we'll do much better fighting now, especially with our planned upgrade." Sumi answered first, a more relaxed smile on her features. "… But I still demand you teach us eastern style magic next time."

"Ahah, sorry about that, Washio-san. It's not easy to use it with western styles, but if you really want to, I know some people who are familiar with it." Negi said with a clear nervous laugh. "I wonder what you'll be capable of next time I'm here though, especially with the upgrade… You've really picked up magic fast with your unique circumstances, faster than almost anyone I've seen, even if it's mostly just defensive and healing magic. We never did finish that spar, so I wonder how it would go then."

Were Gin's heart not trying to burst from her chest so badly she could hear the thumping, she would have challenged that statement with a fiery determination, but her mind was elsewhere. "Yeah, we should finish that next time..."

"I'm gonna see how hard it is to fly without riding anything, that looks like a lot of fun~." Sonoko commented, her face dipping ever so slightly more serious. "But thanks, Spring-san. A lot's happened with you and Fei-kun. We can keep having fun like this. I hope we'll see you again soon."

"Likewise. But, I shouldn't keep Fate waiting much longer. I'll see you later. I'm glad to have met you three." Turning toward the wall, Negi took a step toward it with a wait.

"Wait!" Gin abruptly shouted. He wasn't teleporting out of this.

Negi stopped mid-stride, craning his neck to look at Gin.

"Um… Before you, uh, go. I wanted to say something..." Gin half mumbled, fingers fidgeting with themselves.

"Er, what is it, Minowa-san?" Negi fully shifted his body around to look at Gin directly. His eyebrow was raised almost cautiously.

"You didn't even let Mino-san say goodbye, Spring-san." Sonoko teasingly chided. "We already did though, so we should probably let Mino-san's family know we're back. Come on, Wasshi~." Gently gripping Sumi's hand, Sonoko gingerly dragged the girl through the front gate of Gin's house. The oldest of her group gave Negi a stern stare lasting several seconds before she finally broke it and followed along with Sonoko more willingly.

"Um, is there something you wanted to say, Minowa-san…?" With her friends gone, Negi addressed Gin. Uncharacteristically, his voice was starting to get nervous too.

This was it, this was the moment of truth she had been preparing for.

"So, um… I wanted to say thanks for everything, like saving my life. If you, uh, didn't show up like you did way back, I don't know if I'd be talking right now. I never got to say that." She was already starting to ramble and dance around the point, but this was also something she had to say with Negi leaving now and Sonoko had said leading into a confession like this might help her nerves.

Negi's features oddly relaxed at her comment. "Ah, I'm glad Fate and I showed up when we did too. You really were amazing to fight so well despite injuries against enemies like that. I should be thanking you for looking out for me as well. Even if I didn't plan on it, I still appreciate you listening to my own troubles."

"Haha… Thanks." Gin responded with a nervous chuckle, a strained grin working its way over her face at the praise alongside a deepening blush. "B-But, it's more than just that. You've really helped me a lot and I can do a bunch of cool things now with things like magic! You helped me get to school on time for the first time in ages and let me see a bunch of places across Shikoku-"

Gin stopped her rapidly quickening words to take a deep breath and steady herself. Dammit, no. She was really rambling now and getting off the point. Their time was limited with Fate waiting and dancing around what she wanted like this was not like her in the slightest. Like when she had taken Negi's hand earlier she had to go for it, do what she did best, and leap first think later, not all this nervous talking. It would be entirely out of her hands and there was nothing she could do once it was said, it would be entirely on Negi and she couldn't make the nerves over his answer go away, but they wouldn't best her this time.

"It's alright, Minowa-san. I'm always glad to help someone and I had a lot of fun myself. We'll have to do more like it next time we meet." Negi cheerily, obliviously, said with the kind and friendly expression she liked on him so much.

"Yeah… But… There's one thing I have to say now and it can't wait." Taking one more deep breath, Gin spoke, hand raised to her chest and tightly clenched into an unsteady fist. She was going to say it, she had to say it. "I… I..."

The worries quickly returned to Negi's face once again as he nervously took a step backward. "Um, Minow-"

"I love you!"

The moment the words passed from her lips, Gin felt a great weight fall from her chest. It wasn't all gone, now everything was up to Negi's reaction, but part of her felt… Relieved. Relieved she finally said it after keeping it bottled up for the last several days after she had spent so long being unsure of her own emotions over this crush. But even despite that, she still wanted more. She didn't want to only let her feelings out, but that wasn't for her to decide.

"Um, I, um… Minowa-san, um..." Negi mumbled as he tried to start a complete sentence, face having turned bright red while fumbling over his words.

The seconds ticking by were turning Gin's imagination into her own worst enemy, sinking feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm flattered you think of me that way, even if I don't deserve it. Thank you, Minowa-san..." Negi finally found his words, speaking slowly and carefully, a nervous undercurrent in everything he said. "It's just, um... "

Try as she might, Gin wasn't able to stop herself from frowning at another growing weight in her chest. She had been worrying about an answer like this. "Ah… You don't have to answer. If you don't feel… that way about me or already have someone. I just wanted to let you know how I felt since I won't see you for a while..."

"Ah, no it's not that I have someone already or anything!" Negi quickly corrected, defensively waving his hands. "You're a wonderful person, Minowa-san. I just have a lot to do back in my world, and um, it's not, it's not really that easy being in two dimensions and no easy way to travel between them..."

Gin was conflicted about Negi's response. He wasn't exactly saying no and turning her down, nor was he saying yes. Gin had thought about how being of two different worlds would be hard, but truthfully, Gin didn't mind even if the circumstances were unusual and difficult to work with. This was the first time she felt this way and she did love Negi, so she didn't mind trying to work through the tough situation. She was always the kind of person who would follow her feelings even if it didn't look practical.

But this wasn't just about her, this was also about Negi and he was visibly anxious and uncertain about this whole thing, struggling to even give a definitive answer. She wanted him to say yes and return her feelings, of course, but at the same time, she didn't want to force him into something and still wanted to at least be his friend.

"… It's alright. You don't have to say something right now." Gin finally spoke again with the gentlest voice she could manage underneath her conflicted feelings. Even with her growing worries, she still felt new confidence from within that drove her words out more steadily than before. The hardest hurdle on her end, confessing her feelings, was behind her now.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I know there's a lot to deal with. But, I don't care about that. But, I know you can't stay long and I kinda put you on the spot like that..." Gin's voice dipped into bashfulness as she trailed off momentarily. With some time for it all to sink in and his reaction, she couldn't shake a little touch of guilt at forcing this on him, even if it had made her feel a lot better to air it out. He wasn't exactly jumping to say yes. "And I don't wanna force you into anything, so, um, don't worry about it."

It wasn't her ideal ending, but she had gotten her feelings out. He now knew how she felt, even if he hadn't said yes, but he also hadn't said no. It would be nice to get an answer someday, but if he would at least think about it, then she would be happy. She would see him again and maybe there would be a better time in the future for him to think of what to say.

Negi paused, the blush in his face lightening while he looked to the side in deep thought. The seconds ticked by while he contemplated Gin's words. "Um… Thank you, Minowa-san. I'm sorry..."

"Hey, hey. Don't apologize. I already said it's fine. But, um, promise you won't forget about me alright? I can't forget about you." Gin said, shyly scratching at her cheek. Love made one say weird things, didn't it? Even if it felt kind of nice.

Her eyes were drawn to the glinting silver of the ring on her finger Negi had given her. It was always going to be easy to think of Negi when she had this, but she hadn't given him anything had she?

"Oh, wait! One last thing, before you go!" Before Negi could speak, Gin interrupted. Reaching back to her ponytail, Gin pulled off the hair tie keeping it together, letting her silver tinted hair freely flow past her shoulders.

Taking a few steps closer to Negi, Gin gingerly held out the hair tie toward the boy. It was just a hair tie, but the gesture felt embarrassingly personal "H-Here. We wear our hair in a similar style so… You can have this. So you'll have something always with you to remember me by. You don't have an excuse to forget that way." Gin tried to force a grin, but it was shaky. Even if she had actually managed to confess, it didn't mean a gesture like this wasn't going to get to her. Trying to actually make some kind of romantic gesture still made her cheeks flush with new heat. This counted as one didn't it?

Negi looked down at the offering, then back to Gin, where his features perked up to a smile. "Thank you. But, since we both use these and if I'm going to use yours," Negi's hair suddenly came loose too, the small tie he used to keep it in place floating around into his waiting fingers while he took Gin's with the other hand. "you can have mine."

Growing even warmer, though the feeling was now a much more welcomed and pleasant one than before, from Negi mirroring the gesture, Gin carefully took the tie, redoing her signature ponytail. Sure, she had more than one hair tie, but now she only needed one. She wasn't going to be using anything else that was sure. "Thanks..." Gin trailed off, pausing as she readied herself. After everything, what she wanted to say next only felt right.

"Thanks, Negi..."

Being addressed without an honorific drew Negi's attention with a curious eyebrow.

Gin was a pretty informal person, she got to know people fast and often would use first names or even no honorifics with her friends. Before this, the idea had made Gin feel nervous and shy. They had been through a lot, with both Gin and Negi sharing a lot of personal details about themselves. After all that, confessing her feelings, and then a gesture like this, keeping that extra layers of formality just felt odd to Gin. However, this was also a two-way street.

"You can go ahead and call me Gin if you want..." Gin half mumbled. Before he left, she wanted to hear it, at least once.

"Huh? Are you sure, Gin?" Negi cautiously asked, speaking the name with a lot more ease than Gin had said his.

Hearing her first name from him, no honorific or anything, brought a wide, vibrant smile to Gin's face she couldn't control. It felt good to hear, warm. "Y-Yeah. That's fine, Negi."

"Alright, if you're certain, Gin. Sorry to have to abruptly leave like this, but I really do need to get going, Fate's probably going to drag me back if I take much longer. I promise I'll be back someday." Rubbing the back of his head, Negi stated.

Stepping yet even closer, Gin wrapped her arms around Negi and pulled him into a hug. She felt like her heart was going to explode again at the contact, but it was just the two of them right now. He would be back, but probably not for a while. Things hadn't exactly gone any of the ways she expected… But a little hug like this wouldn't hurt. It was warm, comforting, and something she could've easily stayed in for a while, but Gin knew that wasn't possible and this move was more than enough. Before Negi could get any chance to return it, Gin broke the embrace and stepped back. "I'm holding you to that. See ya, Negi."

"Goodbye, Gin. I'll see you later." Face a little red, Negi stepped away from Gin with a wave, vanishing into the shadows cast by the evening lights.

Gin let the silence hang for a few seconds. It was finally over now, huh? Things went an unexpected direction without a definitive conclusion, but she had done it.

Gin took in a deep sigh, held it for several seconds, then slowly breathed out.

She had actually done it!

Sonoko had been right, getting those feelings off her chest felt great. Romance and all that stuff was always a difficult point for her, even the mere mention could sometimes make her blush, but she had managed to confess to her first crush! She didn't need to use any kind of love letters or roundabout ideas, she had done it in person. Maybe it was because she hadn't been directly turned down, but all this romantic stuff didn't feel so bad now that she had some experience, she could get used to it. One step at a time though. If there had been anyone around but Negi and her for this, it would've been so much harder.

"Hey, Mino-san!"

Sonoko's voice sent a chill up Gin's spine and sapped all the warmth in her body. She and Sumi hadn't watched the whole thing, had they!? Arg, if they had she was going to die on the spot! With a sense of impending dread, Gin spun around to see the forms of her both her friends standing there, Sonoko with a burning curiosity in her eyes and Sumi quite red-faced. "W-When did you guys get here!?"

"We sensed Spring-san leave, so we came out to see you. How did it go? Tell us~!" Leaning in with an expectant twinkle in her eyes, Sonoko pressed.

Not so inwardly, Gin breathed a sigh of relief. Good, they hadn't seen it. That didn't help her embarrassment though. They were surely going to ask her a lot of questions, especially Sonoko. "Um, w-well… He didn't really say no, but he didn't say yes..."

Both Sumi and Sonoko's heads tilted in confusion. "Eeeeeeeeh? Didn't you confess?"

"D-Did he not even give you an answer?" Sumi's voice was tinged with accusatory and stern. Or, rather, it tried to be. The effect was weakened drastically by her flustered voice making it sound more timid and surprised than angry.

Gin let out a long sigh, followed by a dry chuckle. "I'll… Explain inside. It's kinda complicated. Come on."

Chatting eagerly through the summer evening, the girls headed inside, discussing everything that had happened. Meeting the mages, learning magic, all the new things which could be done together, it was all an incredible experience none never would've even dreamed possible. Their lives had been more eventful in less than a year than anything which had come before, but so much of it had been a unique and fun experience. Their duty was far from over, but whatever the future would bring, be it more dangerous Vertex or fun times like the festive, all three of them would face it together.

AUTHOR'S NOTES/POSTSCRIPT:

Well, it's finally over, I've published the last chapter of my story. Kind of a bittersweet feeling.

What a long ride it's been, three whole years to the exact day since I published this. Like I said in the first chapter, I started this because the fic bases for both series were pretty small and severely lacking in recent and active long ones, a sad but expected thing in niche or kinda dead fandoms. I fully knew this was going to be a long story from the beginning, but I didn't think it'd take so long in real-time to write and I'm sorry about it being so drawn out. Life's got a way of throwing unexpected things at you. But if you made it this far, then thanks. To everyone who started reading early and for this long and for everyone who simply finished this fic. This was the first long-form story I've written, the longest thing I did before this wasn't even 20k words, but here this is over 170k now.

The good reviews and comments I've gotten on here and from friends this is published were a strong help in continuing to write, especially when I went through a difficult period of demotivation from school and not being remotely happy with the direction YuYuYu went over the past few years. Went through a long time debating if I even wanted to continue, but I'm glad I did and the feedback I've gotten, both here and from friends on places like Discord, helped immensely.

I learned a lot doing longer stuff like this. There was quite a bit of things I originally had in mind but ended up changing or hit the cutting room floor, especially in the early portion of the story. Had some chapters in mind for things like the WaSuYus getting introduced to the aging pills or seeing some more Negima flashbacks, but they just didn't fit the pacing of the story ultimately. Maybe I'll do some short little snippets or one-shots for those before I get to the sequel and/or put out an update with all the behind the scenes stuff and how things got changed between drafts if anyone wants that. Anyone who's curious can message me if they wanna see that stuff.

Regarding the sequel, I won't be publishing that for a long while. I'm still gonna do it even if I'm not as in love with YuYuYu as when I started and no longer keep up with it, as I've still some fondness for the characters and I enjoy writing this. But I'm gonna take a little break from writing after finishing a behemoth like this, school's coming up again soon and I'll have far less time. I would hate to run into a similar situation as what happened here and end up going extremely long stretches without any chapters due to life keeping me busy. In part because of that, I also want to get at least some of the story written first. I've already gotten it all planned out, but writing will take a while. I may end up trying to do slightly shorter chapters in the future to compensate. Either way, I hope it won't be too long and that you'll read the sequel to this whenever I get around to it, if you enjoyed this installment.

Once again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my story.