One Night in Osaka

He leaned back against the railing, his knees still shaking. "A gravity... SPELL. I'm -- I'm going to need a minute. I nearly cracked my skull open, and now all of a sudden I'm seeing glowing people and magic..."

"Calling it 'magic' is a bit outdated." Alessia twirled a finger in the air, playfully manipulating a spiral of those same red light-strands. "I personally prefer the more technical term: 'Resonance'. Where will, action, and energy combine and, well, resonate to form a whole greater than the sum of their parts." She flicked her fingers, and the red light-rope snaked out and tapped Donovan on the tip of his nose before disappearing, leaving a warm tingle in its wake. "I imagine this is quite a shock. I do apologize."

Lady Ebisu patted the back of Donovan's hand, leaning forward to peer intently at him, her eyes glowing faintly. "When a young man's had his world turned upside-down, in more ways that one, it's understandable to feel a bit, well, off. Mmm. You have had a rough time of it, I see. Take a deep breath, my boy."

He did so, forcing his chest to unclench and relax, and felt marginally less panicked for it. "This... this is real? I didn't actually hit my head and have a psychotic break or something? I'm not hallucinating?"

The beautiful Alessia stepped closer, her subtle perfume filling his senses and sending his pulse racing anew. With a deliberate act of will, Donovan forced himself to keep his gaze above her neck, no matter how enticing her body looked with that form-fitting green dress. Her eyes were the same color as her clothes, and she was even more jaw-droppingly gorgeous now that he could see her up close. "I promise you that I am very, very real," she said. "But I apologize, I haven't introduced myself. My proper name is Daphne Alessia Astin Devonshire, but for the love of all things, just call me Alessia." She held out an open hand to him.

Donovan glanced down at that hand, and for a second flashed back to the way that Megumi had reached out earlier. And the way he'd all but slapped her hand way, leaving Megumi alone in that empty street. He cursed himself again, angry at the pointless fear that had convinced him to push her away. He looked up into Alessia's eyes, and saw nothing but a genuine smile there. No guile, no hidden agenda, no secret cruelty. No tricks at his expense. No broken promises. No more years wasted on empty hope that was never returned in kind. He let himself look, really look, and only saw the kindness of a stranger, who apparently didn't want to want to be a stranger any longer.

In the back of his mind, he felt panic rise, counter-arguments being formed, rationalizations coming together for all this craziness, and reasons why he should run to the hotel RIGHT NOW and not leave until the tour group convened the day after tomorrow. The fear was clutching at him again — but Donovan shoved it aside and imagined himself crushing a grasping claw beneath his heel, refusing to give the fear a second victory in one night. Not again. Not this time.

"Donovan." He brushed his palm against his pants leg for a second to clean off any dirt, and clasped Alessia's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, and hesitated. Should he keep hold, or would that be too... creepy? "Donovan Pierce. My middle name's Roger, but really, I prefer Donovan." He held the handshake for a moment longer. "Thank you again for the rescue. I could've..." He paused. "Sorry. Mouth got away from me there."

She stepped in closer still, and lifted his hand, turning it over and making a show of inspecting the sensitive skin there. "No harm done, but I feel a little badly — you did get scuffed a bit in that fall. I'll just have to kiss it and make it all better." Her eyes locked with his, she kissed the palm of his hand, and then released it.

Donovan felt a blush rising in his cheeks. "A little more magic — sorry, resonance — to heal my, ah, wounds?"

Alessa cocked her head to one side, looking down at his green collared shirt. He imagined that she was amused by it being a near-identical shade to her flowing dress. "Nothing so elaborate. Just a little chemistry, hopefully."

For what felt like forever, Donovan just stood there in silence, his mind whirling like a hurricane behind his eyes. He glanced down at Lady Ebisu, who gave him a kind but deeply amused look. He met Alessia's gaze again, and swallowed. "...Come have a drink with me. Please."

The English beauty's smile widened. "And why should I do that, when we've only just met?"

"Because if I didn't at least ask you," Donovan said as he reached for Alessia's hand, taking a very deep breath, "I would absolutely regret it for the rest of my life." Gently squeezing her fingers, he lifted up her hand with no resistance from her, and laid the faintest of kisses on her palm in return. "Beyond that... call it a chemistry experiment."

He could swear he saw her pupils dilate, and her cheeks visibly brighten. "A man whom I've saved from certain doom, and I get to teach him all about a whole new world he never knew existed? AND he's a rather handsome fellow with a bit of courage, on top of all that?" She leaned in, and laid a kiss upon his left cheek, her lips lingering, her breath warm. "What girl could resist? Lead on to that drink, Donovan. Lead on."

"Ahem." The two looked down, and Lady Ebisu looked back up at them, her smile only adding to the warm glow she had about her. "Miss Alessia, it's been lovely to meet you this night, and I'm ever so glad we have formed our Pact. But before you two scamper off, I would have a word with your newly awakened young man." She gestured to him. "Kneel down here, Mister Donovan. I prefer to look my men in the eye."

Alessia's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You're forming a Pact with him?"

"If he'll have me. He's certainly proven himself for my liking. And every young Mage has to start somewhere, so why not with me?" With a happy cackle, she gestured to the ground in front of her, and Donovan dropped to one knee, looking back and forth in confusion between the two women. "Mister Donovan, you don't have the slightest idea what's going on now, do you."

Unconsciously reaching up to touch where Alessia had kissed his cheek, Donovan shook his head. "You said I'm a Mage, earlier, although I'm still confused about that. Mages form... Pacts?"

"Yes indeed, Mister Donovan. Spirits like myself," Lady Ebisu said, gesturing to her own glowing form, "Well, we need help. Protection. I have power, certainly, but being of spirit rather than mortal flesh, that makes someone like me a bit on the vulnerable side. Every spirit has their weaknesses, but if we have Mages for friends, then, well, we feel a bit safer. Follow me so far?"

Donovan nodded. "Weaknesses. Like sunlight for Vampires, silver for Werewolves, losing one's water for Kappa, that sort of thing?"

"Exactly so." Lady Ebisu pointed to Donovan's chest. "If you form a Pact with a spirit, then we share with you a tiny bit of our power. Makes you a better, stronger Mage, and there can be other gifts as well. In return, if I'm hurt, you come tend to my wounds. If I'm killed, then you do your level best to come and revive me, as we spirits do have ways of returning from a simple death. But if I'm destroyed and lost forever, then you damn well set things right as best you can." She looked him right in the eye. "I think I'm being more than fair. What do you say?" She held out her tiny hand, palm up. "Would you give me the honor of being your first Pact?"

He looked back to where Alessia was standing nearby, and she gave him an emphatic nod. He reached down, and put his hand over Lady Ebisu's, who grasped his fingers in return. "I would, Lady Ebisu. But I have a question first."

"Ask, my dear. I know this is all so very new."

"Why? Why have you chosen me?" Donovan shrugged, taking a moment to find his words. "I know nothing about Mages, much less how to be one, and, well, we've only just met. I worry I haven't done enough to earn this. So... have I earned this from you? Truly? I want to make sure I'm holding up my end of this."

The small spirit lowered her voice to a whisper. "I say you have, Donovan Pierce. Now that I've seen you here, I've seen where you've come from as well. I have many skills, this is but one of them. I know the pain that aches your heart, more about it than I can rightly say. I know the fears you've struggled with for so long, tonight included. And I know that allowing that sweet girl Alessia into your heart, even just this little early touch, was a difficult act of bravery for you." She leaned in, craning her neck upwards, and gave him a grandmotherly kiss on his left cheek. "We all have our own fears to face, even ageless ones such as I. I applaud your courage, and so I do reward it."

She gave his hand another squeeze, and he felt a wave of vigor rush through his entire being, like a refreshing breeze. "We have a Pact then, Mister Donovan. You have a sliver of my strength, to do with as you see fit, though I reserve the right to revoke it if you displease me. You may call out to me for advice, should I have any to give, and I may call upon you in need as well." She winked, and suddenly Donovan could hear her voice inside his mind, rather than with his ears. Just concentrate upon my face and name, wherever you may be, and we shall hear each other as you hear me now. I also share with you freely with my own 'gift of gab', as some call it. Have you not wondered how a little Japanese spirit might happen to speak your English tongue? Because I don't, young man. Your land's strange letters are difficult gibberish to me, though they be everywhere in this land now. Perhaps Alessia and you can one day teach this old lady a few new things about such matters. The two of you are quite cute together, I must say.

She returned to speaking aloud, and glanced back at Alessia. "Another of my skills is to understand all tongues spoken unto me, and for all that I say to be understood in turn by those I wish it to be so. And thus I share this ability with both of you as my gift, to aid your strangeness in my strange land that I do love so very, very much." She inclined her head to Donovan, and then to Alessia once again. "Our business tonight is concluded, and I certainly don't wish to delay your time together tonight any further." She threw the two of them a playful wink. "But do call upon me as you travel, both of you. I would so love to see my land through your young eyes, to hear your musings and your joys." There was a flash of white light, a blur of motion, and the sound of a loud splash echoed from below the bridge. Lady Ebisu herself was nowhere to be seen.

Donovan stood up, practically leaping forward to the railing of the bridge, and looked down. There below was a giant Koi fish just below the river's surface, easily six feet long and two feet wide, pure white except for one small patch of orange upon its back. It flicked its tailfin upwards, and then dove into the dark depths of the river, disappearing from sight almost immediately. He glanced to his left to see that Alessia had joined him at the railing, looking down at the same spot.

"I'm glad I met her tonight," she said. "We'd been talking for some time this evening, and she'd only just agreed to our Pact before you came along." She turned to face him. "I'm glad I met you tonight as well."

Donovan reached out and took her hand once more. "So am I. God, yes." They were standing close together, and Donovan found himself leaning towards her, his eyes upon her bright lips, when a loud cough from behind shook him out of the moment, causing him to drop her hand in surprise. Alessia and he both turned, and saw a middle-aged Japanese couple staring daggers at the pair of them.

"Hmph. Vulgar children." "Out in the open on the bridge, no less." Donovan could hear them speaking in Japanese, but their meaning came through to him as clear as the chime of a bell, just as Lady Ebisu had promised. The man and woman were holding hands and wearing the same expression of disapproval... and was there jealousy in their eyes as well?

Alessia burst into laughter. "Perhaps we should go and get that drink, Donovan. Get out of this heat for a time. We've got so much to talk about, after all."

Donovan held out his hand again to the most beautiful and fascinating woman he'd ever met. "Lead on, Miss Devonshire. Lead on."

She took what he offered, and judging from the smile upon her lips, Donovan hoped and guessed that she did so gladly.

***

CHAPTER FOUR: ALESSIA -- DINNER AND A SHOW WITH EVERYTHING BUT YUUL BRYNNER

Alessia Devonshire looked across the table at this rare man she'd met, and felt a delicious tingle down her spine. It was as if the universe had asked her to place an order for what sort of man she might fancy, and then delivered him to her, hot and fresh on a silver platter.

This Donovan fellow was just the right sort of handsome. Not some unearthly sculpture out of Michelangelo's menagerie of marble perfection, but a face and a body that felt real. He was a little on the stout side, but that seemed to be more about his natural build than any sloth on his part. His shoulders were nice and broad, and she rather liked the look of his large long-fingered hands and that slightly hawkish nose that gave his face some delightful character. He was only a hair taller than her, which suited her just fine — neither too tall nor too short, but "just right" so that she didn't have to strain her neck to look him in the eye. His eyes even matched hers, her favorite color of green. He wore a green collared shirt that suited him well, and acquitted himself well enough with a pair of denim shorts. Not the most flattering item of clothing, but wearing a full pair of trousers was understandably out of the question in this heat.

They'd walked through Dotonbori for several minutes after Lady Ebisu had taken her leave, strolling hand in hand (such a simple thing, but thrilling all the same) until they'd found this pub just off the beaten path. The hostess took them to a quiet dining area on the second floor, and seated them at a large table all to themselves. Across the aisle, a quartet of Japanese college girls giggled and whispered to each other over topics she couldn't be bothered to follow -- she had a much more interesting subject in front of her.

As they picked at a shared plate of pork okonomiyaki, Donovan held up his drink, a gigantic plastic stein full of ginger ale. "I still can't believe how huge this is," he said with a laugh. "I'd assumed that portion sizes were smaller in Japan, and that if I ordered a 'large', I'd get something closer to what I'd call a 'medium' back home, but this is ridiculous. I could almost pour a whole 2-liter bottle into this." He took a small sip through his straw, and then set the drink aside. "But to answer your question, I'm originally from Cincinnati, but my family moved to Evanston when I was ten." Her unfamiliarity with Evanston must have shown on her face, because he then followed up. "It's a small town on the north edge of Chicago. Very wealthy neighborhood."

She pondered this as her chopsticks tore off another bit of their eggy treat. Neither of them had ever had an okonomiyaki before, a griddle-cooked array of cabbage, batter, bacon, and a very odd oyster-based sauce, but she found she rather liked this new discovery. "What sort of work do your parents do?"

She immediately regretted the question, as his face fell, and his eyes looked away, losing their sparkle. "I'd... just as rather not talk about them, if that's okay." Donovan washed down his bite with more ginger ale, and scratched at his nose. "We don't get along. Never have, really, not since I was five. They'd rather pretend my little brother was an only child."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up something painful." Alessia picked up a napkin, dabbing it at her lips. "My parents mean the world to me, but I shouldn't assume that everyone's so lucky. Let's change the subject."

"Yes, let's." He pressed his fingertip to the polished wooden table, and moved it about at random. "So you were talking about 'sigils' on the way here." She nodded with enthusiasm, and he continued. "It sounds like they're basically pictograms, symbols. And by tracing a sigil, a Mage like you... or me, still getting used to THAT idea... can activate a spell."

"Close enough." She picked up her small glass of ice water, where it had left a small pool of condensation underneath. "Some prefer the term 'glyph', and I've heard that Japanese mages use the term 'Kigo', but I'm used to 'sigil', but the point is that a sigil is basically a visual formula. Tracing the unique shape of it helps one to concentrate and create the intended effect."

"Like following a cooking recipe?"

She dipped her finger into the moisture on the table before her. "Close enough again, but there's more to it than that. I could trace a sigil right now with this water on the table, or by drawing with ink on paper, or even setting up an array of rocks or scratches in the dirt in the sigil's shape. Those are the easiest ways to do it. It's a little harder to just trace the sigil in the air or on a surface without any physical representation, because you can't see the sigil as it's forming." She held up her hand, and made a point of holding it open and still. "But the hardest way is to 'mind-trace', envisioning the forming of the sigil in your mind's eye, as I'm doing right now." A small sphere of iridescent light appeared over her open palm, slowly spinning for a few seconds before she dismissed it. "That was a very basic illumination spell, so the sigil for it was relatively simple. Even so, it took me a few years of practice before I could mind-trace anything properly, because of the mental precision it requires. Some mages never manage to mind-trace at all. But mind-tracing is much faster, and makes casting spells in the middle of combat infinitely more practical."

Donovan paused, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "Combat? How often does that happen?"

"More than you'd think," she said with a shrug. "Some spirits like to do a bit of sparring with you before they'll agree to a Pact, as a way of 'testing your worth'. And there are some mages out there who use their skills for some rather, shall we say, impolite reasons." She toyed with her water, running her finger along the glass rim. "Back home, Papa made a point of training me to be combat-ready. And I'm glad he did."

Donovan finished chewing his latest bite, and swallowed with another sip of ginger ale. "So, where is 'back home', and where did you go to learn and practice all these spells, sigils, and combat-readiness?"

Alessia pushed her hair back behind her left ear. "Well, as you might have guessed, I'm English."

He was looking right at her, making a charming smile. "The lovely accent is quite a giveaway."

She caught herself biting gently on her lower lip at hearing him call her 'lovely', and covered it with a small laugh. "To be precise, my family's from London, Kensington. And before you ask, *no*, there is no magic railway to carry mage children off to a hidden castle of ghosts and talking paintings."

"I wasn't going to ask that."

This time her laugh was loud and genuine. "But I'd bet you a fiver you were thinking it, though!" He raised his hands and smiled in surrender, and she continued. "No, the mage community is much more low-key. Little private clubs or community centers here and there, where child mages get practical lessons on evenings and weekends from the more accomplished adult mages around." She took a gulp of her water. "It's a mark of distinction, being invited to teach."

He raised an eyebrow, and she shivered as she felt him look right through her with that smile she'd already grown to cherish. "And you've already been invited to do just that, I bet."