Over the next few days, Setsuna and I formulated a plan to get me back to Hogwarts.
It was simple, really— at the end of the week, we'd be returning to the private temple near Mahoutokoro, and Setsuna would be going home with Saito to her house for the weekend.
She was going to invite me over, and when her parents weren't looking, we'd use their floo powder network to get back to the UK. We couldn't travel directly into Hogwarts, but we could get to Hogsmede, which would get us close enough to walk— and I knew exactly which house to travel to.
So over the course of the week, we continued to train with Professor Akura, as if nothing were wrong. It was hard to act normal, and pretend like I wasn't trembling at the thought of getting caught. I knew the alternative wasn't any better... I knew I had to get out of here. But I still didn't like to break the rules.
When Friday finally rolled around, I felt like I was going to jump out of my own skin— I was buzzing with anticipation and nerves. We rode the train back to the station, and it was then that we took the opportunity to tell the Professor our plan. We shuffled closer to him, threading through train passengers, so that we could get his attention.
"Sumemasen," Setsuna said, and he turned to us. "I have invited Alyssa San to come home with Saito and I this weekend. I would like her to meet my mother, and I want to show her what it's like inside a Japanese mage household."
Professor Akura nodded slowly, processing her words. "I see..."
My heart skipped— I was worried he wouldn't allow it. That would make it harder, because there was no way I was staying at the temple, but I didn't want to have to sneak out.
Thankfully, he added,
"I think that will be good for Alyssa San. I trust that you will take good care of her?"
"Of course, Sir," Setsuna beamed, in that charming way of hers. Nobody would have ever suspected her true intentions with a smile like that.
"Then I see no problem. I hope you both have a wonderful weekend," he said.
I had to fight to let out a sigh of relief, but I couldn't stop myself from beaming. Setsuna and I must have looked like excited schoolgirls, having their first sleepover— when really, he'd just given us our ticket to freedom.
***
I packed my things before we took another train to Setsuna's house, arriving just after nightfall. She and her brother lived in a town called Osaka, and her house was a small, two-story place, squeezed into a little suburb. It seemed cramped— but to my surprise, it was bigger on the inside. When we stepped through the front door, I noticed everything expanding into a larger hallway with multiple rooms.
"Okaa-san?" Setsuna called out, as we stepped inside. She immediately removed her shoes, and I did the same, keeping my socks on.
"Yes?" A pretty, petite, middle aged woman with short black hair emerged from one of the rooms. When she saw me, her eyes lightened.
"Oh! You've bought a friend!"
Setsuna smiled and nodded.
"This is Alyssa— she's the student from Hogwarts, studying with the professor."
"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Alyssa San," she greeted, coming over to bow at me. I did the same— it was a thing here.
"Dinner is almost ready— why don't you come join us?"
I nodded, swallowing hard. Setsuna's mother seemed really nice, and I almost felt bad that I was planning to use her floo powder network to get out of here. I wondered if the Professor would trace it back to her... perhaps even hold her accountable. I hoped it wouldn't cause too much trouble.
Setsuna's dad didn't seem to be here— I didn't want to ask about him because I wasn't sure if he was in their lives or not, and I felt like too much of a stranger to inquire about that sort of thing. But Setsuna, Saito, their mother, and I all sat at the dining table and ate Tenmusu. Afterwards, their mother made us tea, and talked about the trainings at the temple with her children.
"How are your studies going?" she asked them.
"Very well," Setsuna replied, and Saito nodded in agreement. Saito then launched into explaining a new spell he'd been practicing, and I was left to fidget anxiously.
The longer I stayed here, drinking tea and eating with Setsuna's family, the worse I felt about leaving without warning. It was like I was using them.
It felt like forever before Setsuna finally dismissed us— saying she would show me to her room and find a towel so that I could bathe before bed.
"Okay— your father should be home soon, too," her mother said.
Relief crashed over me to be finally leaving that table, as Setsuna led me upstairs to her room.
It wasn't like the village rooms, or the temple dorms— she had a normal bed and a dresser, among a few other personal knick knacks. I spotted numerous awards displayed on shelves and on her walls. As I looked around, I heard a loud, rough voice from downstairs— Setsuna's father had just arrived home. The talking became quieter, as his footsteps echoed through the house, in the direction of the kitchen.
"My parents will go to bed soon, and Saito usually goes to sleep around twelve. So we will sneak out then," Setsuna explained. "Until then, we just have to act normal— I'll get you a towel, and while you bathe I'll make up a bed for you. Mother will probably check on us before she retires for the night, so we have to make it believable."
I nodded in agreement. Setsuna then led me down the hall to grab a towel, and pointed me towards the bathroom.
I was used to the bathrooms here in Japan now— Setsuna's family had the same kind of older style bath that they had at the temple dorms. Rather than stretching long and narrow, they sank down into the floor and you stood in them. It was a little strange, but I'd gotten used to it.
You were also meant to wash off before bathing, so as not to dirty the bath water, which— again, I didn't understand the point, but I wasn't about to disobey tradition in someone else's house. So I took the time to sit on the stool provided in the bathroom and rinse off while the bath was running, then hastily finished bathing.
By the time I returned to Setsuna's room, my bed was made, just as she'd promised. We still had a couple of hours before midnight, so Setsuna proposed that we play an enchanted board game to pass the time.
I hadn't had the pleasure of playing such games growing up, so I was intrigued to see how they worked.
Setsuna seemed amused— to her, it must have appeared as any other board game you'd play as a kid, but she didn't seem to mind walking me through how the pieces moved on their own, or the rules that went with it.
We played it for hours, and by the time Setsuna's mother came to check on us, I'd become quite good at it.
"Time for bed, Setsuna," her mother said from the doorway, peering in at us gathered over the enchanted board game on my temporary bed. "You can continue that tomorrow. Hey— you could also show Alyssa the charm shop down the street in the morning. I need you to run an errand for me too, if that's okay?"
"Yes, I can do that," Setsuna said, without missing a beat. Guilt plunged through me again.
Setsuna's mother didn't seem to notice. She smiled at her daughter and said,
"Okay then. Goodnight."
We bid her goodnight, and she waved out the lights with her wand. I placed the board game aside and climbed into bed. Setsuna did the same, and I couldn't help but lie there for a few minutes, thinking.
"Setsuna— are you okay with this?" I asked finally.
"With what?" she asked quietly, in the dark.
"With lying to you mother? With... everything you're doing for me?"
There was a pause.
"I don't like it... but I don't regret it, either," she said finally, and rolled onto her side to look down at me. "Chiyo said I had to help you, and if my mother knew the nine-tailed fox visited us, she'd understand. She wouldn't be happy— and she'd probably try to stop us. But she would come around eventually. Except... we don't have enough time to wait for that."
I nodded in agreement. If we put this off, we'd have to wait another week. And if Setsuna's mother found out, she could tell the Professor before we had a chance to escape. This was the safest, best way to do it. It was our only way.
And so, I laid in my bed, and counted the minutes to midnight.