As always, you are encouraged to point out any errors I may have made, as well as sharing your thoughts on the story. Every ounce of feedback helps me improve and will be greatly valued. Cheers!
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Act 1: Conjecture
Magical Getway - Part 3
I sit at the edge of my bed, my eyelids are heavy and my body is tired. I glance at the clock once more, it’s already 2:14AM. I’m exhausted, but my mind just won’t let me sleep, I've been trying to catch some Zs for about 5 hours now to no avail. It’s definitely not my bed nor the company. The comfortable bed and my girlfriend’s loving embrace are almost always enough to make me sleep like a baby, but not tonight sadly. Just another one of those nights when my medication causes insomnia. I had almost forgotten what these nights felt like, I used to have them rather commonly before, usually three out of the seven days of the week were spent like this. But now they are much rarer, mostly only lasting one day, if that.
My bedroom is almost pitch black, moonlight barely able to enter through my half-closed blinds. Well, if I can’t sleep, I might as well find something productive to do. I’m reluctant to turn on the lights in the fear of disturbing Lilly’s slumber, but I quickly remember that that won’t be an issue, all I have to do is to be extra careful not to make much noise. I stand up and walk towards the lamp that stands in the opposite corner of my room. I Turn it on and take a quick look around, contemplating the options I have to keep my mind occupied.
My eyes fall on the girl that lies on my bed, she’s hugging my pillow to compensate for my absence. I watch her closely for a few more minutes, engraving every detail of her face into my mind. I haven’t taken her out on a date in over a week, the most we have done is walk around the school grounds or feed birds at the town’s park. I feel rather cruel, asking her to choose me over her family Scotland, and yet I can’t provide nearly enough for her compared to her rich parents. She has the patience of a saint however, not having given me a single complaint so far. If she’s annoyed with me for not taking her out enough, she isn’t showing it any signs of it.
“Soon Lilly, I promise…” I mumble to myself.
The truth is that I am planning something big, and needed to cut a lot of my expenses in order to save enough to pull ‘operation perfect date’ off. I should have more than enough saved up by now, but I am still missing one essential component. All I need to do now is get a hold of Kenji, but whenever I attempt to catch him his door is locked and won’t answer me, he is probably asleep by now…
My train of thought is disrupted when I spot a small piece of paper being slid into my room through the door. Mail at 2:30 in the morning? That makes no sense, and if something makes no sense then it must be Kenji. Speak of the devil...I retrieve the paper and open it.
“When you told me you met a dark-haired girl at the library I asked you a question about her. What was the question, and what did you answer?”
“...what?” I mumble to myself. This kind of late-night shenanigan is definitely Kenji’s doing, meaning he is awake! This is as a good time as any to talk to him. I slowly open my door and sneak outside, making sure to not wake up Lilly. I make my way towards Kenji’s door and knock lightly. “Pssssst, Kenji, you there?” No answer is given.
Maybe he didn't hear me, so I knock again, slightly louder this time, and call out “Kenji!” once more. But alas, I receive no response.
If I knock any louder or raise my voice I run the risk of waking up Lilly, but it’s a gamble I must make, I can’t afford to delay my plans any further.
Knock knock knock
“Dude I legit need to talk to you right now.” I say at a normal tone of voice now, no longer whispering. I wait a few seconds but nothing happens. OK, he definitely heard me this time, so why isn’t he answering the door?
I look at the small slip of paper in my hand, going through the question once more. I dig a bit into my memory and recall the conversation we had that day.
I take one of the markers attached to the side of the notice board next to Kenji's room and start writing on the piece of paper. 'When I met Hanako for the first time at the library you asked me if she was cute, and I answered yes.'
I slide the paper under his door.
Immediately, I hear a dozen different locks opening, Kenji opens his door and yanks me into his room, closing the door behind as soon as I am inside.
“Hisao! My man! I thought the feminists had gotten to you!”
“What are you talking about? I have been trying to get a hold of you for the last three days, you knew I was alive and well.”
“Alive? Of course, but I thought you were compromised! A few days ago I saw you coming out of your room, and for a split second I saw that blonde amazonian laying on your bed. I assumed the worst, and thought that she had brainwashed you and turned you into her slave.”
Being Lilly’s slave for a few days? Hmmm… that doesn’t sound so bad, maybe I could suggest trying out a little roleplay the next time we…
AHEM,be still my raging hormones, I can’t get too distracted. I came here for a reason and I would rather not spend more time than I need to inside Kenji’s room.
“Thats a big assumption to make by just seeing a girl lying on my bed, Kenji.”
“You can never be too careful! That’s why I left that test for you, if your mind was truly still intact, you would remember that conversation.”
“Uhhh… sure man, yeah, that makes sense. Your quick thinking and careful safety measures never cease to surprise me Kenji, you truly are the best hope humanity has against these feminists.”
Kenji perks up at my compliment, puffing up his chest. He readjusts his glasses and the corner of his mouth forms into a smirk.
“I’m glad you are starting to see that, Hisao. Maybe you aren’t completely hopeless.”
Over my stay at Yamaku, I learnt how to better communicate with Kenji. All I need to do is throw in the word ‘feminists’ and some tactical words into our casual conversations and we understand each other much better. Now, to ask him for what I came.
“So, Kenji, listen… remember that time not long ago you proposed we have a ‘manly picnic’ involving whiskey?”
“Ahhh yes, whiskey, a true man’s drink. Why? You interested?”
“Uh, maybe some other time. May I ask how you got your hands on alcohol?”
“My parents send me a box every so often containing some supplies, one such item is the occasional bottle of alcohol.”
That’s… an interesting family dynamic. His parents are not only OK with him illegally drinking alcohol, but they even encourage it by supplying him with it? I have multiple questions about how that works, but I can keep them to myself for now.
“Say… Do you have any good wines in your collection, and if so, could I get maybe one or two bottles from you?”
“WINE?! You want that sissy women’s drink?! Oh Hisao I was wrong about you, the feminists have had a bigger influence on you than I thought! Get out! Get OUT!” He shouts as he starts shoving me out of his room.
Dammit! I really need that wine for our date, Lilly loves that stuff. I need to find a way to defuse the situation quickly, I am not walking out of here empty handed. Think Hisao, Think…
Bingo! This is so ridiculous it might just work.
I push Kenji away, I overestimate the force applied and end up making him fall on his rear. He freezes in place and silence fills the room. I quickly move to help him up and apologize, but stop myself at the last second.
Remember Hisao, you need that wine for your date, you can’t back out now.
“How dare you, do you really think that low of me Kenji? Do you really believe that I would fall so easily into the clutches of the feminist war machine, even after all the knowledge you passed on to me?!”
“You are harbouring one of their top operatives in your room and asking me for wine! What else could it be!”
“I’m infiltrating them you idiot! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer remember? I have been converting Lilly into our side, do you realize how valuable having a top feminist operative on our side would be? All that knowledge Kenji!”
“No way…”
He stares at me dumbfoundedly, slowly rising to his feet and taking a step closer to me, having obviously piqued his interest.
“Yes way! It it has started to pay off already. Yesterday she told me about a top secret feminist meeting that they are conducting in two days time. I’m talking dozens of big names! It is the perfect chance to strike, Kenji!”
I am struggling to hold back my laughter now, I don’t know for how much longer I can keep my serious face up. I can’t decide what’s funnier, the nonsense I'm spewing, or the fact that Kenji seem’s to be buying it so far.
“The bottles of wine are not for me, Kenji! Of course I know that wine is a woman’s drink! I need the wine because I am planning a little ‘surprise’ for the feminists”
“Hisao…”
He readjusts his glasses and starts pacing around the room, obviously caught in a train of thought.
“This is a huge breakthrough! I completely misread you, you crazy bastard! All this time I thought they had been slowly getting to you, but it turns out you are the one infiltrating them! Tell me more about this plan of yours!”
“Well uhhh, I am planning to sneak into the location of said meeting a couple of hours before the gathering starts, and planting the wine in their beverage table. They won’t be able to resist the temptation of fine wine. The twist? I will mix the wine with something special if you catch my drift.”
“Something special huh? What do you have in mind?”
“...”
I didn’t plan this far ahead. I need to think of something quick, but it can’t be too far-fetched.
“... truth serum.”
“Truth… serum?”
Dammit! I’m busted aren’t I? I went too far. I mean, where would a highschool student even get truth serum from?!
“Hisao, that… IS GENIUS! That way you can just ask them anything and they will have to answer! All the intel you could gather! How the hell did you get your hands on truth serum anyways?!”
It seems the situation is not beyond salvaging. If I can keep this up and give him a convincing answer, I might get away with this.
“...Mutou. Yes, Mutou gave it to me”
“THE SCIENCE TEACHER?!”
“Shhhh! Lower your voice, they could be listening! Yes, Mutou is also a secret agent against the feminist war, but don’t tell him that you know! I’m supposed to keep it a secret, I wasn’t supposed to tell you. He wants to remain as low key as possible so that he simply flies under the feminist’s radar. He prepared the serum for me with his chemistry knowledge.”
“That's so sick! He is doing a great job at keeping hidden, I would have never suspected that he too was an agent like us. As for anyone eavesdropping, don’t worry about it, I covered my door and walls in vinyl sound blocksheet so that no sound can escape outside.”
I take a look around and sure enough his walls are padded with the stuff. Wasn’t there a huge scandal a few months back because someone had stolen a shipment of blocksheet that was meant to renovate the music room? Shizune went apeshit looking for the culprit, but he was never found. Huh, mystery solved I guess…
I don’t know for how much longer I can keep making up this ridiculous lies while still maintaining a straight face, so I better cut to the chase.
“Kenji, I would love to keep telling you about the things I’ve learnt while undercover, but I need to get back to my room or Lilly will get suspicious.”
“You’re right, better not compromise your position. I kept some of the bottles of wine that my mother sent me, let me find them for you.”
He reaches under his bed and pulls out a big wooden container. He opens it to reveal a huge collection of alcoholic beverages.
“Uhhh, make sure to give me the best wine you have Kenji, the fancier and tastier it is the more feminists will drink, right?”
“Hmmmm, good point. Welp, time to break out the big guns!” He closes his wooden container and slides it back under his bed once more. He then stand up and walks over to his drawer. He opens the bottom compartment, revealing a smaller amount of bottles. “This is my finer collection. My parents will ship me more expensive alcohol on certain special occasions like my birthday or new year.”
Can tell, I am no expert on the subject, but the way some of this bottles are designed and labeled makes it obvious that they are not what you could find at your typical liquor store. Jackpot, I think to myself.
He slowly analyses the available options carefully.
“Aha! This is the best I have, my mother sent it to me for my last birthday. She wanted me to broaden my tastes, so she sent me three bottles of this.” He hands me the bottle. ‘Vintage Port, 1856’ it reads.
“Trust me Hisao, they won’t be able to resist this stuff. Between you and I, I drank one bottle and it was amazing, but don’t tell anyone that! It was a one time exception because it was my mother’s gift. I decided to leave the other two alone, I feared that if I indulged in any more of it I would actually start liking other wines…”
I just wanted some good wine, but this is…
“This is perfect Kenji! Thank you so much! And um… I’m sorry I pushed you down...”
“It’s chill dude, I questioned your integrity as a man, and you defended it. Now, you should get going, every minute you spend here raises suspicion from enemy spies.”
“Right… I’ll give you a full mission report once everything is done. Catch you later, comrade Kenji.”
I take one bottle in every hand and silently make my way back to my room. I carefully open the door and tiptoe inside. Lilly is still asleep, and I take this chance to hide the bottles in my schoolbag. Its 3:02AM now, and it seems my mind is finally starting to quiet down. Finally crossing off the last item that had been gnawing me for days has given me some peace, and I can feel my desire to sleep returning. I gently lay down next to Lilly and hold her in my arms, burying my face into her neck. My eyelids become too heavy to stay open, and I slowly feel myself drifting further and further away, Lilly’s warmth soothing me to sleep. One last thought passes through my head before I fall victim to the night’s charm.
‘Mission success, agent Nakai’
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. Will fix ASAP. 
. See you next time!
