#orba

Orba

“Are you kidding? Why do I have to do it?” You whined like a child. Ironic, as you were the only other adult.

Mirai, Liko and Ha had assigned you the job of showing Orba around the No Magic World. He had recently been purified, and didn’t know how things worked outside his home.

“Oh come on! You’ll be fine! Besides, we all have school. So we don’t have time anyway.” Mirai explained. “Also, it’ll be nice for him to have another adult around.”

You sighed. “But I don’t know much about this world myself.” This was true. Your home was the Magic World. You were simply sent here by Headmaster to watch other the girls; the Pretty Cure. According to him, having an adult from the Magic World as a chaperone would keep the girls out of trouble. So there you were.

“I’m sure you’ll do okay. The No Magic World isn’t too confusing. Just remember to not use magic!” Liko said.

Another sigh escaped your lips. This was going to be an interesting experience.

~(The Next Day)~

“Bye girls! Have a good day!” You waved goodbye from the front gates of their school. They all waved back, then resumed running to class, seeing as they were late.

Staring at the ground, you avoided looking and talking to Orba, who stood next to you. You rolled a pebble under your shoe for a bit of entertainment, and as a distraction.

“If you’re so keen on avoiding me, perhaps we should just head home.” Orba stated in his usual, polite tone. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, which you noticed was a habit of his.

“No, no. I promised the girls.” You said, waving your hand. You turned the opposite direction, and began walking away from the school. “Let’s go.” You gestured with your hand for him to follow you, which he did.

Over the span of your journey, Orba had shifted from walking behind you, to walking beside you. This made your situation way more awkward. The only sounds to fill the silence were the gentle breeze, the sound of both your shoes hitting the ground as you walked, and the school bell in the distance. “I hope the girls made it on time.” You whispered to yourself.”

“I believe it’s not inappropriate to think that they would be punished if they didn’t.” Orba inquired.

You jumped slightly, not expecting any words from him. “Hm? Oh, yeah. They would.”

“What sort of punishment would they receive? Do schools punish their students brutally, or are they more subdued?” You nearly choked on your own spit at this question.

“What? ‘Brutal’? No! Why on Earth would they do that to children?” You said, genuinely concerned about his thought process.

Orba pulled out a book, and began flipping through its pages. “So that’s a ‘no’ on brutal punishments. So what do they do?” He asked, completely avoiding your disturbed state.

“I dunno. They might make them stay after school and clean. Maybe they’ll get extra homework. Or maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll just get a warning.” You answered, calming down a bit.

“I see. How interesting.” Orba said, before snapping his book closed with one hand.

You arrived in the busier part of town, where a bunch of shops and restaurants were. “You hungry?” You asked.

“I believe so. I’m beginning to feel the symptoms.” He said, putting a hand on his stomach.

You laughed at the fact that he called it “symptoms”. “Well why don’t we go inside this restaurant?” You pointed at one. “The girls took me here once, and the food was really good.”

“Sure.” Orba said immediately afterwards, and entered the building. You thought it was odd how he didn’t even think about it, but nonetheless, you followed him.

The two of you sat at an empty table, Orba sitting across from you. He picked up the menu, and began reading its contents. You didn’t, as you already knew what you wanted.

“These ‘pancakes’ look interesting. I think I’ll have that.” Said Orba.

“That’s funny. That’s what I’m getting.” You said. Orba hummed.

You called the waiter over, and ordered your food. After they left, you sat in silence for a moment. Orba read his book, and you just looked out the window. After a few moments, you decided to strike up a conversation. “So… you don’t seem too resistant to this whole ‘being reformed’ thing.”

Orba looked up from his book, pushing up his glasses again. “Well, I was stripped of my mugic. So there isn’t much I can do. So I just have to bear it. But if I’m being completely honest, it’s not as bad as I predicted.”

You hummed, giving him a light smile. His eyes flicked back to his book, making you wonder if your kind gesture made him uncomfortable. But you didn’t get the chance to find out, as your food arrived.

“Thank you.” You thanked the waiter, who smiled before leaving. Grabbing a fork, you cut a small piece of the top pancake. The shiny syrup dripped further onto the plate. You put the piece into your mouth, and hummed happily at the sweet taste and fluffy texture. It was so delicious, that you paid no notice of Orba staring at you.

He paid close attention to the way you ate. He then steered his attention to his own stack of pancakes, and copied your actions. After he took a bite, he froze.

“You okay?” You asked, noticing his pause.

“Yes.” He said, covering his mouth with his hand. “I’ve just never had food before. It’s good.”

“You’ve never had food? How?” You raised your voice in shock.

“When you’re an immortal being, you don’t need food to survive.” He took another forkful of his pancake. You hummed, and continued eating yours.

After you both were finished, you paid, and left the restaurant. On the way home, Orba struck up another conversation. “That was an interesting experience. We should do that again.” You could tell he was trying his best to be normal, which you found funny.

“Sure, why not?” You chuckled.

~(Time Skip: Four Months)~

You did indeed do it again. Many times. At least twice a week, after the girls went to school, you ate breakfast at different restaurants. Orba always chose different foods every time, wanting to experience different tastes. You loved watching his reactions and hearing his thoughts. After eating, you’d always show him around town. He wanted to know more about the No Magic World, so you taught him the best you could.

These little hangouts between the two do you have become your favorite events. And you’d be lying if you said you haven’t developed feelings for the odd man. But you place your priority on teaching, not love. Besides, you weren’t even sure he felt the emotion. So you kept silent.

But boy, was it hard to.

You and Orba had just finished your breakfast, and were heading into town square. It was a quiet walk; neither of you saying a word. This was the result of the awkward experience of the waiter mistaking the two of you for couple. Through your panic and embarrassment, you could barely form the words to tell her she was incorrect.

You arrived at a large fountain. The loud sound of rushing water calmed your mind, and you felt your shoulders relax from their previously tense position. “Let’s go sit down.” You told Orba, pointing to one of the benches. He simply hummed, and nodded.

The bench was perfectly sized for two people, convenient for you. You both sat down, letting your legs rest from the walk. Orba took notice of the pair sitting on the edge of the fountain. They were holding hands, and kissed each other. He turned to you, who had your eyes closed and your head leaned back.

“(name).” He called. You simply hummed in response.

“What is the reason for those two’s behavior?” He asked.

You sighed, a small complaint for having to open your eyes. Orba gestured to the pair, and after a few moments of watching them, gave your response with a shrug. “They’re probably a couple.”

“A couple?” Orba repeated with curiosity.

“Yeah. You know, when two people love each other, and decide to be together.” You specified.

“Oh, I see. I have heard about the topic of love before, but never cared to look into it. So what is it couples do?”

“Well they usually go on dates. Go out to eat, go on long walks, that sort of thing. Just spending time together.”

“How curious. That’s suspiciously similar to the things we do. Are we a couple?” Orba smiled slightly.

You nearly threw up your own heart after hearing that. “Oh! Well, it’s true we do the same things, but we’re not a couple.” You laughed nervously.

“Are you sure? Even the waiter from either thought we were.” He seems to find your flustered state funny, as his smile grew bigger. Though his tone was completely serious.

“Orba, is this some kind of joke? We’re not a couple!” You slightly raised your voice.

“It’s not in my nature to jest.” He said, again with full seriousness. He was correct as well. He never jokes.

You sighed, calming down a bit. “Look, we’re not a couple because we’re not in love.” Your own words broke your heart a bit to say.

Orba’s smile left, and he pushed up his glasses. “I’m not quite sure that’s correct.”

“What do you mean?”

“I believe we both experience symptoms of interest. Or in other words ‘love’. From what little I’ve read about, it all matches up.” He explained.

You paused, taking in his words. “Orba, you love me?” You asked, in genuine shock.

“Yes, I believe so.” His smile returned. “And if I’m correct, you feel the same.”

You just stared at him for a moment. You couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Yeah.” You said, which was all you could manage get out.

“Excellent.” Orba said. “I guess I’ll have to read more about the subject of love then.”

You finally snapped out of your shocked state, and let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Orba chuckled back, and stood up from the bench. “Well, why don’t we head to that ‘library’ place you’ve told me about? I’m sure I could find a book about it there.”

“Sure!” You stood up too, and began walking with him.

After a few moments, Orba offered you his hand. “If I’m not mistaken, I believe this is a thing couples do.”

You laughed, and took his hand, interlocking your fingers with his. “You’re right.”

The two of you continued on; heading to the library. You felt so happy. Getting together so quickly caught you off guard, but you were glad. You honestly couldn’t wait for the journey ahead. Hopefully Orba could find some good books, because right now, your relationship was off to a great start.

~~~🤍~~~🤍~~~🤍~~~