Magic preparations by the pool with Tenko.

Early on a Saturday morning, an unusual pair of girls could be seen standing around outside the school pool. The two could hardly be a more opposite pair: the shorter redhead, Himiko Yumeno, rubbing at her eyes in her magician outfit, looked like she was ready to go back to bed; Tenko Chabashira, the taller dark-haired martial artist in the modified school uniform, talking at a mile-a-minute speed and refusing to catch a hint about her friend's lack of enthusiasm.

The two were alone, which was unusual for this location. Frankly, no matter what time of the day it was, one could count on the Ultimate Swimming Pro, to be here practicing: if it wasn't dark outside, it was a fifty-fifty bet as to whether she'd be here practicing or in the cafeteria regaining her stamina. Considering that there were so many other students here, that free fifty percent chance for the pool was also never a safe bet. When Himiko had heard Aoi was sick this weekend, she'd wasted no time speaking with the student council and getting them to reserve the spot for her until noon. That had been a lot of work, and for a weekend where she could be sleeping in, summoning that effort had truly been a type of magic. And, as such...

"My MP still isn't recharged... My HP is about at zero, too, nyeh..." Himiko muttered, letting out a big yawn with no respect for the other girl's continuing, unceasing stream of consciousness.

Tenko was here for two reasons: Himiko needed someone strong and energetic enough to do hard work early in the morning, and she needed someone who "believed in magic." In this case, "believing in magic" implied a willingness to lift heavy, unmarked bags of mysterious sand and dump them into the school pool without being paid for the labor and without asking too many questions.

Well, there were still some questions being asked, mixed in with all of the random high-energy excited chatter coming from the martial artist. "I was so honored when you came to me to be a magician's assistant! I knew Neo-Aikido would be capable of aiding your magic in some way, at some point! I could feel it in my muscles! Actually, I can feel it in my sweat, now, too! I understand you can't reveal the secrets of your magic, but there's one thing, just one thing I need to know!"

"Nyeh... What?!" Himiko snapped as though being asked was a huge pain, swaying on her legs as though she was the one doing heavy labor.

"You mentioned earlier the concept of 'purifying this pool' for your trick. I understand how you're doing that magically-"

"No, you don't, nyeh. That's the whole point, cuz it's magic. Only I understand it," Himiko reminded her.

"Y-yes, okay, so I don't understand how you're doing that magically, but I did hear you say you were, and I believe you, of course! So, um, if that is the case... what is this substance I'm dumping in, Himiko?"

Himiko reached for the low-effort lie she'd come up with earlier, in case this question was asked. "It's sand. You know, you put sand in the pool to make it clean, nyeh."

"Aha! Of course!" Tenko nodded immediately and vigorously, her big braids shaking behind her. "After all, this pool is not used only by the respectable and lovable Aoi, but by a variety of degenerate males all across this school! Thinking of their sweat and drool mixing in the water... Aaah! What if they peed in here, Himiko?! You have to call it off! This pool is too dangerous!!"

"That's why we're cleaning it, nyeh... Make sure you dump in the whole bag. My, uh, spell is almost done, so it'll be... y'know... morally purified, nyeh."

"That's Himiko for you! A mage prepares for every contingency, doesn't she?!" Smiling, nodding again, and wiping sweat from her forehead, Tenko rose to her feet and beamed over the surface of the water. "Look at it sparkle! A perfect, purified pool for pure-hearted and perfect magic!"

Indeed, the sparkles in the pool were noticeable. Nobody would look at this pool and fail to understand it had been tampered with in some fashion... Tenko didn't seem to be connecting it with anything unusual, however, and Himiko was hardly paying attention to anything. With a frown on her face and flagging eyes, she regarded the remaining bag, which was supposed to be "Part B" of her "sand." The instructions had said to put it in immediately... "Buh... Putting in the first bag was a big pain, and it took way too long, nyeh. That's gotta be enough. Tenko, don't worry about the other one. Now you gotta help me test it, nyeh."

The other girl looked at her with giddy, shining green eyes. "Oooo-ohoaah! I get to be part of Himiko's magic trick! I must be dreaming...! All right, what would you have me do?!"

"Lower yourself into it, nyeh. Just up to the-"

Before Himiko could instruct any further, Tenko turned around and lowered herself feet-first into the edge of the pool, catching the edge athletically with her fingers without any trouble. Almost immediately, she popped back up, sputtering. "Bheh! Bleh! Btoo! H-Himiko, I must have messed up your magic purification with the sand I added. Maybe my sweat got in it! B-but this stuff is pretty tingly! How long do you need me to stay in?"

"You aren't supposed to be in at all. You were only supposed to stick a leg in, nyeh... Get on out."

With her long hair uncharacteristically hanging free of its pigtails, Tenko nodded and lifted herself out. "It's a good thing I didn't dive in! I got so excited, I forgot I can't swim, ha ha ha!"

Himiko covered her mouth with her hands, watching the other girl with wide eyes in spite of her sleepiness. The effect was what she had expected, although she hadn't intended to subject Tenko to all of this: as the martial artist's wet body emerged from the pool, her characteristic pink headband and green bow slid in stringy tatters into the water behind her, then vanished as though dispersing into it just like the sand. Her uniform couldn't be seen at all. Since the rest of her body had been in longer, the chemical had already done its work. Not just her uniform, but her shoes, socks, and even her undergarments were all completely gone, leaving her dripping, toned body bare to the barely-risen sun.

Tenko hadn't been covering herself, shamelessly showing off her naughty bits to the magician. As soon as her bare soles touched the concrete at the edge of the pool, however, she realized that she was no longer wearing her waraji, and the remaining realizations came quick. "W-w-whaaaaat?!" Immediately, she crossed one arm across her impressive chest and put her other hand between her legs to protect her decency. "H-Himiko, run quick! There's a d-degenerate male plot underway right now to strip us naked! I'll hold them off at the cost of my life with my Neo-Aikido, but your precious dignity must be-!!"

"There's no males, nyeh!" Himiko interrupted her, blushing a bit on Tenko's behalf. "It was my magic."

"You... used your magic?! To strip me naked?! Himiko, that's...!" Tenko tapered off, her face growing beet-red as her lip trembled. "I mean, you wanted to see me naked? B-but my body isn't that cute... Uwah~! W-when I flush, I turn a bright bright red, the exact color of a hot dog! When I get excited, I break out in goosebumps as big as your big toe! You wouldn't-"

"No, dummy, it was cuz you didn't follow my instructions." Himiko felt a little bad about lying to her friend, especially in this state, but it'd be too dangerous to let her run with that wrong idea. "I used my magic to teach you a lesson. So, remember, when we do it for real, you've gotta do everything like we practice, nyeh... It's really important."

"Oh... Aaaah! I'm sorry! I had the wrong idea!!" The naked Tenko apologized to the girl who had just stripped her naked and lied about it, bowing repeatedly. "I won't fail you, Himiko! I'll do exactly what you say in the show! I know how important it is to you."

"Okay, well... Since you're naked now, go dress into a swimsuit in the locker room, nyeh."

"Himiko... Y-you want to see my swimsuit?! That's-"

"We're not doing this bit a second time!" Himiko's cheeks puffed out in a pout. It seemed like getting the thick-headed and deluded Tenko to get rid of the notion that the mage wanted to see her body was going to be harder than she'd hoped... "And anyway, I'm not gonna stick around for you to finish, nyeh. You set up the other stuff for the magic show. I'm gonna go gather up a crowd for it."

Tenko thought to herself that it seemed like a big lack of foresight not to have already lined up an audience for a show this important after going through this much effort, but managed to keep the thought to herself. "After all, I managed to put Himiko in such a compromising situation by accidentally showing her my naked body! I can't do anything else that'd get her mad at me..." The martial artist gave a stern nod, then, with uncharacteristic slowness, shyly shuffled her way towards the locker room with her back away from Himiko, keeping the other girl from seeing her shapely and dripping-wet butt.

Meanwhile, thinking not of the plight of her friend, but instead bemoaning how she somehow had still more work to do, Himiko went off in search for a large audience who had nothing better to do than to spontaneously watch a magic trick around noon on a Saturday...