Tanaka was an intelligent child, almost too clever for his own good. From the time he could walk, he started visiting the family library to learn as much as possible about his new world. But, as bright as he was, that didn't mean he couldn't cause trouble as well.
"Miss Ellie, Miss Ellie." Tanaka rushed to the head maid
"Yes, Master Tanaka?" Ellie replied
"Father told me to come to find you and request a dessert for tonight."
"A desert?"
Tanaka smiled because he knew he had Miss Ellie right where he wanted her, and she could never say no to his cute little smile. Still, it wasn't uncommon for Naruhito to send young Tanaka to the head maid if he really wanted a specific dish for meal time.
"Yes, Miss Ellie, he said he wanted ice cream."
"Ice… cream?"
"Yes, he said, 'last time I was in the capital, I had the most wonderful of deserts,'" Tanaka said, imitating his father's voice (poorly)
"So a desert you say, how would one make this desert, did your father tell you?" Miss Ellie said, now chuckling at young Tanaka
Tanaka puffed out his chest "the maids were simply amazing. They first filled a pot with cream and sugar, and vanilla. They closed it up and used water magic to encapsulate it in ice. Another maid came with wind magic spinning the frozen pot till the cream hardened."
"Hmm, fascinating, Master Tanaka. We are some pretty awesome maids here, and let's see what we can do. Go find Miss Shirley for me, dear; she should be near the kitchens."
The Eiyu family firmly believed that while they were nobility, they were not above providing aid to the common folk of their domain. This even included the maids in their employ. Also, Tanaka was finally getting some ice cream, so he didn't mind doing whatever Miss Ellie asked. It had been two years since he had last had some. Tanaka was as excited as he could possibly be as he adorably waddled off toward the kitchens looking for Miss Shirley.
"Miss Shirley, Miss Shirley, Miss Ellie needs your help with some desert father has asked for."
Tanaka beamed, knowing his smile caused every maid in the house to melt like butter.
Miss Ellie approached as Tanaka finished up explaining ice cream to Miss Shirley and the two maids got to work producing what Tanaka had requested. After 20 minutes and a few pointers, the maids seemed to forget to question how Tanaka knew the process so well. It was finished. They scooped a small portion for Tanaka as well as themselves and a more significant amount for the master and mistress of the house. Tanaka giggled as he happily ate the ice cream and even wiggled in his seat, making the maids swoon.
"Let's take this up to the master and mistress Tanaka," Miss Ellie said, smiling as she gathered up the two portions on a serving tray, keeping it cool with a bit of ice magic.
Tanaka finished his small portion and giggled, following Miss Ellie, "okay!"
Naruhito and Masako were both in the study talking of little Tanaka's future as Miss Ellie and Tanaka approached.
"He is just so smart we need to get him a tutor as soon as possible, dear," Masako remarked.
"True, I will look into it, someone who can teach him the ways of the world, including that of the sword," Naruhito replied
"But what if he has an aptitude for magic."
"Masako dear, you know no one has an aptitude before 8."
Miss Ellie knocks on the study door. "Master, the desert you requested is ready."
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"Desert, I don't remember requesting a desert?" Naruhito looks puzzled
"Master Tanaka said you requested ice cream, a treat you had last time you were in the capital."
Naruhito spots Tanaka hiding in the hems of Miss Ellie's skirt, grinning sheepishly.
"Tanaka, what is the meaning of this? You know I didn't request anything. Why are you bothering the maids?"
"Wait, you didn't request this. Where did it come from? Then it's such a wonderful treat," Miss Ellie beams.
"Please try it, father. It's so wonderfully yummy," Tanaka also says, giggling at Miss Ellie's compliment.
"Hmm, I am interested, for sure. Miss Ellie's cooking is always wonderful dear how could this be bad? What's in it?" Masako says, becoming more interested by the second
"Cream, sugar, vanilla, and magic," Tanaka says before Miss Ellie can get a word in edgewise.
"So simple, yet so interesting. Wait, did you say magic? Tanaka, you can't be asking the maids to use their magic for your own personal desires. What if they run out of mana and are unable to do their jobs now?" Naruhito is also now curious.
"For something like this, I'd gladly do it the old-fashioned way, Master Naruhito," Miss Ellie interjects as Naruhito and Masako both take a bite of the ice cream.
Masako's face purses as she takes the bite. Naruhito lets the flavors roll around on his tongue, enjoying every second of the experience.
"Where did this come from? It's wonderfully sweet." Masako asks, looking to Naruhito for answers, still believing the capital story
"Well?" Naruhito looks to Tanaka and Ellie for answers
Tanaka gets all nervous and turns red as a beet. "Uh….uh… I imagined it, dad. What do you think?"
Naruhito gets the biggest smile and announces boisterously, "This is the best damn imaginary treat I have ever had, the capital. Hell, idk if they could do something like this in the frozen south."
Masako smacks Naruhito in the arm, playfully looking Naruhito in the eye, then looks at Tanaka. "Language" Masako giggles
"But you're right, this is wonderful, dear we should share it with everyone. What do you think, Miss Ellie?"
"It's easy enough to make the problem would be sourcing the vanilla for the common man."
"Oh, you don't have to use just vanilla. You can use any real 'sweet' flavor," Tanaka pipes up
This would later become known as 'the ice cream incident' among the Eiyu family and the maids
---
Seasons had come and gone since the ice cream incident, and Tanaka's fifth birthday was rapidly approaching. He was spending time in the library as he usually did. Today's book was "A History of Magical Theory, and its Practical Applications." As he reached the end of his chapter, a purple smoke started drifting in from behind him.
Then came a slight tap on his shoulder. Tanaka became super confused and spun around almost immediately. Upon his turn, he realized there was another face almost touching his own. Tanaka found the little girl to be very pretty with long dark hair, a pale face, and dark red lips. She reminded him of the most beautiful geisha from the tales of old back in his own world.
"Hai, I'm Kurayami. Nice to finally be able to get out and meet you."
"Kurayami… nice to meet you? Wait, what do you mean get out and meet me?"
Kurayami giggles. "I'm just a part of your magic, silly."
"That's impossible magic doesn't come to those on Tengoku till their eighth birthday."
"But you're not of this world. Remember Tanaka, the goddess Izanami said she would give you aptitude in all the elements. We have been watching over you since you were born of this world."
"We? You mean there are more of you?" Tanaka says finally starting to understand the situation
"Yes, I have five sisters. There is one of us for each element. However, they aren't quite ready for their debut just yet, only me. You'll probably meet Akari. Next, she likes to show off 'you can't have darkness without the light' she always says"
Tanaka can tell Akari and Kurayami don't exactly get along, but they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.
"Now hold out your hand, and think of each element: darkness, light, fire, water, earth, and air. While I will disappear as this form, you will be able to see all of us," Kurayami instructs Tanaka.
Tanaka does as instructed, and as he thinks of each element, a small orb pops up in his hand, and a glimmer of a memory pops up, as do the 6 spheres. "So you have been watching over me since I was a baby. I can't wait to meet all of you. Thank you, Kurayami" As Tanaka says her name, she reappears in her cloud of purple smoke.
"And I see you have figured out how to summon us. All you need is to say our name."
Kurayami shows Tanaka some minor tricks, like how to make purple smoke puff up from his hand. They spend the rest of the evening playing together quietly and learning tricks.