Daichi: Today I learned that it is entirely possible to enjoy writing a generic character created for a one-shot. So here it is- Cheese actually having an effect on the story beyond existing in the background.

Verity: We don't own Magical Vacation/Starsign.

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Will-o-Wisp Academy existed to teach young mages. It had been in existence for several generations of non-magic users, and turned out many classes whose students would one day aspire to greatness.

One class in particular. Miss Madeleine taught a great many students, and one year, said students banded together to defeat creatures known as the Enigma. That was eight-hundred years ago, and said students had since gone on to chase their own dreams.

Such as Cheese, a woman who made friends with spirits, and wielded the power of electricity. Even now, centuries later as she taught her own students, she found herself playing with lightning when scared or confused. Once upon a time, even after the Enigma were defeated, she had continued to lead her classmates as an adventuring party alongside Ganache Nighthawk, an acclaimed user of Dark Magic.

But that was a long time ago. Those with the power to control machines were rare, and those that weren't machines themselves, rarer yet. There were a number of ruins across Kovomaka, and Cheese and Ganache had led their friends into one with such a mage inside. He had been hostile, and they fought a harsh battle, of which the class came out the victors.

Sort of, anyway. One of the classmates had been a robot named Mokka. The other mage had ensnared him, and turned him against the party, before causing the ruins to cave in on them after his defeat. It had taken a long time for their friend to be dug out of the ruins, even longer for Principal Biscotti to fix him. By that point, the rest of them had gone their separate ways, with the exception of Cheese and Pistachio, who had taken up teaching in the passing centuries.

His memory could not be restored. So he had been re-initiated into the Academy, and Cheese and Pistachio took to avoiding him. They'd informed their old classmates, who they'd kept in contact with, and life moved on. For the most part.

Things had changed recently, though. Cheese's old friends had begun to drop off the map, which while not too worrying on its own- they were still adventurous spirits, after all- was a problem when none of them came back. The worst part was Lemon and Blueberry, who had disappeared as a pair.

Still, while she was worried, she figured they could take care of themselves. She had her own job, her own responsibilities, and was perfectly fine with staying at the Academy, at least for the time being. The school needed security after news had broken of the Valencia Beach debacle, and while she'd helped to program Magic Dolls to act as that security, she was still one of the best fighters on staff, there to protect the students.

This led up to the present day, in which she and Pistachio were both standing in front of Principal Biscotti. "You asked for me, sir?" She asked. She could understand why Pistachio was there- he was a substitute teacher, he needed to get assignments from somewhere- but she'd been doing her job the same as always.

The principal, who she'd never quite forgiven for turning her class into a group of child soldiers, adjusted the paper on his desk. "A few days ago, we got a report from your old friend Ganache. He came across a rather powerful Light Mage- Kale Ashpot."

"Ashpot... Sesame's cousin? The one that helped him and Cabernet with their terrarium?" Pistachio asked. "That Kale?"

"Yes. Apparently, since leaving Kovomaka, he fell in with a gang of space pirates, and has been leading them in terrorizing the planet. Mr. Nighthawk requested backup, so I'm sending Miss Madeleine in his direction. I would like Cheese to take over her classes in the time being, and for you to handle hers."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to have me-"

"With your teaching style?" Cheese asked. "I teach advanced students, who can actually keep up with the kind of things you say. You're my best friend, but... you tend to forget that not everyone had summer camp on Valencia Beach. No offense."

"None taken. But what about your students?" For whatever reason, anyone who took classes Cheese offered tended to come out with less than total respect for authority.

She denied being the cause, of course, but nobody believed her. It was common knowledge that what happened on Valencia Beach had destroyed her trust in that generation's adults- even Miss Madeleine, who she still respected a great deal. So she passed on to her students the knowledge that authority figures didn't always have their best interests at heart, and maybe they learned that lesson just a little bit too well, but that was better, to her, than seeing them get hurt.

She shrugged. "Well, I'll still drop in on you from time to time- not all the classes overlap. And my students know you from all the times you've visited me. Besides, you're the strongest Wood Mage on the planet. Unless you're saying you can't deal with children?"

"That's not what I said at all!" But she'd issued the challenge, and Pistachio had to accept it, because that was just the way things worked with them.

The next day, Cheese would move to teaching Miss Madeleine's class.

A week later, Ganache dropped off the map.

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Sundae wasn't sure what to expect. With Miss Madeleine gone, the class would be getting a new teacher. Perhaps Professor Pistachio, who'd been in a few times while their normal teacher was out sick, but he was... not a teacher she'd like to have.

Fortunately, they didn't get Professor Pistachio. Their new teacher was a woman who looked a good deal like her, but dressed in red and with short hair. For some reason, the air in the classroom seemed to be covered with static electricity. The new teacher, upon the ringing of the bell, turned to look at the class, her gaze taking in all of them, though, for some reason, it didn't linger on Mokka for very long.

"Hello, class. I'm Miss Cheese, a Lightning Mage and your teacher from this day forward. I'm seeing a lot of new faces in the crowd, but then, this is a beginner class. So let's try and get to know each other, okay?"

She wasn't sure what she should have expected. But this woman, with eyes that seemed haunted- and she knew what that looked like, her whole family used Dark Magic, herself included- didn't fit any of those categories.

Only time would tell whether that was a good or bad thing.

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Daichi: And so it begins. I've never really been able to see Pistachio being as cruel as the students say he is- they're just students, after all- but given how... different... his education was, my theory is that he's just not good at teaching the basics, which fits in somewhat with his self-confidence issues in Vacation. He tries too hard to teach, and the students come off not learning anything. He's great with the advanced classes, though. Whole reason he's employed.