A/N: I swear I'm working on Constructing Dolls, but this kind of begged to be written and I figured, why not post it for Halloween? So yea, Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoy this prelude to a series of AU shorts that may or may not be connected to each other (well they'll all be connected to this first chapter at least). It depends on how I feel after I make a couple of them. Irregular updates because that's what I usually do and because chapters are subject to my inspiration and willingness to write. I think that's about everything, so please enjoy~

"She won't mind," Satoshi assured him as he fished a spare key out of his drawstring bag. Why he possessed such a key remained unknown.

"I don't really care, so long as you go in first," Houtarou responded, wary that entering Mayaka's apartment unannounced would spell doom for the both of them, "but aren't you taking advantage of Ibara by making her feed us?"

"She's wanted me to try her cooking for a while now; I declined since I didn't want to lead her on." The boy turned the key in the lock with a near inaudible click. "If you're here, though, it's just simple freeloading instead of a date."

"So you admit that it's freeloading."

"What else is it?"

"It's terrible. You're terrible."

"You love me anyway." Satoshi grinned shamelessly before turning the knob.

The building was neither new nor old, but Houtarou was still mildly surprised at how soundlessly the door swung open. As for why they didn't just ring the doorbell—Satoshi wanted it to be a surprise, which meant he was simply pulling a prank to get a reaction out of Mayaka. Only Fukube Satoshi could even attempt this-or even think of it in the first place-and hope to see the next day.

Once the door shut behind them, Houtarou smelled something strange, a bitter odor that wrinkled his nose, and a cloud of humidity—and was that smoke?—settled around them.

"Did we just walk into a fire?" Houtarou asked, holding his nose.

"Her smoke alarms would be going off," Satoshi pointed out, motioning towards one such device near the doorway.

Houtarou shrugged, unable—or possibly unwilling—to find a different theory. The two continued down the hallway, finding every room empty, including the spotless kitchen. Mayaka's room sat at the end of the corridor, and if Houtarou squinted just a little, he could see a prominent plume of smoke emanating out.

Satoshi courageously opened the door, ensuring it wouldn't squeak, and immediately their eyes watered as smoke billowed out and enveloped them.

"If this succeeds, I'll surely win his heart!" said a voice from within, oblivious to the audience.

The boys peered farther in. A gigantic cauldron, the source of the acrid atmosphere, occupied the center of the room. An even larger circle had been drawn on the ground, filled with strange hieroglyphics that seemed to glow, giving the dark room a mystical atmosphere.

There was indeed a fire, a blue flame licking the undersides of the cauldron, but there was no fuel or starter to speak of as if the fire had simply appeared on its own. They could have dismissed that with the possibility they couldn't see the underside clearly, but nothing could hide the levitating books and the large wooden spoon that stirred the contents of the cauldron entirely on its own.

"What is this?" Houtarou said just a little too loudly. The person in the room whipped around, revealing Mayaka's terrified face.

"O-Oreki? Fuku-chan?"

"Mayaka, you have to be more careful than that," Satoshi chided, apparently unbothered by the logic-defying events that had just taken place.

"Generally it's polite to ring the doorbell of someone's house before coming in!" she shot back. "How did you even get in?"

Satoshi held up the key. "I have my ways."

"I never gave that to you; don't tell me you—" She put a hand over her mouth.

"I don't see the harm in saying it, seeing as he already saw you. By the way, you should know that kind of thing doesn't work on me."

"I wanted to try it anyway; one of them is bound to affect the likes of you."

Houtarou was starting to piece things together. "Ibara," he said slowly, "are you a magician?"

Mayaka sighed. "The correct term is witch, but yes."

"And I assume you're not human either," Houtarou added, motioning to Satoshi. "Don't tell me you're a wizard."

Satoshi laughed. "No, I'm not; it might be better if I show you."

"Is it really okay for him to know?" Mayaka asked tentatively.

"Sure—he's my best friend." Houtarou couldn't quite understand the look the two of them shared at that moment, but the feeling was lost as Satoshi began to take off this jacket and shirt. "Sorry Houtarou, this might not be pleasant to see, but bear with it, okay?"

As the taller boy looked on, Satoshi rolled his shoulders a few times and twisted at the waist. Then, with a sickening slurping sound, his back broke open. The brunette doubled over as two appendages slowly unfolded out of his body.

Houtarou winced at the soft, pained gasps Satoshi made, barely stopping himself from looking away.

Soon, Satoshi could stand, albeit shakily. He wiped sweat from his forehead and turned around, a pair of feathered wings flapping languidly on his back.

Wings. Satoshi had wings. "An angel?" Houtarou whispered in awe.

"I knew you were bright," Satoshi said brightly, though slightly out of breath. "Mayaka thought I was a bird person."

"But how?"

"The two of us are here for various purposes. I just happened to be assigned here a few years ago, and Kamiyama is rich in magical soil, likely because of our mountains, so Mayaka's family moved here a while back, before she was even born."

"Witches and wizards don't have very many places to learn magic," Mayaka chimed in. "There are a handful in Europe, though not on the scale of the fictional Hogwarts, and there are none to speak of in Japan."

"It was just by chance that we ended up in the same place. Usually angels don't go to high school; the ones that generally get to go to Earth are older."

"Sorry, I'm still wrapping my head around your existences; I'm less interested in the politics of Heaven," Houtarou said. "I'm also surprised you told me this; can't Ibara make a forgetfulness potion or something?"

Both of them shrugged. "I don't have the ingredients," Ibara admitted, "and forgetfulness potions only work on memories of the last few hours. I can't get them in that amount of time. Besides, it saves us the trouble of keeping this from you."

"While we're at it, maybe we should tell Chitanda-san," Satoshi suggested. Mayaka nodded and grabbed her cell phone.

"She doesn't know your identities yet?" Houtarou asked.

"No, she knows; she was the one who wanted to tell you about us in the first place," Satoshi corrected. "After all, Chitanda-san is an alien."