Okay, let me get this out first. I am deeply sorry for the delay in the continuation of the story. It's been what, 3/4 of a year since I published the first chapter? It's my complete mistake that this happened. I was naive to think it was easy to write Fanfiction. I totally underestimated the pacing and time to be invested to get a chapter done. Add the problems IRL and the delay just stretched on and on. I finally drew up a schedule when it comes to fanfiction, so you wont need to worry about the next chapter being late. And finally, my thanks to EternalKing, GenryuBlack94, ciel Blackblood, Blakegriffin89 and charlottendunois for following my story and a special thanks to giacomoX for the review.

"Umm….."

"Hmm… did you say something?"

In response to the faint sound Alice gave off, Travis turned his head a little to take a good look at him. He looked alright, the fear on his face had subsided but it looked like he still held some worries, the profuse sweating he had back at the Akatsuki School Building had decreased and his body was relaxed.

"What is it, Alice?"

"Well… I am not sure if I am in the position to ask, but are we heading towards Hagun Academy"

"So you noticed, huh? Well, I should have expected that from an assassin. They always have an impeccable sense of direction."

Alice scowled a little at that remark but he felt no ill will. After what he had done to his friends, even if he became hated and isolated once again, he would accept it, for that was the punishment for the deeds he had carried out.

"I don't mean to butt in, but you should keep those thought for after you have a talk with your friends."

"Huh…."

The train of thought Alice was on had been stopped by Travis poking a statement in the middle. Alice looked up to meet his eyes.

"I can see where you are coming from. You betrayed all your friends by almost backstabbing them, and when you turned on a new leaf, you were the one backstabbed. You were probably planning on dying back there in that building at the hands of Wallenstein had Shizuku not interfered. Honestly, to an outsider like me, I feel like you got what you deserved"

Alice hung his head in silence, what Travis said was the obvious, he had deserved all this and more. If only he hadn't existed, if only he hadn't been born, then maybe…

"But it is also due to you that the frosted heart of Lorelei has started to thaw out. And you honestly did try to save all of them from Akatsuki Academy. I think that warrants some attention."

"First, he condemns me. Now, he praises me. Just what is he trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that whether you make amends or decide to inflict self-punishment, you should do it after you apologize to your friends. After you hear what they have to say, you can take your decision. Besides, you wouldn't make that cute little girl in your hands cry again over you, would you?"

Alice looked down at the now asleep Shizuku in his arms. This girl had no reason to come after him, to fight for his sake and save him. Yet, she did all of that, all the while still clinging onto the notion of him being his friend.

"Yeah…. I wouldn't want that to happen."

By now, it was clear what path he had to take. He would no longer hide his true self behind a mask; no longer have to force a smile while blatantly lying. He was released from his shackles and could be who he was, all thanks to her.

"I mean even Ikki would not forgive you after something like that, and we all know how determined he is when he sets his mind on something. So, if I were you I would think twice before trying something like this again."

Travis gave a light laugh after finishing his sentence, followed by Alice joining in.

"You're probably right about that."

After the laughter had died down, Alice looked Travis straight in the eye.

"Tell me, Travis…"

"Yes?"

"Can you…."

"Go on"

"Read a person's mind?"

Alice could swear for one second that he could see the look on Travis's face turn into a dumbfounded one before returning to his usual expression.

"Hahaha... It seems like your witty humor has returned. To answer your question, I can't read a person's mind but I can get a gist of what they are thinking by looking at their eyes."

Saying so Travis started to laugh lightly, again and he continued to do so for some time.

Once Travis had stopped laughing and turned his head back to the front, Alice looked at his back and, again, posed a query.

"But in all seriousness, tell me. Fighting on par with the world's strongest swordsman, using magic capable of flight which even a person like me who has worked in the underworld for a long time cannot recognize. Who exactly are you, Travis?"

"You'll have to wait if you want a full explanation, but if you want a quick one, let's just say that I am….. a little different from all of you."

"Well, that much is evident from your display of skills. Guess I'll just have to wait."

"Glad you understand."

"However…. I would like to know what course of action you have planned once we reach Hagun. You're sorely mistaken if you think Stella chan and the student council can hold their own against akatsuki academy. Not to mention we have the world's strongest swordsman in pursuit of us, all thanks to your unneeded patronization. I don't think even you, for all I have seen you do, would be able to take all of them on at the same time."

"I think that…"

"Yes?"

"Is totally debatable."

"Is this your way of paying me back, cause I think this isn't the time to be doing it."

"What do you mean? There is always time for payback!"

After uttering those words, Travis broke out into a haughty laugh, leading Alice's eyebrows twitch in annoyance.

"Is this guy full to the head about himself or just plain stupid?"

"I see that you don't think too high of me now" Travis stopped laughing and replied. "But worry not, I am the type to plan ahead and I have a friend down there that should be having the situation in control."

"And I suppose he is as capable as you?"

"Actually, it's a she and she can fend for herself quite nicely, so no need to worry about that."

"Is that so? I wonder…"

"Head's up!"

"Wha…" was all Alice got to say before Travis ascended quickly, dodging an energy blast aimed at them.

"Tch… looks like she caught up. Well, it doesn't matter now since we're almost there."

Alice looked downwards, trying to get a look at the state Hagun Academy was in, but all he could see was white.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you said we were near Hagun Academy."

"Yes, we are. Actually we're flying over it right now."

"Then why is it that all I can see are white clouds?"

Travis slipped a glance downwards and smiled weakly.

"Alice, I think you should look closer."

On Travis's behest, Alice looked down once again, this time, concentrating more.

"And as if that is going to change what I se….."

Alice's mind stopped thinking at this moment as it was overwhelmed at the sight. And so would any other person, for what Alice was beholding was the entire Hagun Academy campus enshrouded in mist so thick, it looked like a pack of clouds from this height. To put that in perspective, the campus was said to span more than ten times the area of the Tokyo Dome.

Travis broke out in a grin at the sight.

"And she tells me not to go overboard"

A thought crossed Travis's mind as they started to descend towards the school ground.

"Huff…Huff.."

"Come on, we're almost there. Put some effort into it."

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one carrying a person who has three ribs broken. Do you know how careful I have to move so as to not aggravate the damage?"

"Well… I have done that before, trying to carry three people to safety so I get where you're coming from, but, we are hardly in a position for this so I suggest you toughen up and keep moving"

Botan groaned as she realized that their savior was right. After healing her and enshrouding the entire campus in mist so thick you couldn't make a difference between tree and a building, the mysterious girl told her to pick up Kikyo and follow her. Even now she was moving ahead of her, far enough to be only a silhouette but close enough to remain in sight.

"Well… If I don't stop complaining and start keeping up then I might lose sight of her and that wouldn't bode well in this mist."

As Botan increased her speed in order to not lose sight of the girl, she could see the silhouette become a little more clearer and it only became more clearer as she moved nearer. After some more steps she found herself standing beside the girl who was now just standing with no motion.

"What's the matter? Why did you stop?"

To Botan who was looking at the girl's back while asking, it appeared as if the girl was just staring into the horizon, like she was looking for something. Then again, there was nothing to be seen as the whole academy was still covered in mist.

"Um.. Excu-"

"Get down"

"Wha-"

Before Botan could even get halfway through her sentence, the girl in front of her had crouched down and delivered a low kick to Botan's left shin. This alone wouldn't have been trouble but combined with the tiredness and the weight of her sister made her lose balance and fall forward, head first.

"..ch"

And she fell down with a thud. While it didn't cause any cuts it certainly hurt her jaw badly and in her current mood her tolerance for pain was reduced to a pitiful level. Naturally, her temper shot up as she looked at the girl with angry eyes.

"Hey, what's the big idea?"

As soon as she uttered those words, five white blades cut through the mist and flew over them. Her anger turned to horror as she realized they had passed through exactly where she had been standing. The blades would have met their mark had the girl not kicked her down.

"Looks like we've been found out"

As the girl helped Botan to stand up, four silhouettes appeared around them. As they got closer they could see who their adversaries were.

One was a small sized boy with yellow hair clad in a white uniform, Kyomon academy's Amane Shinomiya.

One was a girl whose face was surrounded by a scarf and was carrying a chain saw shaped device, Tonrou academy's Yui Tatara.

One was a tall girl who was wearing nothing but a apron and a pair of jeans to go with it, while carrying a brush in her hand, Rokuson academy's Sara Bloodlily.

The last figure was of a girl in pink with a eye patch over her left eye, riding on a lion with her maid behind her, Rentei academy's Rinna Kazamatsuri.

The remaining members of Akatsuki stood before them, completely blocking off anyways of escape. The situation, according to Botan at least, was grim.

"To think you made us go round an' round in circles all this time, makes me want to cut you to pieces."

"Now, now Yui san, you can't do that, we have our instruction."

"Well, if she can't cut them up, how about we burn them to a crisp. I could use the charcoal for my paintings"

"No Sara san, your missing the point."

"Kuku… How about we feed these lowly humans to my pet as fodder?"

"Were you even listening to what I was saying?"

And so as the three girls were caught up in a heated discussion on how to finish their adversaries, Amane was all the while trying to ring them in and make them settle down. To put in a sentence, it made for quite the sight.

"Are they really the same people who were trying to kill us hours ago?

Botan was thinking in her mind but it was all to obvious from her face's appearance.

"…mpf…mpf..hahaha"

The light laughter that came out from the girl carrying Stella caught every one's attention, causing them to turn their attention.

"What are you laughing at, you pretty faced bimbo!"

"Ara, That's some harsh words to say to a person you just met. You know, I'm beginning to think you wrap your face up because it's not good enough to look at."

"I see you like to spout nonsense. Well keep doing that, while I take that head of that body."

Tatara raised her device and took a step forward.

"As I was saying Yui san, ' .them."

Amane Shinomiya aimed these words to Yui Tatara, trying to remind the girl about the restrictions they had.

"No one asked you, blonde midget."

But it didn't look like she would be heeding his voice any soon.

"You have my praises, Shinomiya kun. It seems to take a lot of ability to keep this circus act of a lot in control."

"Ehehehe.. Thanks for that."

Amane put his right hand behind his head and smiled sheepishly at the praise he received.

"I mean it, you know. Honestly you seem to be the only normal person in the lot"

The girl finished her sentence with a sigh.

"Bimbo, you don't know who your talking to."

"If your calling him normal, I suggest you look up a dictionary for the meaning."

"Better watch what your saying, human. You'll regret it later"

The girls who were previously arguing like cats were now unified in their response. Ingnoring them Amane continued the conversation.

"Since you understand me so well, can I ask you a favour?"

"And what might that be?"

Amane looked straight at the girl and Botan, made the most cheerful face possible and said

"Will you please stop causing us anymore trouble and fall down here right now? To tell the truth it's been quite tiring to chase after you, so will you please cooperate and listen.?"

Botan was taken aback a little, then again who would expect them to say anything nice after all this. She turned her face to look at the girl.

"Huh?"

The girl showed no hint of apprehension to the Amane's query. Instead a small smirk was forming on her face.

"You seem pretty confident in your abilities, Shinomiya kun."

"Ahaha… That's because I have a clairvoyance; I know what you're going to do before you can even think of it."

"But its not perfect is it? Because I'm sure you didn't see me interfering in the battle. But if you could see Alice's betrayal then it makes no sense that you wouldn't have seen other obstacles that would interfere."

"I'll accept that it does not give me omniscience, but it's still enough to give us and unfair edge in battle."

Amane then materialized two silver daggers in his hands, signaling that he had enough of talking.

"Well, at least your honest. I take it then that you didn't foresee this happening?"

The girl raised her right hand, index finger pointing to the sky.

As all the Akatsuki members and Botan looked upward they could see it. Even if the mist was blocking out the sky, they could see two stars: one covered in yellow light and another in pure white, descending down upon the campus. The longer they looked, it seemed as if…

"Aren't they getting closer?" Sara Bloodlily was the first to raise the question.

Like Sara suspected, the two stars where only growing in size as time passed and they seemed to be heading right for them.

"Huh, that's strange. Where are those two?"

"Did they just disappear from here?"

"To think there is a being among these lowly humans who can use flash step, they might be worth some time after all."

When they returned their sights to the ground, they found the mystery girl and Botan were missing, like they had faded into thin air. And while they wanted to locate those two….

"Now's not the time to worry about that, blockheads. We have to move!"

While they must have found it irritating to be insulted by a foul mouthed assassin, they complied and started to move. It was a good thing they did, for as soon they had moved a short distance away, the two stars crashed into the grounds. The resulting impact caused strong currents of wind to be discharged. The result, all four members and the mist surrounding the campus were blown back by the winds.

"Ow, ow, ow… That hurt"

Amane Shinomiya released a mutter as he got up. When the wind currents struck them, Rinna caught hold of Sara and pulled her onto her lion which in turn clutched the ground with its claws to anchor it self.

Being an assassin, Yui made a perfect landing after she adjusted her body to dissipate the momentum gained due to the winds. It was only him, who did not possess any martial art skill whatsoever, to be pushed against the ground.

"How unlucky can I get? At the very least, there are no heavy injuries."

As Amane refocused his attention, he saw a small crater at the spot where the stars had landed. He tried to approach it, but stopped after he saw two figures jump out from the small crater in opposite directions. His eyes locked on the one that had jumped away from him. What he could see was boy of the same age as him, maybe slightly older.

"Yaa… That lady sure knows how to pack a punch."

The boy muttered as he stretched and cracked his arms and shoulders, as if removing the cranks and stiffness from it.

"That was because you provoked her unnecessarily."

Amane's eyes widened in shock as he saw the traitor, Alice standing beside the boy. He was totally not expecting that. To add more confusion, Alice was holding the Kurogane siblings under his arms.

"Wait a minute, didn't the Kurogane siblings chase after Hiraga to save the traitor from Lord Wallenstein who was at the hideout. But 'that' person was there too, so how did they reach him and make it back here alive."

The answer that came to his mind was the obvious one, that the boy standing before him was responsible for it. Like Amane had himself stated, his ability did not grant him omniscience, the fact that he had overlooked the girl appearing proved it. So it was fine to assume that this boy too had evaded Amane's knowledge. Although, one part of this still confused him. The fact that they reached here with no scars after rescuing Alice who with Wallenstein meant that they had to get through the certain death that was standing that gate.

"Come to think of it, didn't that boy just mention something about a lady punching him just now, and that impact from before. I surely saw two colours before the impact" he thought as he went through the incident that had happened a few moments ago.

Then it hit him. The white light he had seen, the power of the impact, the fact that Alice was standing there with the kurogane siblings and the boy mentioning a these points pointed to same direction.

"It cant be…"

"If your done with your mono act, would you mind moving away, Amane Shinomiya."

Amane found his eyes widening in shock for the second time of the day as he spun around to confirm what he had concluded in his mind. He was knew he was right when he saw it with his own eyes.

The picture of two pure white blades in dual wield.

The medieval armor that looked like something worn by valkyries.

The female figure and the face underneath the armor, and that voice which was soft like the wind yet caused a terrible tingle in his spine. All these could belong too only one person.

As he finished turning around, Amane had confirmed with his own two eyes that it was Twin Wings, Edelweiss who was standing before him.