#2: Arrival

The dream started off well enough: Mana, still eighteen even though the actual events took place when she was almost three, sat across from her grandfather with a wooden practice sword on her lap in the field behind their village. She'd wanted her great uncle to fully initiate her that evening but no one seemed to be able to get in touch with him.

"What a shame," they said when they thought she wasn't listening. "His work must be very important if he can't come see her – he'd have loved to initiate his favorite student."

A shame indeed. Mana still had the last note he'd sent her from the facility he was visiting tucked into one of her sleeves as a kind of good luck charm. She hadn't sent a reply yet because she wanted to include some photos that would be taken during the after party.

The rest of her relatives, minus her godmother, aunt, and older female cousins helping them in the kitchens, sat in a large circle around her and her grandfather. Most were smiling happily, but her parents were almost crying with joy. She could hear her mom sniffling already.

Then the ceremony began. Mana joined in the chant to summon the clan nekomata but nearly lost her place as a tall, slender woman with a cat's face and ears emerging from a well-kept mane of grey hair traipsed toward her through a gap in the circle.

"Mana Taninaka, stand."

Mana rose so quickly that she almost fell over.

"I offer you my protection as the guardian of your clan and this weapon, chosen for you by your elders and your strengths. Cast that toy aside."

Not quite sure what the demon meant, Mana tried to throw the practice sword as far as possible. "Mmnf…!"

"Here, Mana." Her grandfather couldn't hide his smile well enough as he gently recovered the wooden weapon and broke it for her.

"…You're sure she's ready?" The nekomata's furred foot withdrew slightly as if ready to turn back toward the darkness she came from.

"More ready than many of her peers. Your instructions just went over her head a little."

A chuckle ran around the circle.

"Then make sure she keeps learning." A corner of the nekomata's catlike mouth twitched cryptically as she presented the weapon in her hands to Mana. It was a full-sized sword that had been freshly refurbished and sharpened, but not one of the ones Mana had practically drooled over in the clan armory. Her great uncle must've found it for her so she would feel like she had something new.

"Grow into it." The nekomata gently patted her head once she'd taken the sword, then froze.

Mana didn't notice until she noted her grandfather's tone as he asked, "Tomomi, what is it?"

"It's…!"

Half of the clan members were suddenly engulfed in brilliant blue flames, their shocked screams breaking the otherwise peaceful silence of dusk. A few relatives had the presence of mind to summon familiars with barrier-making abilities, but many were already running for the village.

"Grandpa!?"

The man that had just initiated her into the clan crumpled to the ground in response, the blue flames leaving death and blood in their wake as they suddenly vanished from his body.

"Mana, you must run! Satan won't spare you if he decides to use you as a vessel!" The clan nekomata, Tomomi, seemed more catlike in the eerie sapphire glow. "Run!"

But Mana couldn't. Her new sword was suddenly too heavy to carry properly and her legs were two pillars made of lead. Satan was doing this? Why would he hurt people under the protection of one of his own demons? Had Tomomi done something wrong?

"Mana!"

"Mommy!? Daddy!?"

"NOOOOOOO!"

Mana jolted to attention only to find herself straining against the belts of a car seat until they locked up to keep her from launching herself across the interior. "Whaa…?" Her question trailed off into unexpected coughing.

"Shall we take another loop around the block?"

The auburn-haired exwire could barely make out Mephisto's expression through the blackened bodies on a grassy plain still etched into the backs of her eyelids. "Yes… This doesn't happen often; I'm sorry if I startled you…"

"Should you have your own room if you find your dreams so concerning? It can be easily arranged even though it will up your tuition slightly." The demon didn't seem surprised in the least. Maybe her elders had already told him about her recurring nightmares?

"I wouldn't mind, if you had the room." Mana finally acquiesced. "Maybe I could share a bathroom with someone though? It may be pretty hard for me to make friends if I'm cooped up by myself."

"Oh there's plenty of room~! See for yourself!"

Mana followed the sweep of Mephisto's gloved hand to the nearest window and gasped in shock. True Cross Town was absolutely colossal. It appeared to be built on a large hill caught in between two rivers wide enough to need long, well-lit bridges built across them at several points. There was no specific theme for the architecture either, which made the mass of wood, stone, brick, and tile more intimidating despite the whimsical exterior.

"That's True Cross Town?!"

"No, that is only True Cross Academy," Mephisto's reflection chuckled. "We're currently driving through the town itself right now."

"Going around again will take ages – I can get presentable enough by the time we get over there!" Mana frantically began scrubbing at her face before she realized what she was doing. "My makeup!"

"Ohhh, I thought the bags under my eyes were fantastic, but don't fret too much! We'll stop by the girls' dormitories to drop your luggage off; you'll be able to use the restroom there to freshen up. Now focus on enjoying the view and a fancy cupcake~ You've got to be hungry now, yes?"

Mana, who'd caught the cupcake with both hands, was sorely tempted to throw the fluffy pink-frosted treat back into the demon's smirking face and tell him she'd rather eat her makeup, but quickly reconsidered when her stomach growled loudly. She was hungry.

-Flames-

"Much better!" Mephisto gave Mana a slow clap as she finally emerged from the guest bathroom in her new uniform and freshly applied (but more natural) clan makeup. "Aside from your sword, you are the perfect picture of a new transfer student!"

"I'm not sure about this tie though… I think I followed the directions in the package correctly, but I-"

"Now that you mention it…"

Mana forced herself to not think about how close those green eyes were to boring holes in her chest as the demon considered something he didn't plan on sharing. "I'm clearly a student and he's clearly the headmaster, and if anyone sees us even though my clothes are an oddly perfect fit and all present, there'll be words."

"Let's try this." A clear cellophane package containing fabric with the same color pattern as the tie was thrust into her hands. "I promise this one is easier to tie~"

Once she'd ducked back into the bathroom and steadied her hands enough to replace the tie with the newly offered bow, Mana realized that he was right.

-Flames-

"Where is she?" Shiemi whispered excitedly as she tried to see over Rin's shoulder, having chosen to hide behind the other exwire until she could ascertain whether the new student was friendly or not.

"Ask the moley four-eyes, not me. He's the one that dragged us out of training to greet her."

The only sign that Yukio heard his twin's comment was in the weary way he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Sir Pheles said there'd be a slight delay so Miss Taninaka could freshen up. Don't forget she's come a long way to be with us."

"If she came so far, then why is Sir Pheles insisting that we meet her so quickly?" Bon crossed his arms. "And during combat training, to boot? Does he want her to jump right in to training with us?"

"Maybe she's hot!"

"Shima!"

"Aww, why're you mad, Izumo?! You jealous of her already?"

"Hey you guys, settle down!" Yukio finally snapped a little. "You do want to show Miss Taninaka that you can get along on occasion, right?"

The main door to the girls' dormitories suddenly swung wide to reveal…a rather well-built young woman just a touch shorter and a little bustier than Izumo. Her auburn hair was cut so she had a nice amount of fringe that didn't block her greenish eyes much, with enough left over to put into a ponytail that reached the nape of her neck.

"Oh, hi… I'm Mana Taninaka, but please call me Mana! I'll be training for knight and hope to learn a lot from you, even if you're going into something different!"

A/N: Sneaky devil, not cornering Mana and retying her tie…

Cover art (and hopefully more scenes since I believe AO3 has a way to incorporate images into stories) should appear shortly after getting this chapter up. I plan on drawing Mana in her uniform, which incorporates the standard white shirt, black shoes, and pink skirt, Shiemi's bow, and Izumo's blazer and black thigh-highs.

-TR