When they entered the Kaicho's large office, Ayana and Jun found the student council president sitting at her large desk sipping a cup of tea and glancing every now and then at a paper she had in her hand. Looking up, she saw that Shizuku had arrived with Kuga-san and Mudou-san.

"Well!" she said, smiling and clasping her hands together, setting the tea and papers aside. "Thank you for coming. I have some very important matters to discuss."

Glancing at Jun, Ayana took a deep breath. Conversations with the Kaicho were becoming progressively more difficult as the school years went by, mostly because the woman just seemed to be more and more completely off her rocker every time they had the opportunity to speak. Not that Ayana ever really spoke to her by choice.

Not waiting for a reply, Hitsugi closed her eyes. "I am entrusting you two girls with an incredible mission. One so entirely crazy and possibly futile that I have no idea how I'm even able to force it upon you." She opened her eyes once more, and little lights seemed to dance across them. "But I know that you three can conquer whatever obstacle I put in front of-" she blinked, realizing for the first time that she was only speaking to two people. "Shizuku," she said.

Stepping forward, Shizuku replied. "Yes?"

"Where is Kurogane-san?" Hitsugi asked, cocking her head. "Did I not ask for her as well?"

Shizuku shook her head, smiling a little. "Um… I don't believe you did, Hitsugi-san."

Great, Ayana groaned inwardly. Not only do I have to go on some crazy journey, I have to do it with both of the biggest blockheads in the academy.

Hitsugi laughed. "I suppose I was caught up in the planning of it all. It isn't often that such a great idea pops into my head while I'm searching Wikipedia!"

Feeling faint, Ayana felt around for a wall to lean on, but found only Jun, who stiffened a little in surprise. "Sorry," Ayana grumbled, grasping her friend's arm for a second to steady herself, then standing up straight once more. "It's a little much to take in."

"I hear you," Jun whispered, looking on warily as Shizuku left to get Hayate from their dorm. "But I wasn't complaining." She smiled, and Ayana rolled her eyes.

"While Shizuku's doing that," Hitsugi said rather loudly, "I'll take the opportunity to give you a brief overview of your mission." Her brow furrowed as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her.

Ayana frowned. "Uh… what are you doing, miss?"

Shaking her head, Hitsugi mumbled. "I'm trying to create an atmosphere of mystery and adventure. Now, hold still. Mmmmm…. THERE!"

As if they were standing on the set of a movie, Ayana and Jun began to feel strangely uncertain as a sort of cloudiness seemed to gather around them. Everything looked fine, but the mood in the room had just changed drastically.

"Now!" Hitsugi said in her booming voice, eyes flashing open and catching the light from the windows for a split second. "You three have been given a most dangerous mission- to acquire and protect the Amachi Crystal! It is a very important family heirloom, buried many years ago by my great grandfather. We have just been alerted to its location, but there must be someone to retrieve it!"

Jun blinked, almost afraid to meet Hitsugi's eyes. "Ah…" she laughed nervously. "Great! And where might this crystal be?"

Extending her arm outward for emphasis, Hitsugi sighed. "Beyond the mountain and its woods, and beyond the jungles and beaches…

Ayana raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Beaches?"

"Don't interrupt!" Hitsugi warned, turning to look her full in the eyes. "You'll need all of the information you can get to survive this life-threatening quest."

"Wait, life-threatening?" Ayana cried. "Just because we attend this school doesn't mean you can make us do whatever you…" She trailed off, realizing that precedent happenings dictated that yes, Hitsugi could. Groaning, she sucked it up and prepared to endure the rest of the Kaicho's briefing.

"As I was saying," Hitsugi continued, "this is a very dangerous quest. I will provide proper supplies to the best of my ability, but even I cannot predict everything that may or may not happen on your journey. The trek itself should only take about two weeks, but it will be a grueling workout." She smiled. "Still, I expect that you three will shine with brilliance as you always have!"

The door opened unexpectedly, which was good, because Ayana had been about to swear under her breath. Shizuku walked in with the pink-haired pixie Hayate, who was practically convulsing with excitement.

"Hey!" she called happily, running over and standing next to Ayana, who was over a head taller than her. "I get to go with you guys! Isn't that awesome? We can camp out together and sing songs and share a sleeping bag!"

"You don't even know what we're doing, nitwit," Ayana grumbled, shoving her a little. "And you can forget about the sleeping bag."

"Aw…" Hayate pouted, slouching and standing silently next to her shinyuu. "Ayana's no fun…"

Seeing that no one was listening, Hitsugi felt that a greater incentive to do so would be required. The blonde-haired may have been just a high schooler, but she had many, many resources at her disposal. Grinning, she pressed a button on the underside of her desk. "Cue Donna," she whispered.

Without warning, a platform rose up out of the floor, bringing a large bull with a star on its head into view. Caught completely off guard, Ayana, Jun, and Hayate ceased their chatter and simply stared confusedly at the bull, who seemed just as confused.

"Do I have your attention?" Hitsugi asked. Without waiting for a reply from her dumbfounded students, she went on with the last bit of her explanation. "You may bring friends if you wish, but I'll need to know by tonight if you wish to do so, or there won't be enough supplies. You will leave as soon as everything has been organized. Dismissed!"

Eager to leave the room, the three girls rushed out, sighing as the large doors closed behind them.

"Okay," Jun laughed, wiping her brow. "No need to panic… we're just going to have to deal with each other for a few weeks while we risk our lives for some crystal…"

Doing the same, Ayana scowled and gave the thumbs down that was characteristic of Yuho. "Perfect."