(a/n: all dialogue meant to be in Japanese from this chapter onwards will be denoted in brackets, [like this]. Assume the girls' thoughts are also in Japanese, though they will be left unbracketed for formatting's sake)

Eli Ayase, middle school third year, Class 1.

She sat at home, looking at her options for high school. Otonokizaka, her grandmother's (on the Russian side of her family) alma mater, stuck out, but so did another school. Her other grandmother, the one on the Japanese side of her family's alma mater. DWMA. She was a meister, top of her class. Eli had considered going here, even though it was a long shot. After all, she couldn't even get being a ballet dancer right. Why do something like this?

"[Maybe I should just go to Otonokizaka,]" Eli said to herself. After all, she could only strive to be a normal girl, at a normal high school. But still, having a talent and a skill was what she really wanted. There's no way she was good enough to do this, besides, her parents wouldn't approve of sending her abroad alone for something that wasn't about family. Eli's train of thought was interrupted by a sudden knock at her door.

"[Sis?]" her younger sister Alisa asked. "[Mom told me to tell you she's not against you going to DWMA. In fact, she said you could start this spring if you want.]"

Eli gasped.

"[Really, Alisa?]" she asked. "[That's wonderful news!]"

Eli ended up choosing DWMA, and after a long flight with her mother to Death City, she knew she wasn't going to regret this decision. The first thing Eli noticed was how hot and dry it was. Desert climate was definitely something she had to get used to. She was already wiping sweat from her brow and it was barely spring. And the sun's laughter felt even louder over here, like it was mocking her.

"[Eli, is that the school up there?]" her mother asked, pointing to a large building atop an even larger flight of stairs. There were enormous skull motifs in the construction, and what looked like gigantic lit candles sticking out of the sides of the building. It wasn't like any school she could've gone to back in Tokyo, that was for sure.

"[How on Earth are you going to get up those stairs every day?]"

"[Mom, I'll be fine,]" Eli replied. She looked at the sheer size of the stairs again. "[I'll be fine,]" she repeated to herself. Those stairs are meant for strengthening my and my fellow students' legs. Eli pinned her "MEISTER" pin to her shirt. And if I'm going to be a meister, I have to be stronger.

"[Should we see the dorms, Eli?]" her mother asked.

"[Of course,]" Eli replied. "[I have to put my stuff somewhere,]" she joked.

Eli and her mother walked over to the girls' dormitory, a very fancy-looking building that wasn't anywhere near as odd-looking as the school. There was a brunette woman at the door, hanging up a banner to welcome the new students.

"Oh, looks like I have the first student of the day already," she said, turning around to face the two Ayases. "My name is Miss Misery. I'm the dorm's superintendent." Eli took a deep breath.

"My name is Eli Ayase," she said, hoping this conversation could keep to basic phrases for now. She pointed to her pin to show it to Miss Misery. "I am a meister."

"Well, Miss Ayase, how about I show you to your room?" Miss Misery asked. "You look like you had a very long flight."

"Oh, thank you!" Eli replied.

Miss Misery led Eli and her mother down the halls to an empty two-person room with green wallpaper and cozy-looking beds. There were no signs of another person residing in this room. Am I getting a roommate? If so, is she another incoming student?

"Since you arrived first, you can pick whichever side of the room you want," Miss Misery said.

"Miss Misery?" Eli's mother asked. "I have some questions about the school and dorms."

"Your questions are always welcome," Miss Misery replied. "Eli, I'll let you get yourself settled in while I talk to your mother. I hope you have a savage but super fun life here at DWMA!"

Savage? Eli thought, taken aback by that portion of the remark. Well, I guess that's just how things will be at DWMA. Eli took the bed on the left side, closer to the door, and began unpacking her luggage. Her mother insisted Eli had to bring every article of clothing she had or else she'd give whatever Eli didn't take to Alisa, so unpacking was a serious chore. Eli made sure to bring everything that fit and had any sort of attachment to. It's not that she didn't want Alisa to have some new clothes, it's that she'd rather have Alisa have some new clothes. As in ones that didn't come from her big sister's closet.

"[Will all this even fit in my drawers?]" Eli asked herself, almost regretting bringing nearly her entire wardrobe. Despite the expectation for students to basically be living here, the dorm rooms didn't have very much storage space. Maybe I could keep my underwear, the heavier winter stuff, and my socks in my rolling bag. It's not like I'll be needing my winter clothes anytime soon.

Eli spent the whole day exploring the dorms and adjusting herself to Death City's different time zone. Both her head and her stomach seemed to hate her for it. Her roommate did not arrive that day among any of the girls who did. The following day, it didn't look like she was going to meet her roommate before the new student orientation, so Eli put on one of the many school uniforms, a white shirt with a brown vest and matching skirt, as well as her "MEISTER" pin, put her hair up in a ponytail, and walked over to the school alone. She gasped and panted as she made her way up the torturously long stairs, seeing older students whiz past her. And when she finally made her way to the top, she felt like she would pass out. She looked over her shoulder at the view of the city.

"It's so... I'm so high up," Eli said to herself, laughing. She took a deep breath and went inside, glancing at a sign that pointed the way to orientation. A chubby purple-haired girl sped past her in the same direction. She must think she's running late. Eli then followed her off into a spacious room dotted here and there with other students.

A few notable faces stood out to her. An orange-haired meister and a brunette weapon with glasses. A lone meister, her black pigtails adorned with pinkish-red ribbons. On the other side of the room from her stood a girl with tomato-red hair and no pin. A meister with deep blue hair flanked by two weapons, a girl with gingery-brown hair tied in a side ponytail and a girl with a certainly unique hair style and color. (what was that color? some kind of grayish-brown?) And the purple-haired girl Eli saw earlier seemed to be eyeing the same faces Eli was. The girl pinned a pin reading "WEAPON" to her breast and stood by the wall. Eli stood relatively near her, but a pair of boys, both with "MEISTER" pins, took the space between them right as a much taller and older man entered the room. Eli looked over at him. He was incredibly muscular and his arms were covered with tattoos.

"Looks like everyone's here," the man said. "My name is Sid Barrett, DWMA Staff."

"Hi, Sid!" the gingery-brown-haired girl said.

"Honoka!" the deep blue-haired girl said, seeming a bit embarrassed by her friend's behavior.

Sid chuckled at this exchange.

"Each one of you is a meister or a weapon," he said. "And you will all be partnered up with each other in due time."

Partnered? Eli thought. Will I get to pick my own partner, or will I be assigned one?

"If you're having trouble picking one, there's a bingo tournament this weekend that will help you. I met my current partner there, actually."

A bingo game? Well, I guess that's one way to find a partner.

"Now I'm going to be handing out these schedules to everyone," Sid said. "Please take them and pass them around to the people around you."

Eli took the schedule handout from another student, and stood for the rest of orientation, becoming more captivated by every word of it.

Right after orientation ended, the orange-haired girl and the brunette began talking amongst each other about where to sign up to be partners. They must already know each other, Eli thought. There's no way they'd become partners this early otherwise.

Eli stood and watched the others for a while, noticing how the purple-haired girl refused both of the meister boys' requests. Eli looked down at her schedule. Currently, she was automatically placed in the NOT program instead of EAT due to being a new student. There was nothing written on there on how to advance. Maybe that's on a different document, Eli thought, leaving the room. She heard a burst of laughter, but she paid no attention to it, deciding instead to keep walking.

"Let's see, my first class starts tomorrow," she said to herself, walking back over towards the front entrance.

"Um, excuse me?" a voice called out. Eli turned around to see the purple-haired girl. Now that she got a good look at her face, Eli could see the girl was very beautiful, with soft green eyes that looked very kind and sincere.

"Yes?" Eli asked.

"I... I noticed you're a meister," the purple-haired girl said, looking at Eli's pin for an inordinately long time. She grinned. "I'm Nozomi Tojo, a weapon. I haven't been able to fully transform just yet, but I can already transform my entire arm."

Nozomi's right arm and shoulder glowed purple and became a flash of light, before turning into a traditional Japanese sword blade.

"Right now I'm basically a paper cutter," she said, trying to move that arm. But it was stuck. "Oh, I finally got my shoulder joint to transform!"

"Tojo-san, that's amazing!" Eli, who had never seen a weapon transform before, exclaimed. She walked up to Nozomi and carefully touched the flat side of her blade. "Can you feel it when I touch it?" she asked. She was sure her curiosity was apparent, and hoped it wasn't embarrassing.

"Hmm, a little," Nozomi replied. "Oh, and you can just call me Nozomi."

"Nozomi," Eli said. She liked he way her name sounded when she said it, and she smiled. "My name is Eli Ayase."

"Hey, I was supposed to room with an Ayase!" Nozomi exclaimed. "Elicchi, you are staying in the girls' dorm, right?"

Elicchi?

"Yes," Eli replied. Nozomi transformed her arm back to normal. "Should we walk back to the dorm together?"

"I'd like that," Nozomi replied.

Nozomi began unpacking and settling into the other side of her and Eli's dorm room immediately after arriving. She didn't bring anywhere near as much stuff as Eli did, and omitted bringing heavy winter wear entirely. Instead, she brought some Japanese-English dictionaries and other study materials. Eli just laid out on her bed to relax.

"Hey, Elicchi, what does 'washi-washi' translate to in English?" Nozomi asked. If Eli was drinking something, she probably would have spit it out right now. What the heck?

"Indecent groping," Eli replied in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. Nozomi froze up for a second.

"Oh, jeez," Nozomi sighed, unpacking some more stuff. Eli wondered what exactly that sigh meant. No, Eli, I don't think Nozomi would have actually done something like that. I barely know her, but she doesn't seem like the type, right?

"Sorry if that seemed weird, it just popped into my head, and..." Nozomi said, sounding nervous. "There is no way I cannot make this more awkward."

"Then we'll just change the subject," Eli replied. "Are you thinking of going to the bingo game this weekend?" she asked. Nozomi tilted her head in confusion.

"I thought I'd already found a partner," Nozomi said. "You."

Eli felt her face become hot as Nozomi said this. Must be the desert heat, she thought.

"Me?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Nozomi replied with a smile. "I mean, we seem to be getting along well, and we're roomies..."

This desert heat was also doing something to Eli's heart, making it beat so fast. No, Eli, stay calm. You're the cool and cute Elichika.

"Why not try it, then?" Eli asked. "Being partners."

The grin on Nozomi's face was absolutely radiant.

"I knew you'd say that, Elicchi," she said, pulling out a deck of tarot cards from her bag. "The cards told me I'd find my first lasting friendship, my partner, my destiny at this school. And the cards never tell lies."

Eli wasn't sure whether she was absolutely captivated, or whether she was about to laugh. Nozomi certainly has revealed herself to be a weirdo. But in a way, she was charming. And Eli quite liked that. This certainly was going to be an interesting partnership.