(AN: Okay. I'm going to start taking this story in a slightly different direction. Don't panic! It won't be dramatically different. Also, the little girl is another OC. I'm working on a lot of stuff right now, so updates are going to be really irregular. Music is good, thanks to crazy-girl Gillesbie for giving us all a bad case of the lulz.)

I sat in bed, staring at a terrified, crying girl on the floor of a private hospital-wing room, and forcing back a lump in my own throat. I had gained a reputation as a Zombie. My chance for a normal schooling was pretty much destroyed. I was the enemy of the school.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said to the little girl, desperately trying to patch up my rep. "I'm actually undercover to try and expunge the Zombies. That means to get rid of them."

"I know what 'expunge' means," the girl said, a note of fear still in her voice. "I'm not a first-year, you know. How can I trust you? You looked just like one of Her group until Madam Pomfrey cleaned you up."

I could hear the capital H in Her. "I honestly don't know how I can prove to you that I'm not evil. It's sort of a hard thing to prove. What's your name?"

She took a deep breath and appeared to be thinking hard. "It's…..Tsuyuki," she said. "I believe you, but only because you speak like a normal person. I'm w-warning you, I know all s-sorts of defensive spells!"

The last part was said quickly and in a terrified voice. I squinted harder to see the little girl. She did look Japanese, which would explain the name, but that would be a long way to come for a magical school. Didn't they have magic schools in Asia?

"Can you turn the lights on?" I said. "I can't see you, and this darkness makes everything seem a little bit scarier, doesn't it?"

This seemed to convince her more than anything. She rushed to light the torches hanging from the walls. Once they were all lit, I could see her properly.

She was small and thin, looking as fragile as a bird. Her eyes were huge and blue. Her hair was glossy black and it hung down her back like a curtain. Blunt bangs cut across her face. She was really quite adorable. The only thing that marred her face was a crescent moon scar that came down the side of her face to just under her right eye. I couldn't see how high up it was, but I wondered how it had gotten there. More than that, I wondered how an Asian girl had ended up with round blue eyes.

"I'm not actually Japanese," she offered, when I inquired about them. "My parents were huge Japan-o-philes. They're Americans. My mom's Black Irish on her mom's side, but that just means she has dark hair and blue eyes, not that she's black, and my dad's…I'm actually not sure. German, maybe? But I came out looking like this, so they try to pass me off as Asian for some reason. You'd think that they'd learn that my English accent gives me away…"

I touched the side of my head. Now that she wasn't convinced I was homicidal, she just seemed to go on and on. It hurt my brain a little bit. Once she finished talking, she looked at me quizzically. "So why were you dressed up like Her, if you're good? Also, oh! If you're better, you can leave. I'll get Madam in a second and she'll discharge you…"

I waved a hand to stop her prattling. "Being let out sounds good. I'll tell you about why I looked like that if you promise to keep it secret. Enoby can't find out."

She flinched at the sound of the name but brightened up immediately. "I can do better than that! I can help you! I know about medicines and stuff, and I'm really smart!"

Now it was my turn to flinch. "I don't know, Tsuyuki. It's really dangerous" But then I remembered how utterly cliché that sounded, and decided on the spot to recruit this new member for Enoby's Downfall. "You know what? Sure. You'll need to talk to the rest of my group, though. There's only two, and they're really nice. They're probably the girls who carried me in. But first, let me out!"