Nori spends as much time as she can bear with the mutants from the lab. They're initially skeptical of the pretty, normal-looking woman, but they crave her ability to block their powers. She helps them as much as she can, and she whispers reassurances. It becomes clear that they are in withdrawal from the "cure," and she tells them about her withdrawal from antidepressants and how awful it was. But she tells them that she got through it, and she knows they will too. She tells them that Xavier's is a safe place for mutants, and most of them come to believe her.

After a week, most of them begin to gain some control over their powers. One afternoon, as she's leaving the Danger Room, Greg—the lizard man—corners her.

"I'm sorry, Greg, I have to go meet with a student. I'll be back later."

"Please," he begs. "Please just make me normal."

"This is normal for you," she says gently.

He hisses and swipes at her face with his long talons. She has a TK shield up but the force of his blow still knocks her back a little.

"Greg!" she says. A few of the other mutants come over.

"What the fuck, Greg," Amara says. She's in her magma form.

"Not cool," agrees Aidan, also burning brightly. Nori's spent the most time with the mutants with the most dramatic powers, and they've grown attached to her.

Greg's eyes widen and he mutters, "Sorry. Forget it."

"I have to meet a student," Nori repeats. She waits until the doors of the Danger Room swoosh shut behind her before she starts crying. She stands in the hallway and catches her breath. She ducks into the locker room to wash her face, and when she comes out she runs into Logan, on his way to the small dojo-like sparring room.

He frowns. "What's wrong, darlin'?"

"Nothing," she says.

He gives her a long look, unconvinced. "Did one of those test case mutants say something to you?"

"It's not a big deal. I have to go meet with Kitty. I'm late."

He narrows his eyes and says, "We'll talk about this later."

"Ugh, fine. See you later," she says, continuing on to the elevator, where she meets Remy. "Hey, love," she says brightly.

He kisses her, then pulls back. "What's wrong, cherie?"

"Goddamn, you two are perceptive," she says.

"What?"

"Logan already saw me. I'm okay. Greg—you know, the lizardy guy—he just tried to take a swipe at me. It just—just startled me. I'm fine. Had a shield up."

Remy swears in French.

"Look, Remy, he's having a really hard time with all this. Just—just leave it be. And—don't tell Logan."

He gives her a long look before pulling her into a tight hug. "You be careful, Nori!"

"You're the one about to go spar with a guy called Wolverine, and you're telling me to be careful?"

He laughs. "Touche."

"I'll see you later, love. I have to meet with Kitty. She is freaking the fuck out about colleges."

"She ain't graduating, is she?"

"Not for another year. But that's not stopping her. Didn't stop me, either. I think I actually started freaking out about colleges as a freshman."

He laughs and ruffles her hair. She pouts and smoothes it back into place. "Love you," he says.

"Love you too," she says, finally getting in the elevator. She sighs as she finds Kitty waiting outside her office near tears, clutching an enormous expandable file folder. "I am so sorry I was late, Kitty. Something came up downstairs."

"It's fine. It's… is everything okay?"

"Fine, fine." She unlocks her office and ushers Kitty in, handing her a box of Kleenex. "It's fine, Kitty. Cry all you need. High school is a really hard time."

Behind Miss Oyama's office door, Kitty lets go and weeps, spilling out something incoherent about test scores. Nori nods and listens and soothes.

Finally, she says, "Kitty, let me ask you something. What is the very worst thing that could happen with your college applications?"

"Oh God, they could all reject me!"

"And then what?"

"And then… I don't know, I'd have to work at McDonald's forever."

Nori smiles. "Try again, Kitty. What would happen?"

"I—I don't know."

"If you didn't get into any college—which, believe me, is not going to happen, but if—you'd go to community college for a year and apply as a transfer student. It would show admissions boards that you are serious and dedicated, which you are."

"But only losers go to community college."

"How do you define 'loser', Kitty?"

"You know… people who weren't good enough to get into a real college."

Nori shakes her head. "Keep thinking, Kitty. Why else might people go to community college?"

"Well…"

"Have you thought about how you're going to pay for college?"

"If I get a scholarship… and my parents said they'd help…"

Nori nods. "Not everyone's parents can help, you know. So that's one reason people go to community college. Others have commitments—work, family—that prevent them from uprooting to a different college town. But that is neither here nor there, really." She pushes a piece of hair behind her ears. "Kitty, can I tell you about my high school years?"

"Sure."

"I spent all of my waking hours on homework, studying, and practicing violin. And the extracurricular activities my parents approved—Chess Club and Mathletes. I never dated anyone. I never went to a party, unless it was one my dad had to take his family to. It was not a super fun time for me. But I did it all, because my parents wanted me to, and I thought it was the most important thing to get into a good college. And it was important, I guess. But looking back, I think about all the fun high school stuff I missed, and I wish I'd spent just a little less time studying." She smiles. "This isn't advice I would give to everyone, mind. But you, Kitty? You can spend a little less time studying. You have good grades. You'll have great letters of recommendation. You have a nice resume of extracurricular activities. And even if your SAT scores aren't perfect, that doesn't matter. Test scores are one of the least important things in college admissions. I promise."

"What about… because I'm a mutant?" Kitty murmurs.

Nori's mouth tightens. "They can't ask you about that, on your application. I'm not going to tell you that it will be easy for you to attend college, as a mutant. But I think you've already done harder things, haven't you?"

"I… I guess."

Nori smiles. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Harvard, maybe, or MIT… maybe Yale."

Nori nods and engages Kitty in a frank and serious discussion of the pros and cons of Ivy League schools. It makes Kitty feel extremely grown up, and she preens a little. Finally, Kitty excuses herself to go study. Nori raises her eyebrows and Kitty adds, "But I promise I'll go play video games or something appropriately teenager-y when I'm finished."

"Attagirl, Kitty. And, Kitty, any time you need to talk about college or anything, I'm here, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Miss Oyama."

"You're welcome."

Kitty walks right through Nori's closed door. Nori grins and opens her laptop. She turns on some music, puts on her reading glasses, and starts perusing her Google Reader. She's absently humming along with Neko Case's live album and reading about whether or not cell phones kill bees when someone knocks on her door once and then comes in without waiting for a response. Without turning, she sighs and says, "You know, Logan, most people wait for a reply after knocking."

"I'm efficient," he says.

She laughs and looks over at him. "What's up, Logan?"

He frowns. "I know this song."

"Well, it dates back to the 1800s, so you may have heard it once or twice over the years."

"Huh?"

"I mean, this is a more recent recording, obviously, but it's an old Appalachian folksong. Wayfaring Stranger. Neko Case recorded it a couple years ago and it's amazing. You came to talk music?" she asks, grinning.

"Not exactly," he says.

"Fashion tips?"

"I want to know why you're spending so much time with those lab rat mutants."

"Uh, Logan, are you forgetting that both of us were also lab rat mutants?"

Logan shakes his head. "Not by choice."

"Maybe that's all the more reason why they need someone to spend time with them, besides Hank. To help them realize that there are different choices."

"You feel sorry for them?"

"I feel compassion for them. I, well, empathize with them."

"They're dangerous."

"So am I. So are you. So are we all." She smiles tersely. "I appreciate your concern, Logan. But I want to help them, if I can."

He sighs. "Just make sure you keep a shield up in there. And if any of them give me trouble, you tell me, all right?"

"And you'll give them a stern talking-to?"

"Something like that."

She laughs. Then she stands up and picks up her guitar, and uses her TK to take the Civil War songbook she'd gotten from Rachael off the bookshelf and into Logan's hands. He looks down at the book and then raises his eyebrows at her. She smiles and starts to play and sing.

I am a poor wayfaring stranger

A-traveling through this world below

But there's no sickness, toil, or danger

In that bright land to which I go

I'm going there to see my father

I'm going there no more to roam

I'm just a-going over Jordan

I'm just a-going over home

Logan flips through the book and looks almost afraid. "I definitely remember this song. Somewhere… I… Goddamn. What am I?"

"You're a mutant," she says, simply.

"That's for damn sure."

She looks worried. "Are you… are you happy, that you're starting to remember?"

"I…happy ain't the word for it, exactly. Seems like most of my memories aren't that cheery. But it's a relief. To know where…I came from. Though I don't actually remember back quite that far."

She nods. "Okay." She looks into his eyes for a moment, then starts playing "John Brown's Body."

He listens thoughtfully, watching her play. When she finishes, he nods at Nori's arms. "So, what's your reason?"

She blinks and glances down at her left wrist, which has the phrase "reason to believe" tattooed around it in a delicate script. "It's from a song," she says, running her thumb over the words. "I think maybe the song is my reason. Maybe music is. Maybe it doesn't matter what the reason is, as long as you have one. Here…" she puts down her guitar and plays Paul Simon's "Graceland" for him off her laptop. He listens.

I've reason to believe

We all will be received

In Graceland

Logan laughs. "Graceland? You a big Elvis fan?"

"It isn't about Elvis. It's about grace. Shh, this is my favorite part," she says, and she sings along.

I may be obliged to defend

Every love, every ending

Or maybe there's no obligations now

Maybe I've a reason to believe

We all will be received

In Graceland

He shakes his head and she smiles. "I don't know if I can say it any better than that song. We're all…we're all here, on this world, for a while. Maybe a long while," she says, grinning at him. "And we're all… 'tumbling in turmoil,' we're all just stumbling through looking for some kind of grace. That's what I believe in."

"What, like heaven?"

"No. Grace. Blessings… unearned but cherished. Like a mutant power, maybe. Like an unexpected friend. Like a moment when the sun hits the water just right. Like a good cup of tea. Grace."

Logan nods and says, softly, "Sometimes… seems like grace don't come around that often."

"You have to learn how to look for it, Logan." She smiles. "Xavier's mansion might not have a Jungle Room, but I still think we're living in Graceland right now." Logan just stares at her, because what can you say to that? She continues, "So the tattoo… it's both a reminder that there are reasons to believe, and to look for reasons to believe."

Logan still says nothing, and Nori gently adds, "There's reasons all around you, Logan."

Finally, he says, "Huh. You're something else, darlin', you know that?"

"I have heard that, yes."

He rises to his feet. "I'll see ya around. And remember, if you want somebody to go hang out with those lab rats with you… you know where to find me."

"Thanks, Logan."

He nods and slips out the door. Nori grins and puts her reading glasses back on. She wonders if she could change her job description from music teacher to counselor, and she laughs aloud at that thought. In what world was she qualified to be a counselor? Well—this one, apparently.

She continues to visit the mutants in the Danger Room as often as possible, and receives no further trouble from any of them, which could be because more often than not, Logan or Remy come down with her. She's happy for the company. She wishes Logan could be just a tiny bit nicer to them-but she supposes leopards can't change their spots, and neither can wolverines.

NOTE: The songs quoted are "Wayfaring Stranger" (which is a traditional song, but Neko Case's version is beautiful) and "Graceland" by Paul Simon.