Setsuna didn't think her situation could get any more confusing. Something had gone wrong with the personal teleport circle set up under Mahora's World Tree since its great secret was no longer beneath it and taken her, Chachamaru, and Asuna to a completely unknown place that none of them recognized. A concerning fact given the same problem had been the cause of Negi and Fate's disappearance in the first place. and certainly wasn't familiar territory after they did some investigation at the library and found tons of unknown terms and history, something about a virus wiping out all of humanity and leaving only the island of Shikoku left. Upon reading that fact which couldn't have been true in any world they knew, one thing became worryingly clear.

They weren't in their dimension anymore.

Chachamaru had been quick to point out how things matched with that other world Negi and Fate had ended up in two years ago. They hadn't mentioned too much as both had to go back to helping with the Blue Mars Project almost immediately with the setbacks suffered in their absence. Chachamaru had moved onto helping Negi as a secretary, so perhaps she heard more details from him at some point. It had been hard to say if knowing where they were was less or more concerning.

And then, Asuna had vanished in the blink of an eye. There hadn't been the faintest sign of magic, visual or otherwise, it was like the world had shifted to erase her presence. Worrying, for Asuna should've been impossible to effect with anything like teleportation unless she allowed herself to be. Even non-mana based attacks in the form of ki, such as her fighting style and its eastern basis, wouldn't have worked, including the techniques specifically designed to bypass any defenses.

Fortunately, locating them had been easy with Chachamaru's robotic nature. The Ala Alba badges everyone still hung onto were useful once again as trackers, and it had pointed them toward Asuna's location.

In the mountains.

30km away.

At least flying made traveling easier.

"How close are we getting?" Setsuna asked with a flap of the pure white wings on her back larger than her body. With how little magic was in the area and how far from civilization they were getting, even the most basic concealment techniques would prevent being seen by normal people.

"We are approximately 3 kilometers out from her location, so we might see her soon." Chachamaru, who was keeping pace with rockets propulsion from her back, flatly stated with a brief glance toward Setsuna. "Asuna-san is not moving, so perhaps she expected us to come looking."

"I hope she's alright." Setsuna muttered to herself, trying to keep her worries in check for the moment Even without her Magic Cancel, Asuna was strong, but there were forces after her which were far stronger. And with the odd circumstances of vanishing into thin air, Setsuna wasn't going to relax until she personally confirmed Asuna's safety.

"Asuna-san has not moved much, but it has been enough I don't expect to find only her badge." As if reading her thoughts, Chachamaru assured with a subdued, yet reassuring smile.

It wasn't much, but the statement relaxed some of the tension in Setsuna's shoulders. If they found her, then maybe they could explain what had occurred. There was no way this could've been as simple as it appeared.

Motion flickered in Setsuna's eyes, almost good as even a telescope in clarity, and stole her attention toward it. Bringing a relieved smile to Setsuna's face, there was the unmistakable sight of a person with long orange hair on a tree branch, waving and shouting in their direction enthusiastically.

"It looks like we have found her." Chachamaru beat Setsuna to the comment, accelerating with a rush of wind toward Asuna.

Wordlessly, Setsuna followed after the robot. Touching down seconds later on the soft dirt beside the tree, where her wings reduced in size till vanishing under her clothes and she found an expectant looking Asuna by the trunk of the tree she'd stood on a moment ago.

"Hey! Good to see you're both alright. I was worried when everything froze." Enthusiastic as ever, Asuna greeted the two with a warm smile.

"We should be the ones who were concerned. You vanished right in front of us. What do you mean froze?" With a subtle sigh at her friend's safety, Setsuna quickly shifted toward a confused frown. It looked like their earlier assumption of there being more than met the eye was right.

"Why not discuss it while setting up a camp. I assume we are going to be here for a while and it should not take too long." Chachamaru interjected, eyes already scanning over the area and likely making plans for what to do.

"Alright, sounds good to me! It's been a while since we've done any camping." Pulling out a small card, a brief light surrounded it before the shape instantly expanded into the massive, zanbato like sword that was Asuna's weapon. "So, I saw the world freeze like time stopped…"

"That's quite a story, Asuna-san…" Setsuna spoke up around the quick campfire and seats that had been thrown together for the first stages of their camp.

"The girls we ran into earlier are even more unique than just possessing magic here." Chachamaru echoed. "Perhaps it is a good thing only you fought the Vertex, Asuna-san. From what Negi-san told me, they would be extremely dangerous to even some experienced fighters like Setsuna-san."

"So, then he did tell you more about this crazy place. Didn't ever have the chance to ask him or Fate much since they had to run off right away and fix that project of his." Asuna sighed.

"Correct." Chachamaru nodded. "I was hoping we would find more information I could cross reference to see if anything changed in 2 years, but then Asuna-san disappeared."

"What did Negi-san tell you?" Setsuna asked, leaning closer to Chachamaru curiously. They had numerous books to go off of from public libraries, but none of them had anything relating to everything Asuna saw. It wasn't the first time dealing with massive conspiracies, so if that was hidden who knew what else was stricken from public record.

"I was not told much, but beyond what Asuna-san experienced, he mentioned a few notes. Firstly, the ruling government of the Taisha were keeping many secrets and reluctant to provide any information. He did not believe they were dangerous or overtly malicious, but I believe we should take caution with anything involving them. Secondly, the Vertex are adaptive enemies, evolving and changing based how one fights them. Asuna-san, you should watch what you use against them because of this if you need to face them multiple times. Thirdly, they believed there is something highly dangerous beyond the wall erected by the god protecting Shikoku and were hesitant to venture past it."

Both Asuna and Setsuna listened intently, staring at Chachamaru expectantly as the robot fell silent, waiting for her to end the pause given to process the information and resume.

"I do not have anything else to contribute, apologies." Chachamaru finally spoke up after several seconds of silence and it became clear the other two were waiting for no reason.

"That's it?" Setsuna raised an eyebrow. That was odd, Negi usually was quite sociable in discussing people they knew. "He didn't mention anything else, like the people he met? Togo-san and Yuki-san must've had an encounter with Negi-san at some point from the magic we sensed. With how almost no one here has it and their reactions, it can't have been a coincidence."

Chachamaru shook her head, a subtle frown over her face. "I am afraid not. Negi-san was concerned about discussing much on the topic after what happened on Mundus Magicus not long after they came back. He was worried Cosmo Entelekeia would investigate it and, given their organization is operational again with how effective their spy network was at their peak, avoiding some finer details may help keep some of the people he knew safer in a worst case scenario. If they learned about individuals such as Togo-san or Yuki-san, Cosmo Entelecheia might grow concerned enough about potential allies here to personally investigate."

At the mention of the magical world, Asuna scowled, more exasperated than angry. "I still can't believe he decided to check out something that dangerous. Negi can still be so much of a kid whenever his father's dangled in front of him. Even with his mom around again..."

"Do you think we'll have to worry about them coming after us here?" Setsuna voiced, worried. She remembered how concerned Asuna was when she inevitably found out about the slight detour Negi had taken to the Gravekeeper's Palace on a lead of his father. If it were almost anyone else, it would've been suicide, but with Magia Erebea, Negi could travel long distances numerous times faster than anyone as lightning, even if they were stronger than he was. They had learned one very concerning fact about his visit though. The rest of the Lifemaker's constructs had been freed from the spell Evangeline put them under.

Even a single one of them would've been a struggle for survival if Asuna, Setsuna, and Chachamaru were forced to fight them.

"Not likely, it is doubtful they know of the existence of this place or someone would have been here already." Chachamaru assured with a shake of her head. "However, this naturally brings up the issues in returning home ourselves…"

Asuna's eyes widened, the girl letting out a groan. "Ugh, haven't even thought about that. How're we supposed to get back? We going to just wait here until Negi and Fate show up? They did it once and everyone'll have to notice we're gone soon."

"Chachamaru-san, you worked with Chao-san and talked with Negi-san the most about this. Do you have any idea how long it might take them to get here or for us to go back?" Setsuna asked curiously. Chao had created devices to let her travel across time and through universes, even using it to come from the distant future more than once. She didn't expect Chachamaru to be able to recreate the devices or she would have during the many points it would've been useful in their adventures, but between the involvement with Chao and helping Negi as a secretary, they must have had something to go off of.

"It is difficult to say." Chachamaru frowned. "With their concerns, Negi-san and Fate would not want to be followed, as their disappearance was noticed once before, then there is needing to eliminate other possibilities than this being where we are. In a best case scenario, it would be less than a week once they know to look here, but till they reach that time, I would estimate somewhere between 1-3 months total."

"T-That's longer than I was expecting…" Setsuna trailed off. Potentially needing to spend months here with little support? It wasn't like they couldn't do it, everyone had been stranded in Mundus Magicus for a long period as fugitives, but they had managed to meet up with several of their friends in short order and had the knowledge they were out there somewhere. In this situation, they knew nobody else was in the dimension. She might not be able to see Konoka for several months in a worst case scenario. At least she knew they were safe with people, unlike in Mundus Magicus. Setsuna did not keep it together well in that incident, as embarrassing as that was to remember.

But, then again, Konoka was somebody with incredible potential and had been targeted once before years back in Kyoto. And her precious friend had been making significant strides in her magical development lately, already possessing healing abilities that were only surpassed by the top level with her historic affinity for that magic and dedicated training. Then, there was her family heritage as well adding further risk. What someone tried to kidnap her again? It already happened on-

Something applied a forceful poke at Setsuna's head and almost tipped her over.

"Hey, don't start panicking again, Setsuna-san. Konoka will be fine! She's got everyone to keep her safe even if things go wrong." Responsible for the finger that'd drawn Setsuna out of her head, Asuna confidently stated, before letting out a teasing chuckle. "Can't even make it a week without seeing her anymore. You almost started shaking there."

"E-Eh? T-That's not…" Setsuna stammered, face heating up. Had she really started losing her composure that quickly without realizing it?

"You two have gotten quite close. I can only imagine how you must have reacted on Mundus Magicus from being separated." Chachamaru chimed in with a deadpan that almost made her seen sarcastic.

"You should've seen her then." Asuna started giggling at the embarrassing memories.

"A-Asuna-san!" Setsuna recoiled back in horror. If anyone else, learned about that time then Setsuna was never going to hear the end of it, especially if it trickled to Konoka.

Chachamaru's face put on a light smile, throwing Setsuna a sympathetic, but amused, glance. "Perhaps later. For now, I think we should consider what our next move is. I do not believe we can be content camping out here for months."

"Ah, yeah. We were going to talk to Togo-chan and Yuki-chan, weren't we?" Asuna answered, not skipping a single beat in switching gears on the conversation.

"Er, I think we should be careful about that." Setsuna, after taking a moment to collect herself with the lifeline Chachamaru had thrown her, interjected with an uncertain frown. "The Taisha are keeping plenty about the world secret since we found nothing in the history books and Negi-san didn't fully trust them either. We ran into plenty of enemies involving the magical world's fate… And Asuna-san showing up might be a complication for them since we're a factor outside their control. It sounds like one of them had to be working for the Taisha, given everything they knew about the situation. Asuna-san helped out, but I think we should be careful about how we move around them."

Under different conditions, Setsuna might've had more confidence in knowing their hopefully-not-enemy. They were in one of Japan's islands with an organization that was obviously Japanese, she would've ordinarily fell back on her knowledge in eastern styles, the organizations in the area, and Shinmei-ryū for what trouble to expect, there was some supernatural energy to the area, but they were in an entirely different dimension. Whatever powers they sensed could've been different from any known systems.

"Setsuna-san is correct." Chachamaru agreed with a nod. "I highly doubt the Taisha will be content to leave us be for benign or malicious reasons. Asuna-san is a capable fighter who could be of use in battling the Vertex if they are friendly to us, or a strong force beyond their influence if they are less charitable, perhaps both. But we know very little about them given our research was interrupted by the Vertex arriving. I think it would be useful to do some searching around before making further contact. We cannot trust all public records, but we may be able to at least get a glimpse of what to expect dealing with this organization. I do not expect it to come to battle from what Negi-san told me, but it has been two years."

"Mhm…" Asuna grumbled with her own dour look. "I don't think anyone but the blonde girl in charge was in on it since they were all pretty confused, so I don't think we have to worry too much, but maybe it's not a bad idea to learn a little more. Didn't even catch the other two girl's names."

"I don't think it'll take too long, Asuna-san. The day is still early." Setsuna reassured. School was still in session in most places, they would have hours to research before the day even ended. "If three of those girls only learned about it today, it might be a lot for them to handle depending on how much they knew about magic."

"I suggest we take today to continue research and try to contact them tomorrow. They told us the school they went to and where to contact them, so it will not be difficult to when needed. Perhaps we can look up the 'Hero Club' website they mentioned to know more about those four as well." Chachamaru echoed Setsuna's sentiment, joining her in gazing expectantly at Asuna.

Outvoted, Asuna sighed, before putting on her usual positive demeanor. "Alright, I guess we can do that. I'm starving anyway and could use some lunch, we haven't had the chance to eat anything since getting here!"

"Asuna-san, I don't know if our money is going to be good here…"

Asuna's optimistic expression quickly faded at the dose of reality. "Gah, guess we'll have to find something ourselves then! Should be plenty around the forest, but I was hoping for something quick."

"I will begin setting up some shelter and place to rest while you two search for food then. I would advise keeping your presence concealed just in case." Chachamaru curtly nodded, before rising from the quickly made log 'bench' that was set for their basic camping arrangement. "I can see about searching the internet in the meantime and see if there is anything else to find, now that we have some peace."

"Come on, Setsuna-san, let's go explore!" Grinning, Asuna jumped out of her seat and motioned to be followed.

Wordlessly, Setsuna stepped up to follow after her friend, strengthening her own concealment magic while trailing Asuna. Their friend wouldn't need any with their anti-magic abilities unless people started physically searching the area and ran into her, but that was doubtful. Still, they potentially had a long, uncertain road ahead. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into trouble with the Taisha.

Events since the first attack had been one roller coaster of events after another for Fuu, to where Fuu still wasn't done with it even the next day. Firstly, there had been the extensive talk with the Taisha once everyone had gotten home for the day and she had managed to placate her still-trying-to-process-it-all sister. That discussion had gone rather… interesting, with the Taisha revealing a few new facts to her. They had elaborated more on the story she had first been told when reporting of Yuna and Togo's magical abilities, giving names that two people called Negi Springfield and Fate Averruncus had made a mistake in accidentally leaking it beyond the Taisha, but wouldn't say much more. Only that they hadn't seen the duo in two years, but suspected Asuna might've been somebody in contact with them who learned somehow. They had likewise given Fuu very strict instructions to be cautious of her and immediately report in if they met outside of the Jukai, likewise to keep a close eye on her in it to avoid more damage.

The whole thing felt kind of odd to Fuu, she was surprised that the Taisha held that much back from her given everything else they had been told. However, they did value their secrecy and perhaps the plan was to reveal more to whoever was chosen, with her group being the unfortunate ones. Still, Fuu couldn't wonder if there was anything else they were holding back given how prying that information felt surprisingly difficult.

For now, the story would have to do given matters with the Taisha were merely one of several problems. The next matter came fully addressing everything with her club, now that there was proper time for it without fear of a Vertex blowing them all up. Fuu had penciled in giving a lecture to them instead of the usual club activities, getting a proper chance to explain things only briefly touched upon, ranging from the 12 Vertex prophesized to attack, the Taisha creating Heroes in response, the fairies which protected them, and then the disasters which would follow if the Jukai was damaged. Punctuating her last point had been the large landslide that occurred yesterday, likely because of what Asuna did in erasing some of the defense mechanism.

Yet even this wasn't to be the end of Fuu's troubles, she still had to address the magic issue with everyone and learn more about her club member's relation to Asuna. But, one thing at a time. She still needed to finish explaining their duty and the Vertex.

"When will the enemy show up next?" Helpfully, Yuna asked during one of the pauses Fuu made to let everyone process what was said.

Fuu's expression tensed up solemnly before answering. "It could be tomorrow or even in a week for all we know, but it shouldn't be too far away."

Togo hummed to herself briefly. "Then we should be ready in case more than one shows up in the next attack."

Fuu frowned, almost expecting Togo's intuition to guess some of what she said by now. It was almost as if she already knew. "The Taisha said that's a possibility, but they can't say for certain if it will happen."

"I see…" Togo muttered to herself, her gaze falling heavier as she looked directly into Fuu's eyes. "If you knew about this and didn't tell us, were you also lying when you said you didn't know about magic either?"

Fuu stared back apologetically, giving a subtle nod. She was long overdue for trying to make up for all the secrecy. "It's true. The Taisha taught me a little of it in case we were chosen, saying it might help against the Vertex. But they told me to keep that secret too Sorry for keeping everything so secret from you all."

"I see…" Togo trailed off, a downcast, contemplative expression over her face that made Fuu feel even more guilty. "Did you meet anyone named Negi Springfield-san or Fate Averruncus-san while you were learning it?"

Fuu shook her head with a shrug. "No, I mainly practiced on my own with a book they gave me. The Taisha actually didn't mention either of them till I asked about it, following reporting about the last attack. They haven't seen either of them in two years though. They're who taught you and Yuna right?"

Yuna nodded with a quick sound. "Sort of. I only saw them once before they introduced me to magic, but Togo-san and I were hoping maybe you knew something since it sounds like they knew Togo-san before her accident, but even the Taisha don't know where they are… That's really weird…"

Ah, that certainly explained Togo's demeanor. She wasn't as close to the girl as Yuna was to completely understand, but Fuu could appreciate wanting to meet possible friends from the gap in Togo's memories, given it sounded like there was nobody else Togo knew from before her accident, excepting her family of course. As if Fuu didn't have enough to feel guilty on… She'd unintentionally kept a dangling thread of hope present since Togo and Yuna met her, only to destroy it in an instant. "Sorry, I wish I knew more. I know the Taisha said they didn't see them in two years, but I can ask about if they know anything about how they knew Togo."

"I would appreciate that. Thank you, Fuu-senpai." Togo voiced, her mood brightening up a touch at the idea.

"That'd be great! I knew Negi-san and Fate-san were unusual kids, but I didn't think they would've worked with the Taisha too." Yuna echoed the sentiment with the much brighter demeanor that was normal on her.

Fuu smiled. It was good to see Togo's mood lifted. Trying something like that was the least she could do af-

Wait.

Fuu's brow furrowed. "Did you say kids?"

Without an ounce of hesitation, Yuna nodded. "Yeah! I'm not sure how old they were, but they should be about the same age as me and Togo-san."

Fuu stared flatly at Yuna's ever cheery smile, slowly raising a hand to speak, before then lowering it, equally reserved. "… Actually, I guess that's not so weird after what we're doing…" They were a group of teenagers fighting giant monsters using the blessing of the god protecting all of Shikoku from a virus that wiped out humanity. A kid who taught some other kids magic sounded downright mundane next to that. However, that naturally begged the question of what kind of kid were they that could pull a disappearing act that even the Taisha could not locate them? Shikoku wasn't a very big island and not like they could leave it.

"Umm…"

The nervous voice of her sister drew Fuu's gaze over toward Itsuki, where the poor girl looked thoroughly confused.

"I'm not really sure what anyone's talking about anymore or what this has to do with fighting Vertex…" Sounding so perplexed the question marks were almost visibly manifesting over her head, the hopelessly out of the loop sibling trailed off.

"Aha… I'm so sorry Itsuki. I ended up spending so long reporting to the Taisha I forgot to tell you a little about this last night…" A testament to their sibling relationship, Fuu herself trailed off with a nervous chuckle. Yet, lightning fast, she bounced back and put on a show of bravado with a confident smile. "That's fine, I was planning to talk about this anyway since the Taisha told me a little more about it. This will be a great chance to explain it to you while I'm at it, since the Taisha gave me permission to teach you now."

"Teach me…?" Itsuki's head turned sideways.

"It's a lot of fun, Itsuki-chan. Perhaps you'll be able to use it with your Tarot readings. There was something about fortune telling in our books." Togo commented with a reassuring smile at the still lost junior club member.

At this, the girl perked up a little, confusion still in her eyes, yet also underlayed with curiosity.

"Wait, before that and I forget." Fuu paused, switching attention over to Togo and Yuna. "You two should already know the basics. Could you see if we've gotten any messages from those girls you ran into while I catch up Itsuki?" The duo had mentioned a little about meeting the three girls with a magical presence on the way to school, following the battle. They didn't get any other form of contact, so all there was left was to wait for a message. The Taisha wanted to speak with them while Fuu's own curiosity was burning to know more.

"We didn't see anything earlier, but it has been a few hours, maybe something will have changed." Togo answered, with Yuna moving behind her wheelchair to push it toward the desk before she could even start the motions herself. "I'm not sure why they would delay sending us a message for so long."

Tuning out the idle chatter Yuna and Togo were making, Fuu turned back to Itsuki. "Alright, I'll just cover enough so you're not lost when I get to the Taisha's instructions. I can teach you in more detail later. Let's get started."

Even after having a day to process it, Itsuki was still trying to come to terms with her new role in life as a Hero of the Shinju. However, before she could even process that, everyone was now talking about magic powers and mysterious kids, something which everyone but her knew about. It was surprising to know how much even her own sister kept hidden, but she at least had a good reason for it. She had started to notice Fuu looked more run down lately than usual, which was all explained now. Hopefully, getting all this off her chest would bring her sibling some much needed relief, though Itsuki was looking forward to hearing on this new ability for more than that. Enhancing her fortune telling sounded fun and she had an interest in the occult.

"I think this will be simpler if I show you, Itsuki." Fuu began, reaching over to grab a piece of chalk she used to draw the various diagrams on the board behind her to explain the Vertex and Heroes, holding it casually between her fingers and raised high in the air. "Watch, as I draw on the board without even using my hands!" Fuu began, unintentionally deepening her voice a little to what she sometimes used in the club plays, before correcting herself.

"Onee-chan, you're getting into character again…" Itsuki internally sighed, preparing herself for the display. Her sister, in part from her more playful side, tended to get a little exaggerated in certain moments. It best came out during any performances of the Hero Club where she took on a role, often of the loud villain. It was a little embarrassing when her chuuni side came out. But now her sister actually had supernatural powers to back it up. However, that raised the question, was it really being chuuni if she actually could use powers and it wasn't simply imagination?

Not even responding to the criticism, Fuu dramatically released the chalk from her fingers with an exaggerated motion and it started falling.

As if grasped by an invisible force, the piece of chalk froze in mid-air. But, the display didn't cease with merely levitating chalk. To Itsuki's wonder, the chalk started moving without any force visibly acting upon it, floating around Fuu and over to the chalk board, where it started drawing on an empty space.

Itsuki leaned in her chair, eyes widening eagerly at the display. Had she not battled the Vertex yesterday, the motion might've been stunning to her. However, even with Itsuki's surprise muted from previous events, she still found herself captivated, eyes darting around and trying to scrutinize or find what the 'trick' was, but there was nothing. No strings, wires, or forced perspective. What she saw was exactly as it appeared to be. She knew the supernatural existed in human hands even before becoming a Hero, but she thought it was only more abstract and roundabout forms, such as her own tarot card readings, not direct usage of telekinesis. She was really going to learn how to do this?

"Hehe, I see you're excited already. You're not the only one that knows the occult." Fuu proudly declared with a wide grin. "There's a lot of cool things you can do with this. But how easy some stuff is will depend on what your affinity is, like mine is earth. So I can move that easy, but wind is a little harder."

"Oooh… I see." Itsuki nodded along, trying to retain as much info as she could. "So you can even control elements too? What's that like?" She wondered what they would align with, affinity wise. She knew elements could have meaning, and earth felt good for her sibling. She was always a solid, dependable person who managed to keep everything under control even in the worst times, somebody Itsuki could always rely on whenever she needed help. Even if she sometimes felt guilty for relying on Fuu too much. Itsuki wished she had the same confidence sometimes.

At least she didn't align with fire. The thought already shot worrying mental images of Fuu and her 'demon king' persona into Itsuki's head.

"Well… I can't really show off earth much here without damaging the room. Magic takes a while to get down and I'm still learning some of it, so I can't make it out of thin air yet." Some of the wind coming out of her sails, Fuu's voice awkwardly lowered for a second before recovering. "But! You can do a lot besides move things around. Strengthening the body, nowhere like our Hero forms, sensing people without seeing them, barriers. We can go over it more in-depth later, when I'm teaching you. I can't cover too much right now, since the Taisha had something to say about using it going forward."

That was quite a list, extrasensory perception sounded fun especially. Being able to perceive the world beyond the 5 basic senses, Itsuki wondered what that would feel like. "Wait… You talked about sensing people… Is that how you always knew when I wasn't actually sleeping?"

"A good older sister always knows what their sibling is up to! Including when they're pretending to be asleep." Fuu immediately answered, deflecting as easily as she breathed.

Itsuki uttered a drawn out sigh.

"But anyway. Sorry to keep it brief, is that enough for a basic idea at least?" Fuu once again switched topics without a single beat passing, her eyes briefly looking behind Itsuki at the other two club members before back to her.

Itsuki hummed to herself, various questions bouncing around her head. It was only a basic thing, but Itsuki still had so many questions about magic and what she could expect to do with it. She wasn't exactly satisfied with what had been given so far, but Fuu did promise to teach her more later and this was only a brisk introduction before moving onto the rest of the Hero Club's Taisha related business. And with the brief glance, maybe Togo and Yuna were done on their task. Her sister already had so much explaining and work to do, so Itsuki could let it be for now and not add even more to her plate. "I think I'm okay for now, onee-chan."

"Great. Then, Yuna, Togo, you two find anything?" Fuu switched gears once more as Itsuki followed her gaze.

"No, still haven't gotten anything…" Yuna mumbled with a perplexed frown. "We tried looking up Kagurazaka-san too but couldn't find anyone like her, weirdly."

"They certainly weren't going to school when we met them, so perhaps they're from somewhere else. But what would they be doing here if nothing shows up locally?" Togo wondered aloud to herself, staring intensely at the computer screen.

"Huh, wonder why they haven't reached out yet then." Fuu pondered aloud with a contemplative squint. "Well, I guess I should get to what the Taisha said on using magic as a Hero, since a few things could change from it."

"Um, Fuu-senpai?" Yuna meekly began, slowly raising a hand to point in her direction.

"What is it, Yuna?"

"I think you forgot to stop the chalk."

Looking back at the same instant as her sister did, Itsuki noticed Fuu's runaway chalk had started scribbling across the entire board.

"Ack! I didn't tell it to do that!" Fuu shouted in a panic. "Stop, stop!"

Obeying her command, the piece of chalk lifelessly start falling from the board.

And stopped once again mid fall.

"Wait, I didn't do that."

The blaring alarm from everyone's phones sliced through the air of the club room, the sound signifying that the culprit for holding the chalk and stealing Fuu's moment had instead been the whole world freezing.

"No way. Two days in a row?" Fuu grumbled with a scowl.

In the corner of her eye, Itsuki saw the round, furry blue and white shape of her sibling's fairy, Inugami, floating through the air like an animated throw pillow and carrying Fuu's phone to her, where the club's leader had their expression grow even darker.

Itsuki nervously frowned to herself. They didn't even get a full day to rest? No, she had to be strong, they could do this. They already beat one Vertex, she had to trust in everyone. They could beat another one, surely.

With a deep breath, the advancing lights washed over the whole group.