Akko had a troubled night's sleep. Chariot and Bernadette wove in and out of her dream, never speaking; Lotte and Diana sat upon thrones with golden crowns, the woman in black peeking over their shoulders, and yet again Akko found herself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door. She awoke abruptly with her head pounding to find Lotte already dressed and talking to her.
".,.better hurry up, Anna's going crazy, she says we're going to miss the train…."
There was a lot of commotion in the normally quiet manor. From what she heard as she dressed at top speed, Akko gathered that Garie and Sabi had bewitched their luggage to fly downstairs to save the trouble of carrying them, with the result that they hurtled straight into Jasminka and knocked her down the grand staircase in the foyer. If Jasminka wasn't so resilient, Akko would've been concerned. Anna, on the other hand, was screaming at the top of her lungs:
" – COULD HAVE CAUSE SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE, YOU DIMINUTIVE BUFFOONS!"
Nico came hurrying into the room looking harassed just as Akko was putting on her shoes.
"Diana is on warpath," she warned, leaning against the door. "She nearly bit my head off when she found out I hadn't packed my socks yet. You ready yet?"
"Almost – Jasminka all right?" asked Akko.
"She's a Titan Shifter – I bet she didn't even notice anything," said Nico. "But now Ram is complaining that we can't leave unless Angela is here, otherwise the guard will be one short."
"Guard?" said Akko, "we have to go to the station with a guard?"
"Specifically, you and me," said Nico. "Or did you forget that there's a century's old madwoman after both our hides? After the scare last night, they're not taking any chances."
"They really never found anything?" asked Akko. "About that woman who attacked me?"
"If they did, they never told me anything about it," said Nico, looking at her watch. "But we can worry about that later. If we don't leave, we're definitely going to miss the train – "
"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" Anna bellowed and Nico jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. Akko hurriedly grabbed the last of her things, stuffed them unceremoniously in her luggage, and set off downstairs after Nico.
The foyer was in total chaos. Akko's friends were running around with their luggage while trying to shove what little bit of breakfast they could grab in their mouths; the adults were even less helpful, shouting over one another so often no one could make out what the other was saying. Daryl had briefly appeared from the dining room, took one look at the room, and wisely ducked out.
Blair climbed the banister – in cat form – and jumped onto Akko's shoulder, thankfully calmer than her companions.
"Like cockatrice with their tails cut off," Blair said with a Cheshire grin. "Akko-nyan, you'll be going with me and Chris. Leave you bags by the door, Phil's going to deal with the luggage and – oh, really, Izetta, gonna pull the puppy dog eyes here?"
A clever-looking red fox had appeared at Akko's side as Akko clambered over the various bags cluttering the foyer to get to the door.
"You know you're not supposed to be seen…," said Blair. The fox tilted its head and let out a little whine. "Ugh, you're such a brat. Fine, but if you get caught, you're on your own."
Anna wrenched open the front door for Akko and she stepped out into the weak September sunlight. Akko and the fox strode across the front lawn. The door slammed behind them and the chaos inside was cut off instantly.
"Where's Chris?" Akko said, looking around as they went down the drive toward the front gates.
"He's waiting for us just up ahead," said Blair with an exaggerated yawn, stretching herself out on Akko's shoulders.
Chris Redfield was waiting for them at the front gates next to a not at all suspicious-looking black car. He was wearing a black suit that made him look he worked for the American Secret Service (Akko wouldn't be surprised if he did.)
"Good morning, Kagari," Chris greeted courteously. "We should be hurrying along. Don't want to be late," he added, checking his watch.
"I know, I know," said Blair, leaping onto the car roof, "but Ram wanted to wait for Angela…. It's strange that she hasn't come back yet. I thought to would have wanted to see her daughter off. Then again, Angela has always been a…special snowflake…. She probably wandered off somewhere and forgot where the manor is….
But the sly red fox gave a joyful yip and gamboled around them, snapping at butterflies and rolling around in the grass. Akko couldn't help laughing. Izetta had been trapped inside for a very long time.
It took them forty minutes to drive to the Wedinburgh Waverly railway station and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Blair hacking up a couple hairballs on Chris's leather seats. Once inside the station, hurried over to platform six just as the Mystic Rail pulled into the station. There was a crowd of students and family waiting to get on, though not as many as the normal crowd back in Shibuya. Akko felt her spirit soar when she saw the bullet train…. She was really going back….
Nico arrived a few minutes later escorted by Ram and Shantae, the latter hauling Nico's luggage while the former looked around the station shiftily.
"All okay," she muttered to Chris and Blair. "Don't think there's anyone that followed us…."
They were just unloading Akko and Nico's luggage when Diana, Lotte, and the others turned up with their own escort teams. It must have been a strange sight, seeing so many strangers grouped around a large number of students. Avery Buckland seemed to think so by the way she was staring at them through the train window.
"No trouble?" growled Ram.
"Nothing," answered Athena.
"I'll still be reporting Angela to the higher ups," said Ram, shaking her head. "That's the second time she's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Urahara."
"Knowing my mother, she probably got 'lost on the road of life' or something equally dumb," said Barbara exasperatedly.
"Blair, we're counting on you to watch over them at school," Athena said sternly to the cat. "If I hear they've gotten in any sort of trouble – "
"Athena, it's them," said Blair teasingly. "They're probably blow up the bathrooms on the first day."
"…I hate that I can't refute that possibility," Athena mumbled.
"Just keep your heads down and your eyes peeled," said Ram, looking specifically between Akko and Nico. "And don't forget, all of you – careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't write it down at all."
"It's been lovely having you all," said Athena, hugging Diana. "We'll see you soon, I expect."
A warning bell sounded; the students still on the platform started hurrying onto the train.
"Quick, quick!" said Anna distractedly, shoving them roughly onto the train. "Write…. Be good…. If you've forgotten anything send it later… Onto the train, now, hurry…."
For one brief moment, the large red fox reared onto its hind legs and placed its front paws on Akko's shoulders, but Blair swiped at her paws and hissed, "For Woodward's sake, when was the last time you ever saw a fox do that, Izetta!"
"Bye!" Akko called out before the doors shut and the train began to move, while Diana and the others waved beside her. The figures of Athena, Chris, Ram, and Anna shrank rapidly, but the sly red fox was bounding alongside the window; blurred people on the platform were laughing to see it chasing the train, and then they turned the corner, and Izetta was gone.
"I told her she shouldn't have come with us," Blair grumbled, curled across Akko's shoulder. "Damn idiot is trying to get herself caught, I tell you."
"Oh, lighten up," said Amanda. "She hasn't seen daylight for months, poor girl."
"Well," said Garie, clapped her hands together, "can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Chinatsu. Later, losers," and she and Sabi disappeared down row to their right.
"The train was gathering more speed; the world outside had faded away in a blur of random colors and they swayed where they stood.
"I guess we're going to our usual seats in the back, right?" Akko asked.
"Sorry, but we can't join you," Diana said, catching Akko by surprise. "Lotte and I, I mean. We're supposed to head to the front car for orientation with the other prefects."
"Oh," said Akko, disappointed. "Right, yeah, I get it…"
"I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey," said Lotte quickly. "Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Prefect and then patrol the train from time to time."
"Hah, sucks to be you!" Amanda laughed.
"But as prefects, we can get anything off the service trolley free of charge," Diana mentioned smugly.
"…You suck, Cavendish," Amanda grumbled.
"Well, then you guess we'll see you later," said Akko, putting on a small smile. "Can't say I'm disappointed…bu-u-ut, if you can swing me some free stuff, it would really make me feel better."
"Guilt trip," said Blair with a hint of pride. "Nice."
"You are incorrigible," said Diana, rolling her eyes with a tiny grin. She leaned forward, gave her girlfriend a quick peck. "We'll see you later. Try not to cause too much trouble while we're gone."
"Then what am I supposed to do with this flask of corrosive acid?" said Sucy, holding up said flask. Everyone took a quick step back. "Tch, babies."
But as Lotte and Diana dragged their suitcases, Haruka-san, and Ophiuchus the snake (Sucy noticeably standing a good distance away) off toward the front of the train, Akko felt an odd sense of loss. She had never travelled on the Mystic Rail without Lotte before (Her second year didn't count because she never boarded the train.)
"Come on," Barbara took charge. "If we get a move on, we'll be able to save them places."
"I'm pretty sure our seats have been permanently reserved over the last four years," Amanda commented. "I think they even commissioned a plaque."
They struggled off down the aisle, passing through dozens of rows of seats, all of them already full. Akko couldn't help noticing that a lot of people stared at them with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbors and pointed her out. After she had met this behavior in five consecutive cars, she remembered that the news had been telling everyone all summer what a lying show-off she was. She wondered dully whether the people now staring and whispering believed the stories.
"Just ignore them, Akko," Jasminka offered, patting her on the shoulder kindly. "It might hurt at first, but just remember that you have friends supporting you the whole way."
Oh, that's right, Akko remembered. Jasminka was exposed as a Titan Shifter last year. There had been a huge uproar over the news breaking out, including death threats and demands for her expulsion from people who had read Scaglietti's scathing article. They were able to pull Jasminka out of her depression well enough, but it had been a hard time for all and Jasminka had nearly considered leaving for good. By comparison, Akko knew she had no reason to complain.
They walked to the very back of the train (which was lacking the aforementioned plaque) when they noticed someone was already sitting there beside the window. She had rich mocha-brown skin, wavy teal-blue hair that fell past her shoulders and covered her right eye. As they approached the seats, the unknown girl looked up from her book (The Passage of Time by Edgar Chrono) and immediately locked gazes with Akko. In that moment, Akko felt a strange sensation of…familiarity. She couldn't explain it, but Akko had a feeling that she was forgetting something important.
"Excuse me, but do you know you're sitting in our seats?" said Hannah rudely.
"Oh, these are your seats?" the girl, looking around like she was searching for the nonexistent plaque as well. "I didn't know you could reserve seating on the train. That would've made searching for a place to sit a whole lot easier."
"You don't," Stan-Bot answered, to Hannah's annoyance. "Don't worry about it. There are plenty of seats here; just pick one."
Hannah huffed and crossed her arms, but nevertheless plopped herself in the window seat across from the new girl, Barbara taking the seat beside her. Akko was loading her luggage into the overhead when she noticed the girl was looking at her with a glazed look in her eye. Then, without warning, she grabbed Akko by the arm and pulled her into the seats, shouting "Watch out!"
Akko barely had the sense to act bewildered before the train suddenly gave a mighty lurch. Amanda, who had been stowing her baggage next to Akko's, stumble and dropped her suitcase on the exact spot where Akko had been a moment ago. Akko stared at the suitcase, knowing how close it had come to dropping on her head. Then she spun around to the girl, who offered a friendly smile.
Akko knew she should have said thanks, but when she opened her mouth, the words that came out were, "How did you do that?"
"Well, I just pulled you and – " the girl began.
"No, she means," Barbara interrupted, staring dumbstruck, "how did you know that was going to happen?"
"Oh, well, I saw it," the girl answered nonchalantly like she was discussing the weather.
"You…saw it?" Barbara repeated cluelessly.
"Oh, where are my manners; I forgot to introduce myself," said Molly, closing her book politely and setting it aside. "My name is Molly McIntyre, fourth-year Twilight student. And the reason I saw that was…well, because I'm a Seer."
"That explains it," said Sucy, nodding sagely.
"I thought that might be the case," said Jasminka serenely.
"I've never actually met a Seer before," said Stan-Bot while Constanze whipped out a notebook from out of nowhere and started scribbling furiously. "This could be a good chance for productive experimentation…."
"Uh, sorry for sounding like a clueless moron, but…," said Akko, scratching her head sheepishly. "What's a Seer?"
"You don't know what a Seer is?" said Hannah, looking affronted. "Have you been living under a rock your whole life."
"Well, sorry if I didn't grow up with a magic family like you," Akko huffed, puffing out her cheeks angrily, but ended up looking like an oversized chipmunk.
"Well, let me break it down for you," said Amanda, jumping into the middle seat Across from Akko and Nico after storing her luggage. "You know that Foretelling class you have. Seers have a rare gift to see into the future. They were all the rage back in ancient Greece like the Seer Witch Cassandra and others like her."
"But where wars started up, Seers were conscripted into their armies and forced to give the leaders their visions," Sucy continued in her usual grim tone. "When they refused to say anything or gave a vision they didn't like, they were executed for treason. Most of them died out before the nineth century. Those who were still alive went into hiding after that. I doubt there's little more than a handful left."
"I heard a rumor that one of the Nine Olde Witches was a Seer," Nico added.
"Wow, so you can see the future, Molly?!" Akko said in awe, spinning around to her new friend with starry eyes. "Can you tell me if I become a cool stage witch like Shiny Chariot?!"
"It…doesn't work like that," said Molly, leaning away from Akko awkwardly. "Seers might've been able to control their visions in ancient times, but it fell out of practice when they went into hiding. I can only see a few minutes into the future and I don't really control when they happen. They just…come to me from time to time."
"Aw man, so that means you can't see into the future to know what the answers are on tests?" Amanda groaned.
"Even if I could, you think I would tell you that?" Molly replied blandly; Amanda clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"still, it's amazing you can see into the future," said Hannah, suddenly gaining a newfound respect for Molly.
"Just don't tell Diana," Jasminka reminded them peacefully.
"Yeah, I still remember when she blew up in our third year," said Akko jokingly.
Lotte and Diana did not turn up for nearly and hour, by which time the service cart had already gone by. Akko, Amanda, and Barbara had finished their pastries and were busy swapping Chocolate Dragon cards when they came up the aisle, accompanied by a hyperactive Haruka-san and Ophiuchus (and Sucy "magically" teleported to the righthand seats.)
"I never knew orientation could be so mentally exhausting," Lotte groaned tiredly, flopping into the seat on Akko's left side. She looked so exhausted that she didn't even realize she was sitting on a Chocolate Dragon, despite it's shrill cries for help.
"Well, there are three prefects in each house – one for fifth, sixth, and seventh-years," said Diana, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat next to Barbara.
"Anybody we know?" asked Amanda.
"Well, we already knew Priscilla Vasquez was a prefect – Professor Croix told us," said Diana. "Verde Shidariza is prefect for Corona. We also saw Hayate Yagami and Fate Testarossa respectively, though one year above. Oh, and Makoto Kowata for Twilight."
"Figured as much," said Amanda. "She's always struck me as a goody-two-shoes."
"Makoto was in the Contest of Champions last year, right?" Molly cut into the conversation.
Everyone turned to look at Molly, who was staring unblinking in Diana's direction. Like Akko, she felt a strange sense of familiarity in the back of her brain, but she couldn't explain why.
"Um, yeah," she said, looking mildly surprised. "There was a champion from each house. Makoto was the champion for Twilight…right?"
It came out as more of a question than a statement
"Yeah, she definitely was…I think," said Nico, sounding equally uncertain, pressing a finger to her forehead as if trying to push the information out of her skull. "Yeah…yeah, I definitely remember her being chose during the selection…maybe? I…. My memory tells me that at least, but…which event did she do again?"
"It was…the fourth, I think?" said Sucy, humming with a furrowed brow. "Well…someone did, at least…."
It seemed odd that none of them clearly remembered Makoto's participation during the Contest of Champions, and Akko was about to say so when she realized…she could barely remember it herself. Her brain was telling her that it was definitely Makoto who competed in the Contest…. So why did Akko get the feeling she was forgetting something important? Before she could ponder further on the subject, Lotte distracted them as she checked her watch.
"We're supposed to patrol the train every so often," she told them, "and hand out punishments to anyone that is misbehaving…. Maybe you should handle that, Diana."
"Lotte, you're a prefect now," said Diana, shaking her head. "It's your responsibility to keep troublemakers in line."
"I don't think I'm cut out for it," said Lotte, grimacing. "I don't like confrontation."
"You're five years late to be saying that," Hannah commented.
"Well, you'll have to get used to it," said Diana comfortingly, rising out of her seat and pulling Lotte to her feet. "I'll help you the first few rounds, but you'll need to learn to do this on your own. Now, the first thing you have to remember is that if someone is doing something wrong, you need to be able to your foot down – on their head is preferable…."
And Diana dragged the poor bespectacled girl down the aisle, offering up advice on how to be more authoritative. Lotte suddenly turned pale and looked to Akko for help. The Japanese girl just raised her hand in surrender. Lotte may have been her best friend, but there was no way she was standing up against her girlfriend.
The weather changed frequently as they traveled to different parts of the world. It was a scorching inferno when Rajani and Rashmi boarded in India, then a torrential downpour when Wangari climbed on in Africa, then a howling gale as Wendy joined them in Germany. When darkness fell and the overhead light came on, Molly stowed her book away in her bag, stretched her arms with an exaggerated yawn, and curled up comfortably in her seat, deciding to nap before they arrived at Luna Nova.
Akko rested her head on her fist, staring at the window past Hannah and Barbara trying to catch the first distant glimpse of Luna Nova, but it was a moonless night when the train slowed down in England and the rain-streaked window was grimy.
"You kittens better get changed," said Blair from the top of Akko's headrest, and everyone opened their suitcases with difficulty and started changing into their school tunics and pointed hats. Akko remembered how awkward it was to change in front of the whole train back in her first year, but years of practice (and Blair's constant expose) made her numb to the embarrassment. Diana and Lotte joined them around ten minutes later, both in uniform with their prefect badges carefully pinned on their chests.
At last, the train began to slow down and they heard the usual racket up and down it as everyone scrambled to get their luggage, ready for departure. Diana and Lotte were supposed to supervise this; they disappeared again leaving Akko and the others to look after Haruka-san and Ophiuchus (Diana was particularly mean-spirited when she draped her snake familiar over Sucy's shoulders.)
They shuffled out of the car feeling the first sting of the night air on their faces as they joined the growing crowd on the platform. Akko could smell the pine trees that lined the path toward the hidden gate for the first-year pilgrimage. She looked and listened for the familiar call of "First years over here…first years, please…."
Only…it wasn't as she had hoped for. Instead, a quite different voice, a louder, higher-pitch woman's voice was calling, "First years line up over here, please! All first years line up!"
A lantern came swinging toward Akko and by its light, she saw the short chestnut-brown hair and bright-red bow of Professor Kiki. This was the second year in a row that Professor Kiki had taken over for the first year's journey instead of Ursula.
Akko's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. She knew she shouldn't have expected Ursula to be here. She was one of few people who were privy to Ursula's condition; that she was slowly dying from some unknown disease. Croix had tried her best to stem the rate of the disease and they had gone to the best medical professionals in the world, but there was no apparent way of stopping it. If memory serves, Ursula only had two more years before the disease finally took its toll….
"Akko, are you hurt?" asked Blair in conern.
"No, why?" said Akko.
"Because you're crying," said Blair.
Oh, she hadn't even realized it, Akko thought, wiping the stray tear from her cheek with unnecessary roughness.
"I'm fine," said Akko. "Let's just…get on the bus."
Akko and Blair became separated from the others as they moved off the platform and out through the station. She shuffled slowly through a narrow doorway onto the road outside with the rest of the crowd. She looked around for Lotta or Sucy, wanting the company of her friends in the wake of Ursula's absence, but neither of them was anywhere near her, so she allowed herself to be shunted forward onto the dark rain-washed road outside Glastonbury Station.
Here there were a dozen double-decker buses painted purple with the Luna Nova crest that always took the students above first year up to the Glastonbury Tor, where they would fly the rest of the way through the Lay Line Terminal. Akko glanced quickly around them, turned away to keep a lookout for her friends, then did a double take.
It was nearly invisible in the moonless night and could only be faintly seen by the light of a nearby streetlamp, but there was someone standing in the alley across the street. Someone wearing a black coat. And they were staring at Akko through the crowd with their sightless gaze. Akko felt a cold chill run up and down her spines, flashes of vicious sneers coming to the forefront of her mind: "It's all your fault." "You are a curse." "You cause nothing but grief." Akko gripped the sides of her head with a pained grimace.
"Akko, do you have Haruka-san?" said Lotte's voice, right behind Akko.
And just like that, the voice's stopped shrieking; the throbbing in her head subsided. Blinking the daze out of her eyes, Akko looked across the road again to the back alley, only to find it empty of any mysterious black coated figures.
"Akko, where's Haruka-san?" Lotte asked again, not noticing Akko's troubles.
"Er, I think Molly has her," said Akko, still staring across the road.
Curious by Akko's intense stares, Lotte looked over her shoulder, following her gaze to the alleyway.
"…What're you looking at?" she asked.
"I though I saw that woman in the black coat," said Akko.
"What? Where?" Blair said quickly, looking alarmed.
"Over there, in that alley," said Akko, pointing to the darkened street.
"Hmm…," Blair hummed, narrowing her eyes with intense focus. "Well, I don't see anyonme there now. Are you sure there was someone there?"
"I…think so…?" said Akko, now feeling uncertain. Did Blair really not see anybody there. With her night vision, it should've been quite easy to spot someone in the darkness.
A few seconds later, Diana emerged panting from the crown.
"First and second-years are an absolute nightmare," Diana complained. "I already had to tell off six different students in as many minutes. There's no way we were that bad when we were younger."
"Keep telling yourself that," said Blair, snickering.
"Where's Ophiuchus?" asked Diana, looking around for her white serpent companion.
"Sucy's still got him," said Akko. "There she is…."
Sucy emerged from the crowd, stiff as a statue, being carried over Jasminka's shoulder, who was following Amanda and the others.
"Thanks," said Diana, relieving the snake from Sucy's shoulders. "Come on, let's hurry onto the bus before all the seats are filled up…."
"But I haven't found Haruka-san yet?" Lotte cried, but Diana and Amanda's groups were already boarding one of the buses. Akko remained behind with Lotte, Sucy, and Nico.
"You okay, Kagari?" asked Nico, giving her a sideways look. "You're looking pale. Well, paler than usual."
"I thought I saw – "
Molly appeared holding Haruka-san in her arms; the big-headed puchi was surprisingly sleeping; animated snot bubble and all.
"Here you are," she said. "She's a sweet little thing."
"Apparently only with stranger," said Lotte exasperatedly, taking the slumbering Haruka-san in her arms. "Well, come on, we should get in before Diana gets mad at us."
"What was it you were going to say, Akko?" Nico asked as she, Akko, Lotte, Sucy, and Molly made for the bus in which Diana and the others were waiting.
"It's…it's nothing," Akko said lamely. There wasn't any point in tell them, she figured, if neither Blair nor Lotte had seen the figure in black. Nico, however, gave her a critical stare before mutely stepping onboard the bus. Akko sighed tiredly.
"That woman bothers you," said Molly from beside Akko, causing the Japanese to freeze in her tracks and allow other students to board ahead of them. "She plagues your mind, her words shaking your resolve."
"Wait, you know about her?" said Akko desperately, turning on Molly. The Seer had a look that gave Akko the impression that she was wiser than most, possibly more than the teachers.
"Nothing more than you do," said Molly, shaking her head. "That woman is close, closer than even you and I can believe. She's after you, Akko, and she wants something. Something important."
"What?" Akko asked earnestly.
"Only you have the answer to that," said Molly matter-of-factly.
Offering a sincere smile, she climbed onto the bus as the last of the students boarded. Not altogether reassured, Akko followed her.
Next chapter: The Magic Mirror's New Song