It was quiet at the moment. There wasn't much activity going on aside from a little girl, wandering down the hall. She was not in the best of moods. "Stupid Toshi. You were supposed to wait for me," she grumbled to herself, glancing down the hall she was passing to see if there was anyone there before continuing on. She had to be careful. With how quiet the building was, anyone could be hiding and that meant filth monsters as well.

Nami wasn't by herself. There were two others with her and when she had to go, she had asked them to wait considering she wasn't able to defend herself well.

"Darn it... where are they?" she let out a sigh, looking down another hallway. There was no way she took that long. Also there was no signs of struggle either. Not that, there was a chance. Toshi was one of the best. Anyone who tried to fight him, was defeated instantly. There wasn't anyone better than him.

"Toooshiiii?" the girl quietly sang.

Suddenly the girl felt something rush past her from behind. Instantly she stopped. That was not a good sign.

"T-Toshi?" she called out, nervously while looking around. She turned around, hoping he would be there, but there was no one there.

However, when she turned back to face forwards, she bumped into a cloaked man.

The girl gasped, as she jumped back and saw the face. He had the mask on.

"You should know better to be traveling by yourself," the masked figure remarked. She couldn't see his expression due to the mask.

The girl instantly began to shiver, and tried to step back. Her mind was telling her to run, but her body would not respond out of fear.

The man then reached behind his cloak to pull out a small item. "It's time for you to come with me," he growled, as he pressed the button and the cage appeared.

The girl gasped. Now her body responded and she turned to run, but the man instantly caught her. "No!" the girl cried out, "Toshi!"

Suddenly the man let out a cry of pain. He froze and his grip loosened on her arm. The girl instantly ran forwards and turned around when she heard a thud. The masked man had fallen and in his place, was another person, only this person the girl recognized.

"Toshi!"

"You should have stayed where you came back from," the man named Toshi just replied, recalling his DITE.

Instantly the girl pouted, "that's not fair. You should have stayed where I left from."

"Relax, Nami," another girl appeared from behind Toshi. It was her sister, Novia. "You appeared in a different area from where you left."

The girl blinked, "huh? But it looked the same?"

"Because it was the same area on a different floor," Novia replied.

Nami blinked and then realized and laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head, "well that explains a lot then. Thanks for saving me, guys!"

Novia rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed by how her sister still struggled with the basics

"I'm still trying, Novi! It's not fair how just because you have more kei, you can judge me," Nami protested.

"It's not that. You need to focus more." Novia replied.

"I am focused!"

"My, my, it seems things aren't going well."

The two turned around to see another man appearing. "Hiya, Ryo!" Nami greeted him.

"Surprising to see you here," Toshi remarked.

The man shrugged, "how can I not? With this beast appearing as close as it did. Things are finally starting to get exciting."

"Not sure if that's the correct word, but you are right," Toshi replied.

"Is it still here?" Ryo asked.

Toshi shook his head, "it's left the city."

"I'm surprised to see you haven't gone after it yet," the man remarked, slightly amused.

Toshi shook his head, "how could I with this one deciding to go off wherever she feels she wants to without paying attention to the danger."

The man laughed, "well, maybe you should be more alert considering you have someone with you like that," he remarked.

Nami stuck her tongue out in Tosh's direction, but then stopped, "hey!" she protested.

"So now what's your next move?" Toshi asked before Nami could start.

"Obviously go after the beast," the man replied, "you?"

Toshi shook his head, "I can't go there. I'm going to stay back and search for something that should still be here. You keep an eye on things there."

The man smirked and nodded, "if you say so. Well, see ya," he waved and was off.

"Aww... we're not going?" Nami asked.

Toshi shook his head, "we can't, especially not without the two of you setting off chaos. Besides, there's something here we need to find. We've wasted too much time. Let's go."

Nami pouted, but didn't say more, realizing Toshi wanted to focus. She followed after him.

xXx

Lyra yawned, as she placed her glasses in her locker and grabbed her towel and uniform to take with her into the shower room. Stepping into the running water, Lyra let out a sigh through her nose as her body relaxed under the water. Lyra still wasn't able to get over what had happened and it made her feel like a zombie. Physically she was alright. It was the dream that she had experienced.

It had been about a week since the incident. Things were now back to normal, or as normal as they could be. Since she first met the Platoon, Lyra knew from the beginning that it would not be the same boring normal routine.

For example, surprisingly everyone was to training on time. Sharnid for one was very encouraging on getting training started. Everyone was very suspicious, especially Lyra who was told she would have to bring him if he didn't show up, which Lyra did not like. However, Sharnid was there and insisting they get started. Lyra just concluded that Sharnid just wanted to get out because he had a date or something. That was usually the case when he focused on something, or at least that's what Lyra felt was always the case.

Nina took advantage of that and pushed everyone during training to get as much as they could before heading out.

It was now after training. Everyone was exhausted.

Now, finally out of the shower and feeling fresh, Lyra headed back to her locker. She had to squint to make sure she was at the right one. It still felt weird having to do that. Lyra still wasn't fully used to wearing glasses.

Speaking of her glasses, when she reached up in her locker to grab them, they weren't there. Lyra's brows furrowed and she tried to reach further in, getting on her toes to try and reach as far back as possible, but they weren't there. She could have sworn she put them in here.

"Hey, do you guys remember where I put my glasses?" Lyra asked, looking back at the rest of the group.

"Come on Lyra, it hasn't even been a month yet and already you're forgetting where they are," Nina remarked.

Lyra's cheeks reddened in embarrassment, but then shook her head, "I swear they were right here."

"Well you usually put them there, maybe you just placed them down somewhere else and just forgot?" Layfon added on.

Lyra frowned, crossing her arms, "I'm not that forgetful."

"Lyra-chan, you're too short. Maybe they are there but you just can't reach them," Sharnid suddenly added.

Lyra continued to frown, but then turned towards Sharnid. She then squinted to try and read his face.

"Sharnid, where did you put my glasses?"

"I don't see why it is suddenly assumed that I would have them," Sharnid remarked.

That was why he actually came today.

"Sharnid, give me my glasses." she ordered only to receive a laugh.

"I'm telling you Lyra, I don't have them. You probably just misplaced them," he remarked.

Lyra glanced at Layfon and Nina, hoping for some help. She caught the look of amusement, but before she could say anything, they were grabbing their bags.

"Well, we have class now so we're off," Layfon and Nina left. Felli didn't show much interest so she was gone and Harley was already off.

"Traitors..." Lyra muttered to them as they left. They obviously saw him do it, but weren't going to say anything. She then turned towards Sharnid who had a look of amusement and stomped her foot. "Tell me where my glasses are!" She probably looked ridiculous acting how she was, but she wanted to see.

"Oh come on Lyra, they're right here," Sharnid replied. His face then brightened, "tell you what. I'll tell you where they are if you join me for lunch."

Lyra raised a brow, "really now? That's the best you can do?"

"Well, I don't really need to try with you, considering you're too nice to say no, especially when you know it gets lonely eating lunch alone," he replied.

Lyra wasn't sure what he was implying by saying that, but just shrugs. Not like she had anything important.

"So where are they?"

"They're here in the locker room," he replied with a grin.

Lyra frowned, crossing her arms, "you said, you'd tell me if I agreed to lunch."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't say I would tell you exactly where they are," he replied. By now he had laid back on the bench.

"But-"

"How about this, if you can't find them in 10 minutes, you're paying," he decided.

Lyra threw her hands down, "but that's not fair!"

"It makes things more interesting," Sharnid insisted.

"This was not part of the agreement," Lyra pouted.

Sharnid shrugged, bringing his arms behind his head to rest his head on, "you already agreed to the lunch. I'm just adding on now."

"That's definitely not fair."

"Come on, Lyra. Time is ticking away. Better hurry. Plus if you don't hurry, you have class soon, right? If you don't head out soon then you'll miss the tram."

Lyra frowned and grumbled and began to search. It was difficult to begin with since she couldn't see. She knew they had to be close. He wouldn't be that mean to hide them somewhere impossible.

She was so focused on looking, she jumped when Sharnid suddenly laughed and stood up.

"I can't handle it anymore," he guided Lyra over to her locker where he pointed just above it.

Lyra squinted and then she saw them, "you jerk!"

"Welp, looks like lunch is on you," Sharnid cheered.

"That's not fair!"

"A deal is a deal," he grinned and then waved, heading off.

On the train, Lyra took her glasses off to examine them. There was a small chip in her lens from the explosion. It was barely noticeable. Surprisingly that's all that happened. Lyra couldn't help but feel strange since the incident.

It made sense why Sharnid would hide her glasses. He didn't just do it for the heck of it, but to distract her. While he had no clue as to what happened in the explosion, he was just trying to help by lighten the tension.

While it worked for a bit, she kept thinking of Noemi. The little fairy was right before her. She was pretty sure it was real, but how could it be? The city was destroyed. It was just her assuming, but word had traveled after another city had located it a recently, confirming its destruction.

The pictures she was shown... that was what Lyra remembered when she initially saw Minerva.

Lyra shook her head, hearing the bell. She got off the bus and headed straight towards her dorm. Arriving to her suite, Lyra had just put her keys in the keyhole when the door opened and she was tackled in a hug.

"Lyra! Just in time!"

"Wah!" she almost fell back, but luckily caught herself.

It was Reina who tackled her in the hug. Reina was a fourth year student and the head of the dorm they lived in. She was always keeping an eye on her suite-mates. It was actually thanks to her Lyra was still up to date on assignments.

"We were all thinking to grab lunch together after class. Wanna come?" she asked.

Lyra shook her head, "Sorry, I can't. I'm getting lunch with Sharnid," she explained and headed towards her room to grab her bag.

Reina frowned.

"Lunch with Sharnid?" she asked and stomped over to where Lyra was packing her bag.

Lyra looked up to see the look of disappointment. "What?"

"Lyra, you know how I feel about that guy. I don't like it that you're constantly going to lunch with him," Reina scolded her.

Lyra rolled her eyes. Leave it to Reina to live in such a fantasy. "He's a teammate, Reina. Of course we all go out to lunch. Unfortunately Fridays are busy days for the rest of the team," she explained for what seemed like the millionth time. This was a conversation they normally had. It almost felt like a teenager arguing with the over protective mom.

"I know... but.. Oh it's my job to look out for you all!" she suddenly burst, "I can't just sit back and allow your hearts to be broken!"

"Umm... you're going over again, Reina. But anyways, sorry I can't sit around to comfort you. I have to go now," Lyra excused herself while Reina was still protesting. Lyra shook her head. Leave it to Reina.

Martial Arts class wasn't that entertaining for Lyra. It was mostly because Nina was occupied by other students who needed help and Layfon must have been out due to police force. For that reason, she wasn't able to actually go all out in her fights, knowing that the other students couldn't handle it. Instead, it was more like coaching really. She was really grateful when it was over, though now she had lunch with Sharnid.

Arriving to lunch, Lyra walked over to the entrance where Sharnid was waiting.

"Uh oh... someone doesn't seem all too happy," he remarked, opening the door to allow Lyra to enter first.

"Not like this day started off any better," she muttered as they got in line. It was a nice place he picked out. Luckily nothing too fancy, but still nice enough for the two to order and eat in. Arriving to the front, Lyra ordered a sandwich and then allowed Sharnid to order. She was pulling money out to pay when she noticed Sharnid already paying.

"Wait, but I though-"

"You can't really expect me to let you pay now when I invited you to lunch," Sharnid remarked.

Lyra raised a brow, "that was an invitation?"

"Of course it was. I was just having fun watching you look around for your glasses," he replied.

Lyra shook her head. Well it saved her money. But even so, she still felt bad in a way.

Once their food came, the two headed over to a table where they sat down to eat.

"So what's really bothering you, Lyra-chan?" Sharnid asked.

Lyra shook her head, "nothing. Just one of those days," she explained.

"Aww, don't tell me your day was ruined by you placing your glasses in a spot you don't usually put them?" he teased.

Lyra frowned at that.

"That, or you're just nervous about your date with Harley tomorrow?" At that, Lyra ended up coughing. She was stupid to take a sip from her water.

"Really now?" she protested once she could breath.

"What? It's just a simple question," he remarked, innocently.

"What's with you being so pushy about me and my 'dates?'" she asked.

Sharnid laughed, "oh come on, Lyra-chan. It's a friend's job to tease about these types of things. Besides, so far Harley has the best reactions," he remarked, "Nina and Felli are too scary to tease and Layfon already has so many girls after him that it's pointless to try. That just leaves you and Harley."

Lyra felt some relief realizing that it wasn't just her. This was just Sharnid's way to make some fun, especially considering how the environment would get tense. She was actually happy that she ended up accepting to get lunch with him. While his actions and comments were annoying at times, his intention was clean and he was just having a good time.

The two continued to talk and eat their lunches. Afterwards, the two threw out their trash. They were heading out, when Lyra stopped.

"Hold up, I'm going to order something to go," she explained.

Sharnid chuckled, "like this place that much?"

"Well, it is a very good place, but I bet you Nina hasn't eaten anything all day," she replied.

It seemed he wasn't expecting that answer, as Sharnid didn't reply right away. He shook his head, "very considerate of you. Nina's lucky."

Lyra smiled. After getting her order, the two headed down the main road together before parting where Sharnid was surprisingly going to class.

"Hey, can't skip too many days now. I still gotta graduate," he remarked. Lyra just shook her head, heading to work. It was amusing to see the different types of people here. There were those like Nina who worked diligently and then those like Sharnid who worked, but they weren't that strict about it.

Lyra herself was on the more diligent side, especially when she was in Grenden in her biology studies and training with Savaris. However, coming here, she was focused, but only when working with Layfon and Nina.

Arriving to work, Lyra entered the building and went straight to her area to put her items away and grab the cleaning supplies. She was only a minute late. Hopefully her boss wouldn't mind. Not that he ever said anything to her. Lyra barely ever saw her boss and that was mostly because of their shifts. He would leave earlier in the afternoon before Lyra's shifts. Even so, she never received a call from him, which Lyra would rather have that way.

Once her items were gathered, Lyra picked up the lunch she bought for Nina and then headed off that way.

It wasn't difficult finding the captain. The only thing Lyra had to remember was that she also had to look down and not just up half the time. Spotting her a few levels below, Lyra called down to her to get her attention and have her come up.

"Hope you haven't had lunch yet. I brought you some figuring Fridays are the craziest days for you and you barely ever eat," she explained, offering her lunch.

Nina blinked, "wow, thanks! It smells amazing. I owe ya now."

Lyra shook her head, "come on captain, you were the one who paid for lunch last time. Think of this as a partial return."

Nina just smirked at that.

"So, where did you leave off? I'll start working there while you take lunch and you can join me afterwards," Lyra offered.

Nina nodded her head and began to explain to Lyra. Once she understood, Lyra began to work, while Nina ate lunch. It felt nice to see Nina's face brightened. It was obvious that she had been getting tired and from what Layfon told her, Nina would refuse to accept the tiredness and continue to work. That was why Lyra tried to help all she could. She knew that while she couldn't change the captain's mentality, she could still work on helping her out by reminding her to recharge and this was her method.

Once Nina finished, she joined Lyra in finishing up the rest of the area before it was her time to go. Lyra could tell the food helped. Nina had so much more energy and was excitedly explaining the craziness Zuellini was causing in the machinery. Luckily none of it was in a bad way. The two continued to work until it was time for Nina to go and Lyra's lunch break. However, instead of leaving, Nina decided to stay with Lyra during her lunch to give her company.

"Hey, I need to talk to you about something. I know it's been bothering you and you need to let it out," Nina suddenly started right as Lyra took a bite from her sandwich.

Lyra knew that was coming. After all, the two hadn't gotten a chance to really talk about what had happened in Minerva and considering Nina was not all that surprised to see those masked men, meant that she had encountered them before.

"I know it was hectic with what happened, but I'm more curious as to what happened after the explosion," she started.

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked, curious now.

"I know you experienced it as well, but before you woke up, were you in some sort of garden along with the little girl's voice?" she asked. Lyra tensed. Nina was genuinely curious if that were the case, especially since Lyra didn't hear any accusing tone. It meant Nina was trying to understand what just happened.

"I'm assuming that wasn't just me, especially with your reaction," she asked, hopeful.

Lyra didn't reply right away, but then shifted the way she was sitting and adjusted her glasses. "I'm not sure what exactly happened. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dream, but Noemi was in it and she had saved us," she explained the entire situation.

Nina blinked at that, "saved us?"

Lyra nodded, "you mentioned seeing a garden when you were passed out right? Doctors thought you were delirious," she reminded her, as she began to close up her lunch, after pulling out her yogurt to eat.

Nina nodded her head. Her brows furrowed, expressing her annoyance when they thought she was going crazy. It was right when they arrived back and were examined. "You think we were pulled to another dimension?"

Lyra thought for a second, "but for that to happen Noemi would have had to be there, no?"

Nina shrugged, "I honestly don't know myself. I still wonder what happened with that mystery man saving Zuellini from those men. But I see your concern," she suddenly spoke up, causing Lyra to look up from her yogurt, "Noemi, who's supposed to be gone, was suddenly in the area, saving us. It brings up so many questions. How is she there; how did she survive; is she a Haikizoku or is the city still alive?"

Lyra nodded her head. She was secretly praying the city survived and the evacuation was done for no reason, but that was too much to ask for.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and turned towards Nina, "look, I'm not telling you to forget about all this, but as a friend who cares for you, I don't want you going crazy looking for answers that aren't coming any time soon," Nina remarked.

Lyra couldn't help but smile at that. With how strict Nina could be at times, it was sometimes easy to forget about the kind side to Nina. "Thanks. That helps a lot."

Nina nodded, but her face straightened, "but there is one thing that concerns me. Whether it was a dream or not, Noemi was right to say that the danger was just beginning," she suddenly remarked in a serious voice.

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked.

"Felli detected the Haikizoku on the move again. It's quite possible it could come here or to another close by city. Whatever happens, we're going to have to be on the alert for that and that means working together."

Lyra nodded her head. She almost forgot about the Fallen One. What if that was what Noemi was warning about? She wasn't sure and like Nina said, she would just have to work on getting stronger and prepare for the battles to come.

"Well, my lunchtime is over. Thanks for the talk, Nina. It helped get a lot off my chest," Lyra remarked, as she stood up. Nina stood with her.

"No problem. I'm heading out now, but hey. If anything is bothering you, let me know. I just want to help," she replied.

Lyra nodded her head. After that, the two split ways with Nina heading home and Lyra got back to work.