As anyone who has attended school will tell you, the first month of the year is always the most awkward. Because, by the end of that time, everyone has a good idea of what they can attribute to everyone else and has already formed the foundations of cliques and friend groups, as well as established loners. Case in point, Yuuta and Isshiki were a healthy duo by now, and Rikka was his sole and unreliable source of help regarding magical occurrences. He was even on good terms with Nibutani, but whenever the thought of making a move occurred to him, his immediate mental response redirected him to a different time, different place, or different scenario altogether.

Back to the subject of Rikka, the girl was often seen vanishing after school ended and then reappearing in time to join Yuuta for dinner. Her presence was welcomed by both his mother and his sisters. In addition, Yumeha continued to develop her own powers. Believe it or not, things were actually going reasonably well for Yuuta.

Then one day, this happened.

"Hey, Yuuta, what club do you think you're gonna join?" Isshiki said to him in the hall one day.

"Clubs?" said Yuuta. "Huh, I haven't really thought much about that. Why, is there a particular club you think I should join?"

"No, not specifically," said Isshiki, shaking his head. His mouth, however, was grinning. "I wanted to ask you because I've already picked out mine. This year, I'm gonna join the music club!"

Isshiki's enthusiasm reminded Yuuta of Rikka somewhat, though comparing them in terms of melodrama would be like associating a third-rate cover band to a legendary orchestra, respectively.

"Huh, I never knew you liked music that much," said Yuuta.

"Of course not! No one in his right mind would join the music club for the music, obviously," Isshiki crossed his arms.

"Then educate me,"

"For the popularity is why you hang around them! Think about it; all of the hottest guys have electric guitars! Soon, I'll be walking around school with a guitar on my left and a girl on my right!"

"Really?" Yuuta raised an eyebrow. "I thought girls liked to hang around guys who act really confident,"

"Eh, I guess we're just into different types of people," Isshiki shrugged.

He does have a point, though. Maybe I should join a club that Nibutani would find attractive, like the cheerleader's club.

Suddenly, the two boys heard the sound of footsteps pounding down the hallway. They glanced and noticed Rikka sprinting towards them ninja-style.

"Oh, hey Takanashi-" Isshiki was about to say when she slammed a wicked roundhouse into his face and following up with a devasting backhand into his forehead and hurling him to the floor like a potato sack. Yuuta heard a thump as Isshiki made contact with the wooden floorboards.

"What the…" he stammered. "What the hell was that about?"

"Sorry, he started talking, and I didn't know what to do," Rikka said.

"There's a reason people avoid you, you know!"

Rikka ignored him and grabbed Isshiki by the shoulders before hurling him six doors away in a mighty swing. "I've figured on the next course of action on our quest to destroy the Invisible Boundary Lines!"

"Our quest?" said Yuuta.

"Indeed, this benefits you as well," she said. "I'm going to establish a base of operations on the school campus, under the guise of an afterschool club."

'...Excuse me?" Yuuta blinked. Surely, Rikka hadn't said something so ridiculous as making a club for her bizarre hobby.

"I'myay akingmay ayay ecretsay asebay atyay oolschay isguisedday asyay ayay ubclay."

"Come again?"

"Watashi wa kurabu o yosōtte gakkō de himitsu no kichi o tsukutte imasu,"

"Okay, how many other languages do you know?"

"Zero one double-zero one double-zero one, double-zero one double-zero triple-one, zero double-one-"

"I get it! Just go back to Japanese!"

"Watashi wa kurabu-"

"This is the dub!"

"Oh, sorry. I'm making a secret base at school disguised as a club." Rikka pulled out a piece of paper. "Here's the paperwork for it. Just sign your name here, and you shall henceforth be known as the Vice President of the Far East Magical Society."

Yuuta looked her up and down. After knowing Rikka for a good few weeks, he could conclude. She was always serious, though not always truthful.

"You know, with that Wicked Eye of yours, I thought you'd be able to see the issue here,"

"Hmm?" Rikka concentrated on her eye for a moment. "Ah, of course! I should've figured this out sooner!"

"Oh good, something reasonable comes out of your mouth-"

"Vice-president doesn't sound cool at all! Instead, I will issue the rank of Major Commander unto you, and General unto myself,"

Yuuta tried to resist the urge to give her a good Incarnate Claw to the face.

"No, you idiot! We can't make a club without any members! And unless there happen to three other random Nemah or Exalt on school, I don't think we can find any,"

"You misunderstand. We don't need a full Nemah or Exalt. We only need a human who was awakened at least a part of their magical potential, or even one with a strong enough imagination?"

"Imagination?" Yuuta narrowed his eyes. "You mean this is just playing pretend after all?"

"Not in the slightest; this is severely important Dark Flame Master,"

"Don't call me that at school!"

"Imagination is where magic comes from. Those with a strong ability to conjure spells in their mind may also conjure spells in reality. That's why young children are most likely to use magic at an early age and are subsequently Chuunirized."

"Seriously? So that's why Yumeha uses magic so well."

"Now, let us begin the search for members!"

"When you said search, I'll admit that I had something else in mind,"

As of now, the two spellcasters were sitting at a stand in the middle of the school courtyard under a sign that read "Saving Society from the Dark Organization: Join the Far-east Magical Society," which Rikka had designed herself.

As you can imagine, most people either tried to steer clear of them or tried their hardest not to laugh.

During their long wait, Rikka turned to Yuuta.

"So, how is it rejoining the Nemah?"

"Excuse me?"

"I was born and raised as a Nemah, learning magic at the same time as literacy, being instructed on my duty as the Wicked Eye holder, and fighting to protect the people I care about. How are you doing?"

"Well… I guess it's not that different," Yuuta said. "I mean, sure, that battle with your sister freaked me out a bit, but so far, there haven't been any real problems. Heck, I kind of like being able to get anywhere I want in a few seconds, and I'm now doing a lot better in sports. And… I don't know if it's just me, but is it normal to see… weird things without the Invisible Boundary Lines?"

"Ah, I figure you would catch on to that," she said. "It's not uncommon for magical creatures to integrate themselves into society or for humans to obtain limited magical abilities without learning the truth about them by coming into contact with said creatures. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was walking by class 3-E the other day..."

Yuuta opened the door to the class and dropped his bag.

"Uh, excuse me, young man, but I believe you're in the wrong classroom," said the teacher. Only, it wasn't the gaze of the many multicolored-haired students that made him freeze, though seeing red, blue, green, and orange-colored hair in school was strange in its own right, it was the fact that where the teacher would've been standing, was a tall yellow creature with a spherical head, beady black eyes, numerous tentacles in place of where arms and legs should be, a creepy-looking grin, and a black academic dress.

"Oh, sorry about that!" Yuuta stammered, still quite confused by the situation. "But uh… why do some of you seem to have guns-"

BANG!

A scarlet-haired boy whipped out a pistol and fired at the octopus creature in a quick flourish. However, a fraction of a second later, the gun vanished and reappeared in one of its yellow tentacles. For a brief blink of the eye, it seemed to flicker like a lightbulb, similar to an anime wherein characters moved at ridiculous speeds in very little time. The creature turned towards the student.

"Nice try, Karma, but even mid-conversation, it takes an anti-me BB far too long to take me by surprises," it chuckled. "May I remind you of the rule against discharging firearms during class?"

"Oh, that?" said Rikka. "That is a rare creature of unknown origin with the ability to move at Mach 20 speed. As far I know, class 3-E is attempting to destroy it before it brings about the end of the world. But do not worry, my Wicked Eye tells me they will succeed, so we do not need to intervene."

"No way, that's crazy!" said Yuuta. "What else is in this school?"

"Well, there are things that even I don't know about. For instance, you must never enter the Literature Club," Rikka said, narrowing her eye.

"Wait, the school has a Literature club?" said Yuuta.

"Yes, never go in there. I have reason to believe that an eldritch entity with powers similar to a god takes on a human form while spending time in that club. All of the members have been driven insane because of it."

"Huh, sounds kind of like one of those Seven Wonders of the School rumors," said Yuuta. "And what about those two girls over there?"

The two females in question were dressed in red and black bunny girl costumes, each very tight on their clearly very endowed figures. The girl in the black costume was enthusiastically handing out flyers, while the orange-haired girl in the red costume was trying her best to cover herself.

"That…" Rikka trailed off. "That has nothing to do with magic. They're just weird."

"Oh…" Yuuta said. The sign above them read, "The SOS Brigade! Here to sort out any weird or freaky phenomena that cause you problems!"

"I don't understand; what are they trying to do?" said Rikka.

"Well, at the very least, they make our club sound kinda a lot cooler by comparison," said Yuuta.

"Oh, hi there, you two!"

"HUH?!"

Just a few feet to the side, their good friend Kumin Tsuyuri had set up her own little stand, displaying a small sign that read "Napping Club! Refresh and recharge your mind, body, and spirit!"

"A napping club?" Yuuta said with an incredulous tone.

"Yep! Do you like napping? It's very good for you, especially if you have a tight schedule!" she said, putting on a cute voice and smile. Yuuta didn't know how she managed to be endearing without even trying. Or maybe she was trying and was really good at hiding it?

"I mean, I do nap from time to time, but it's not really something I'd consider a hobby of mine." he tried to respond in the kindest way possible.

"Eh, everyone always says that. I tried to make this club last year too, but nobody signed up. Oh well, time to doze off again!"

Kumin proceeded to pull out a very comfy-looking green pillow.

"She brought her own pillow?" said Rikka.

"Wow, you're seriously hardcore!"

"Yep! Napping is how I maintain a sweet and relaxed demeanor so I can wear a smile for everyone around me," Kumin said. "Today, I will have dreams of green rolling hills in the lovely sunshine."

With that, Kumin drifted off into the land of dreams, a calm, satisfied expression on her face that would've made even the angriest of fellows silence himself.

Just then, Rikka's eyes widened.

"Yuuta, it's time for a tactical compromise," said Rikka.

"Huh?"

After some cutting and sticking, the sign above all three of them read "Rest yourself and then save the world with the Far East Magical Napping Society!"

"Good grief…" said Yuuta. He glanced over at Kumin, who was sleeping peacefully.

"Hmm… a lovely wave of green…" she murmured.

"Is she lucid dreaming?" said Yuuta.

"Wow, I've always wanted to do that," said Rikka. "Maybe I'll have her teach me,"