Susumu's inspiration – or Mizore's direction – saw the Writing Club meet regularly over the next two days of Golden Week for a selection of activities that, Ikko suspected, were designed to keep him as far from the temptation of investigating Masumi Yakumaru as possible. They spent a great deal of time holed up in the clubroom, some kind of music on someone's phone, pens or laptops out, writing whatever prompt sprang to the senior's mind.

It worked. The novelty of writing, and learning how to write well, forced all other thoughts from Ikko's mind, helped along by Masumi and Etsuko's complete absence from the campus. Not only did this serve to keep Ikko well out of harm's way, it also improved Mizore's mood. Frequently did he find her studying, lollipop caught between her teeth, head on the heel of her palm, as the rest of them enjoyed their club. Recalling how quickly she had abandoned her studies that night, Ikko hoped that she would at least keep this up until the exams.

On the third day, he found himself staring blankly at the page below him, inspiration escaping as quickly as he attempted to muster it. To his right sat Nori, tapping away on his phone with music screaming in his ears; to his left Naoko chewed her pen, her face a picture of focus seen only in those rare moments when she stopped talking. Susumu sat opposite, her face lit by her laptop, pushing hair back behind one ear and typing slowly, thoughtfully, with one hand.

Ikko looked back to his paper, and before he could stop himself, his mind wandered back into his memories for the first time that holiday. He huffed, recalling the encounter with Masumi and Etsuko – and after that, Mizore's reprimand.

"What were you going to do? Start a fight in the middle of Preternatural Street?"

The words weighed on him more than he knew they should, but in two questions Mizore had cut to the heart of his powerlessness. What could he do? Even if the evidence mounted against Masumi, even if he brought the accusations himself, without the strength to back them up it would all fade into meaninglessness; worse still, Masumi's retribution might just kill him.

He stood. Susumu looked up from her laptop. "Ikko? You okay?"

"Yeah," her gaze flicked down to the blank piece of paper.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I think I've hit my first writer's block." He tried a grin. "I'll take a walk, see how I feel."

"Sure. Don't be too long, 'kay?"

"Mm." He thought he might have to avoid Mizore's eye as he left, but she was absorbed in her textbook.

Out in the corridor, Ikko took out his phone and started to walk. Aimless, for the moment, he opened his contacts and sent a quick text to Ruby.

Me: Where are you?

He looked around, and checked his wrist, where his shikigami slept peacefully. It had been so long since it had activated that he had almost forgotten its existence. The temptation to switch it to find its twin flared, but he put that idea away. This wasn't urgent. Ikko carried on his way, moving through the campus with half his mind on his phone, waiting for Ruby's response.

What did he want from her? He couldn't decide. He wanted something, to be sure, something that Mizore couldn't give him, something that the Writing Club couldn't help with.

Ikko turned, leaning over the railing to look down onto the ground floor. Seeing Yokai without students was almost as unnerving as being surrounded by monsters. Like wandering a mall after dark, after all the customers were done for the day, the absence of life unsettled him. Ikko frowned, closing his eyes.

"Akada?" They snapped open just as quickly. Ikko span in the direction of the strange, girlish voice, coming face-to-pointed-hat with a small girl. He didn't recognise her. She had sparkling blue eyes, alight with intelligence, and wore a cloak over a one-piece dress. "It is Akada, isn't it?"

"Uh- yeah."

"What brings you here?"

"Just out on a walk – sorry, who're you?" Ikko blinked, making sure he was indeed seeing what he was seeing. She looked he picture of a witch, though not at all like Ruby. This girl looked like she'd jumped straight out of a picture book.

"Yukari Sendo. I'm a colleague of Ruby and Mizore's."

"You are?"

"That is why I said that, yes." Yukari tipped her head to one side, causing the witch's hat to wobble unsteadily. "What are you doing out of your clubroom?"

"I just said. Out on a walk. I need to clear my head."

"I see. Is Mizore there?"

"Yeah, she's studying."

"Thank you very much." She bowed, causing another ungainly wobble, then turned and left.

Ikko's phone buzzed in his pocket, prompting him to blurt, "Wait – Miss Sendo?"

She looked back. "Oh my. Just Yukari, please. I'm far too young for Miss."

"Sorry – Yukari? Wait, how old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Fif-what?"

"Fif. Teen." She seemed to delight in his flabbergasted gawping, but didn't revel in it too long. "You had a question?"

"Y-yes, sorry. Um. You… you know about me, right?"

"I do."

"So you know I'm a-"

"I do."

Ikko paused. His next question didn't want to be asked. "Is… is there anything I can do to defend myself? Some way I can get stronger?"

Yukari's lips pursed. "Why would you need to defend yourself?"

"Just in case, y'know? I can't rely on people to always have my back. It's not fair."

She sighed, returning to his side at the barrier. She hopped up onto the railing with surprising agility, sitting on it. "Let me speak plain, so as not to lull you into an illusion of confidence. In this world, Ikko, you are a prey animal. Simple as that."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning your place in the food chain is to do your best not to get eaten. By sheer virtue of your numbers, humanity continues to thrive on the outside." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the window, "But in here, the situation is precisely the reverse. There are lots of us, and one of you. Getting stronger won't help you as much as getting smarter, or quicker."

"You're saying I should learn to be a coward?"

"I'm saying that there's no natural way for a human to beat a monster in a fair fight – and monsters don't fight fair."

Ikko deflated. He leaned on his arms, drooping over the railing. "Great."

"My advice is not to worry about it. Ruby and Mizore are both supremely capable women. They'll look after you."

"I don't want to spend these next two years being babysat." He scowled, frustration gurgling like bile in his throat. "I want to look after myself."

"Then stay out of trouble," Yukari said, shrugging in a manner most matter of fact, "Give them that peace of mind."

"You think I go looking for trouble?"

"No, but you certainly don't try hard enough to stave it off, if what Ruby's said is any indication."

Ikko grunted. Yukari hopped off the railing. "I need to see Mizore. Take care of yourself, Akada."

"Thanks." He bit back the rest of his retort, satisfying himself with a muttered curse as he stalked away. His phone buzzed again.

Ruby T.: My room

Ruby T.: What's wrong?

Wishing he hadn't spoken to Yukari, Ikko jammed his phone back into his pocket, ignoring the texts, and stalked down the spiral stairs and out of the campus building. He wandered into the wasteland outside, figuring the shade of a tree would be the perfect place to mope until he was summoned back to the clubroom.

It didn't take long to find a large, withered skeleton of a tree, whose twigs grew with forbidding sharp thorns and whose trunk was as ragged as it was gnarled. Ikko sat on a raised root, brought his knees up, and sighed. He chastised himself for asking such a silly question. What had he expected, asking if there was anything a human could do? Prey either found ingenious defences or escaped quicker than the predator could chase. He found himself envious of his monstrous friends. If someone bit, they could bite back. Ikko had to rely on their protection, and even then, those that he trusted could easily turn around and mark him as their next meal.

He hung his head, trying to focus on something besides his thoughts. The tree creaked, ancient and unyielding in a gust of wind. "What can I do…?" he intoned, "It's not like I can outrun them, and smarts won't do a damn thing…"

"You could try talking to them."

He jumped. Ruby's voice came from his left; he found her reclining at his side, eyes closed. "Black showed me where you are." She said, showing him her wrist. "You picked a good spot."

"I did?"

"We witches are attuned to nature," she explained, "It's calming to be so near places like this. Helps me focus."

"Maybe you could pass some of that my way."

Ruby smiled. She finally opened her eyes, pink warm and smile kind. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Ikko found that his voice was sharper than he expected it to be, still laden with his frustrations. He apologised, but Ruby only shook her head.

"It's okay. Well, if nothing's wrong – what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted a change of pace from the Writing Club," he lied, "I've been writing for two days straight. I don't know how they do it."

"Hmm…" Ruby thrummed, thoughtful, "Alright. Why don't you come help me prepare your masking spell?"

"Eh?"

"When I'm stressed, I do something productive to help clear my head." Ruby extended a hand, offering to help him stand.

"Who says I'm stressed?"

"Ikko," she fixed him with a knowing stare, "It's written all over your face."

Ruby's room was decorated more normally than he expected. Ikko thought he would find hanging ivy and incense burning, but instead the room was simply furnished with a bed, kitchenette, a table for dining, and a small workbench. It was here that he found what he thought he'd see; jars and herbs, planters full of bizarrely coloured plants in various states of bloom. "Well, come in." Ruby invited him, gesturing. "Wash your hands first."

He did so, looking around the room. The witch was already drying her hands, so he hurried to follow suit. "I'll need to apply the finishing touches, else it won't work," Ruby explained, "But you can help me prep the ingredients. Let's see…"

She pulled out an old, weathered book from a drawer of the workbench, opened it on one of the dog-eared pages, and began to read. At the same time, she gathered up a mortar and pestle, holding it out to Ikko. "You know how to use one of these?"

"It can't be that hard to figure out," he quipped, staring at the round club and shallow bowl. Ruby laughed.

"No, but there's an art to it. Too hard and you'll ruin the ingredients."

She started picking phials up, seemingly at random. Each of them contained dehydrated specimens of what Ikko presumed were the plants growing around her. He held out the mortar at her instruction, and she poured portions of each phial in, one after the other. "Grind that into a fine powder."

He began the work, sidling into a spot at the workbench next to her. Ikko found a smile – he had no siblings of his own, but he imagined this was what it would be like to have a kooky older sister. "So, let's try this again, shall we?" Ruby asked.

"Hm?"

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh." Thoughts of Yukari's answer stiffened his posture. He began to grind the herbs with greater vigour.

"Careful, careful!" Ruby chided. "Like this."

She took his wrist and guided him through a rolling motion that was much gentler than his aggressive mashing. "Sorry."

"No problem. So…?"

Ikko sighed. He tried to balance his feelings with the delicate work, finding that with his attention divided such, he had to measure his words as carefully as she had measured out the ingredients. "I spoke to Yukari. She said she's a colleague of yours?"

"More than that," she clarified, "Yukari is my kinswoman."

"She's a witch?"

"Did the hat not give it away?" Ikko snorted. "What did you speak to her about?"

"Well… I've been thinking… Maybe I should be doing more to look after myself, you know? I can't rely on you two to always be there."

"That is our job." Ruby answered, smiling. "But I can't fault your logic."

"I-I mean, I know that. But maybe something happens? Maybe someone catches me unawares and I need to, y'know… Maybe I can't escape. So I asked Yukari if there was any way for someone – someone like me to get stronger. To protect himself."

Her smile shifted. Ikko couldn't understand the quiet weight behind her expression. "What did she say?"

"In more words than this, she told me that I'm prey and to get used to it."

Ruby's brow arched, but she sighed and nodded. "She does like her absolutes."

"Is she wrong?" Ikko pressed, suddenly hopeful. Ruby took a moment to check the mixture, then added a strange smelling syrup.

"Mix that in. No, she's not wrong. Not entirely."

"Oh." His shoulders slumped, but he carried on mixing the paste. It began to resemble the masking spell he applied every day. "So that's that, then."

"Not necessarily." She shook her head. "There have been two other humans who attended Yokai, to my knowledge. Both of them learned how to defend themselves."

"How?"

"They took the power of monsters into themselves. An extreme solution, to be sure – for one of them, it happened in a moment of life and death – but it was undeniably effective."

"Humans can do that?"

"Surely you've heard the stories?" Ruby inquired, "Human legends often speak of the way vampires turn others with a bite, or werewolves with a wound. Such things are possible – but risky. Fatally so. It's a miracle either of them survived, and I sincerely doubt you'll find a monster willing to part with their power like that."

"So Tsukune did that?" She nodded. "And – you mentioned another?"

"He was a third year in Tsukune's first. He… had it rough."

"And he took power, to?" Ruby nodded solemnly.

"But we can't use that for you. It's a rare monster who can pass on their power like that, and as I said, it's risky."

"Th-then what can I do? Is there anything?"

"Hm…" Ruby frowned. She furrowed her brow, staring at the mixture. "Maybe… we'll have to see. Let me see the spell?"

She turned the mortar towards her, shifting its contents this way and that. Her eyes flicked up to his. "I want to try something."

"What?"

"I want to see if you can finish this spell."

"Huh? But I'm not a witch. You said-"

"I know what I said, just – trust me, okay? Let's give it a try."

Ruby transferred the mixture to a clear glass tub. It had congealed into a grainy white paste. "Magic's finicky." She explained. "Witches come into it naturally as they grow up, but you're going to need a make a more concerted effort. Let's see…"

As she hummed, tapping her chin, Ikko felt excitement bubble in his chest, beginning to eat away at his frustration. The possibility drew out a smile. "Okay. Here's what we'll do." Ruby began. "I want you to close your eyes and hold out your hand. Whichever's dominant."

Ikko stretched out his left straight in front of him, over the workbench. Ruby turned him to the right. He heard her voice in his ear. "Next, I want you to visualize the very tips of your fingers. Every detail. Fingernails, skin, the ridges of your fingerprint. All of it."

He furrowed his brow with the effort. The pale skin, the fingernails chewed, his fingerprints – what did they look like? Had he ever paid attention to those? "You got it?" Ruby asked.

"I-I think so…?"

"Good. Now, envision the joints. The knuckles…" Ruby guided him through the visualization. When his brow couldn't scrunch any more, Ikko noticed a drop of sweat beading his forehead. He held in his mind a picture of his entire arm, as detailed as he could make it. "How's that?" she asked.

Ikko struggled to find the words without sacrificing some detail of his mental conjuring. "I, uh…"

"Not easy, is it?"

He settled for a sharp shake of his head. Ruby's laugh sang gently off to his right. "We're almost there. Connect that arm to your chest."

There was more? Ikko did as bade, and as he did so he felt his insides shift. Not uncomfortably, but he sensed a change, however minute. "In your chest, you'll feel a… place. Like a well. Draw on that."

He found it. A tiny sliver of something more than his physical body, more than his emotions, more than him. A faint warmth filled his hand, and a fainter still light kissed his eyelids. Ruby inhaled. "There you go. That's it!"

Ikko dared to open his eyes. Hovering in the palm of his hand was a small green light, barely larger than the fingertips he had such difficulty imagining. "Whoa…"

"That," Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder, beaming, "Is your magical power."

"That's mine?" Ikko frowned, disbelieving. "I thought humans couldn't do stuff like this?"

"Some can. I've heard some legends of particularly magical humans, like mages? It depends – you might have some witch blood way back!"

Together, they stared at the tiny mote of magical energy, bobbing back and forth. Ikko's hand trembled. "What next?"

"We place that in the masking spell. Go on!"

Ikko tried to move his hand towards the jar, but the moment he did the mote vanished, puffing out like a stifled flame. "Oh." Ruby murmured, disappointed. "Well, that's good for a first try. Here, let me just…"

She held out her palm, and with far less concentration summoned a far larger ball of energy. Ikko shifted uncomfortably. "I did say," Ruby said, noting his gaze, "We witches are naturally attuned to arts like this. It's as simple as breathing."

She pressed the light into the grainy paste, and it transformed into the smooth white gel Ikko recognised as the finished product. "Still, this is good news." Ruby added, screwing on the lid and handing it to him, "Now that we know the potential is there, we can work on it. I make absolutely no promises-" she interrupted Ikko as his mouth opened, "But it might be enough, with time, to help you with some basic defensive magics. Maybe."

"Maybe's better than nothing." Ikko breathed, his expression brightening. "Better than Yukari's no, anyway."

Ruby smiled. "I don't want to give you false hope, Ikko. Humans without the natural inclination have real difficulty mastering spells. All we can do is try."

"What do I do?"

"For now, focus on recreating that exercise," she said, nodding to his still-outstretched palm, "You can come help me with some of my spells when we have time. It's nice to have a helping hand around here."

"Do you do this all yourself?"

"That I do."

He looked at the workbench with renewed respect. Ruby checked her phone. "You'd best get back, Ikko. Day's a-wasting."

"Oh, right. Thank you, Ruby. Thank you!"

"Not a problem. One more thing, before you go."

"What?" Ikko stopped, halfway between her and the door. He turned to see her eyes searching his.

"Why didn't you go to Mizore about this?"

"She would have said what Yukari said, I guess." Ikko shrugged. "A-and, well. She has enough to worry about, right? With her exams and all."

A smile spread across her lips. "How thoughtful of you."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Of course. Take care, Ikko."

Mizore threw herself onto the bed with a defeated groan. Her head hurt, first to burst with policies and behavioural practises, overflowing with syllabuses and worksheet designs. The exam loomed overhead, a snarling beast with a wicked smirk set in its gnashing maw. Hoping beyond hope that it would simply sail by, that she would wake up and it would all be a dream, she shifted and settled on the bed more properly, kicking off her shoes.

Ikko's disappearance from the Writing Club had not bothered her – a quick text Ruby's way confirmed where he was – but Yukari's entrance shortly after his exit had coloured the rest of the day. Out of spite she had redoubled her efforts to study, taking more intricate and detailed notes than ever before, which served in the end to stress her out worse than confronting Yukari.

She reached for her phone. A black screen provided a mirror in which she caught eyes hooded with fatigue, pale lips curled almost permanently into a frown.

"One more day." She breathed, raking back a tangle of blue hair. Had she always looked so tired? "One more day, and this'll all be over."

Except, she admitted, it wouldn't. Palming off Yukari under the excuse of needing to study meant that there would be pursuit in the days after her exam. If she could just make it through Golden Week undisturbed, then maybe she could focus on mending. Feeling better. Feeling more like herself – and finally, hopefully, she could face them again.

Minutes uncounted, she stared at her reflection. Her phone was off, by choice, and the prospect of switching it on filled her with dread. Who would harangue her next? Ruby knew better, and she'd successfully rebuffed Yukari. Maybe Kurumu? Mizore found a pillow and curled into it. Picturing the unyielding bastion of good times screeching down her phone made her wish her phone would die properly, so she had an excuse. Even Su, still a student, looked at her in a way that made Mizore want to dive out the window.

Perhaps there would be no avoiding it. Perhaps she would have to go. Her stomach knotted tighter. If only there was something to take her away from it. An engagement or an obligation…

The lock turned. She sat bolt upright, placing the pillow back on the bed as Ikko came into his room. His arrival kicked an idea into her head, and it took all of her restraint not to jump him with it at the first greeting. "You're here," he noted, unfazed.

"I am." She nodded, stiff. She cricked her neck, stretching it this way and that. "Find what you were looking for?"

"Huh?"

"With Ruby."

"Oh. Sorta." Ikko shrugged, his back turned. "She asked me to help out with some of her spell work."

There had been a time when her appearance in his room, preceding his, had caused Ikko to panic or at least yelp. Now he greeted her with neither surprise nor apprehension. It warmed her to see him so calm, especially considering recent revelations. "Are you enjoying the club?" she asked, to distract her mind and give the idea more time to form in her head.

"It's nice." He replied, still not looking her way. The shikigami hopped off his wrist and perched on the corner of the desk. "Su's nice. Naoko and Nori are nice. It's… yeah."

"Nice?"

They chuckled. "Yes."

He stripped his blazer and sat in his chair, finally turning to look at her. "It's tomorrow, isn't it?"

"It is." Mizore answered, her composure slipping.

"No last minute cramming?"

"Please, no. No more – I've had enough studying to last me a lifetime."

"They say every day's a school day."

"Yeah, but you can flunk school," she countered, "I can't flunk this exam."

"I guess not." Ikko scratched the back of his neck. "Can I help? Do you need anything?"

The question threw her. Mizore blinked. "What?"

"W-with the exam. I know you don't want to study, but…"

"No – no, it's okay. Thank you." She paused, closing her eyes. Nothing for it. As he shifted, picking up the controllers, Mizore spoke again. "Actually, Ikko?"

"Hm?"

"There is something you can do. I mean, there's something I wanted to ask you."

He looked momentarily confused, as if the idea of a teacher asking a student a question that wasn't going to be on a test seemed impossible. He set the controllers down, and turned to face her properly. "Sure?"

"My exam's tomorrow." Mizore looked at her phone, dead on the bed. "But after that, I've got nothing to do but wait. So I was wondering if you'd like to go back to the human world for a day."

Ikko's mouth fell open slightly. "We could do that?"

"I'm sure I could call in a favour." Mizore bluffed, avoiding his eye. "What do you think? You want to go home for a day? Get away from the world of monsters?"

"Not home," Ikko said over her last question, "There's nothing at home. Could we… I don't know. Where can we go?"

"Anywhere you like." Mizore offered, feeling her stomach unclench and her heart begin to skip. "Anywhere at all."

"Then – a city."

"A city?"

"Any city." Ikko's smile began to creep up at the corners, infectious. Mizore found herself smiling, too. "Anywhere busy. We could go shopping or something."

"A day off in the human world, and you want to go shopping?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Hm…" Mizore pondered. Her excitement got the better of her. "Leave it with me. But that's a yes, right? You want to go?"

"Absolutely!" Ikko exclaimed. He hadn't looked this happy in a while. Mizore relaxed.

"Then I'll make the arrangements."