Mizore took her seat. Save her and the invigilator, the classroom had been emptied. Tables were pushed to one side, chairs stacked high at the far wall.

She looked down at the printed exam booklet before her, and the pencil resting neatly at its side. Her eyes tracked up to the desk, on which sat her phone, and behind which sat the invigilator – Miss Nekonome, smiling quietly.

"We've got a couple of minutes," said she, ear flicking, "How're you feeling?"

"Fine, Miss."

"Miss!" Nekonome laughed. "It's been a while since I've taught you, Mizore. We're colleagues – you can call me Shizuka."

"Maybe when I pass this," Mizore muttered, staring apprehensively at the plain sheet.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Nekonome, head tilting to one side. She unfolded and refolded her legs, checking the clock at the back of the classroom, "Oh, there we go. You may begin."


For the second day in a row, Ikko found himself stuck on what to write. He stared at his blank page, the feeling of being stuck stronger now than ever before.

"Worried?" Su asked, taking the seat next to him.

"Worried?"

"It must have started by now," Su nodded towards the clubroom clock, "Aren't you worried?"

"I guess I am." He replied, non-committal. He tapped the page with his pen. "Nothing for it, though. She passes or she fails."

"True." Su's laptop sat opposite him – she, too, had abandoned creative pursuits. "You feeling better?"

"A bit," Ikko admitted, "We've not done much, but spending time with you guys is good. Relaxing."

"You can't ask for much more than a quiet vacation around Yokai," Su said, stretching out, "But I wouldn't get too chilled – guess who I walked past this morning?"

"Etsuko?" Su nodded, with a quick motion to her lips to shush him. Ikko cleared his throat, "What did you find? Did you manage it?"

"Only a brief touch," Su explained, frowning, "And it wasn't enough to get anything clear. Without prompting her, I couldn't get a focussed answer like I wanted."

"What did you learn?" he asked.

"That she missed her morning coffee." Ikko slumped in his chair.

"That's not in the slightest bit useful."

"I said it was a brief touch. The point is, her thoughts weren't forced. She wasn't ogling Masumi with every breath."

"What does that tell us?"

"It means she's not being charmed or controlled." Su answered, folding her arms under her chest. "Her thoughts are her own. If she is being manipulated, it's in ways more subtle than brute force."

Ikko took out his phone. For want of something to do with his hands whilst they talked, he opened a web browser and headed to Under Moonlight. "Can a monster really do that?"

"Like I said, the sky's the limit."

He dragged a hand over his face. "You're saying yes."

"I'm saying it's possible. Did you see Masumi?"

"No," Ikko sighed, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't been keeping an eye out for the guy, not with his determination to stay out of trouble for Golden Week, but his absence was notable, "Reckon he's gone away for a few days? Like a half-week vacation."

"We can't confirm if that's true, but if we take a risk, we might be able to pin down Etsuko and get some answers out of her."

"Are you sure you weren't kicked out of the News Club?"

Su laughed, shaking her head, "Once the others graduated, I didn't have much reason to stay besides Koko, and she manages just fine without me. What do you think?"

Ikko looked to Mizore's empty chair. "It can't hurt to try and talk to her…"

"Mizore's going to be out all day. If we're going to do it, we won't have a better shot than this."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess…"

"What're you guys talking about?"

Su started. Ikko yelped, jolting in his seat. Naoko looked up at them, hands linked behind her back, eyes bulging with curiosity.

"N-nothing, Naoko!" Ikko began, but Su raised a hand.

"Naoko, what are you and Nori planning to do for the rest of the day?"

"I thought we were staying here?" she asked. Nori grunted, occupying a corner at the back of the room, "But if we're stopping, then I don't know. I think Sushi wants to play games."

"Hm…" Ikko didn't like the look in Su's eyes. She pressed a gloved finger to her chin, her eyebrows knitting together. "Could you do us a favour?"

"Su-"

"Sure!" Naoko squeaked, rolling on her heels. "What d'you need?"

"We need you to see if someone's in the school."

"Su!" Ikko spluttered.

"His name's Masumi Yakumaru. He's a second-year, blond hair – we met him on Preternatural Street. You remember?"

"Er…" Naoko's face scrunched in recollection. "Oh yeah! He was with that huge log of a guy, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. Can you go see if he's around? Text me if you find him?"

"Su, this isn't-"

"It's a fine idea," Su cut him off, fixing him with a look, "Two first years aren't going to draw too much attention, and they'd only be hanging about the campus anyway. What's the harm?"

Ikko squirmed. He looked between Su and Naoko. "Just – keep your distance from him, alright? Don't make a fuss if you see him, just text us."

Naoko saluted. "What's this for?"

"Secret," Su replied, with a flawlessly mischievous smirk, "Take Sushi, will you?"

She did, seizing Nori about the wrist and dragging him out of the classroom. For her diminutive statute, she certainly wasn't weak. Ikko looked back to his phone, flicking it idly. "What happened to us being careful?"

"Masumi's gonna recognise either of us if we go looking for him. He might have seen them a couple of days ago, but he only really had eyes for you and Etsuko. He barely noticed me."

He remained unconvinced, but the deed was done. He looked back to his phone. "Is that Under Moonlight?" asked Su.

"Yeah – Etsuko liked to read it. She showed me – I was gonna see if there's any more news about that girl who awakened in my old school."

He didn't find anything. The news site updated only sporadically. "No news is good news," offered Su, "Is there a contact email for the site?"

"I think so." He scrolled to the bottom of the page. "Yeah, there's an email for G. Morioka. He's an alum, right?"

Remembering the café where he, Kia and Etsuko first properly bonded caused a deep pang of longing. "More than an alum," Su said, with a spreading grin, "He's a friend of mine – and Mizore's. Sharp guy. He might know what we're dealing with, or he could point us in the right direction."

"Could you email him?"

"Sure." Su took out her phone and began typing. Lacking anything better to do, Ikko stood up and started pacing. His mind wandered to Mizore – how was she doing? Had she studied enough? Would she make good on her promise to take him to the human world?

He surged with excitement. A chance to be back among his people, whatever that meant. A chance to enjoy a day without fear of premature devouring. No Masumi, no Kotsubo, no monsters at all. Just he and Mizore, and the city at his feet. He wondered whether it would be in celebration or commiseration that they departed the campus. What would happen if she failed?

He tried not to think about that. "Okay, sent." Su exclaimed, drawing him back to reality. "God, I haven't heard from Gin in ages."

"Do they all stay in touch?" Ikko inquired. "That, uh… the gang, I guess?"

"The gang." Su parroted with a smile. "I like that. Yeah, they do. They've all got their own things to deal with, but they keep in touch. Texts, calls. It's easier when they're right there, though." She nodded to Mizore's chair.

"Must be nice," he murmured, following her gaze. He perched on the table, and finally gave voice to his fears. "You reckon she'll pass?"

"Mm…" Su hummed. "Probably. She was never the greatest student, from what I could tell, but she really wants this job. Plus it puts you in a tight spot, right? Only one guardian. I can see why you're worried."

He made a soft grunt of agreement. "I'm sure they'd find someone else."

"Yeah – me, probably. Who else? Tayama?"

Ikko laughed, hollow. "Exactly," Su continued, "I could graduate and come back as an aide."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." They shared a nod. "What do you want to do when you graduate?"

"Oh, god. I don't know. Try again later."

Su's phone buzzed. She checked it. "Naoko and Nori haven't seen him. They're headed back to the dorms – what do you want to do?"

"Not seeing him is different to him not being here," Ikko murmured, "They could have missed him. He might be at the dorms, he might-"

"He might, he might, he might. Ikko." Su stood up. "Do you want to do something about this or not?"

A tiny, Mizore-shaped figure in his head told him no. The rest of him, the part that worried for Etsuko, that suspected Masumi, ached to do something other than sit here and stew. "Yeah."

"Then we can't worry about mights – we find Etsuko and try and get something out of her."

She locked eyes with him. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Ikko finally settled his expression and nodded, steely. "Right." Su clapped her gloved hands together. "Let's be quick."

They started in the canteen, working their way from there to the rest of the campus. Every classroom and clubroom, the grounds, all the way up to the entrance of the dorms, finding neither hide nor hair of Etsuko. His feet tired from 'being quick', which meant mostly stumbling to keep up with Su's double-time, Ikko collapsed onto a rock and gave a groan of irritation, not akin to the growl of a wounded animal. Su placed her hands on her hips, looking around. "I don't get it. I saw her this morning."

"She might still be in the dorms. Did you think of that?"

"She was dressed to go out…" Su chewed her lip, but ceded the point. She sat next to Ikko. "Sorry, Ikko. I thought we had a lead."

"It's not your fault. You tried." He scratched the back of his neck, rubbing at the sheen of sweat that clung to him, sticking his shirt uncomfortably. "What do we do now?"

"We're not giving up so soon, are we?" Su looked surprised. "She could still be about there."

"We'll have a better time of it trying when we're all in school, right?" Ikko suggested. "We know she'll be there then."

"Maybe… Oh."

"Oh?"

"Oh!" Su pointed frantically to a spot just a few feet away. In the middle-distance he saw her, short hair ablaze like an ember in the wind, sat near a massive, twisted trunk. "That's her, right?"

"It is…" Ikko frowned. "Lucky us."

"Shall we?"

They jumped to their feet, Ikko feeling invigorated. Now that they had found her – or rather, she had found them – his mind swam with every possible question he wanted to ask her. A chance for clarity, for answers.

He was a few steps away before she saw him. Etsuko looked his way and smiled, pushing up from her seat. "Ikko!"

His heart churned. She spoke as if there was naught amiss. "Etsuko," he mumbled, looking across to Su.

"And you're… with the Writing Club?"

"Oh, yeah – this is President Sasahara."

"Call me Su," said she, extending an ungloved hand. Etsuko looked at it, confused, but shook it nonetheless.

"Su. How's Golden Week treating you?"

"Me?" Ikko stammered, "Uh – fine. Fine, yeah. Nothing… of note."

"I've not seen you all week," Etsuko nodded his way. He missed her fiery hair bouncing along with the gesture, "Made me think you're avoiding me."

"No, no!" He noticed Su's hand was still touching Etsuko's. If there was a natural moment, it had to be now. "Y-you've been busy with Yakumaru, right? And I've been busy with club, so…"

Su's eyes narrowed with focus. Contact broke just after the end of his question. She tried a friendly laugh. "That's my fault. I've had him wrapped up with exercises, getting used to the art of it."

"Is it hard?" Ikko eased. She seemed none the wiser to Su's abilities. "Writing."

"It can be," he replied, scratching the back of his neck, "Can't be as hard as journalism, though. You need real passion for that. Is it true you're quitting?"

Something curious took hold of Etsuko. For the briefest moment, her eyes shifted out of focus, looking through Ikko instead of at him. Her docile smile flickered – but as soon as it happened, she returned to her current self. "Yeah. Masumi and I are quitting. He's… uh. He doesn't like some of the stances the paper takes."

Su and Ikko exchanged a look. The Yokai Times had never struck him as a particularly political project, but she would be the better judge of that. His mind span, trying to think up the next question to press the issue. Su spared him the effort, stepping in. "What about you? How do you feel about it?"

It happened again. Etsuko's focus disappeared, her gaze vanishing into the middle-distance, before her composure returned. "I… uh. I don't know how to feel about it, really. He's really opened my eyes."

"Opened your eyes?" Ikko blurted. "You're joking! What about your hair?"

"What about it?" Etsuko asked dully.

"Well, it's- it's-!"

"Akada."

A new voice spoke his name like the thrust of a knife. Ikko jumped back as Judo loomed into view from behind the tree. Su reflexively stepped between him and them, fingers curled. She'd replaced her gloves. "Are they bothering you, Yanase?" Judo asked, looking down on the girl. In her shadow, she shook her head.

"Not at all."

A vice seized Ikko's chest. He looked behind the tree, desperate to spy Masumi – for if Judo was here, then surely…!

"Ikko!" Su snapped, "Don't be weird. How do you do?"

She smiled flawlessly up at Judo, whose features remained stony, carven, grave. "Ikko hadn't had a chance to see his friend over the vacation, so I thought we'd go looking for her. I hope we haven't disturbed anything."

"Nothing." Judo grunted. Then, with one more look at Etsuko, "Come."

"Oh. Alright." Etsuko nodded. She flashed a farewell grin in the pair's direction before trailing after the lumbering titan.

Ikko braced himself against the tree, his breath short with panic. Su folded her arms under her chest, watching them go. When they turned out of sight, neither of them looking back, she finally let a breath out. "How did he do that?"

"What?"

"He just… appeared, right? No way was that Judo hiding behind the tree that entire time. We'd have heard him, at the very least."

Ikko pressed a palm to his forehead, feeling cold sweat shiver from him. "That was a close one."

"Close, yeah," Su concurred, "But worth it."

"Worth it?" He repeated. Ikko looked up at his senior, "What did you feel?"

"It's more like what I didn't feel," Su whispered, "That's sneaky. Real sneaky. If Masumi's behind this, then…"

"What?" Ikko asked. Then again, more forcefully, when Su didn't reply. "What, Su? Tell me!"

She blinked, breaking from her thoughts. "I didn't catch a single negative emotion. Not one. It's like they're being erased, or muffled or- or something. I've never known a monster to play so subtly with emotions before."

"Etsuko's being controlled, then," he concluded.

Su shook her head. "It's more delicate than that. She's not being pulled around or told what to do. Whatever he's done, it's amplified her positive feelings whilst stifling the negative."

The ability baffled him. To manipulate someone in such a fundamental way sent shivers down his spine, made his cold sweat worse. "Outwardly, she's happy as can be," Su continued, starting to pace, "But if she can't feel sadness, worry, hate – then of course she'll look fine."

"It wasn't all the time, though." Ikko noted. "You saw her, didn't you? When I asked about the club?"

She shook her head. He tried to recount the expression in as much detail as possible. "I asked her why she quit club, and she looked kinda… unfocussed? Like something suddenly crossed her mind, took her out of the conversation."

Su chewed her lip. "I didn't see that. Good eyes, Ikko – that confirms what we're worried about. If she's upset about club, then whatever's influencing her emotions has a momentary lapse as it reasserts itself, in order to stifle the reaction."

"We think." Ikko added.

"Unless we nail Masumi to a cross, all we can do is think." Su sighed. "But that's enough for now. We know for sure he's messing with her head."

"Right – so let's go tell Mizore, and- hey!" Ikko had begun to head back to the campus, only to be stopped by Su's iron grip. She seized his sleeve and all but dragged him back to her side.

"I know you want to move, but two things." She held up one finger. "First, we have no proof he's doing that. Second." The next unfolded. "Mizore's in the middle of an exam, you dolt! What is she supposed to do?"

"Oh." Ikko paused. "Right. Sorry. I forgot."

Su rolled her eyes. "For now, let's just keep an eye out. If Judo's covering her when Masumi can't, it's going to be too risky to approach her again. I'd rather not push our luck."

"Why are you so good at this?" Ikko observed.

Su laughed. "I got a lot of practise before Tsukune's lot graduated. Around them, you had to think fast."

"Why?"

"Well…" Su tapped her chin. She motioned for them to start walking. "Let's just say this. If you think this is trouble, you've got another thing coming."

"Really?" Ikko's shoulders sagged.

"Really."

He groaned. "I don't think I could take any worse than this."


"Pencil down."

Mizore leaned back from her hyper-focussed hunch, sighing relief. She closed the exam booklet on its last page and pushed it towards Nekonome, who nimbly scooped it up. "It'll take about a week to get this back from the office," she explained, "They're closed throughout Golden Week, so that should be midweek? Week after next?"

Mizore slumped. A whole week, maybe longer, waiting for the piece of paper that would settle the fate of her career. "Great."

"Now, now," Nekonome smoothed the surface of the booklet, slotting it into a large brown envelope to send off, "You wouldn't have been hired if you didn't have potential. Think of this as the rubber stamp telling you what you can already do."

Unable to tell her that the real reason she had been recruited into the faculty was so the Headmaster had an extra pair of eyes to look after its latest human student, Mizore settled for a weak nod and a small word of thanks. "Any plans for the rest of the week?" Nekonome asked, bright. Her tail swished and her ears flicked with curiosity. "I'm surprised you're not out with the rest of them."

"Yeah…" Mizore trailed off. "I missed out on it, with the exam and all. You?"

"I have a bottle of sake to share," Nekonome purred, "And some tuna nigiri, if I'm lucky!"

"To share? With who?"

"Maybe I'll tell you," she smirked, "When you start calling me Shizuka."

Mizore shrugged. She recalled that she did have something in the way of plans. "On that note, I think I'll go. Enjoy your sake, Miss."

"Sure – oh! Your phone!" Nekonome held it out. "You have a couple of texts."

She checked it, spirits dropping when she saw that both were from Ruby.

Ruby T.: Black's alarm went off

Ruby T.: Sorted

Sorted? What did that mean? More importantly, she thought with a furrowed brow, what had Ikko done to set the shikigami off?

Her confusion sang plain on her face, for Nekonome followed her farewell by asking if she was okay. Dismissing it with a hasty excuse, Mizore hurried from the classroom and set off for the dorms. "Tell me you've not done anything stupid…" she muttered.


"We didn't mean to bump into them," Ikko lied, looking to Su for help. They were in the Writing Club's classroom with Ruby, who had swooped down mere moments after they resolved to discuss their findings in more depth with G. Morioka when he replied. He made a mental note to deactivate White next time he went snooping.

"Ikko was walking me back to the dorms when we saw them," Su added, "Judo came out of nowhere, gave us both a fright."

Ruby pursed her lips. Her pink eyes searched Ikko, and he felt a twinge of shame to be hiding something from the witch so soon after she had offered to help him defend himself. "And you're sure you're okay?"

"Absolutely!" Ikko exclaimed, perhaps a second too quick, "I'm not hurt. Just a little startled. Sorry to drag you away from whatever you were doing."

Ruby exhaled, and fiddled with one of her pigtails. "Don't worry about that. You know what I'm here for. If you're sure you're okay…"

"Everything's attached, isn't it?" Ikko joked. Ruby left them with one last look that made Ikko shift his attention pointedly towards his phone.

"How did she know where to find you?" asked Su. He showed her the shikigami.

"I can find whoever's wearing it, too. It completely slipped my mind."

"Well, we weren't expecting an ambush from a seven-foot lump of muscle."

They shared a conspiratorial grin. "Has he replied?" asked Ikko, looking at Su's phone.

"No, not yet. I'll follow-up when he does. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"I was gonna hit the library, see if I can't find anything that might help us out."

"You can do that?"

"Sort of. Yokai isn't teeming with compendiums on species – good luck trying to count them all – but regional folklore, legends, stuff like that can give us a rough idea. Want to join me?"

"I-" Ikko opened his mouth to say yes, but recalled that he would be leaving Yokai, "-Can't. Sorry, I have plans."

Su's brows shot skyward. "You?"

"Yes, me!"

"You and Nori gaming?"

"No, I'm – I'm going out."

"Out?" Su's expression shifted closer to incredulity. "Ikko Akada, you don't have a date. Do you?"

"Absolutely not!" Ikko flushed. "I mean out of- of Yokai. You know, to the human world. Mizore's sorting it."

At this, Su's surprise shifted from incredulity to shock. She didn't elaborate, electing instead for a pensive silence. "Weird. Well, I'm not going to stop that. I'm sure you could use a breather."

"No kidding."

"I'll let you know what I find, 'kay? And what Gin says, too."

"Please." Ikko smiled. He wondered if Mizore had indeed made arrangements – he trusted her enough to leave it in her hands, but where would they be going?

Catching his distraction, Su pat him gently on the head. "You've really come out of your shell, you know."

"I have?" Ikko looked up. His senior beamed, her tangled knot of hair slightly askew, her cheeks still slightly pink from their dash back to the classroom, but otherwise radiant with a feeling he could only guess was pride.

"Considering where you've come from – what you are – yeah. You've really settled down. I'm glad."

"I've had your help," he replied, sincere, "Tayama really, uh… she messed with me, but you were there. Sushi and Naoko, too. You've all been good to me this past week."

"You can count on us." Su nodded, hand slipping from head to shoulder and giving him a hearty squeeze. "Why don't we head back? We can't do much 'till Gin replies."

Ikko agreed. They left the clubroom in each other's company, talking animatedly, neither of them noticing the shock of platinum blond hair lurking a few short feet down the corridor.