"And so, peace was restored to the people of Smokewood. The adventurers go their separate ways, seeking new ways to challenge their talents and line their pockets."

Iwa dumped her colored dice into her black bag. The gnome sat on the floor behind a cardboard screen with a graphic of a red dragon breathing fire upon a party cowering beneath a barrier cast by a wizard. Her unbound silver tresses fell down her back, contrasting against her sleeveless black blouse. The hem of her pleated, yellow skirt touched her knees. The rest of her scrawny legs were swathed in black tights. Her glasses were the same as always since she lacked a second pair.

The other three gnomes put away their character sheets. Anko was seated to the right of Iwa, having her obsidian hair up in her usual handlebar style. Her attire consisted of a long, faded pink tee with a white hello kitty graphic and knee length, black cargo shorts. The gnomes always held their DND sessions in her room since she had the most open space.

Tsuchiyama was kneeling beside Anko. Her slate tresses were unbound, falling far down her back. Her slim shoulders were bared by a pale green, spaghetti string tank top with no apparent bra straps. Her cherry glasses dangled against her underdeveloped chest by an elastic band about her thin neck. Her ruffled black skirt would reach her calves when she stood up.

Kurumu was resting on her left hip across from Tsuchiyama with one hand on the floor while the other held her character sheet. Her fairy, Mizuki, was level six now. Today's session had been a short, playful romp with a misunderstanding bringing their two parties together.

Due to Kokoa's insistence, Kurumu was wearing her sleeveless, indigo cheongsam with the white and pink lotus design. The vampire and all four of her girls were wearing these outfits to their movie outing today. The silky fabric hugged every curve of Kurumu's body, making her feel needlessly sensual.

Moka was sitting between Kurumu and Iwa. The vampire had thrown on her simple, pastel yellow sundress which hung off her frame by thin straps. Moka only had one strapless bra which was an unflattering shade of white. Black would have been nicer to match the black leggings she had on.

The last participants of their DND session were Yukari and Katahara, sitting with their respective groups. Katahara was sporting a black tee shirt with a Harry Potter graphic from the first movie. A pair of pink cotton shorts completed her ensemble. Yukari had on her periwinkle tee shirt which was patterned with glitter and stars. Her denim shorts were the loose variety, reaching her knees.

"Did you enjoy the story, Ms. Toujou?"

Rubi was sitting between Yukari and Katahara, facing Iwa. The older witch had left her hair down and was garbed in only a lavender sundress. Her black leather weave purse with silver zippers rested against her thigh.

"It sounded like so much fun."

"Could you make a character for Rubi?"

Iwa smiled politely at Kurumu as she continued to put her materials in a neat pile.

"Another time. We should have lunch now."

Kurumu nodded, handing her character sheet over to Moka. She absently grabbed her lavender purse, wondering what the time was.

Mizore was lurking in the corner of the room, writing in her notebook. This was the first time Kurumu had seen the snow girl wear that mint green sundress. Like Rubi, Mizore did not own a strapless but her black sports bra looked somewhat fashionable with the thin dress straps resting almost perfectly center of the broader straps of the bra. Kurumu had talked the silly girl out of wearing her usual purple and white stockings, certain that the colors did not match.

"When is the movie?"

Kurumu smiled at Katahara whom was fussing with her inky black tresses. The girl had gone with simple twin tails today instead of balling them up first. Her thick tortoiseshell glasses somehow made her cuter. Kurumu pulled her phone out of her purse, noting the time was not quite eleven thirty.

"One fifteen. We have almost two hours."

"If they want to stop for lunch, that's not enough time, Kurumu."

Iwa giggled, taking their party's character sheets from Moka.

"I don't mind skipping lunch. Does anyone object?"

"I'm cool with heading straight for the movie."

Anko nodded at Katahara's remark.

"Same. I'm worried about putting on too much weight."

"Please. None of you probably weigh more than forty kilos."

All four gnomes giggled at Kurumu's remark.

"You'd be surprised, Ms. Kurono. I believe Tomiko was the lightest of us at midterms."

"Yea and Kaori was the heaviest."

"Shut up."

Kurumu frowned at the exchange, dumping her phone back inside her purse.

"Well I was almost forty three kilos at midterms. I'd be surprised if any of you weigh more than me."

"I was forty six kilos, Ms. Kurono. And Kaori-"

"Shut up!"

Yukari snickered, getting up on her feet.

"If nobody wants the cafeteria lunch, we might have time to do a character sheet for Rubi."

"Please don't trouble yourselves over this. I know the movie is more important."

Iwa smiled politely as she finished gathering up the materials from her friends.

"Do you have some free time, Ms. Toujou? We could make your character tonight after dinner."

Seeing how the other girls were all getting up, Kurumu decided to follow suit. This dorm room was identical to the one Kurumu had lived in months ago. It had a door to a closet and a lockable door which opened out into the hall. Between the exterior door and the closet space was a recess space with a shelf. Anko had left all of her bathroom toiletries in that area, including her towels. Her black wicker laundry hamper was pushed beneath the shelf.

"I suppose that I could spend the night here."

Iwa giggled, getting up with her arms full.

"I wasn't meaning the whole night."

"Oh?! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine. I don't mind the company, though I wonder why you would want to spend the night."

Rubi smiled softly as Iwa shuffled over to the closet.

"The others all have sleepovers tonight. Yukari and Ms. Akashiya have their club activity and Ms. Shuzen has her own plans. I can stay home by myself if it will be too much trouble."

Iwa stepped up onto a shelf within the closet to put the campaign materials up on the top shelf.

"It will be fine, Ms. Toujou. I'm intrigued with your character concept."

"Hopefully she doesn't try to kill your character off."

Iwa huffed at Anko's remark as she hopped down from her shelf.

"I can't help it if you have a bad dice roll."

"Yea. It's your fault for running in like a stupid barbarian."

Anko scowled at Katahara as Iwa shut her closet door.

"I'm melee, moron. What the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Half of the bandits had bows. We had to apply some pressure on them."

Yukari nodded at Moka's assessment.

"That is true, but your paladin has the armor to withstand such a frontal assault. I'm frankly surprised that Ms. Anko's barbarian was so poorly equipped."

"Because this dummy hasn't put better armor into our campaign."

"If you never got hurt then the game would be rather dull for Chiriko."

"Thor died, you twit."

"It was a bad roll of the dice. And we did have Ms. Kurono's fairy resurrect you."

"That felt very shady. She didn't even have to roll for success."

"She took that as an ability instead of animal form. Druids don't roll for success if they want to turn into an animal."

"That's more overpowered than Ms. Sendou's magic nuke."

Yukari's modified magic missile at level six hit like a truck. A wizard of her intellect was supposed to have fourteen spells at her disposal, but Yukari had sacrificed that in exchange for more damage dice. And instead of splitting off into multiple missiles, she was rolling bigger dice. That meant she had fourteen eight sided dice which all had a plus one modifier. And for some reason this spell had no saving throw.

"I wouldn't say that. I only get to cast resurrect once a day. Yukari gets three of those spells."

"My spell has a very small explosion radius. Less than a meter. It's not good for killing multiple enemies."

"Yet you leveled a building with dozens of innocents inside."

Yukari huffed at Katahara.

"It's not supposed to work on inanimate objects."

Iwa smiled, fussing with the hem of her blouse.

"When I wrote the scenario, the cultist leader had plans to collapse that historical monument on top of all of those people they had kidnapped and blame it on the Black Death. Their party arrived too early for the cultists to get away with their nefarious plans."

"Was it her spell that caused it or was it the cultists?"

"That was my call since they didn't confirm if the place had any innocents within the structure. While Ms. Sendou is correct about her spell having no way of causing the collapse, their employer wouldn't understand that. Considering he died in this incident, he was very displeased with their methods."

"But we resurrected him."

Iwa giggled at Kurumu's protest.

"And immediately demanded him to pay up. By the time the shock of the situation passed, your party was long gone. It felt reasonable that he would put a bounty on the Black Death."

Anko snorted, glaring at Iwa.

"So you were being a jerk because they didn't follow your script."

"If Ms. Kurono had cast a simple detect life spell, they would have known the place was full of potential enemies. Instead they just stormed the place."

Kurumu frowned, drawing her purse up on her shoulder to hang by its strap.

"I can cast a spell like that?"

"It's on your character sheet, Ms. Kurono. You have more spells at your disposal than healing, purifying water and charming woodland creatures."

"But I'm the only healer. Casting that spell means one less healing spell for Moka."

"Your healing spells suck."

"It's not any worse that her healing spells."

Tsuchiyama giggled, nodding in agreement.

"True. My spell list is almost identical to yours."

"Honestly if Ms. Akashiya didn't have such a weird name for a paladin, we probably would have never bothered taking that silly bounty."

Moka laughed softly at Katahara's comment.

"My character can't use her real name or her family would find her easily. And if I had used something more heroic, word would spread about a lady paladin of Kousei doing good deeds. I figured by using an intimidating name that I could help people without word getting back to my family."

"It makes you sound like a villain."

"I'm starting to wonder if it would be better to abuse her resurrect ability. Let our characters die now and then to save money on those healing potions."

"Is your character some sort of masochist?"

Moka smirked at Katahara.

"I suppose I could add that to my character traits."

"I'd rather not allow my Hana to die because of her poor healing."

"Please know that Ms. Kurono can't resurrect more than one person a day. You probably don't want your body to be dead for a whole day."

Anko huffed at Iwa.

"That would be boring."

"Maybe I could have your character chat with a spiritual entity on the other side."

"You mean like a god?"

"That's too silly. I was thinking more like a ferryman. Someone to guide the souls to their eternal rest."

"Make it a sexy lady so that dumb barbarian won't want to come back to life."

"If your thief actually participated in a fight, I wouldn't risk dying every encounter."

"My Layla fights smart."

"I'll think about it over the break. We should get going."

As they drifted towards the door upon Iwa's suggestion, Kurumu beckoned to the snow girl still seated in the corner.

"Hey, Mizore. Get your butt up."

Yukari hesitated at the door after Rubi and Katahara slipped out into the hallway.

"Do any of you ever sleep in your true forms?"

The girls giggled as Yukari drifted out into the corridor on Tsuchiyama's heels. Kurumu lingered in the room with Anko, waiting for Mizore to join her as Moka and Iwa slipped out.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just mildly curious. The girls hanging out with Moka's sister always stay in their human forms even while sleeping. And I've never seen Kurumu sleep with her wings out."

Kurumu offered her hand as Mizore clutched her notebook to her right breast. The snow girl drew the white stick in her mouth to the other corner before taking Kurumu's hand. They headed out of the room ahead of Anko, whom paused to lock up her room.

"I slept topless without sheets for months after I got my wings. It was over a year before I could sleep in pajamas safely."

Everyone started a slow walk down the hall to the left. Anko's room 628 was at the end of the hall on the sixth floor. Both Kurumu and Mizore had lived on this floor before June. Mizore had been in 624 between Nozomi and Iwadake. Kurumu's old room 616 was directly across the hall from the bathroom.

"I wasn't asking for your input. It's not like it would be hard for a gnome to sleep in her true form."

Anko chuckled behind them as they passed by Ishiko's room 618.

"It would be inconvenient."

Katahara spun about, backpedaling into this floor's lobby area.

"Not really. We'd just have to sleep naked."

"Why would you have to sleep naked?"

Iwa glanced over her shoulder, favoring Kurumu a soft smile.

"Commercial clothes are not sized for us. We need to make our own."

Kurumu frowned as they filtered into the lobby area. The two elevators were on the right and Rubi was holding the door to the stairway open. In the corner to the right of Rubi was a couch facing a television resting upon a stand. The lobby was roughly the same footprint as two dorm rooms since there were two dorm rooms across from it. 610 belonged to Yochimaru while 612 was for Touzoku.

"But I've seen Ishiko in her true form. Yukari's aging potion didn't change her at all."

Yukari snorted, following Katahara into the stairway.

"No you didn't. My growth candies made her body older but what you saw was her human form. She managed to keep up her illusion despite my magic potion."

Kurumu's frown deepened as the girls filtered into the stairway with Yukari and Katahara descending the stairs at a steady pace.

"But her nipples didn't look like a human's at all. Her aureole was like a rice cracker."

Anko snickered, shuffling into the stairway last with Rubi at her side.

"That's an issue most gnomes have, including the guys. Even knowing what they should look like doesn't seem to change our human illusion."

Tsuchiyama paused at the fifth floor landing, allowing Moka and Iwa to pass her.

"We all have them. See."

The gnome tugged the hem of her tank top down to bare her left breast. Just like Ishiko, Tsuchiyama had a huge aureole centered upon the swell of her subtle breast. It was a perfect circle, textured and lacking a nipple. Tsuchiyama let go of her hem, grabbing her dangling glasses to put them up on her pert nose.

"Wouldn't that make it harder to integrate into human society?"

Tsuchiyama giggled as they passed by her, falling in step with Anko as they continued their descent.

"There aren't many reasons to be running around in public topless. We just avoid public bathhouses."

Kurumu nodded, still holding Mizore's hand as they turned about the landing to start down to the fourth floor. Moka and Iwa had already reached that landing.

"That makes me wonder what your true forms look like."

"They're smaller, Kurumu. Everybody knows that larger monsters have to condense into human forms while smaller monsters have to expand."

"Not everybody knows that, Yukari. I bet Mizore didn't know it."

"I've never been in contact with monsters that weren't human sized."

"See! It's not common knowledge!"

Yukari huffed, pausing on the third floor landing which prompted Katahara to also stop.

"You must know that salamanders are fire breathing lizards."

Kurumu frowned as Moka and Iwa joined the witch on the third floor landing.

"I kind of know that. Why are you bringing that up?"

"Because that is Ms. Akegawa's true form. I know how poorly you reacted to the discovery of what an undine truly looked like."

"I didn't react poorly. I just felt sorry for them."

Yukari snorted, resuming her descent the moment Kurumu arrived on the third floor landing.

"Not every monster is going to be a cute humanoid."

"But Chiriko adored her charmeleon."

"Please don't bring that up."

Kurumu giggled at Anko's Pokémon reference. Tsuchiyama had spent a ton of money to get a charizard for that silly card collectible game.

"What does your true form look like? I genuinely have no clue."

"I'd say that we are adorable but that's just me."

"Iwa is a darkling."

Kurumu frowned at Katahara's declaration.

"I thought she was a gnome."

"Gnomes never have silver hair in their human forms unless they are a darkling."

"It just means that I have black skin."

"Hold up. I want to show something."

Katahara reached the bottom of the stairs a step behind Yukari. As Yukari exited the stairway, the gnome suddenly grabbed the hem of her graphic tee shirt and pulled it up over her head, causing Iwa to step in.

"What are you doing?!"

"I was going to show Ms. Kurono my true form."

"Right now?!"

"Well, yea. Better to do it inside the girls' dorm than outside."

Moka snickered, shaking her head as she left the stairway. Katahara pulled down her cotton shorts and white briefs. The nude gnome was as smooth as a baby with the exception of her weird nipples. With a sigh, Iwa took the clothes and glasses her friend handed her.

Katahara rapidly diminished in size with her skin notably darkening. Her ears grew longer as most other parts of her body shrunk. In seconds, the gnome stood less than a meter tall with her large brass eyes almost the same size as before about a tiny nose. Her unbound hair brushed upon the floor, having retained its length throughout the transformation.

"So cute."

Mizore released Kurumu's hand, stepping up close to the diminutive girl. She hunkered down, placing her notebook on the floor as she cocked her head.

"Thanks. I don't need glasses when I'm in my true form."

Kurumu's heart melted at the sound of her high pitched voice.

"So cute."

Katahara giggled at Mizore's breathy compliment. She held out her hands which were tipped with black claws and grinned wide, displaying rows of tiny, razor sharp fangs.

"I'm a fierce monster. Fear me!"

Kurumu giggled as Katahara growled in that pipsqueak voice. The top of Katahara's head was only a little higher than Kurumu's knee.

"Are you all this small?"

"Yes. Kaori is the tallest of us."

"Height mostly depends on how much mixed blood is in your system, though guys usually are taller. I think the average for guys is ninety."

Kurumu turned wide eyes on Anko whom stood up a few steps in front of Rubi and Tsuchiyama.

"Centimeters?"

"Um yea. What else would I be talking about?"

"Can I pick you up?"

Katahara giggled at Mizore whom was holding out her hands.

"Can you lift forty six kilos with your scrawny arms?"

Kurumu snickered at the tiny gnome's sass.

"You're still forty six kilos?"

"It's like Ms. Sendou said. We expand our size. Our weight doesn't change."

Mizore grunted as she struggled a moment to get upright with the giggling Katahara in her arms. The tiny gnome had her arms about Mizore's neck and was trying to keep still.

"Such a heavy baby."

"I'm not a baby."

"We shouldn't linger here. We're blocking the stairs."

Iwa giggled at Anko's remark, stepping forward and presenting Katahara's belongings.

"Detach yourself from Ms. Shirayuki."

"Aw. Do I have to?"

"You're naked, dummy. We can't have you outside like that."

Mizore stumbled back down to her knees before letting go of the imp. Katahara gasped as she took the shirt from Iwa.

"Master has given me clothes. I am now a free elf."

"You're not free enough to run about naked. Get dressed."

Kurumu giggled at Anko's remark as Mizore grabbed her notebook. Katahara quickly returned to her original size, pulling her top on first.

"I wonder what a gnome baby looks like."

"The most adorable thing ever!"

Katahara pulled up her briefs with a broad smile.

"My aunt had her baby three years ago. Koishi was all ears and belly."

"I noticed the big ears."

"You should see Iwa's ears. So big and sexy."

Iwa blushed, opening the door the moment Katahara was fully dressed.

"Please don't talk about that."

Katahara giggled as she scurried out into the main lobby.

"But they are. She has the sexiest ears. So silky and smooth."

Kurumu chuckled as she followed Katahara across the lobby. Moka and Yukari were waiting at the glass doors, already with their shoes on.

"I've never thought of ears as sexy."

"It's a gnome thing. Many girls also like their guys to have big ears."

"Why is that a thing?"

Katahara giggled at Kurumu's confusion, skipping over to her shoe locker.

"Because a gnome's ears are super sensitive. You can make a guy orgasm just by teasing his ears."

"Do we want to know how this is topic of conversation?"

Kurumu pouted at Moka's accusatory glare, stepping down into the genkan. She leaned down to pick up her socks which she had left inside her wedges.

"It's not my fault."

"I doubt that Ms. Kurono has any plans to date a gnome."

"I was just letting her know why we find it attractive. Guys like doing it to girls too."

Kurumu smirked, suspecting that guys would like to do anything sexual with a girl. After slipping on her socks and wedges, Kurumu sauntered over to Moka's side.

"You should have seen it. Most adorable thing that I've seen since Anagume invited me to her club."

"I could make clothes for you if you liked."

Iwa giggled, fetching her shoes from her locker as Mizore and Rubi drifted over to Kurumu's side.

"Please don't trouble yourself, Ms. Toujou."

"I did get paid and have some materials and a sewing machine."

"We have tailors and seamstresses in Touboe. I have clothes for my true form back at home."

"We all do. But since we're not supposed to be running around in our true forms even inside the dorms, there wasn't a good reason to bring those."

"You have to shop human clothes if you want cool stuff like this."

Kurumu grinned as Katahara tugged on the hem of Harry Potter shirt. Kurumu absently adjusted the strap of her purse upon her shoulder as the gnome joined them.

"Why don't any of you try dating in high school?"

Anko smirked as she sauntered over, holding her lunch card up to trigger the doors to open.

"Because there isn't a point to be looking for a husband at our age. It will be another decade before any of us are old enough to have children."

Kurumu sighed as she wandered outside with most of their group.

"There's more to a relationship than making children."

"What exactly do you have with Mr. Amesuki that you can't get with us?"

Kurumu blushed at her first thought, knowing it was crude and unladylike. She wagged a finger at Yukari while they waited for the last two gnomes to join them outside.

"It's not like I'll be spending my whole life with you guys."

"Are we ready to go?"

Kurumu smiled at Iwa as the gnome arrived with Tsuchiyama.

"Yea. Thanks for the save."

They were not even to the dining hall before Yukari gave her grief over her lack of lingerie with this dress.

Kurumu smiled as the credits began to roll on the large screen before them. She squeezed Mizore's hand and they shared a glance as the room lights were brightened. They were seated in the tenth row with all four gnomes on Kurumu's right. Nearly every seat in front of them was occupied.

Moka stood up from the seat on the other side of Mizore. Yukari was on Moka's left with Rubi seated between Yukari and a local couple. Grabbing her purse with her free hand, Kurumu got to her feet while holding Mizore's hand.

"What did you think of the movie?"

"Good."

Kurumu snorted as Mizore lifted up from her seat.

"You would answer in one word. What about you, Moka?"

Moka smirked at her.

"Good."

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"We should go."

Kurumu sighed at Iwa's comment, noting that Anko was already following a woman and her two kids to the outer aisle. Each of these theaters had twelve rows with fourteen seats each. And with how popular this movie was, this theater was packed full.

"You must have an opinion of this movie."

"I think it was better than the third."

Kurumu grinned at Mizore's remark, nodding vehemently.

"Definitely. That Azkaban movie felt rushed."

"It was only ten minutes shorter than the second movie."

"Really? It felt shorter."

Iwa smiled as she drifted out into the aisle ahead of Kurumu.

"I think there was more source material to cover. You'd have to ask Chiriko about it."

Kurumu shuffled the short distance to the double doors exiting the room. They were in auditorium seven in the back of the cinema near the concessions stand. She stepped out into the wide corridor which ran down the center of the building. The restroom for the ladies was on her left.

"I thought that was you, Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu grinned upon seeing a familiar party in the corridor. Ichida and Noboru were both dressed in white polos and khakis. The boys were in the company of their girlfriends and Kagami. Kagami had on a bright red shirt with short white sleeves and a pair of loose, black denim jeans. Michiko looked like she was wearing what she had slept in, sporting that faded blue shirt which bared her midriff and a pair of black leggings which should have been worn with pants or shorts.

Ontoriki was positively gorgeous, wearing a sleeveless, canary yellow blouse patterned with white dots. Her pink skirt had three rings of white lace about her thighs, below her knees and at the very bottom near her ankles. The harpy snuggled against Ichida.

"What's with the boring polos and slacks look? Couldn't you two come up with something better?"

Noboru smiled sheepishly as Ichida chuckled unabashed.

"My girlfriend has no complaints and Ms. Dangai is in no position to."

"Bah, it Sunday. No needs gussying up."

"Tell me you are at least wearing panties with that."

"You are in no position to ask that."

Kurumu pouted at Yukari as their group settled around their fellow first years.

"This dress is tight. I don't need to broadcast my panty lines."

"You could have worn a thong."

Kurumu stuck her tongue out at Kagami's impish grin.

"You guys must have been behind us."

"Correct deduction, Ms. Kurono. We were in the back row, getting the last tickets for this show."

Kurumu noticed the Unsei family exiting the auditorium. She had seen them earlier when they had bought their tickets.

"I think only first years and locals are watching this movie."

"No surprise with the older students having exams this week."

"Did you enjoy the movie, Ms. Kurono?"

"Definitely. Unlike some present company."

"I said it was good."

"I probably should have watched the other movies first."

"New to the series, Ms. Toujou?"

Rubi smiled, nodding at Ichida.

"Yes. I can honestly say I didn't expect the ending at all."

"I totally agree. It's about time that Voldemort guy stepped up."

Yukari sighed with a shake of her head at Kagami's enthusiasm.

"I don't understand why the author kept pushing the same villain."

"Author?"

"These are based on books, Ms. Kagami."

"I had no idea!"

"Neither did Yukari until this morning. Turns out Ms. Tsuchiyama is a big fan of the series."

Tsuchiyama blushed, holding Katahara's hands so the runt would stop poking her.

"I wouldn't say that."

"You have all five books."

Anko snickered at Katahara's comment.

"And she told us about the sixth book being published over the summer. She's waiting for the release of a Japanese translation."

"No way! Would you let me borrow them?"

"Not a chance!"

The girls giggled at Tsuchiyama's emphatic and hasty denial. Kagami blushed, glancing aside and rubbing the back of her neck.

"I guess I could check the library."

"Don't be embarrassed, Ms. Kagami. She also rejected my request to borrow them."

Tsuchiyama pouted at Yukari's comment as she continued to struggle with the giggling Katahara.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like lending out my stuff."

"Chiriko has been like that forever. You couldn't take any of her Pokémon cards out of their sleeves."

"Because you don't need to take them out to see them. It's clear plastic."

Anko smirked at Tsuchiyama.

"Your tit is showing."

Tsuchiyama immediately looked down which resulted in her stumbling because of Katahara. She whined as she shoved the munchkin into Anko. Anko immediately wrapped the giggling runt up in an embrace.

"It was not!"

"I don't think having Voldemort as a recurring villain is a bad thing. It's not like they have fought him directly in any of these first four movies."

Anko chuckled, squeezing Katahara so hard that girl gasped.

"Yea. They keep fighting minions of his. Are things any different in the next book?"

"You could read the books yourself."

"I would but you won't loan yours out."

"Buy your own."

"Woulds the library have em?"

Yukari sighed heavily, leaning against Moka.

"I plan to ask Ms. Bakudai about it tomorrow. I would rather read this than another childish comic."

"Well I doubt that they would have more than one copy. I should focus on my studies."

"There is a bookstore, Ms. Kagami. We could check to see if they have it in stock."

Kagami's eyes lit up at Ichida's suggestion, but she hastily waved a dismissive hand.

"I don't have the money for that."

"You could at least check the pricing to see how much you would need."

"I can't ask my mother for money. She will need it for my baby sister."

"I thought you were an only child."

Kagami smiled at Ichida's confusion.

"It's a new development."

Ontoriki leaned in close, whispering in Ichida's ear. He perked up with a thoughtful expression.

"Oh! I see. Congratulations then."

"Yes. So I can't be asking for money-"

"Nonsense. We can still have a look. It's not like we have anything planned after this other than dinner."

Kurumu smirked, gesturing down the corridor to the main entrance.

"If you want to kill some time, there is always the Gates of Heaven."

"There's no way I can go in there. Hanetsume would kill me."

"Naw. Maybe maim ya but she let ya live."

"I'd rather deal with listening to these two having an hour of 'karaoke' than antagonize Hanetsume."

"There's nothing wrong with my singing."

"Moaning isn't singing."

Iwa laughed nervously with a blush.

"I wasn't aware you had such a relationship with Ms. Ontoriki."

"Nonsense, Ms. Ishikure. I am simply enjoying the company of Ms. Ontoriki and assisting her in her studies. While she may not be at the top of our grade, she does value her academics."

Iwa smiled politely at Ichida while Ontoriki shamelessly cuddled against him.

"I'm glad the two of you get along so well. Will it be okay?"

"I believe so."

"How was your roleplay session?"

Kurumu smirked at Ichida's amused look from Kagami's inquiry.

"It's not what you're thinking."

"We had a fun adventure though Iwa decided to kill my character."

"Stop blaming me for your bad luck."

"We skipped lunch to come straight here. I bet my friends are as hungry as I am."

Yukari snorted at Anko's remark.

"Being hungry is the only way any sane person could tolerate that cafeteria food."

"Are we heading straight back to the dining hall?"

Iwa smiled at Tsuchiyama, offering a shrug.

"I spent the last of my pocket money on the movie. Unless you want to treat us to dinner-"

"I'm not that rich."

"Don't look at me. I borrowed money from this turd to see the movie."

Katahara finally wiggled free of Anko's clutches, fixing up her shirt.

"Could we stop at the bookstore? I'm curious what the books cost."

"I'd rather go to the dining hall. I'm hungry."

"I could treat you all to dinner."

"Don't trouble yourself, Ms. Toujou."

Katahara giggled, pointing at Iwa.

"That's right. She wants to dress you up like a doll."

"Only if she doesn't mind."

Iwa sighed, touching the collar of her blouse.

"I don't mind. Though I am hungry and would like to hurry home. You need my dimensions before you could make anything for me anyways."

"Are we going our separate ways now?"

Moka smiled at Rubi as she pulled Yukari to her side.

"I believe so. I'll treat Yukari to a dinner before we head back to our club sleepover. I'm guessing these two are going to stick with Mr. Ichida's group."

"A candlelit dinner with my Moka."

"Don't get weird on me."

"I don't know if we're sticking with Ichida or not. But we probably should take this conversation outside."

Following Kurumu's suggestion, they all started moving slowly to the main doors at the end of this wide hall. A line of people stretched out the door, waiting to buy tickets for the next showing of this movie.

"I imagine you must have been asked this before, Ms. Sendou. But I noticed that you don't require to speak words before casting a spell."

"That is correct, Mr. Ichida."

"What is your opinion about Harry Potter magic?"

"It's fiction, Mr. Ichida. Even in our roleplay sessions, my sorceress needs to vocalize her spell because humans have this weird belief that making sounds and gestures will cause energy to do as you please."

"But wizards are none for taking energy from their surroundings and bending it to their will."

"Will is the key word, Mr. Ichida. Magic is a mental exercise. Telekinesis is closer to how true witches and warlocks operate. It is an ability we are born with. It's not something that can be taught."

Noboru reached the glass doors first, holding one open for everyone else. As they filtered out into the street, Kurumu noticed that Asuka and Taijin were waiting in the line.

"But you must have learned how to do it from someone."

Yukari sighed at Ichida's persistence.

"Think of it like talking. You can be taught many different words but the ability to speak is not something that can be taught. Either you can, or you can't."

"But don't you use words in your thoughts? When you think about a spell."

"Just because I can assign words to a spell doesn't mean that they are required. It's more about a feeling and the way things exist. It's difficult to explain and would be impossible to teach to someone that lacks natural talent."

Yukari wagged a finger at Kurumu.

"And don't give me that look. I've already told you that there isn't an arcane language."

Kurumu giggled along with the other girls. Rubi smiled apologetically.

"Learning new spells take a lot of trial and error. I still can't teleport properly. Observing another witch helps but so much is left to our own imagination."

"Which is why Lady Chuujitsu's book of mimicry was so good for witches. It helped open the minds of many witches to recognize our full potential."

"I'm just thankful that you can make magical objects for me to dissect. You and the Headmaster have helped me learn so much in such a short time."

"You know that Harry Potter's world has people that can't cast magic. That is a thing in the books."

Yukari perked up at Tsuchiyama's random comment.

"Does Hermione have an ancestor witch?"

"I don't recall that being mentioned. I'd have to read it again."

"Well it must be after four and I don't want to be waiting in line for dinner. Let's go."

"Have a good night, Ms. Anko. Ms. Ishikure."

Kurumu murmured her own farewells as the others followed Ichida's example. Rubi and the four gnomes walked down the street to the nearest intersection, turning right and slipping out of sight.

"What sort of plans do you have which requires such alluring attire?"

Kurumu smirked, aware that he was thinking naughty things about her. So was Noboru for that matter but he was trying to be forgotten.

"Milady has permission for me to attend her fencing party tonight. Since she went out with her girls dressed in these outfits, she wanted me to wear the same."

"And will Ms. Shirayuki be joining you for this occasion?"

Kurumu giggled, letting go of Mizore's hand. She was mildly curious about the exact time which prompted her to rummage through her purse for her phone.

"She will. We don't have to be at the party until six so we could hang out with you for now."

"Well she won't be hanging out with us so we're going to take off. Where do you want to eat?"

"Ichiban Chuubou."

Kurumu snickered at the mention of the fancy restaurant near Ms. Nekonome's apartment. She flipped open her phone, confirming that it was four thirteen.

"I suppose I can spoil you this one time. You two take care."

Kurumu sounded an acknowledgment, holding her phone up to have Yukari and Moka in the screen. She snapped a quick picture of the pair before they turned away. Holding the phone to her breast, she smiled as she watched them walk off in the same direction as the others had.

"Milady's party is at the hotel so we have at least an hour to kill."

"Karaoke?"

Kurumu smirked at his grin.

"Did you bring condoms?"

"I knew I forgot something."

"We don't need them."

Ichida chuckled, squeezing Ontoriki against his side.

"But we shouldn't. I'm serious about giving that bookstore a look."

"You're talking about the bookstore that is over by the building owned by the manga club, right?"

"I believe that's the only bookstore in town, Ms. Kurono."

Kurumu huffed, turning her phone upon him. She snapped another picture.

"Don't take that tone with me, Mr. Ichida. I have photo evidence of you misbehaving with an innocent harpy which might find its way to your parents."

"I expect nothing less from the infamous cock block demon."

Ontoriki giggled nervously, snuggling against his side.

"You aren't being serious, right?"

"I wouldn't. I was just thinking how far out of the way that is. It might be better for you guys to have that dinner you were talking about instead."

"Are you not having food at Ms. Shuzen's party?"

"I can watch you guys eat. It's not that big of a deal. Where were you planning to go?"

"We hadn't discussed that yet. Hopefully it will be something reasonably priced."

"I could go for curry."

Michiko nodded at Kagami's suggestion.

"Sounds good. Suzume tolds me bouts a place called Rice and Spice."

"I'm familiar with that restaurant. Though the one time I went, I was being treated by my club seniors."

"Is it expensive?"

Ichida shrugged at his friend.

"That was months ago. But if Ms. Ontoriki wants curry, I'll at least look at the menu."

"That actually sounds very good right now."

"Kurumu!"

Kurumu laughed at Asuka's energetic cry. She turned and waved at the girl whom was enthusiastically waving with both hands.

"Have fun on your date."

"Whatever!"

Kurumu giggled, clutching her phone to her breast.

"Shall we head to the restaurant or to the bookstore?"

The three girls in his party immediately answered in favor of the restaurant. They started a slow walk to the nearby intersection.

"Hey, Michiko. Did you get a letter back from your Dad concerning winter break?"

"Yup. Blackmail worked."

"Blackmail?"

Ontoriki giggled at Ichida's confusion.

"I should have mentioned that her father is the one whom knocked up Kaede's mom."

"Oh! So this isn't just another sister for Ms. Kagami."

"Rights. My Pa sweating bullets now. Says I can stay with Kuroi's family."

"You didn't mention this to me."

Noboru chuckled nervously as they turned right, heading down the street towards the Gates of Heaven.

"I didn't want to say anything unless it was certain to happen."

"How long have you known?"

"About ten seconds ago."

Ichida snickered, shaking his head.

"I meant how long ago did you cook up this idea to have your girl spend the break with your family."

"A couple of weeks ago."

"Does Hazuka know?"

"Of course not. We just found out."

"I meant does she know you have a girlfriend?"

Noboru sighed heavily, relaxing his shoulders.

"No. But she's going to have to deal with it."

"Damn straight she will. That dumb bitch turned down Utsutei."

"Ms. Kurono."

"No, I'm going to agree with her. She may be your friend's sister, but she is a dumb bitch."

Ichida sighed, patting Ontoriki's hand as she continued pressing against him.

"I know her much better than either of you do. If anyone has the right to call her such a derogatory thing, it would be me."

"No, they're both right. She is a dumb bitch."

Kurumu snickered at Noboru validating their assessments of his sister.

"Come on, Kuroi. Don't do me like that."

"If I told Mom that Hazuka turned down a top ten student. A tengu no less."

Ichida chuckled, shaking his head as they crossed the intersection, ignoring the Gates of Heaven on their right. They continued towards the heart of the city.

"She'd grab Hazuka by the ear and drag her over to Mr. Utsutei's home and make her beg for forgiveness. What's done is done."

"I felt so bad for Mr. Utsutei. He lost his best friend and then the girl he liked rejected him."

"Yea. I would have never rejected his advances."

Ichida perked up, giving Ontoriki a playful shake.

"I hope that you would."

"I meant if we weren't dating, dummy."

They all shared a laugh as they passed by the alley preceding the jewelry store. Kurumu sucked in a deep breath, wondering if she should have worn her earrings today. She still would like a jewelry box.

"Kono miniku mo utsukushii sekai de."

The softness of Mizore's voice drew Kurumu's heart more than those particular words. She held her hand out and Mizore hesitated only a moment before taking it.

"Feeling melancholy?"

"I want to see Aoi."

Kurumu clutched her phone to her breast as they neared the next intersection.

"You guys should go on without us. I'll call Kokoa and meet up with her."

"Call? How?"

Kurumu giggled at the confused looks she got. She wagged her phone which caused the strap of her purse to slip off her shoulder and tumble down to her elbow. She giggled more, lifting her arm in an attempt to get it back up without letting go of Mizore's hand.

"I hate to break it to you, Ms. Kurono, but there isn't phone service inside Mononoke."

"Yukari has a spell on this that lets me contact some of my friends."

Their group stopped near the door to the Clique where Kokoa had bought this Chinese dress.

"Ms. Sendou continues to impress me. Are you sure you won't accompany us?"

Kurumu sensed that Mizore would not enjoy watching them eat. She held the phone up to her chin.

"Yea. But you'll have to tell me about the price of those books tomorrow, Kaede. Yukari would also be interested in that."

"Sounds like you have an important task, Ms. Kagami. It's off to the bookstore after some curry."

Kagami smiled softly, taking a tentative step towards the intersection.

"Guess so. Have fun, Kurumu."

"Mhm. Call Kokoa."

Kurumu felt the hum of energy as the spell activated. She could hear chatter nearby.

"Kokoa! Answer your phone!"

She heard a bunch of giggles on the other side.

"You know that these dresses don't have pockets."

Kurumu grinned at Nagisa's voice. She nodded at the others which prompted them to leave.

"I'm well aware of that. Where are you guys?"

"Corner pockets. Our purses were off to the side in a chair. Everybody is looking at me now."

"Do you want to play pool?"

Mizore looked at her like she had asked something stupid.

"I've got Mizore with me. Do you want us to join you?"

"Let me ask. Kokoa! Kurumu wants to join us."

"Where is she?"

"Where are you?"

"I can hear her."

"Then answer the question."

Kurumu smirked at Kokoa's voice.

"I'm outside of the Clique. I'm bringing Mizore with us to your party. I forgot that she would end up alone tonight if we all did our own things."

"She can come but she might end up standing. I don't know how many people they are expecting for this party and I only told them about you and Hikari."

"I can give up my seat for Mizore."

"Whatever. I'm done with this stupid game."

"Because you suck at it."

"The only thing I suck at is your neck."

"Oh, really? And here I thought it was Hikari's turn."

Kurumu giggled, wishing she had seen all of Kokoa's girls in their outfits this morning. She had only seen Ishiko in hers before they had started their gaming session.

"I'm glad that you could join them, Nagisa. Kokoa was worried that you would rather spend your day swimming with your friends."

"I convinced the girls to do that yesterday, though that turned into a strange adventure."

"Why? What happened?"

"We found Ms. Niiya in our usual spot and she was very territorial. She passed her eggs and since they were fertilized, she refused to leave them."

Kurumu frowned, thinking back on that night. She had left earlier than the others.

"Wait. How long was she out there?"

"Since Tuesday night. Apparently Mr. Morioka and Ms. Gouhara were bringing her food."

Kurumu sighed, letting go of Mizore's hand. Nerume had told her that they had stuck around for over an hour, eventually leaving once Ginei had fetched Gouhara for help. She had not thought to ask anyone about what had happened after that.

"That dummy. He could have- so stupid."

"It's okay now. We helped move Ms. Niiya and her brood to a small pond we made behind the junior dorms. It's funny when you think about it. We just went out for a little swim after lunch but ended up involved in an all-day project. None of us had dinner last night."

"I am so sorry for that. I didn't think she'd still be out there."

"It's not your fault. She seems to have taken a liking to Ayame. Mermaids always latch onto her which we playfully blame on her human roots. Since Ms. Gouhara has exams at the same time, Ayame offered to watch over her babies Thursday and Friday."

"I hope everything works out for her."

"Can we go bowling after this?"

Kurumu snickered at Hotaru's request.

"Of course not! I'm not made out of money."

"Would you guys want to hang out at the arcade?"

"Doesn't an arcade cost money?"

"A little bit. We could browse CDs in the music store if you'd rather do that."

"Fine. We'll meet you there. End call."

The hum of energy cut off the moment the words left Kokoa's lips. Kurumu smiled softly, taking the time to put her phone back into her purse. She dragged the strap back up onto her shoulder.

"Why would you suggest the arcade?"

"You don't want to?"

"Not particularly."

"When was the last time you were in an arcade?"

The hesitation caused Kurumu to smirk. She snatched up Mizore's hand, tugging the girl along.

"Come on. Let's have some fun."

Ms. Takaku stood up decisively from her place at the head of the table. The tall gym coach was dressed in formal business attire which probably had been purchased from the men's section. Her ashen black hair was braided close to her scalp, giving her even more of a masculine feel. If not for her feminine voice, most would mistake her for a man.

On the woman's right was Kosai Mirai, the current fencing club captain. The third year had some of her ginger tresses pulled into a left side ponytail which threatened to touch her slim shoulder. The rest of her locks stretched down to the small of her back, contrasting against her pastel green top. The garment had puffy, short sleeves and a drooping collar which would have betrayed cleavage if the girl had possessed any. A long pair of black cargo shorts complimented her attire.

To the teacher's left was Tadashiguchi Hokono, another third year. She was the tallest girl in the room, not counting the teacher. She also had her raven tresses braided though hers freely cascaded down her broad shoulders. She had changed her hairstyle last year out of admiration for Ms. Takaku.

Behind the teacher was the serving table that had been left out for them by the hotel staff. The teacher had ordered a three entree meal for a party of twenty four which was the full capacity of this meeting room. The main table they sat around was only big enough for fourteen but there were chairs pushed up against the walls to accommodate more.

Kurumu had taken one of these perimeter chairs. Mizore was beside her, holding a thick, paper bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. Kurumu had insisted upon Mizore grabbing that bowl of nikujaga with rice, arguing that the snow girl needed some protein in her diet. It was not the best nikujaga Kurumu had tasted, but it was better than the last bowl she had ordered from the cafeteria.

The three chairs on this wall were placed in the gap between the windows overlooking the street. Five more chairs were on the opposite wall between the two doors which opened into the corridor. Another door on the wall behind the serving table opened into the kitchen. The last two chairs were on the other wall beneath a painting of a sailboat.

While other guests like Noboru's sister had been invited, Hikari and the two of them were the only ones present. The salamander looked out of place, sitting at the foot of the table. The curve hugging, crimson cheongsam patterned with dark green flames accentuated her subtle feminine attributes.

Kokoa was seated on Hikari's left on the same side of the table as Kosai, facing Kurumu and Mizore. Her tight, dark green cheongsam had a white lily pattern. She looked like a mature, young woman, especially with how she had left her reddish tresses down. The vampire's attention was upon Ms. Takaku.

"Since it looks like the third years have finished their meals, I think it is time for us to select the next team captain. Do we have any nominations?"

"I nominate my sister."

Akebara Kaori sat between her sister, Azami, and Naratoki whom was next to Kokoa. Kaori was no taller than Kurumu while her sister was about Mizore's height. Both sisters had rust colored locks with their bangs cut across their brow in the traditional hime style. The older sister had her tresses pulled into a ponytail while her sister favored pigtails. Both sisters were wearing cerulean polos with navy pleated skirts. Kaori had admitted to deliberately dressing the same, remarking how her wardrobe was practically the same as Azami's since their parents bought their clothes.

"Do we have a second?"

Naratoki promptly held her hand up, voicing her support. It came as no surprise since those three were all dryads from the Shizukana community. Naratoki had left her honey tresses down. She was far more endowed than the sisters with the cut of the collar of her sleeveless plum blouse betraying her assets. Her ruffled black skirt ended at her calves.

"Are you willing to be the team's captain?"

Azami smiled politely at Ms. Takaku.

"I will if nobody else wants it."

Sitting between Azami and Kosai was Fukuda Ikuyo, the last third year in this club. The slender, dark haired girl was dressed in a long sleeved, black dress shirt and black slacks. She was Kosai's roommate and had served on the school festival committee.

"I nominate Ms. Shikichi."

Attention shifted to Kokoa.

"I will second that."

The speaker was Asakira Yume whom was sitting at the end of the table on Hikari's right. The salamander had fiery orange curls which spilled across her bared shoulders. The serious representative of class one was sporting a pristine white, strapless dress which hugged her modest bosom. It zipped up in the back and billowed out at the waist, reaching just below her pale knees. Kurumu had commented on her being overdressed for the occasion but the girl felt she was no more so than Kurumu was.

"Do you want to be team captain?"

Shikichi puffed up with pride as all eyes turned upon her. The tengu was seated beside Tadashiguchi and was wearing a simple white blouse and black pencil skirt.

"I would enjoy being your team captain."

"Shall we put this to a vote?"

Azami giggled, shaking her head.

"I only agreed to it if nobody else wanted it. I will gladly support Ms. Shikichi as our team captain."

"If there are no objections-"

"I object!"

Kurumu tried not to snicker at the outburst. Udetama Imi had sprung to her feet. She had her sandy blond hair styled in a boyish manner and was wearing a black crew shirt and stonewashed denim jeans. The short sleeved shirt had a graphic of the bathing ape.

"On what grounds?"

"On the grounds to annoy her."

Kosai looked at Udetama as the Akebara sisters giggled at the absurdity of this.

"There aren't any serious objections, Ms. Takaku."

Ms. Takaku chuckled with a slight shake of her head.

"Then I believe we can declare Ms. Shikichi as our new team captain. You should come to the school tomorrow to fill out a new club application. I'll be there early so you won't be late for your first class."

Udetama snickered, sitting down the moment Shikichi stood up. The mischievous president of the Outdoors club was seated between the last two members of the fencing club. Negai Tenshi was the quiet girl with the long, ebony tresses next to Shikichi. The second year was wearing a beige top which hung by thin straps off her narrow shoulders. The top had a crimped section about her modest bosom which flared out to hang loosely over her tight, denim shorts which bared most of her thighs.

The last girl at the table was Zenpyou Manako. The first year had her orchid locks styled in a pixie and she was wearing a brown crew shirt with short white sleeves. Her blue jeans flared out at the calves and literally had a pair of silver bells stitched into the bottom hem of each leg.

"I want to thank you all for allowing me this privilege. I promise to serve you to the best of my abilities."

"We not needs the speech. Can we have seconds?"

Ms. Takaku chuckled at Udetama, nodding.

"Of course. I paid for this and would prefer not to let any of it go to waste."

The movement was too fast for Kurumu to track, though she noticed the slight waft of Negai's hair. In the blink of an eye, a new bowl had appeared in front of Udetama. The speedster chuckled as she started to help herself to her second bowl of nikujaga.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Takaku. I thought the others would have more guests."

Kaori nodded at her sister's sentiment.

"Yea. All of our friends from the Ikebana and Sadou clubs are spending the day with Ms. Kusachi. It felt wrong to invite any of them."

"What happened sucked, but she needs getting over it."

"Have some sympathy."

Udetama wagged her spoon at Kosai.

"Bad shit happens. Focus on what ya can control. Like exams."

"That is their goal. We just hope that Inori doesn't drop out after the break."

Kosai sighed heavily at Azami's remark.

"Well we didn't invite any fellow third years because of exams."

"Most my friends be guys. Doubts ya wanted dudes here."

"Nobody cares that you didn't bring a friend."

Zenpyou chuckled at Kosai's quick response.

"I always sort of feel like a guest anyways. Didn't cross my mind to invite anyone."

"If I had known everyone was thinking the same thing, I would have encouraged Yuko and Kiyomi to join us. Yuko would have loved seeing you in that dress, Ms. Akegawa."

Hikari grinned with flush cheeks at Asakira's comment.

"Yea. It sounds like she was wearing a pretty dress too."

"Well we wanted to do something special now since we have to study for exams next weekend."

"I'm still miffed that she didn't tell us her birthday was soon."

"That's just how Yuko is."

Kurumu felt the same way as Hikari about this. They had just found out that Kaimura's birthday was next Saturday. After a lunch in town, the trio of Moegara girls had tried to watch the Harry Potter movie at one fifteen but the tickets had been sold out. Since Asakira would have been late if she had gone to the four thirty showing, she had insisted on her friends seeing the movie without her while she hung out at the hotel, waiting for this party to start.

"We do have this room reserved until nine so I brought some decks of cards and some board games. I don't expect any of you to stay if you feel you have more important things to do. Like study for exams."

"Do ya have twister?"

"No, Ms. Udetama."

"Aw. Poor Tenshi be lonely without my body pressed to hers."

"Behave yourself."

Shikichi huffed at Kosai's remark.

"When has that ever worked?"

Kosai smiled, standing up.

"She's your problem now. We really should get home and put in an hour or two of study."

"Think ya can beat Horie?"

"I have to at least try. Neither of us are unreachable. Mr. Doroishi could pass us both if we do poorly."

Tadashiguchi chuckled, getting up on her feet.

"Define poorly. Because I might have a shot if you two bomb your exams."

"If we scored below the ninety percentile, every student whom has consistently scored above that mark would have a chance. Like Mr. Yokan, Mr. Nagashima and Ms. Kurukaze. And of course Mr. Utsutei."

"That has me fired up. I need to at least finish in the top ten."

Kosai smirked, resting her hand on Fukuda's shoulder.

"Ikuyo has one last chance to break the ninety percentile. She needs this the most."

Fukuda laughed, placing her hand on Kosai's.

"That's not going to happen even if I get a perfect score."

"The Happily Ever After program only requires you to have one of your third year exam scores to be in the ninety percentile. It's not like our class ranking."

"I know. But a Sunday night study session won't change the results."

"Would you rather stay here?"

"No. I'll go with you two."

Kurumu smiled as the dark haired girl stood up.

"How close are you to the ninety percentile?"

"I usually score in the upper eighties."

"She's consistently in the top fifty of our class."

"Thank you, Ms. Takaku."

Tadashiguchi paused as she picked up a black bag and grinned at the teacher.

"For the party and for the gift."

"It was the least I could do. Be safe on your walk home."

The third years sounded an affirmative as they gathered up their things. The other girls offered farewells before the trio slipped out of the room. Once again Kurumu was hit with this inexplicable feeling of loss. More third years whom would graduate soon and never be seen again.

"Did ya like yer present?"

Udetama leaned against Negai, rubbing her head against the girl's shoulder. The girl had two bags on the floor by her chair. One was from the coach while the other was from Udetama.

"It was nice."

"What did she give you?"

Negai blushed with a giggle.

"I'd rather not say."

"Strip down to ya birthday suit so I can have my present."

Negai giggled, placing a hand on Udetama's head and pushing the amorous girl away.

"It hardly feels like my birthday. It was almost two weeks ago."

"Exaggerating much. Our souls be born only ten days apart."

Negai sighed when Udetama wrapped her up in a hug.

"Must you always do this?"

"Yes. The school split us up but my heart remains yours."

"Maybe we should have separate birthday parties next year."

"How horribly cruel of ya to suggest that."

"Please, Ms. Shikichi."

"If we have no new recruits with birthdays near yours, we can split the two up."

Udetama huffed, releasing Negai. She sat back heavily in her chair.

"Fine. This end of year party be all bouts me then."

Kurumu giggled, setting aside her empty bowl on the chair next to her. She noticed that Mizore was only halfway finished with her meal.

"Udetama. I forgot to ask earlier, but are you going to Ms. Nekonome's wedding?"

The girl turned in her seat with a huge, fanged grin.

"Ya knows it. Staying with Koike."

"Koike? He's coming too?"

"Mhm. And Morioka. Offer put us up since we both needs a place."

Kurumu smiled, not needing to ask why Ginei would crash there. He obviously could not be with his girlfriend in her condition.

"Hanging out with the boys again. Isn't there a female friend you could have asked?"

"Nots from Aserutani. Sides Koike worries bouts seeing his folks. They still not knows bouts the whole missing arm. Figured I could lend a hand."

Shikichi rolled her eyes.

"Worst pun ever."

"Miyamoto gots a surprise for the wedding too."

"What are the three stooges up to?"

"Doubts Morioka knows this. Miyamoto begged my silence."

"It better not ruin Ms. Nekonome's wedding."

"Naw. She be tickled. Bets she even cry."

Kurumu smiled, curious what sort of surprise this would be.

"What are the chances that Mr. Koike steals this burden away from me?"

"What ya mean by that?"

Azami giggled, gesturing at Negai.

"She means that you will find a new object of affection."

"I nots do this to a guy. Would get weird."

"And you think this isn't?"

"Only weird for ya."

Negai sighed at Udetama's grin.

"Mr. Koike is a nice young man."

"Only gal Koike might crush on be Hidarimeki. Knows he feels bad bouts that."

Last year Koike had been the victim of a 'love potion' meant for Ginei. In his heightened state of arousal, the young man had proposed to their classmate, Hidarimeki. The girl had agreed to it, even giving the amorous young man fellatio, only to be dumped after the potion wore off.

"Will Miyamoto even be able to go? I'm pretty sure that the bus to Koutoukumo is on Saturday."

"He be leaving next weekend after exams."

"What about retakes?"

"Miyamoto never retakes."

"I'm more surprised that he has permission to leave school a week early."

"What I been told."

Kurumu nodded thoughtfully, doubting Udetama had answers for her musings about this.

"Are you still going to be the president of the Outdoors club?"

"Yea. Dorks refused to pick a new one at our meeting yesterday."

"You actually attended a meeting?"

Udetama wagged her spoon at Azami's amused grin.

"Tried to give up but those fools refused. Half mind not shows up to the student council meeting and let the dumb club fall apart. Not likes I needs it."

"I'm guessing if you did that, Mr. Unsei would turn in your club application for you."

Kurumu frowned at Shikichi's mention of the young man.

"What does Unsei have to do with this?"

"He's in her club."

"He should take it over. Bets he knows everyone in the club."

"You don't know the members of your own club?"

"Sorts of do. Gots Gamidake's little brother and his friend."

"You need proper names for a club application."

"Um, that would be Gamidake Koukei and Yamakaji Akihiro. They're from my village."

Udetama nodded at Hikari's input.

"Rights. My fellow second years be Ondori Tsubasa and Washisora Hiyoki. Third years are Washisora Garuda, Gamidake Chourou and Honda Yasashiro."

"Do you have any other first years?"

"Some bald kid. Tori knows him."

"Tatakai Kouzoku."

Kurumu laughed, shaking her head.

"I never thought to ask that guy what club he was in."

"It's not like their club does much of anything. Mr. Unsei just happened to talk to me about it during one of our weekend meetings since he hoped that Ms. Udetama was more active in our fencing club."

Kokoa stood up with a dramatic sigh, bending over to grab her dark green tote resting on the floor.

"While I would love to sit around and chat about people I don't know about, I want to go home and enjoy the company of my dear friend, Hikari."

Ms. Takaku chuckled, gesturing at the blushing Hikari.

"Everybody is free to leave when they desire. Though I am serious about helping yourselves to the food. That is too much for me to take home."

The girls giggled as Hikari took the cue to get up and drift to Kokoa's side.

"Is Shirayuki done with that?"

Kurumu chuckled, standing up. Mizore silently offered the bowl to Kurumu which still had quite a bit inside it. Smiling, Kurumu took the bowl and set it on top of hers on the nearby chair.

"She's as good as she's going to get."

"What time is it, Ms. Kurono?"

Kurumu perked up at Asakira's inquiry. She dragged her purse up to rest by its strap upon her shoulder before rummaging through it for her phone. She flipped it open.

"Seven seventeen."

"I will accompany you if you swing by the movie theater. I'm guessing it must be over by now since the last show was at seven forty five."

Kurumu nodded, dropping the phone back inside her purse.

"If Milady doesn't mind."

"Can we? I want to see Yuko's dress."

Kokoa sighed at Hikari's statement. She nodded, beckoning to them as she retreated to the door.

"Fine. We can walk home together."

With a grin, Kurumu took Mizore by the hand and they followed Kokoa out.