Luciform

by TheRoseShadow21

This is a year that, for Kawaakari Academy, should be brighter than most. But the threads of change have been woven in the background for a long time, and the tapestry is almost complete. Here is the story of some of the students caught up in it, and how they face the resulting darkness. Fic combining various KACB entries. AU, rated M for difficult themes. Cross-posted to AO3.

5. 1-4

"Hey, thanks for helping me with this," Kyouki said. "You didn't need to."

Her heart skipped a couple of beats as Juu turned from the shelf and grinned. Gosh, if I could find a way of bottling that grin and carrying it with me, she thought. Then again, it was much more fun having the entirety of Juu around. Kyouki hoped that Juu felt the same way about her too.

"It's fine, I was kinda curious about it, you know?" Juu said airily. "The stuff you do here. I mean, soil isn't my thing but it was cool anyway."

Kyouki giggled at that.

"'Soil isn't my thing'? Juu, what a silly thing to say!"

"Yeah, well," Juu shrugged. "It's true."

She turned back to put the last bottle on the shelf and then spun back around to face Kyouki.

"But it was pretty cool, seeing how you could get the water so easily from Otohime-san's pool. I could never do that! I mean, what if I fell in?"

"Like I said back there," Kyouki replied. "You just have to be careful, really, skim from the top, not going too deep and so on. But I don't think Otohime-san would hurt anybody if they fell in? She's just shy, right? Being deep under there, it's kind of like hiding."

Juu looked at Kyouki, tilting her head in a way that made Kyouki blush. She cleared her throat and pretended to look around the greenhouse. She still felt a little jittery in here, though she couldn't explain why. Sometimes she felt as if something bad had happened here, but she couldn't recall anything. None of the rest of the Gardening Club did either. The feeling had faded as time had gone on, but still she felt it sometimes.

"I wonder," Kyouki mused. "If Otohime-san would let anyone hide with her, if it came down to it?"

Juu scrunched up her face.

"I dunno about that, but I don't think I'd want to find out! Plus, it wouldn't work! I'm not a fish, am I?"

Kyouki giggled at that again, and Juu grinned back before sobering up.

"Besides, I don't like thinking that something bad enough could happen, for us to need to go hidin' in there, you know?"

But something bad has already happened. Not just the missing girls from last year but…something else. Something right here. But she didn't say that. Instead, she decided to do something brave and reached out to hook her arm around Juu's arm.

"Yeah, hopefully nothing bad will happen. But let's not think about that," she said. "We've got a party to get ready for!"

Juu grinned, and the two of them walked back to their dorm room together, arm in arm.

…

Sasi didn't want to go to the party.

She couldn't say why, but she just didn't want to go at all. Parties had never been her thing, or so she told herself, but this one…she imagined the weight of everyone's eyes on her. Imagined their judgement. She'd rather go to the workshops, make something with her hands all the way through the night, with nothing but the moon through the skylight to illuminate her.

Or maybe not just the moon. She'd need extra light for the fiddly processes. Nonetheless, that was what she'd rather do.

"Sasi? Hey, Sasi?"

She sighed and stomped over to the door, and pulled it open:

"You said by the time I came back you'd be ready but we've been knocking for ages!" Niwa pouted. "Come on, I want to go and annoy Koda!"

"You can annoy him anyway." Sasi sighed.

"Come on," Asuka said. "You know what we talked about?"

Sasi gritted her teeth, but she couldn't argue. We need to look normal, that was what Asuka had said. Turning up to a party was what was normal, expected. Even if they didn't throw themselves into the dancing, it would be fine. There were plenty who would probably watch the merriment rather than engage in it, like that boy from the Mixed Melee Combat class-

Wait, why am I thinking of that of all things?

"Hey, you on your way to the party?"

Sasi watched Asuka as she first flinched, then tried to re-arrange her expression into something more cheerful as she turned and called back to whoever it was.

"Yeah, we're coming down soon."

"Cool!"

Footsteps clattered off into the distance, and Asuka let out a breath. Sasi watched her, then looked at her other friends. At Niwa ready to bounce off the walls, Sainty drawing herself up to her full height, Michii's eyes burning with a carefully-banked fire, Yuu smoothing down the skirts of the dress she loved so much despite how old it was. Appear normal, just a little bit, I can do that, right?

I can do that. For them.

"I'm ready," she told them. "Let's get down there."

…

When A got back to her room so she could get ready for the party, she was relieved to see that Cookie wasn't around. Whether her roommate had already gotten ready or had yet to, she didn't know, but a reprieve from piercing stares and knowing glances were more than welcome. They'd been politely distant ever since arriving at the school, but after that day, A would feel shivery or get a sense that she was being watched, and if Cookie was in the vicinity it was almost a guarantee that she was the one responsible, studying A oh-so-carefully, asking carefully vague-but-pointed questions about the nature of memory that made her wonder if Cookie knew something and if so, how? As far as A and her friends had been able to tell, it seemed like that somehow, miraculously, everything that had happened over those few days had been erased. And not just the days, the people too. It was as if Delilah, Maria, Judas, Abel. Cain and Eve had never existed.

Except to the four of us…and the non-magical ones. That, none of the four of them could understand. They'd lived through this year once before, so it was understandable that discrepancies would stick in their mind. But why would a bunch of students with no magical powers who were apparently here because of some administrative screw-up be able to remember something that apparently everyone had been made to forget?

It was enough to make A's head spin if she thought about it too much, and so although it was impossible to not think about it she tried to focus on the party. For the most part, the day was occurring much as it had the last time. The last time, the party had been pushed forward too, but that was more down to the clouds and the lingering worry of the girls having gone missing the previous year. Lessons had been cancelled the whole day, and in the morning pretty much the entire student body was involved in helping to set up all over the school. A and Theodore had been in one of the groups decorating the Great Hall while Haze and Ezrael had been helping to organise chairs and the tables that would later be used for the bar and snacks. Then, a short break for lunch before everyone started to get ready. Those students responsible for running parts of the party (like those second years) would then go to get themselves set up for that, while everyone else got ready-which was what she was doing right now.

The dress she had taken out to wear was the same as the one she'd worn the last time, too. Silvery blue but saved from being too funereal with bright blue stripes (matching her hair colour) on the knee-length skirt, matching coloured glittery patterning on the translucent half-sleeves and a wide white ribbon sash. She had bright blue flats with white bows on them to match and white knee-high socks, and though she was keeping her hair in its usual ponytail she had tied a white ribbon in them, and she'd dared to wear earrings-slim, dangly bright blue things. When she'd put everything on and struck an impulsive pose in the mirror before blushing at her audacity, she looked the same as she had back then.

Maybe, she thought as she looked at herself all dolled-up and ready to go. Maybe everything will be fine. A knock on the door startled her and she gasped, staring at the door before remembering that it would just be her friends. Just like the last time.

Sure enough, when she opened the door, they were all there. Ezra had over-dressed in a white shirt with purple waistcoat and slim trousers with gold accents and a gold pocket watch tucked into the pocket. Even the laces of his shiny black boots were gold, and he had a matching hat too. Haze was also snappily dressed, in black short sleeved shirt and matching suit trousers with a green tie that matched his eyes. Theodore was a little more laid back, wearing dark jeans and a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"Wooooah!" Ezra gasped.

"Looking good, Ada." Haze said, simply.

"I know, right? You actually look like a girl!"

"Erm, Ezra, A is a girl." Theodore deadpanned.

A blushed and then giggled at them, especially as Ezrael's sheepish reaction was exactly the same as it had been the last time too. Yes, it will be alright if this is happening too, surely. A shook her head, still smiling, and stepped out, closing the door behind her.

"Let's go!"

…

Knowing that Jun would still be outside from having helped with the last of the outdoor set-up, Robyn crossed the courtyard looking for him, admiring the outfits she saw, from A's pretty silver and blue outfit to Hibi's burnt-copper gown to Michii's short black-and-gold dress and Yuu's long green one and more amazing outfits besides that. She felt a little underdressed in her shorts and checkered shirt, even if said shirt was sparkly. Still, she'd pulled together a flower crown from her violets and she figured that was summery enough.

"Robyn!"

She spun around and saw Jun standing near a pillar and bench at the edge of the courtyard, near a blooming magnolia tree and she smiled and waved as she ran over.

"Hi." She said, breathless.

"Hi," Jun replied back. "I like the crown."

"Thanks."

"Although…"

Robyn tilted her head at him curiously and Jun blushed and shuffled. She realised that he had his hands behind his back when he bought them around, showing that he was holding a…flower crown. The one he had was a little more elaborate, with baby's breath, lavender and lilacs along with a couple of violets and what looked like leaves from the Angel Tree.

"You made that…for me?" Robyn asked.

Jun went pink and held it out.

"If you still want it, I mean…"

"How could I not want it? That's so sweet, and it's a lot prettier than mine I mean…how long did it take you to make this?"

Jun went pinker and shrugged adorably, and Robyn delicately took the flower crown with both her hands, admiring the careful placement of the flowers and the delicate trailing ribbons that were meant to tie at the back. She thought for a moment, then had an idea. She reached up and lifted hers off her head before hanging it on her wrist and reaching up to settle the one that Jun had made on her head, tying the ribbon at the back and then adjusting the fit before she then took the one she had made and putting it on Jun's head. Although it fit surprisingly well, she took her time in settling it in place. Jun's blush faded and he looked at her, serious but soft, and when she made to move her hands away he covered one of hers with his, preventing her from moving away.

All of a sudden, the hubbub of the party's beginnings seemed far away. It was still there, she knew it but all the same…far away. She blinked once, twice, looking up into Jun's eyes and not daring to breathe. A moment passed, and then another and though she wasn't sure who it was who moved first, Jun lowered his head close to hers and she tipped hers up slightly and-

-then their noses bumped.

Startling, they both jumped back a fraction. Robyn blushed deeply, rubbing her nose in embarrassment. Jun looked much the same as she felt, and so it was hardly a surprise when they both started to talk over each other:

"Sorry, that was-"

"No, no, I didn't mean to, I…."

"Did that hurt?"

"No, no…"

Falling quiet, they blinked and looked at each other and started to giggle at the absurdity of the moment. Eventually, Jun calmed and looked intensely at her.

"I'm sorry, though. I should have asked first. So….um…is it alright if I…"

Jun stuttered and spluttered slightly, and though Robyn felt ever so brazen doing so, she finished his sentence for him.

"Kiss me?"

Jun gave a soft, helpless smile and nodded at her. In response, Robyn stepped forward and placed her hands either side of Jun's face, fingertips brushing his hair. Half closing her eyes, she felt Jun's hands on her arms before this time they both managed to lean in at the right moment and at the right angle for a proper kiss.

It was soft and sweet, gentle and safe but at the same time it sent waves of yearning through her. She was almost regretful when they pulled away from each other, but not really, not when they were both still there together. Smiling, Jun leant his forehead against hers and reached out to curl a lock of her hair between her fingers and they just stood there like that, enjoying the lingering traces of the kiss, enjoying the moment.

It was of course at that moment that they heard giggling and shuffling.

Abruptly, they both stumbled away from each other, simultaneously turning to see the source of the sound. It was soon revealed to be a mischievous Jenna, Hibi and Jan all peering around the magnolia tree.

"Uh-oh, if you got caught canoodling like that you'd definitely get put in detention!" Jenna teased.

"What, that was, we…..wait a minute, canoodling?" Jun spluttered.

"Hey, it's what Professor Keno and some of the others call it." Jan shrugged, causing the hood of her starry cloak to fall from her head. "Besides, you two were totally canoodling, don't deny it."

"Oh, goddess." Robyn groaned, covering her face with her hands momentarily.

Jenna, Jan and Hibi all burst out into laughter at the two of them.

"Oh, the pair of you. You're such dorks, but adorable too, seriously. I told you they'd be the couple to root for, didn't I?" Jenna said to Jan and Hibi.

"Um….thanks?" Jun replied, perplexed.

"You sure did!" Hibi agreed. "Anyway, you guys, if you've quite finished 'canoodling', how about you join us to check out the snacks on offer?"

Despite herself, Robyn laughed softly and grabbed Jun's hand. He looked down at their hands, then smiled at her, making her heart swell. If she was lucky there would be plenty of time for moments like the one they had just shared…maybe ones that were more. But for now, there was a party to enjoy and that was more than enough as long as he was there too.

"I say we should. Jun?"

"Sure. Snacks sound good to me."

And so they set off together.

…

The words of the newspaper blurred as Julka looked down at them. How had she not noticed before that any coverage of Lunar's or Mona's or Negi's or Amuri's disappearances had been so small and insignificant? A missing teenager was supposed to be a devastation, front page news, the entire world was meant to be tearing through every last corner looking for them. But here Julka was, staring at a printed version of Lunar's shy smile tucked away into a corner of page 11 with only a few columns of information. She brushed her fingers over it, and recalled something Cookie had said to her.

"None of this is normal, Julka, can't you see? There's more going on than they want us to know about-why do you think nothing has happened? That the police have never come back to update us or follow leads? Why haven't the families done anything-all of them had perfectly ordinary, loving families, didn't they? I have evidence there's something else they've managed to cover up so completely, they just didn't account for…well, I'm not sure what, but they've not managed it perfectly."

What was that thing? Cookie hadn't actually told her yet, but Julka felt that perhaps she knew what it was that the younger girl had been talking about. It was there, somewhere, on the edge of things, teasingly stepping out of the way every time she tried to reach out and grab it. Just like this entire mess was. Julka picked up the newspaper to put it aside and instead found herself flinging it at the wall and letting out a shriek, then just sitting there, shoulders shaking as she tried not to cry.

She knew that she shouldn't be here, wasting away in this disused common room, especially not on a day like this. She'd dug out a pretty skirt and blouse for the party, she had genuinely intended on trying to put on a brave face and showing it just for a few moments, but in the end she couldn't. Every second that she wasn't trying to find something felt like seconds wasted, second leaching away from her friends' lives. So now here she was, sitting and trembling like a leaf in a storm, ruining the skirt by clenching it tightly.

Looking up at the dusty ceiling, Julka prayed for strength, and then told herself to stop being a whiny brat and to go pick up the newspaper. Getting up, she realised she'd knocked a few more off of the table too and so she tidied up those and re-added them to the teetering pile she'd gathered before crossing over. Just as she knelt down to pick it up, trying to avoid looking at Lunar's picture again, the door opened and she startled, falling backwards on her bottom.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?"

Julka blinked up at Lidia, who was flanked by Will and Starri, all three of them looking down at her in concern.

"Ah, yeah, no, I just um…..dropped this newspaper."

Yeah, I'm not about to admit that I threw it across the room because I hate everything about life right now. Julka tried to laugh it off, but she could tell that this was working on the three of them, because of course it wasn't. Will stepped forward and crouched down slightly, extending a hand to help her up, and Julka reluctantly took it.

"Have you been out at all?" Starri asked her as she let go of Will's hand. "Or have you been here the whole time?"

"Erm…"

"You need a break, Julka!" Lidia exclaimed. "Come out with us for a little while, okay?"

"Um…"

"Ah, it doesn't have to be long, just have a drink, maybe some snacks…." Will said.

"A dance!" Lidia interrupted. "You need to have at least one dance! I was hoping we'd find you here, otherwise I'm not sure where else we'd have looked, but yes, you absolutely need to have a dance!"

"You…came looking for me?"

Julka pressed her hands to her chest, realising that they were all wearing some sort of smart uniform that wasn't their school one, and remembered that they were running a bar table for the party.

"What about your bar?" she asked.

"Ah, it's fine-Ririsa and the others are covering for us for the time being before they put away their table and we're all doing it in shifts so it's fine, really."

"No, that's…you didn't need to spend your free time coming to look for me, when you could have been having fun."

"Don't be silly, Julka!" Lidia scolded.

"She's right, it's no trouble at all," Will said. "The same applies to you really, doesn't it? You should be having fun too."

But I don't deserve it…Julka gazed at them-Will as patient as always, Starri wide eyed and beaming and Lidia almost bouncing, looking almost pleading. Her throat thickened, and she felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes, but this time she couldn't stop them and this time when she sobbed, it unleashed a torrent. Covering her eyes, she wept. And of course, almost immediately, they all swarmed around her, patting her back and offering comforting words and pressing tissues into her hand once she was able to pull her hands away from her face and take a few breaths.

Gradually, she calmed down and sighed.

"Sorry."

"There's no need. Now, I think you really need a break from all this."

Julka blinked, then realised she hadn't actually picked the newspaper up from the floor in the first place, so after swooping down briefly to do that, she nodded.

"Alright, but I'll help you out at your bar-please, I insist."

"Alright then, but we're making you have fun first, and you're not getting out of that."

"Liddy, you don't need to make it sound like such a threat!" Starri laughed.

And despite herself, Julka couldn't help but giggle.

…

To get to the Great Hall, they crossed through the central courtyard where a good few students were all milling around and chatting, a few swaying along to the quiet strains of the music that were filtering in from indoors. She saw two short students sitting on a bench tossing wads of ripped paper plate at each other, swearing and giggling at each other as they did so. One, a spiky haired boy, was wearing a black waistcoat and brown shorts and the other she recognised as Niwa from her year, clad in a sparkly purple raincoat and matching wellington boots, both looking slightly battered even as the colour caught the late evening sunlight and almost blinded her. Blinking pitifully, Julka swept her eyes around and soon saw Yuu and Michii leaning against a pillar nearby, watching the pair carefully. Well, at least that part of the scenario makes sense. She averted her eyes before any of the girls could spot her staring and continued following Will, Starri and Lidia as they weaved through clusters of students streaming in and out of the Great Hall.

When they arrived there, Julka could see that the party had reached that particular point in the evening where staff would dance with students. Much like last year's end of year, she quickly spotted all of them with the exception of Professor Cinnabuns, a fact which still baffled her. She assumed that the charming teacher would be all for something like this, but what did she know?

"Hi there, guys!" Will called to a group of freshman.

"Hi there, Will!" a girl with short, combed back pale pink hair said. "Oh, guys, Professor Shippa's come back with Kay!"

"Ah, you guys are enjoying the teacher-student dances?" Will asked, pausing.

"We sure are!"

The short haired girl laughed, as did her companions, and as Julka noticed Professor Shippa approach the group with a girl whose gold dress matched her eyes-no, scratch that, one of her eyes- she recognised a few of them as some of the non-magical freshman. She didn't know the short-haired girl's name but she knew the heterochromic girl to be Kay because of the infamous 'mouldy socks' moment.

"It was a honour to have that dance, Kay. Would anyone else like to step out onto the floor?" Professor Shippa asked.

The group of girls twittered, and Kay poked one of them seemingly at random, a girl with long brown hair who didn't seem like one of the non-magical ones.

"What about you, Yara?"

"U-um, no, no thanks."

Yara stepped back abruptly and Julka realised that she was bare-footed, which seemed incongruous with her neat red skirt and shimmery black blouse. Her brown eyes widened and Julka sensed something off, but Kay didn't seem deterred and instead turned to a girl who looked like she was more dressed for a winter dance than a summer one.

"What about you, Ariadne?"

"Oh…yes…"

Ariadne gave a wide-eyed blue blink at Professor Shippa, who simply nodded and extended his arm.

"If that's what you wish."

Ariadne's eyes widened and she blushed, taking his arm and going off. Kay grinned at them and then noticed Will.

"Oh, hey there, taking a break?"

"We sure are," Will said. "Do you want anything?"

"We might come and grab something a little later, maybe?" Kay considered. "But those drinks are so good! Right?"

The short haired girl and the others who were with them agreed, but Yara stayed back a little, her hands clasped behind her back looking like she was thinking deeply. Then, suddenly, she asked:

"If you just kept eating, do you think your teeth would eventually disappear?"

Kay, the short haired girl and the others immediately burst into laughter, and Will and Lidia did so too.

"I have no idea, Yara," Will admitted between chuckles. "I have no idea at all. Anyway, I'll see you later."

"Byeeee!" Kay and the pink haired girl said in unison.

"Alright, the bar table and the snack tables are all right next to each other, so you can get a drink and some food all in one place, then we're having that dance and then if you really still wanna be stuck with us for the rest of the night, consider yourself stuck." Lidia said with a grin and a wink.

"Sure." Julka just nodded back.

They wove through the crowds, Will occasionally pausing them all to say hello to particular students and even occasionally have a chat with them until they finally got to the bar. Sure enough, Ririsa was there, serving an orange-haired girl two bright pink drinks with grapefruit garnishes on them. When the orange-haired girl left, Ririsa spotted them and smiled.

"You're back now?" she asked.

"More or less, yeah."

"Brilliant, we'll see you later then."

Ririsa left to go to a nearby table which was gradually being emptied by her three fellow Tea Party members while Will and Starri went around so that they were on the other side of the bar table. Most of the others were busy fixing drinks for the small crowd of students who were waiting, apart from Hiraga was on the other end of the bar table chatting quietly with a turquoise-haired freshman boy, both of them apparently intent on each other.

"That's Quiet, he and Hiraga are in the same Mixed Melee Combat, apparently. So's Will, Lucy and Tate too." Lidia told her.

"Will knows a lot of people, doesn't he?" Julka observed.

"Oh, Will knows everyone." Lidia agreed, nodding vigorously.

"Ah, I wouldn't say that," Will interjected conversationally. "Anyway, what'd you like to drink? Do you want something with a kick, or something fruity? Actually, most of our stuff is fruity on account of it being the summer but…"

"Um…."

Julka picked up one of the menu cards lying on the table and had a look before peering over it.

"Is there any of the punch left?"

"Punch coming right up!"

Will picked up a wide, sturdy glass from a trolley behind him then went to another small table next to it where a large bowl of punch, cloudy yellow with berries floating in it. Quickly and expertly, Will put together a serving, added ice and stuck a little cocktail umbrella in it. While he was doing this, Julka spotted none other than the famous Ruby Reiko approach, looking absolutely stunning in a simple purple off-the-shoulder jumpsuit, accompanied by her closest friend Aerin and a small, timid freshman who vaguely reminded her of the wintery non-magical freshman girl who was still dancing with Professor Shippa. Though Aerin had her scales out on display, the freshman didn't have any but nonetheless Julka assumed that he had them, given the way he seemed determined to stick closely to Aerin.

Ruby pointed at the bar, brandishing an empty skinny glass as she did so, and called to someone whom Julka couldn't see, presumably because of the crowds:

"CHIARA, ASU, ELIAS, YOU'VE GOT TO TRY THEIR RASPBERRY-APEROL FLOATS-"

At that moment, the song that was playing on the speakers changed to something louder, cutting Ruby's shouts off.

"Any syrups, Julka?"

Julka turned away from watching Ruby and her friends and back to Will, who was now holding her complete drink looking satisfied with himself.

"No, that's fine."

Will nodded and passed it over, and Julka barely had time to thank him before another student came over asking for drinks. Lidia then dragged her over a few tables over to the snack table and filled up two paper plates to the brim in an astonishing amount of speed before the two of them found a couple of empty seats and sat together, eating and drinking and alternating between chatting and watching their fellow students.

"There are two freshman couples already, apparently, "Lidia informed her. "Well, I don't think one of them are actually together as such yet, but yeah. That's them, there, Kyouki and Juu."

Juu was apparently the one with a low cut dress and cropped jacket in a similar style Headmistress Hades was known for while her dance partner was Kyouki, who had the most fabulous boots that Julka had ever seen (she was also sure they were a Ruby design, incidentally). Then, Lidia pointed to a dark haired girl and boy, both of them wearing home-made flower crowns.

"That's Jun and Robyn-Robyn's on a work-study, but in the infirmary like…what's her name again?"

"Yoyo?"

"Yes, that's the one!" Lidia said. "Anyway, they're definitely a thing too, that I know. And I'm pretty sure that Hiraga likes Quiet so I guess that'd make three freshman couples soon enough but yeah, I guess it's a bit early in the year for….oh."

"Oh?"

"Look!" Lidia hissed.

Julka frowned, at first only seeing a couple of teachers vacating the dance floor, but then she saw what Lidia was looking at-Sasi, dancing with a freshman boy. The freshman boy was something to behold himself already, though Julka was sure she'd seen him in the corridors a few times-shockingly bright white hair, and fully prosthetic arms were not forgettable traits- but Julka was having trouble comprehending that Sasi was dancing. Willingly. And not just in close proximity but proper, intimate slow-dancing, perfectly matching the song that had just started. Neither of them were smiling or even soft in expression, but they were looking at each other in a way that seemed to block the rest of the room out.

For a few moments, all Julka could do was gawp, but quickly felt her cheeks heat up (even if she didn't fully understand why) and she quickly looked down at her plate, grabbed a snack and shoved it in her mouth. Then, she looked up again and realised that Sainty and Asuka were standing together, leaning against the wall, watching Sasi carefully the same way Yuu and Michii had been doing for Niwa outside. Asuka seemed to sense Julka watching and turned to scowl, making Julka quickly avert her gaze. She held her breath for a few moments, then let it out when she realised that Asuka was not about to come and confront her for whatever slight she may have perceived in Julka's curiosity.

"Well that's…" Julka risked another glance at Sasi and the boy. "That is something, huh?"

"Yeah, I kinda felt like I just walked in on them or something. Mad, huh?" Lidia laughed.

"Do you know who the boy is?"

"I've seen him with Quiet, so I assume they're buddies, but I don't know. Will'd probably know. Anyway, these cinnamon twisty things are so good, any idea what they're called?"

Julka had no idea what the cinnamon twisty thing that Lidia was holding up was called, but she was more than happy to change the subject. They finished debating over and eating the remaining snacks a few songs later, and then Lidia took the plates and Julka's glass over to behind the bar table so they could use them later. Once she had done that, before Julka could react in any way, the blond grabbed her hand and with a ferocious grin, pretty much started to drag her to the dance floor.

"Li-Lidia!" Julka protested, trying to keep up.

"You promised!"

"I know, I know!"

"It'll be fun, I assure you."

Julka sighed, and prepared to resign herself to what she hoped would be one quick dance. But as it turned out, Lidia was right.

…

The noise came flooding back, after the dance.

Of course, Tricker knew it had been there all along, of course he had. He'd felt it prickling in the background, and of course the circumstances that had pushed him into dancing had been nothing but chaos and noise. But for the duration of the two songs that he and Sasi had been dancing, the noise had been held at bay. Everything had been held at bay, except for how she and the music felt. No, no sense in lying to myself, it's mostly her isn't it?

Now, sitting back with Quiet and Howl and the others (and Howl's annoying roommate mercifully having gone off to presumably annoy someone else), and sipping at a drink with mint leaves and a thyme syrup, he found himself looking for her, wanting to at least keep her in sight even if they did not stay near each other for the rest of the night. Though, truthfully, he was hoping for that too.

"Looking for your girl, are you?" Sado asked, wryly.

"She's not mine." Tricker shot back without even looking.

This much was true. Someone like Sasi, or for that matter any of her little gang, would resent the idea of being owned, he was sure. By now he was very aware of the reputation they all had, especially as he'd seen it first hand in Mixed Melee Combat and had been on the tail end of their tendency to fight dirty and lash out at the slightest provocation.

"Ah, leave him alone." Koda grinned. "He totally slayed it on the dance floor."

"Thanks, I think."

Mercifully, the conversation drifted onto other things and he half-listened even as he looked around and thought about her. Although she didn't have any particular separate reputation, always considered as one of the group (which made sense, since they were rarely seen separate from each other), Tricker knew her as wild, wild, wild, all flashing eyes and curled-lip scorn and a particular spikiness that was more blinding than prickly. In the lessons where they'd sparred, regardless of whether he was the winner or she was, it felt sometimes like seeing the feelings he kept under wraps out in the world, embodied-a catharsis by proxy. He wasn't like Koda who was constantly gravitating towards Niwa, like siblings who could never resist an opportunity to annoy each other, he didn't show preference to one sparring partner over another. He could hardly get better that way, after all. But all the same, even before the dances, there was a little part of him that looked forward to when he paired with Sasi over anyone else. Even when he was completely defeated, left winded and gasping for breath as she smiled triumphantly with no remorse, there was something calming about that.

Perhaps that made him more screwed up than he already thought he was, but it was what it was. And now he wanted more, and the noise was too much.

He tried, for a little while, to continue to involve himself in the conversation with his friends, and with Hiraga when he came to re-join Quiet with more drinks. He finished his own drink and then got another of the same, hoping that perhaps the thyme would start to have a better effect, but it wasn't the same. He didn't want to take another drink, because when he took anything too strong it seemed to wreak havoc with his arms, so he instead kept looking for her, trying to simply endure the noise. But of course, he reached a point where he could not do that.

Abruptly, he got up from the plastic chair he was sitting in, and almost immediately Howl looked over in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tricker sighed, trying not to snap. "I'm going to get some air."

"Do you need company?" Quiet asked, now looking over.

"No."

Tricker wondered if Quiet was getting a sense of what he was really thinking, if the feelings that he was experiencing were coming through more specifically. Though of course, if they were, he knew that Quiet wouldn't say anything. After a moment of regarding him carefully, Quiet nodded.

"Alright then. See you in a bit, then. I'll take your glass back for you."

Tricker managed a nod before he strode across the hall to the door. Concentrating on getting through with minimal contact with anyone, he almost missed her but as he was halfway there, something made him look up and caught her eyes across the crowd. He stopped abruptly, ignoring whoever it was he'd bumped to in the process and just looked at her for a moment. She tilted her head, eyebrows raised in a challenge as she held his gaze. They continued to look at each other until a large group of cheerful seniors came in between them and blocked each other's view. Tricker blinked, the noise now washing over him again, and quickly went on his way.

Though the central courtyard was not nearly as busy as the inside of the building, there were still a fair few people around and the music could still be clearly heard. His head was starting to prickle a little, his skin crawling and so he continued on, dimly recalling a quiet spot he'd found a while ago, close to the East Wing. As he headed towards where he thought it was, the noise started to become more distant, but he also became aware of footsteps behind him. At first he assumed it was a coincidence, or a sound still carrying over, but as the other noises continued to fade more and the footsteps remained, he eventually had to turn around.

"Sasi?"

"What? You were the one who signalled to me."

Tricker was about to protest, but then he decided against it. Even if that hadn't been his intention, hadn't he been hoping, anyway? Hadn't he been looking and looking for her? Slowly, he nodded.

"Coming, then?"

"Where are we going?" Sasi asked, suspiciously.

Tricker pointed.

"There's what was probably an outbuilding once but now is kind of just two walls making a corner. It's quiet. And private."

Sasi's smile was sharp, but it made something flare deep down inside Tricker, making him want to reach out and trace it. Not now though. Not yet. He blinked, surprised at how confidently he hoped for the moment beyond a not yet, almost missing Sasi taking out her phone.

"By the East Wing. No, don't wait for me, I'm not sure how long I'll be. Yes, that's right. I will, don't worry. Bye."

She hung up, raising an eyebrow and silently daring him to ask. Of course, he did not, and simply indicated the direction and kept walking. Here, there was very little lighting and so he set off a small magic flare, a glowing blue orb, and cast it ahead of them so that there was at least some illumination but gave it very little mind apart from that. At first, Sasi walked behind him but slowly and gradually, as they got closer to the destination, she got closer until they were walking side by side, her proximity making him tingle.

When he got there, he sat down, leaning against the wall. Sasi stood for a moment, looking down at him. Here, the only illumination was from the stars above and the strange dust that seemed to cling to them, as well as his orb of magic that floated near the top of the wall. The noise of the world was almost completely gone but it was still there, still on the edges of things and making him feel all twisted and stretched out.

But Sasi was here too, the taunting green of her eyes brighter despite the relative lack of the light. All he could hear was their breathing, and the sound of his own heartbeat and he tried to concentrate on those and on the sight of Sasi as she blinked and sighed, releasing her hair from the partial ponytail she'd tied it in, the only concession to the party as far as he could tell, save for a golden torque worn over the sleeve of her black shirt, and golden bangles that clinked as she undid the frilly white ribbon and then tied it to one of said bangles. Slowly, she knelt down in front of him, almost close enough to touch but not quite. He held his breath, waiting and Sasi did the same. A dance, a spar, this was like the prelude to one or the other, or maybe it was both.

Is this it? The moment beyond 'not yet'?

Before he could lose the courage to find out, he reached out and put an arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. When she smiled again, he did what he had wanted to do earlier and traced the smile with the fingers of his free hand, slowly and carefully. The smile stilled for a second, fading when his fingers reached the end, but she did not flinch. Come to think of it, she never did flinch, did she? Emboldened by the realisation, he let his hand rest there, cupping her face, simply for a moment enjoying the way she felt, the paradoxical calm. The noise was still there, but it was fading gradually, gradually with every little moment as they edged close to each other.

And then Sasi wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, and the noise disappeared completely.

…

"Oh damn it!"

Rootling around in her bag for her room keys, Hibi groaned and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the courtyard.

"What is it?" Juu asked her.

"I've dropped my purse somewhere!"

"Well, do you remember where you last saw it?" Risu asked.

"I…" Hibi frowned. "I definitely had it when I came out of the chemists and I'm sure I still had it in my hands when I was juggling my shopping bags and trying to shove my card back into the card section…"

"Maybe you dropped it on the path through Aeternum?" Jan suggested.

"Aeternum?" Hibi asked, momentarily baffled.

"The forest, you goof!" Jan exclaimed. "That's what it's called! Don't you pay attention in Professor Shippa's class?"

"Um…"

"She's suggesting that you dropped it somewhere on the forest path."

"Yeah I got that much, Rain," Hibi sighed and sagged. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap. But…it's almost dark now, isn't it?"

The five of them paused and looked up at the sky, awash with bright colour at the top, darkness at the edges working inwards slowly and seeming to swallow it.

"Yeah, I know," Jan sighed. "BUT! The path's only on the outskirts anyway, we've got magic on our side, and between the five of us I'm sure it'll take no time at all to be able to find it."

"A-ah, no, you guys don't need to come with me-"

"Oh, it's fine, silly," Juu interrupted. "Like Jan said, if it's all of us we're sure to find it quickly, then we don't need to worry about nightfall or curfew."

"Yeah, I'd rather you not get the first detention any of us got this year." Risu said vehemently.

"We're such goody-two-shoes, aren't we?" Hibi sighed. "Thanks, guys."

Though still concerned about her purse and just what she was going to do if they couldn't find it, having her friends solidly on her side helped, and she was even able to chat about other things with them as they retraced the steps they had just taken. The sunset continued to fade and slowly become replaced with the darkness of night, but since this was the path and not the forest proper, Hibi expected to see the stars soon enough as the sky had been cloudless during the day. It's fine, she thought. It's fine, it's fine, it's fine.

Then she looked up and saw complete, utter blackness.

"Um….guys?"

A scream, and Hibi dropped her shopping bags and looked around her. All she could see, however, was darkness. Smooth, deep black like a sheet of velvet or a paint sample seemingly wrapped around her. No trees, bushes, stones, nothing. She couldn't distinguish the sky from the ground, and she couldn't see her friends. It was all black. There was another scream and a shriek, and Hibi jumped, calling out tremulously.

"Guys? Jan, Juu, Risu, Rain?"

"You're there? You guys are really there?" Rain called out, just as shaky.

"I'm here, too…what just…did you see what happened?" Juu asked.

"N-no, we were just walking and then all of a sudden it's gone dark, it's not even the forest anymore!" Risu wailed.

"How can we not be in the forest?" Jan demanded. "How did this happen? Why's it so…oh goddess, oh goddess, it's dark."

If only I had paid attention to my purse, Hibi thought. Then we wouldn't be in this situation. Eyes wide as she strained them looking for any shape she could see in the darkness, her friends continued to exclaim and cry, their words overlapping each other. Light, we need light, Hibi decided. She outstretched her hand and quickly summoned bursts of her magic in light form, little orange flames, setting them afloat.

"Ohhhh."

Almost immediately, Risu followed suit, releasing a stream of stars around them. Then Jan did the same with her butterflies, Rain with her water droplets and finally Juu with her crystals. The magic floated around the each of them, bathing them all in soft colours and thankfully allowing them all to see each other's faces.

"Oh, we're all okay." Rain sighed, relieved, the blue of her light flickering over her face.

"Nobody's hurt?" Juu checked.

"No…no, I don't think so," Risu said. "I don't think anything happened to be hurt...anyway, let's figure out where we are so we can try and get out of here-oh."

"Risu?" Hibi asked, slowly. "Risu, what's wrong?"

Risu didn't immediately respond as slowly she turned in a circle. Curious, Hibi followed suit, and her heart dropped to her stomach. For all around them, even with the lights they had, there was nothing but blackness. Smooth, deep, seemingly endless black. The only things interrupting it were the five of them themselves, and the dropped bags of shopping. A couple of packets of sanitary pads, a chocolate bar and a bottle of shampoo had spilled out of one and for a moment all Hibi could do was stare at the items before looking back up at her friends.

"Well, crap." Juu said, revealing she'd noticed too.

"We really aren't in the forest any more, are we?" Risu whispered.

"No, we aren't…what do we do now, guys?" Jan asked. "I can't see anywhere to go, can you?"

"No, it's just dark." Hibi said, shivering. "And cold."

"At least we have each other." Rain said.

"We stick together, then," Jan said decisively. "The five of us, we stay close, we keep our lights going and we just…move forward, I guess? Until we find something?"

"Is that safe?" Risu asked.

"Do you have a better option?" Jan asked, though not angrily.

"I don't think either option is the better one but…maybe it's not dark further down. Maybe…" Hibi sighed. "Yeah, let's stick together."

She released a few more flame-lights for extra visibility and then grabbed Risu's hand and Jan's hand. Risu then grabbed Juu's hand while Jan went for Rain. Silent and grim, they all looked at each other and nodded determinedly. They had each other. They could do this. That was what they had to think and believe, otherwise…Hibi didn't want to think about what could happen otherwise and she was sure none of the others did either.

So, with all of them holding on to each other tightly with the lights of their magic around them, they moved forward blindly through the relentless darkness. Onwards, because there was no other choice.

…

Jun yawned and rolled over, stretching out his arm to quieten his alarm clock when he remembered two things:

Firstly, he didn't have an alarm clock.

Secondly, alarm clocks did not typically sound like someone screaming.

The thought was enough to make him sit up abruptly, even as he had to blink and rub his eyes to try and feel a little more awake. Blearily, he looked across the room at Jae, who'd already stood up, though he didn't seem much more awake than Jun was.

"Do you hear that?" Jae asked.

"Yeah…"

They both paused, and listened. Sure enough, the screaming continued, alternating between indistinct wails and words that Jun couldn't quite make out, both punctuated by the sound of someone violently banging against something. Jun gulped, and looked over at Jae.

"Shall we see what's going on?" he asked.

"Sure." Jae shrugged, looking uneasy.

Jun swung his legs over the bed and slipped his feet into his slippers and got up, following Jae as he went to open the door and they stepped out into the corridor. A number of other students had come out of their rooms and were bleary-eyed, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Morning," Theodore said. "Did the noise wake you up?"

"We would have woken up soon anyway but yeah…" Jun answered. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Not a clue…" Theodore said. "You don't know either, right, Ezra?"

"Mhm." Theodore's pink-haired companion nodded earnestly, gold eyes bright and alert and definitely not looking like he just woke up despite being in rainbow plaid pyjamas.

"I think it's coming from the girls' corridor." Quiet said, pointing.

They all walked down their corridor towards the girls' one, and sure enough the screaming and banging got louder and more distinct, and Jun could hear the words:

"RAIN? JAN ERIKA? Are you there? Wake up, please, wake up! WAKE UP…I JUST NEED-"

Jun gasped and stopped abruptly, causing someone to bump into his back and swear. Jun threw an apology over his shoulder but didn't check to see who it was, instead turning to Jae, whose eyes were now wide.

"Is that…?" Jae started to ask.

Jun nodded grimly.

"Kyouki."

Saying her name sparked something in Jun, and immediately he took off, ignoring the surprised reactions of the other boys, skidding to a halt when he arrived at the girl's corridor, Jae close on his heels.

Many of the girls had also come out, most of them hovering by their doors or in clusters nearby, but Jenna and Robyn were both behind Kyouki, watching over her worriedly and reaching out but not quite able to close the gap to pull her back. It was easy to see why, because Kyouki looked quite unlike herself. Her long purple hair was a tangled mess and her face was red and blotchy, tears and snot running down it and eyes blazing almost feverishly as she kept banging and screaming:

"Please, please answer! Juu's gone! PLEASE, WAKE UP!"

Kyouki sobbed and banged at the door, relentless. How are her hands not hurting? Jun glanced over at Jenna and Robyn.

"What's going on?" He asked, having to raise his voice.

Robyn glanced over and for a brief moment she smiled at Jun before sobering again.

"We're not sure," she said, somehow managing to sound soft even as she raised her own voice. "But I think she woke up and Juu was missing."

"Missing?" Jun asked. "Like…."

He drew a blank and just trailed off, but Robyn shook her head and sighed, indicating she didn't know either. For a moment they all just watched as Kyouki continued pounding and screaming. Jun so badly wanted to do something, to help, but he didn't know how.

"Um…do you think we should get help?" Theodore asked.

"I'm surprised nobody's come yet." Jae commented. "The din is…Kyouki, can you, um, take a breath..?"

He went ignored.

"We'll go for help."

This came from Quiet, who pointed to his companion, a surly looking boy with whi-no. Jun frowned, realising that where the light from the wall fixtures was hitting the boy's hair, it took on a shade close to that of mourning. The boy noticed that he was staring and after shooting him with an electric-blue glare he stepped back, and just like that his hair looked fully white again. The boy then turned to look at Quiet and gave him a nod, and the two retreated down the corridor in the opposite direction to find someone.

Almost at that moment, Kyouki let out another wail and dropped to her knees, her legs apparently having given up. Jenna and Robyn reacted almost immediately, both of them dropping to their knees beside the now sobbing girl and rubbing her back.

"Hey, hey, take a breath for me, alright? Deep breath, Kyouki? Can you do it?" Robyn asked in the same calm, efficient tones she used at the infirmary.

"I…I…."

Kyouki made some scrambled gulps but tried her best anyway, the breaths exaggerated and heavy and interrupted by new waves of sobbing. Robyn kept murmuring while Jenna kept patting her, looking up to the others for reassurance.

"Juu…Juu's gone, Jenna, Robyn!" Kyouki wailed eventually. "She's gone."

"What happened?" Jun asked, crouching down himself.

Kyouki blinked tearily.

"Juu was late, but I went to sleep anyway and then I w-woke up a-a-and she wasn't….she wasn't…her bed it…."

Kyouki trembled and shivered, and Jun noticed Robyn do a double take and her mouth press into a thin, concerned line before she resumed trying to console her.

"Juu was gone?" someone asked.

"Her bed wasn't slept in?" another person asked.

A murmur went around the corridor and people shuffled, uncomfortable. A bed not slept in…surely not. Jun hoped there was another explanation than the only logical one, but he tried to not think about that. Instead he studied Kyouki, who was starting to calm down.

"Y-yeah, sh-sh -she did-didn't come back…but…Jan Erika and Rain, o-or Hibi and Risu, they should know where she is, right? B-but….but-"

"They could just still be asleep though, right?"

"After all this noise?" someone muttered from behind Jun.

Jenna aimed a glare over Jun's head, and then looked to Kyouki, who was slowly becoming quieter, though now she was trembling like a leaf all over.

"I don't know…I just woke up, and when I saw Juu's empty bed I just got a really bad feeling…I…so cold, it crept over me…"

"Clouds."

Jun gawped as Robyn murmured this, her face once again grim-set. She leaned into Kyouki and gently tried to pull her up.

"Kyouki, I think it's the clouds, let's get you to the infirmary…Quiet and Tricker have gone to get hel-"

"NO! NO, NO, NO, We CAN'T-"

The reaction was immediate as Kyouki shoved Robyn away and scrambled back, the tears resuming and her voice rising louder in a wail. Robyn fell back but managed to steady herself against the wall, but Kyouki seemed oblivious.

"Woah, what the hell, Kyouki?" Jenna exclaimed.

"They're not there, they're not there!" Kyouki cried. "They're….oh…."

"Jun, Jae, Jenna, can you help me?" Robyn asked, getting up, looking shaken but thankfully unhurt. "We need to get her somewhere to calm down, if not the infirmary, at least…I've not seen the clouds like this, but it's definitely not helping her worry about her room-mate."

"You think there's something to be worried about?" Jenna asked, a little snappish.

Robyn simply nodded. Jun regarded them all, and then he sighed.

"Okay, I'll try."

"Hold on, let me see if I can get in."

Haze came through, also still pyjama clad like literally everyone else, brandishing what appeared to be a…an oversized screwdriver? Jun blinked as Haze delicately stepped around the five of them on the floor, apparently oblivious to Kyouki's hysterics. He crouched slightly and put his screwdriver into the lock and with intent concentration, jiggled it a few times in motions Jun didn't understand. But a few moments later, there was a click and Haze stepped back, grimly satisfied, before pressing down on the handle and pushing the door open before he then went back.

The watching students gasped and murmured, and Jun sensed them come closer as he peered into the room. The lights were all off, but the curtains were open and there was more than enough light to see that Kyouki's increasing hysterics were more than justified, even if the shadows were stoking them.

Because Jan and Rain's room was completely empty, and the beds had not been slept in.

Groups first featured this chapter:

VYPER
(name changes: Chiara=Skyfish, Mimi-Miimzyu, Elias=Professor Dive)