"Hup!" Hu Tao said as she plopped herself down on the cafeteria table. There were restaurants on campus that provided better food than the cafeteria, but cafeteria food was free while the food from the restaurants costed mora. She was trying to save some mora at the expense of eating good food.

Of course, Hu Tao wouldn't be suffering from mora issues for much longer once she becomes the 77th director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. But alas, she was just a broke student right now. Tuition was expensive and the day of being director was far away.

She wasn't the first one to arrive. Never usually was either. Sat in front of her was Mona Megistus, an astrologist. Apparently a very talented one at that, just not so much with money. Asstrologist, Hu Tao liked to call her. The reason was self explanatory.

Her hands drifted off, feeling her own. She couldn't help but pout. It was unfair.

Bennett was off to her side. She saw him enough to know he was a magnet for bad luck since the male and female pyro dorms were next to each other. Plus, they had a lot of classes together. In fact, they had the next class together; Team Combat training with Professor Andrius. It was something she was not looking forward to.

Zhongli was on the other side. A very knowledgeable person. His age was unknown to Hu Tao, but that didn't matter. Classes weren't sorted by age after all, but rather skill. And it just so happened that Zhongli was possibly one of the smartest and strongest people in the school.

Finally, there was Venti. Resident Bard. Professional Slacker. Raging Alcoholic. He had his head down against the table, likely passed out. There were piles of paper scattered around him, likely his unfinished homework.

She liked to call the five of them - including herself - the broke gang. Out of all the vision wielders, they frequented the cafeteria the most often to eat. Thus, they sat together. Of course, he had other friends that might drop by occasionally, but usually, they chose to eat elsewhere. Sometimes they'd even bring the food they ordered elsewhere here, and eat with her.

All that did was invite Hu Tao to steal portions of their food. Boo Tao came up to her, some sneakily stolen goods in its hands.

"Hee-hee~ Is this for me?"

The ghost nodded.

"Why, thank you!"

Apart from the broke gang, Xingqiu was here as well. Likely the person Boo Tao stole the food from. He came from a wealthy and well known family, and you could see it in the food he ate. And where Xingqiu went, Chongyun followed as well.

Sucrose was also here. Slightly out of place without her fellow alchemy friends, but she was here. She, along with Hu Tao, Xingqiu and Bennett had Combat Class with Andrius together. Thus, they decided beforehand to meet up before going to class.

"Is that my apple you're eating?" Venti asked, voice tired and eyes half opened. His head was still down against the table. His chin specifically.

"No, I…" Hu Tao thought for a bit before responding. "Picked it up from a tree on the way here. I would never steal a bard's apple after all."

Venti seemed to be satisfied with that explanation. Either that, or he was too tired to care.

"I see you have awoken from your slumber, Venti," Zhongli said, sipping some drink from an expensive looking cup. His voice was deep and smooth, a relaxing sound to Hu Tao's ears. "Have you made a dent on your numerous outstanding assignments yet?"

"...maybe?"

A headshake and sigh in disappointment came from Zhongli. "Have you even done any work yet?"

"Nope!"

"Huh? Then why'd you come here so early?" Bennett asked, joining in the conversation. Hu Tao half expected him to start choking on his food as he talked, not out of malicious intent, but more of his own clumsiness and bad luck. After all, there was this one time when Bennett offered her half of a sandwich after class and promptly choked on it.

"I'm curious about this too," Mona chimed in. "Usually, I'm the earliest one here to allow myself to choose the best meal to e- I mean, because as an astrologist, the waning stars before sunrise often offer the best form of… er, relaxation for the mind."

Venti mumbled something incoherent. Hu Tao sent Boo Tao at Venti to poke him in the cheek.

"Didn't quite catch that." Hu Tao said.

"Um, I-I believe it's because his new roommate kicked him out of the dorm room." Sucrose said. She looked out of place among the people here, usually being seen hanging out with Albedo and Timaeus. Her shy face along with her ears drooped down made for an adorable sight. At least to Hu Tao.

"The new student right?" Xingqiu asked, finally breaking away from his own little world with Chongyun. Hu Tao rolled her eyes at the two of them. It was just so obvious. But Hu Tao knew Xingqiu, they were childhood friends after, and being direct was not something he excelled at. Especially when it comes to feelings.

"Has an anemo vision?" Chongyun said, chiming in. "Bit on the edgy side."

"You can hardly call him a 'new student'" Zhongli said. "Xiao has been here for two months now. Unless, of course, you're referring to Kaedehara Kazuha. However, I doubt he has even settled into the anemo dorms yet."

Zhongli was as knowledgeable as ever. He knew the ins and outs and the happenings of the school despite not being part of the Student Council. A bit suspicious if you asked Hu Tao.

"The one that's not from Snezhnaya right?" Hu Tao asked.

"...yes. Beidou picked him up on her way back from Inazuma. It's why he's considered a transfer student, rather than a newly enrolled student like Xiao was."

Huh, Hu Tao thought, so Yanfei's guess was correct. I thought he would have had a pyro vision. Shame we won't be able to share the same common room.

"With that being said, I'll be taking my leave now." Zhongli said, standing up. "I have a feeling the student council meeting is over and that Ningguang needs me for something."

"We should get going too," Xingqiu said, addressing Hu Tao, Sucrose and Bennett. "I'd prefer to get to class early so we could warm up a bit first. Some stretches and such would be nice."

"I'm with you," Bennett agreed. "You know what they say: 'good things come to those who don't wait around.' With Sucrose as support, me as healer support, Xingqiu as vanguard and Hu Tao main damage dealer along with our amazing teamwork skills, we'll no doubt beat Professor Andrius this time."

They said their goodbyes and left.

"I don't think it'll be as easy as you say," Sucrose pointed out. Her voice was still timid and shy as if she was unsure of herself. "I may offer a lot as a support, but my combat capabilities are rather lacking. It makes me an easy target."

"Ha! No need to worry there. I'll be sure to protect - whoa!"

His sentence was interrupted by him tripping over a rock. Bennett didn't let it phase him though - he was likely used to this by now. Getting up immediately, he continued on as if nothing had happened. "Ahem, protect you from danger."

"Nice thinking," Hu Tao said.

"Why thank-"

"Always nice to check if gravity is still working," Hu Tao continued on, patting Bennett on the back.

"-you…?"

"While I appreciate the sentiment Bennett, I just don't have much confidence in your skills," Sucrose said, trying to sound as inoffensive as possible. "When we look at the power disparity between us and Professor Andrius, I can't help but feel we're fighting an uphill battle."

Hu Tao giggled. "Now that's the attitude I wanna hear!"

Sucrose blushed before stammering out, "I-I was just being realistic considering the odds."

"There are plenty of stories about underdogs overcoming impossible odds," Xingqiu added in.

"Right?" Bennett said. "With the power of teamwork and friendship by our side, nothing can stop us!"

He stuck his fist up in his signature Benny's adventure team assemble pose.

"Of course," Xingqiu added, "Those only happen in novels. Stories meant to motivate oneself. They are unrealistic by nature."

"Oh… or not."

"Ai-yai-yai, are we really all dreading the upcoming spar with good ol Andrius this much?"

Hu Tao was met with three instant yeses and she couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly with them as well. Honestly, fighting was something she'd do only as a last resort. A means to an end. A last resort. It was a pain. A pain because of how many combat related classes there were at ML High and how much of them were mandatory for a vision wielder like her.

Of course, there was a reason for all this, and it wasn't just self defense. Every four years, there's a grand tournament between all the Seven Major Schools of Teyvat. Of course, there were only six schools because ML High was a combination of two nations, but that's not the point.

The purpose of the tournament was to compare the schools together, introduce a bit of competitive rivalry, generate some revenue and to determine which school was the superior school. It just so happened that combat was a major aspect within those tournaments.

So here she was, forced to take on way too many combat related classes. Alas, if she wasn't a vision wielder, it'd be a different story. Vision wielders were just inherently much stronger than the average person.

The voice of Bennett broke Hu Tao out of her musings. "Hey, it looks like Professor Andrius is still fighting over there. Is the previous class not finished?"

"We did decide to come here early after all," Hu Tao answered. She easily spotted Amber a distance away. She left the three members of her group and jogged up to her.

"Yo! Amber! Whatcha doing here?" Hu Tao asked cheerfully.

"Ahaha, well you know, Jean needed me to do something."

Hu Tao sighed. "Of course. Should have known."

"Well you can't blame me for saying 'I'm not sure if I'll get assigned the job this time'. Both transfer students came so suddenly after all."

"Mhmm," Hu Tao said, doubt in her voice. "And I'm not sure there aren't skeletons in your closet."

"Heh?"

"Well anyways, I need you to tell me everything."

"Wait wait wait, what was that about skeletons in my closet?"

Hu Tao rolled her eyes. "Answer the question Amber."

Amber put her hands on her hips. "If you don't want me giving a bad first impression of you to Kazuha…"

"Whoa! Okay okay, I might have put some stuff in your closet… as a joke."

"Admitting to the crime so easily?" Amber asked, a smirk adorning her face.

"First impressions are important, okay! Now tell. Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Wha- Hu Tao!?"

"Hm?" Hu Tao said innocently. "So does he?"

"H-Hu Tao, no one asks that question when they first meet someone. I-It's rude!"

Hu Tao giggled. Amber rolled her eyes in exasperation. "If you wanna know more about him, just watch the fight. You've missed the first one already, but I think things are about to get a lot more serious now that Andrius has decided to fight Kazuha himself."

"Oh?" Hu Tao said, her voice suddenly more serious. Well, more serious than normal. "How was the first fight?"

Amber put her hand against her chin and contemplated Hu Tao's question for a moment. "He's an excellent swordsman. I'd say he'd give Jean a run for her money. He's really fast, and creative when using his anemo vision."

Amber shrugged her shoulders. "Not much else I can say. Just watch the fight and see for yourself."

"So, how was the test?"

The two men were walking along the street. One had a cup with some drink inside of it while the other had his head in his hands.

"I failed."

"Hmm," Zhongli said. "It seems academics may not be your strong suit."

Childe snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. I don't think I understood a single question on that test."

It was likely an exaggeration. There was no way someone would be that unknowledgeable regarding the history of Teyvat. At least, that's what Zhongli thought.

He looked at the form. "With that being said, are you really sure about taking all the combat related classes available? I do know you Snezhynayan folk are built different, but I cannot help but wonder that this amount of combat classes might be too much, even for you."

"Hahaha, don't worry about it," Child said, his previous gloomy mood vanished.

"If you insist," Zhongli said. "The archery range isn't too far away from here. We'll make it there with plenty of time to spare."

Hu Tao was amazed by Kazuha's skills. His speed, his strikes, his everything. Amber, who was beside Hu Tao watching, seemed to agree as well.

"Wow…" Amber said, eyes wide. "The previous fight was pretty intense, but this one's on a whole different level."

"Yup!" Hu Tao said, eyes sparkling. "So, what was that about giving Jean a run for her money?"

Amber scratched the back of her head. "Well, you know, I'm no swords expert, and like, Jean's also really good with the blade, and she doesn't usually go all out like this, and uh-"

"Mhm~" Hu Tao said, her head nodding.

"Ok fiiine," Amber said, giving in. "He's head and shoulders above Jean. And that's not because Jean is a pushover, but rather because Kazuha's just insane."

Hu Tao couldn't help but agree with Amber.

The beautiful anemo designs that Kazuha left while fighting was a sight to behold to Hu Tao.

"Butterflies and maple leaves…" She thought aloud.

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Hu Tao said quickly, before gasping. "Holy cow he's flying!"

Amber was surprised as well, but her keen observation skills told her he wasn't flying. He didn't even have his glider out. "Not quite flying, but rather, he's using the wind to drastically slow his fall. Kind of like levitating really, seeming as if he was standing still midair. Then he occasionally… hops I guess, to gain more height."

"Still! It's so cool!" Hu Tao said, gusing a bit. "I've always wanted to fly!"

Hu Tao wasn't gonna lie. She may or may not have screamed once or twice from the last second dodges Kazuha made. She was nervous from just watching the fight.

"Professor Andrius is getting really serious," Amber observed. "Much more serious than when he's fighting us."

Hu Tao nodded in agreement. "We can't even beat him four v one normally and here this new kid is, going toe to toe with Andrius one on one."

Hu Tao came to the conclusion that Kazuha was out of this world. Her opinion was further solidified when he actually won the fight. A brilliant display of anemo, cryo and electro. She wanted to bounce right over and congratulate him until she realized that they haven't even met yet. So, Hu Tao opted to follow Amber instead.

Kazuha's blade was pointed at Andrius's neck. The part wolf had his hands up, signifying defeat.

"I yield," Andrius said, an impish wolf grin on his face. He was amused despite the fact that he lost. "Nicely done."

Kazuha didn't bother responding. Instead, he opted to collapse onto the ground. He was exhausted. His 'victory' against Andrius didn't feel like one.

For one, when Kazuha was knocked onto the ground, Andrius needed not to leap so high to finish him. A simple dash forward like what he previously did would have finished the fight in the blink of an eye. In fact, Kazuha had a sneaking suspicion that Andrius purposefully leapt high into the air to give Kazuha time to recover.

For another, Kazuha just knew that Andrius was holding back. He likely didn't want to accidentally cleave Kazuha's head off.

Finally, there was the fact that Kazuha was collapsed onto the ground, completely spent, while Andrius looked no worse for wear.

He heard two pairs of footsteps jogging towards him. One of them he recognized as Amber's. There were four more people coming towards him at a slower pace. One of them was Razor.

Kazuha had his eyes closed. His heart was racing and his breathing was heavy. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins. He felt Amber kneel beside him.

"You okay?" She asked. There was genuine concern in her voice.

She received a thumbs up in response.

"You know," Kazuha heard the mysterious person who jogged with Amber say, "you're looking kinda worse for wear there. If you happen to find yourself close to death's door, I can hook you up with some once in a lifetime deals on purchasing your own coffin and arranging your own funeral."

Her voice was mischievous.

"Hu Tao!" Amber said, smacking Hu Tao on the back of her head.

"Ouchie."

So that was her name. Hu Tao. Kazuha propped himself up slowly before turning to face Amber. "Completing the rest of my examinations would be a rather difficult task in this condition."

"No kidding," Amber responded before looking at Andrius, arms crossed.

"Oh~ Amber's getting serious."

A sigh came from the part wolf. "He can take the rest of the day off, can he not?"

"But what about the rest of his exams. His classes officially start tomorrow, you know?"

"Put him in the top class for every subject. He has my backing."

"Huh?" Amber said, confused and shocked. "I can understand putting him in S-class for combat and such, but what about mathematics or english or-"

"Amber," Andrius interrupted. "Relax. Trust in my judgment."

"Yeah Amber~ Wonder boy over here has everything handled."

Andrius nodded in agreement. "If one is able to think proficiently while fighting, they are no doubt able to think proficiently while not fighting as well."

(Andrius would later be proven wrong while fighting the second transfer student, but that's a story for another day.)

"Well, okay…" Amber said, voice skeptical.

"I appreciate the concern, Amber," Kazuha said, "but I can handle myself."

"If you're sure…"

"Excellent," Andrius said, clapping his hands together. "With that out of the way, we have more important matters to discuss. But first," he turned to address the four awkwardly waiting students, "Razor, class is dismissed. Sucrose, Xingqiu, Bennett and Hu Tao: Go warm up as I continue talking with these two. I'm feeling rather pumped up after that fight, so prepare yourselves."

"Great," Hu Tao said, her voice indicating everything was not great. "Just what I needed."

Andrius laughed in response. "Watching the fight must have inspired you at least somewhat."

"I guess…"

"I'm hoping for some results then."

Hu Tao sighed. "I'll see you around then," She said to Amber.

"Childe I presume?" the instructor for archery class asked. He was an average looking fellow. Not completely human and gave off some hunter vibes to Childe. "Call me Professor Draff. I'm a professional hunter, adept at the usage of a bow. I'll be your archery instructor from here on out."

Childe wanted to say he didn't look like much. At least, compared to the rest of the faculty here at ML High, and even the students, Draff looked plain and boring to Childe. Even compared to other visionless people. But he didn't want to make a poor first impression with his new teacher.

Reading Childe's expression, Zhongli spoke up. "He's but a substitute for the time being and is more than capable with a bow."

"Hahaha, you honor me with your kind words Mr. Zhongli. Anyways, head on over to Archery Range 2A where Ganyu is," Draff said, pointing towards a blue haired lady. "She'll be the one conducting your exam. I'm too busy teaching a bunch of imbeciles how to shoot a bow and arrow properly, let alone hunt."

"Gotcha," Childe said. "You following?"

"Yes I will be," Zhongli responded. "I am most curious about your skills with a bow as well as how it compares to the other weapons you wield."

An awkward laugh. "I am the least adept with a bow, and that is precisely why I must master it," Childe said. "I'll try my best not to embarass myself."

The three of them walked to a secluded part of the arena. Kazuha leaned against Amber, arm slung across her as support as he walked. He could feel the piercing gaze of Amber's friend against his back. There was also a slight tinge of red on Amber's face.

"Thank you," Kazuha said to Amber. Truthfully, the exhaustion that hit him was much worse than he had expected. Perhaps the use of a second vision caused that.

"No problem," Amber responded. Her voice was different than usual and not in a bad way. "You must be exhausted from that fight."

"Heh. You could say that again."

"While I love a good little bit of bonding and flirting as much as the next guy," Andrius said, interrupting the two of them. The sentence got Amber to snap her head towards Andrius, face red, "we have more important matters to discuss."

Kazuha's expression remained unchanged. "And what would that be?"

He had an idea of the topic - not many people could wield dual vision after all, let alone one.

"You got potential kid. In all my life, I've only met one other person who could use two visions. Not including myself of course."

Those words piqued Kazuha's interest.

Amber's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa whoa whoa, since when did you have two visions professor?"

Andrius looked up towards the sky as if reminiscing old times. "A long time ago, back when I was a student here at ML High. 'The Golden Generation' people liked to call us."

A heavy sigh. "It was an anemo vision if you were wondering."

The two students felt too uncomfortable posing the question of why Andrius stopped using the vision, likely sensing the matter was highly personal. So they kept silent.

"I'm curious about this other individual," Kazuha said. Amber's expression told Kazuha that she knew something about them.

"I'm more interested in this 'Golden Generation' you spoke about," Amber commented.

"One question at a time please," Andrius said, his hands up in a halting gesture. "But to answer your question Kazuha, his name is Aether, we liked to call him traveler, and he looked a lot like you."

AN: One day later than usual. I try to update every Sunday, but things came up. Anyways, thank you kageroudaze13 for all your constant reviews. Probably one of the only things keeping me motivated to write right now. I hope I don't disappoint.