Daichi: There's a lot that's going on with them. All that we'll ever have to say.

Metis: She doesn't own us.

Daichi: I thought I'd finally gotten that fixed!

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"New transfers? This late in the year?"

"A second year and a first year, apparently."

"What do you think they are like?"

Said transfers were in no hurry. Metis followed closely behind Ryoji.

"About the years we've been entered into..."

"Second year's as far as my knowledge goes, and the sooner the both of us graduate, the sooner we have to become responsible, productive members of society."

Metis tried to imagine Ryoji as a responsible, productive member of society. Error. Data not found. "And my name?"

"You need a last name to get by in this society, and I know for a fact that nobody uses that one anymore."

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"Our class is getting the transfer? Did you hear that, Saki?" Saki nodded. Just one transfer was unusual. Two was rare. Three in the same year? Unnatural.

"With this late in the year, why did he even bother?" Her friend continued.

"Because he wants to actually sit exams?" She suggested. The class quieted.

"My name is Ryoji Mochizuki. It's good to be here." The boy took the empty seat behind her. She tried to ignore him.

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"Both of the first year transfers in our class?" Yukiko questioned quietly. Chie shrugged.

"Let her introduce herself."

"It's good to meet all of you. I'm Metis Yuki." She paused for a bit between her first and last names, as though unsure. Her eyes were a strange color, but Chie didn't seem to really notice.

The girl took a seat on the other side of the room from them. Still, something about her was... different. Yukiko just didn't know what.

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At lunchtime, Metis found Ryoji surrounded by girls. "We've been here for three days, and you're already flirting with the locals. Somehow, I'm not surprised."

"Who's this, Ryoji?"

"Oh, this is Metis. She's a... family friend staying at the same house as me."

"Which house is that?" A third year girl asked.

"Um... our host doesn't let us have friends over," Metis appreciated just how well Ryoji could lie on the spot. She knew very well that Teddie desired more company. "And I don't want stalkers."

"Didn't you used to stalk... my cousin?" She still tripped over her words, trying to figure out just what the Fool who shared her surname could conceivably be to her. Cousin sounded about right.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She sensed that he would rather be left alone with his adoring fangirls.

"Tone it down. Please," She begged him. It wasn't that she had a problem with it. It was just that she'd prefer not to attract attention.

...She needed new friends. Maybe those two girls over there would be pleasant company.

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"I'll tone it down," Ryoji stated after school ended.

"You tried hitting on Amagi in front of Satonaka?" She tried not to smile. Steering Chie and Yukiko in his direction might not have been the nicest thing to do, but she was sure that the other girls would thank her if they knew the kind of reputation he'd had at Gekkoukan. "I thought you were Death."

"I was. But the highest defense stat in the world cannot prevent the pain of a smashed-"

"I get it." She sighed. "Maybe I should get a job. If only so I don't have to be seen with you." Not because she didn't like him, but because she didn't want the attention, and there was sure to be a good job listed.

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"Nanako, this is Metis Yuki. She's your new afternoon babysitter. Yuki, this is my daughter, Nanako. You'll be looking after her in the afternoons for at least the next few months, more if my nephew can't be bothered to help." Ryotaro Dojima had been just about to give up the search for a caretaker for Nanako after the last one quit. It had been three weeks since then, and the transfer student was the only one to apply. At least this meant he didn't have to try to find a good day care that would stay open until he managed to get home.

"It's good to meet you Nanako-chan," Metis stated, trying to make her voice as non-robotic as she possibly could. There had been exactly one job listed, and that was work as a gas station attendant. Thankfully, she had run into a detective who had needed someone to look after his daughter when she got out from school. "I'm sure that we'll get along just fine."

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"Where's Metty-chan?" Teddie asked.

"I assume she's job hunting. Because normal teenagers have jobs. I should probably get one, too." Ryoji leaned back on the ground. "Maybe then we could afford blankets."

"What are blankets?"

"I keep forgetting you've never been to the human world. You know how, past a certain temperature, it gets uncomfortable?"

Teddie nodded. "My fur keeps me warm. Sometimes too warm."

"Well, blankets are meant to keep you from getting too cold."

"You can be too cold?" Ryoji reminded himself that his new friend was an ice elemental.

"Most of us do. Some people are resistant to certain extreme temperatures. That's why I want the blankets. I feel the cold as much as anyone." He adjusted his scarf. "That's why I wear this. It's to keep me warm." He was glad that his light weakness had no physical drawbacks. He'd hate to be weak to ice, because that would mean he'd need to wear his uniform jacket until late spring. Especially given that temperatures in Inaba were lower than they had been in Iwatodai.

The biggest downside to his true identity was that he was more susceptible to his elemental attributes than a human would be. Which, given his light weakness, wasn't much of a big deal.

Having spent so long in the human world, the fog felt oppressive. "I'll be gone for a bit," He stated, putting his textbook down.

"Why?"

"I'm going job hunting. I think Junes is hiring..."

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Daichi: Next time, we flash forward a bit. Inaba gets someone new moving in, Ryoji's already struggling with going easy on the flirting, and Saki Konishi's life changes forever.