"One last thing before we end class," Professor Baizhu erased the board. "I've finished grading about a third of your midterms, and you will get them back at the end of this week. As for the class average, I am most pleased with the results thus far. You are now dismissed."

"Dinner?" Xiangling swooped up her bag.

I shook my head. "I have a meeting in the student council room with Kaeya."

"I did hear something about that. Make sure he doesn't give you too much work. If he does, you can always try to sneak out."

"I'll see if I can," I smiled. "The meeting could run long, so I might not be there for your early dinner."

Xiangling shrugged. "There's always my second dinner. Let me know how it goes! I want to know all the student council secrets, internal drama, juicy gossip—give it all."

"Something tells me you're going to be disappointed. Once I get to the student council room, I'll—" Wait a minute, how would I get there? I'd never been there before, so I didn't know where to find it. "Xiangling, you wouldn't happen to know where the student council room is by any chance?"

"Nope, sorry," she offered me an apologetic smile. "You should try asking someone else—ooh maybe Professor Baizhu knows. He works here, so I think he should."

"Good idea."

Xiangling left in good spirits, and I waited for Professor Baizhu to finish organizing his lecture notes before approaching him with my question. I noticed he took a bit longer than usual, and his pet snake—Changsheng—seemed like she was hissing something in his ear. Not for the first time, I wondered about how Professor Baizhu and a talking snake became so close. While I've encountered crazier things as of late, their relationship was far from normal.

"Hi, professor," I approached him. "Do you know where the student council room is?"

"The student council room?" he blinked slowly. Changsheng stared at me. If snakes had eyelids, I feel like she also would have blinked. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Ah," I began to worry. "Thank you."

Professor Baizhu continued. "Lumine, I have to say I am most surprised by your midterm."

My worry intensified. "Was it bad?"

"Quite the opposite," he shook his head. "For the sake of fairness, I cannot tell you your score until the rest of the class gets theirs. Though, I will say you scored the highest of all your peers."

A buzz of surprise ran through me. "Really?"

"So far," he winked. "Though, I doubt anyone could top your performance."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Don't thank me. It is the result of your great efforts that earned you your grade. My excellent teaching does play some part, of course, but it all comes down to how hard you work for it." Professor Baizhu looked down at his wrist, checking his watch. "Ah, I must be off now. Kreideprinz warned me he'd be tinkering with a new potion design of his, one that involves my stock in the greenhouse. I must get there before he siphons off one too many precious herbs. Good luck with finding that room of yours."

And with that, Professor Baizhu was gone from the classroom. I hurried out behind him, desperate to quickly find the meeting spot. I had about ten minutes before Kaeya chastised me for wasting time—not that I intended to. Exiting the laboratories, I tried to think of a likely location where the student council room would be. The laboratories were out, and so were the student dorms and dining hall.

The library?

There were a few doors beyond the ones hidden behind bookcases. I'd never taken the time to look into them, so maybe that's where I could find it. Quickly, I crossed the main quad and entered the library. Alongside one wall with the least amount of ornamentation were three doors. I checked the first one—full of archive boxes. The second one was a small study space. The third one had a Kamera station set up. Not the library, then.

I chewed my lip as I rushed out of the building, trying to think of the next best option. The lecture building had a lot of classrooms. With classes over for the day, all of those rooms would be empty. I highly doubted the student council would get a room just for themselves, so it could be that a lecture room was transformed for meeting purposes. Before I second-guessed myself, I passed through the quad once more, crossing under trees painted with bright red leaves that signaled the height of autumn.

The lecture building was dauntingly large, but I refused to leave unsuccessful. Luckily, small windows fitted the majority of the doors in the hallways—just wide enough for me to peek in and see if the room was occupied. I dashed down one hall, skimming through the classrooms. Nothing. I climbed up the next flight of stairs to do the same. No Kaeya, Childe, Thoma, or Diluc. Two more floors yielded the same results, and I was sweating from the effort. Not the lecture hall, then.

This was bad. Ten minutes had gone by at this point. Why hadn't I asked Kaeya where the student council room was when he first mentioned it? The others probably knew where it was since they'd been students here longer than me. I cursed my thoughtlessness as I wandered back to the main quad.

"You seem lost," said a calm voice.

I tensed. No one was standing in close vicinity to me. Where had that voice come from?

I heard the person clear their throat. "Pardon me. This isn't the best position to hold a conversation."

It came from...above? I tilted my head up and looked to the trees. Sure enough, there was a student perched between the branches. He looked so serene, I almost felt bad for disturbing his peace when he leapt down and landed on the ground beside me. The action rumpled his clothes, and he straightened his uniform. A single streak of red ran through blond hair, how interesting.

"Clear weather all around brightens the heart." He looked to the skies with striking red eyes that reminded me of Diluc. "Yet you seem troubled and make haste in this space. I noticed you running here and there, never staying in one building for too long."

He'd been watching me from that tree? "I'm looking for the student council room."

"It's in the administration building." He tilted his head. "Do you wish for me to bring you there? I know the exact room."

I nodded with growing appreciation. "That would be great, thank you."

"Alright, let's head off." He left the gathering of trees, and I followed. "I am Kazuha, a first-year who wanders often. That is why I know the location of the destination you seek."

"Nice to meet you, Kazuha. I'm Lumine," I paused. "Do you know where everything is on campus?"

"I never stay in a single place for very long," Kazuha said after a long pause. "While I am still able to, I want to explore all that I can of this school."

Kazuha had begun at a leisurely pace, but his strides lengthened to match my hurried walk. Though it was nice to meet a new face, I was late, so I appreciated his consideration. We entered the administration building, and Kazuha gestured to a wide staircase.

As we climbed the steps, he said "I am no stranger to feeling lost. By guiding you to this place, I was hoping to alleviate at least one soul from the predicament. It seems that your desire to find the student council room wasn't what I sensed, though."

"What do you mean?"

"My comforts are with hearing the voices of all things in nature," Kazuha hummed. "Because people belong to nature, that includes yours. My belief that you are lost in a holistic sense remains firm, but this is just an observation. Please, do not take my musings to heart."

We lapsed into silence as Kazuha led the way down the second floor. I thought about what he had said, about me being lost, and tried to pinpoint what about me gave such an impression. Stealing a look at Kazuha's face, I saw that he wore a faint smile, as if he was the sole keeper of a secret. This guy was just as mysterious as his words. For a first-year, he seemed to have the wisdom of someone who had graduated years ago. I wondered how we'd never crossed paths so far.

"This is the room." He stopped in front of an unmarked door. "If you find yourself lost again, well, I am but a wandering student that you could run into just about anywhere."

The door swung open abruptly. Neither Kazuha nor I had touched the doorknob, and we turned to see who was stepping out of the room. It was Childe.

"There you are, Lumi," he breathed out before cutting to Kazuha. "Who the hell are you?"

"Childe, this is Kazuha. Kazuha, Childe," I introduced them. "I didn't know where to find the student council room, and Kazuha was nice enough to show me the way."

Childe narrowed his eyes. "What a gentleman. I was just about to go looking for you. You don't need his help when you have me."

"I can't just deny help when offered." I placed my hands on my hips. "I'm here now, so we can get the meeting started. Kazuha, thank you again."

For an odd moment, Kazuha didn't say anything in response. Instead, he calmly looked at Childe, me, and back to Childe again. It could have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a flash of amusement cross his features. Because I'd just met him, it was hard to figure out what could be going through his head.

"She said 'thank you'. That means you can leave now." Childe shooed with his hands. "You're not a part of our meeting, so I suggest you get lost."

Kazuha sighed. "I have heard much about you, Childe. I wonder if the rumors are true."

"You need to be more specific." Childe crossed his arms. "Which rumor?"

Ignoring him, Kazuha faced me with a thoughtful expression before reaching out to my face with a hand I noticed to be wrapped in bandages. His hand passed by my eyes and I felt a tickle in my hair before he pulled back, holding a maple leaf between two fingers. There were leaves in my hair? I ruffled the top of my head to loosen up any remnants of the outside. Most of the seasonal trees were in the process of shedding their leaves, and one must have gotten stuck when I was running around.

"This was the only one." Kazuha toyed with the leaf, his gaze sliding to Childe. "Ah, that confirms it."

Childe's fists were clenched tightly, and his eyes had zeroed in on Kazuha's smug expression. My disaster-prevention senses tingled at his reaction to Kazuha's innocent behavior—it was as though Kazuha had personally offended him. Because Childe looked so ready to throttle my new acquaintance, I quickly stepped in front of him in an attempt to block Kazuha from his sight. Childe was taller than me, though, so the best I could do was act as a protective barrier.

"You should probably get going," I rushed out.

Childe barked out a laugh. "He should stay for a chat. I'm quite good at talking with my fists."

"He's joking," I explained.

"I'm not."

"Do not fret," Kazuha shook his head. "There was an urge to confirm my intuition, and I am most satisfied with the results. I have no intention of lingering a moment longer. In the interest of the student body, I hope your meeting goes well." He bent his head slightly before turning away down the hall. A faint draft blew through my hair as he walked past me, carrying the scent of autumn winds.

Beside me, a light scoff escaped from Childe as he ran his fingers through his hair. "You know him? He seems pretentious."

"We just met. I thought he was nice."

"How about you two bring the conversation in here?" Kaeya's voice came from inside the room. "There's plenty of work to go around."

Work?

Childe's shoulders stiffened, and I followed him into the student council room. After ensuring the door clicked shut behind me, I turned my full attention to the interior. There were multiple tables lined up to form a conference arrangement that spanned the length of the room. Wooden chairs padded with teal cushions surrounded the area, but only two of them were occupied. Kaeya sat at the head of the table, closest to the floor-to-ceiling chalkboard, and Thoma sat next to Kaeya at the corner with his back facing the arched windows that lined one side of the room. On the opposing wall hung a large bulletin board pinned up with calendars, reminders, and highlighted material for upcoming student council projects. The sun was beginning to set, and a golden hue was cast over the scattered papers that piled next to both Kaeya and Thoma.

"What's all this?" I picked up a stray slip of paper and read the hand-written text out loud. "The only place to get a good drink on this boring island is the tavern in town. Abolish the Sakoku Order so I can finally get peace of mind."

"That one was most likely Rosaria," Kaeya chuckled. "I'll reword it on the master document to be more appropriate for the proposal, but she makes a good point."

"The master document?" I echoed. "Wait, don't tell me you brought us here to actually do student council duties for you."

Kaeya tsked and marked down a crisp sheet of paper. "Not for me, Lumine. With me. This is a team effort."

"While we were waiting for you to get here, lazypants brought out this nonsense to pass the time," Childe grumbled. "I didn't sign up for this."

"Lumine, hey," Thoma waved with a piece of paper in hand. "It slipped my mind that you might not know where the student council room was. That must have been pretty stressful for you, sorry about that."

"It's alright," I rounded the table and pulled out a chair next to him. "I met someone who showed me the way. Since you guys were working on actual work this whole time, I guess I didn't miss much."

"That's my seat," Childe jumped and slid across the table, landing on the other side to point at the chair I was about to sit in. "I was sitting there before you got here."

"You were sitting next to Thoma?" I blinked in surprise.

"Yes," he nodded firmly. "So, unfortunately, you can't sit next to him. My spot."

Thoma tilted his head. "You were pacing around the room the whole time."

"The intention was there," Childe sniffed.

I couldn't get a sense of what was going on with Childe today. He was incredibly standoffish toward Kazuha only a moment ago. Now, he wanted to sit next to Thoma—someone who he had an issue with for no reason from the very beginning. Though, if he suddenly got along with Thoma, then there was no reason to look into it too much. This was probably an extension of Childe learning to get along with people that—

"Anyways, you can sit in the seat next to me, Lumi."

Ah, that was his ploy. I ruefully shook my head, thinking that I should have known better before a slight pause grabbed me. What exactly was Childe's ploy? He didn't want me to sit by Thoma who was shooting me a see-what-I-mean? look. Seeing how Kaeya quietly watched the whole interaction with his signature smirk, there was no denying it. Thoma made Childe jealous. Kazuha had made Childe jealous—Archons, even Kazuha picked up on it before I did, and he was a fresh set of eyes. If I was looking for proof, I'd be blind not to see it now.

"C'mon, girlie," Childe pulled a chair out for me. "Let's get the real meeting started."

I cleared my throat in part to focus on the task at hand, but mostly to distract myself from the confirmation that Childe also held feelings for me. It was betting to feel warm in here. Sitting down, I focused on what was most important. "We're missing Diluc."

"Diluc?" Kaeya's hand bumped into the neatly stacked pile of sorted paper, knocking them askew. His quiet alarm was evident for only a moment before schooling his features. "Why would Diluc be coming?"

"Him, too?" Childe shook his head. "The whole school is going to know at this rate. Aren't you worried about the Academy finding out?"

"I had a feeling there was something more to this meeting," Thoma said. "Lumine, that day when we—you said you would explain it all later. I take it now is the later?"

I nodded.

"Well, then I can see why you also chose to tell Diluc."

"Why?" Childe gripped the backrest of Thoma's chair. "Why would she tell Diluc?"

My face flamed. "Let's not get off-topic. I told Diluc we'd be meeting here to go over everything after class today, even though he was skeptical. Because I arrived so late, I thought everyone would be here by now."

"Diluc is a very practical man," Kaeya said. "Unless he sees tangible proof in any situation, he's not one to be easily convinced. On top of that, I'm sure he knows I'll be here." He stared at the table. "The odds of him attending are low."

"He said he would," I asserted. "I believe him."

Childe kicked back in his seat. "We don't need Diluc. The four of us are enough."

"I need Diluc," I blurted. "I mean—it would be helpful to have someone like Diluc to…he's very…"

Oh no. My face was growing hotter and hotter. How was I supposed to explain my trust in Diluc without being too obvious about my feelingsfor him as well? While Thoma simply nodded to himself in understanding, Childe looked increasingly alarmed, and Kaeya looked…resigned somehow. Their mixed reactions did nothing to help me find my words.

A knock sounded at the door.

We all looked at each other, and Childe was the first to spring up from his chair. Without hesitation, he swung the door open—just as he had done when confronting me and Kazuha—to reveal none other than Diluc on the other side. Diluc's eyes immediately snapped to glare at Childe, and while I couldn't see Childe's expression since he faced away from me, I could easily imagine the critical stare on his face. They stood there only for a moment before Childe dramatically turned his head away and walked back to his seat.

Relief squeezed in my chest. With Diluc's presence, it felt like the final piece of a shifting puzzle finally snapped into place. He looked at me with a hint of softness before disdain flickered in Kaeya's direction. Hopefully, the two of them could put their differences aside and work together on this. Though some tension was expected, I also hoped that by the end of it all, Kaeya wouldn't stiffen each time Diluc was around.

"Diluc is here," Childe dully announced.

"I apologize for being so late," Diluc fully closed the door. "My plans were intercepted by a few task force members who wanted to take me in for questioning."

I gasped. "Did they find out it was you?"

Diluc took the seat across from me. "They had their suspicions, but my alibi cleared all of that. Now then, what did I miss?"

"Alibi for what?" Childe leaned in. "Don't tell me the Diluc Ragnvindr isn't actually a perfect, rule-abiding, model citizen with a permanent stick up his—"

Kaeya interrupted. "Now that everyone is here, I think it's time for a proper recap." After shuffling the feedback papers, he set them to the side and looked at me. "Childe and I are up to date, but it would be helpful to ensure everyone is on the same page."

"Actually, I had another dream last night."

Childe stopped judging Diluc for a moment to look at me with worry. "A nightmare?"

"I wouldn't call it a nightmare," I spoke softly. "I'm starting to think they were never nightmares."

"What are you talking about? What nightmares?" Diluc folded his arms on top of the table with sharp concern.

"I think it would be good to start with last night and work backward from there." I pushed away from the table to stand up. "Is there chalk for the board, Kaeya? Writing out the key points would help situate everything."

Kaeya procured a piece of white chalk and held it out to me. Our fingers brushed ever so slightly, and I almost didn't catch the acute glare that both Childe and Diluc aimed toward the contact. Thoma, at least, smiled with encouragement. I steeled myself for a detailed recollection of my dream—my projection into the Abyss. Facing the board, I reached up to write down the first major piece of information. Before I could get any further, Childe asked the first question of many.

"What's an Enjou?"

kazuha rerun when