Second Ammo: Not the weirdest academy ever, but good enough!

We decided to deal with the details behind a small army's worth of new faces showing up at a later date. The Louises, Shana and I decided that the first priority on our list should be getting all the new team members adjusted to the academy here, so we'd split up and group together with our new familiars and get everyone up to speed on their new situation as well as let them tell us a little about themselves. Louise 1 left with Nagi and Hayate, Louise 2 with Taiga and Ryuji, Shana with Aria and Kinji and myself with Eve and Fuka.

"So, it's an academy designed to teach kids magic and stuff like that?" Fuka asked at the start of the tour.

I nod. "It's designed to help the noble's kids discover their magic and hone their abilities. So yeah, it's like school back home but with magic and stuff."

Fuka nods as if confirming something. "That makes things easier."

"Why's that Miss Fuka?" Eve asks.

"I was a teacher at an academy in the netherworld before, this is stuff I know how to deal with," Fuka says, a proud smile crawling onto her face.

"Aren't you a bit young for a teacher? I don't know many schools that would hire people like you," I ask. She doesn't seem the type. 'Wait, you didn't know that?' I don't know everything! Shit man, I'm not omniscient! 'Could have fooled me. And what netherworld has an academy?'

"The ad said that anyone who felt they were qualified could show up, so I did," Fuka replies. "After I beat the interviewers into the ground, they had no choice but to hire us!"

"Beat them into the ground?" I ask.

"Us?" Eve asks.

I like Eve's observation better. 'I'm more concerned with the first question though. Besides, didn't you mention something about her little posse? I don't quite feel like asking about it because I'm far too scared to find out.'

"Yeah, us," Fuka affirms. "Me and Desco. My little sister from the last dream I had."

"You said that when you were summoned too. You really think this is a dream?" I ask her.

"Of course!" She tells me. "You would honestly think that a trip through the netherworld could be anything but a dream? And this is just as ridiculous! World ending threat? A group weird people assembled to stop it? It's obviously a dream!"

"Saito, I think she's in denial," Eve whispers to me as Fuka continues ranting.

"I know Eve. I know."

*Louise 1 POV*

"So you're a time traveller?" Nagi asks me as we walk around the academy to get acquainted with the new environment.

"Not by choice," I tell her. "I tried a teleport spell I have almost no experience with, and then me and Saito were accidentally brought into this world with Louise and Shana."

"You seem oddly okay with it," Hayate points out.

I shrug. "I'm not necessarily used to it, per se, but it's not like I didn't know it could happen. Saito's a good example of that."

"He's done stuff like that before?" Nagi asks. Her tone makes it sound like she really wants details.

"When I summoned him way back when I first summoned a familiar, he claimed that he was from the future and that I had already summoned him before. That the summoning apparently reached to both different worlds and different times. I mean, I know it can happen, I've kind of experienced it myself, though it was form a flunked teleport spell and not a summoning spell. It's still weird to think that such a simple ritual that a 10 year old could perform is really so..."

"Powerful?" Nagi offers.

"All-encompassing?" Hayate offers.

"Odd," I say. I nod in satisfaction. "That's it. It's so odd. It's supposed to just summon an animal with a similar alignment to the caster. I understand that Void is an iffy part of the pentagram of magical elements, but summoning a human should be enough. To summon from a different planet and time?"

"What's a void?" Nagi asks. "We're from Earth, we don't have magic there, we don't know what you're talking about!"

"Right. Sorry. I'm used to being around people who know what I'm talking about, so it slipped my mind that you're new to this and don't know what I'm talking about. This may take a bit, so let me explain. You see, there's five elements in existence, fire, water, earth, wind, and void..."

*Louise 2 POV*

"So you two are high school students?" I ask.

Ryuji nods. "School back home was a little different then school here. We didn't have magic for one, so that's new."

"You seem rather calm with this, if that's the case," I respond.

Taiga mumbles something, but I don't quite catch it.

"Excuse me? I didn't hear you."

"We get to go home after this is over anyway, right?" Taiga says. "No point in being upset about it when we're going home once we've dealt with the threat."

"That's one way of looking at it, I suppose," I reply. "Since this is the time for it, do you two have any questions? Regarding anything?"

The two look at the back of their left hand, then hold it up to show me their Gandalfar runes.

"The runes? There really isn't much too them. They mark you as my familiar, as well as increasing your combat abilities when you wield a weapon."

"We're high school students, we have no experience with weapons."

"Well, neither did Saito, but apparently it helped him. I don't know, I wasn't there. Shana already had a lot of experience with using her sword before I summoned her, so I'm not really all that sure how it works. Considering the other familiars we have, I don't think we have to worry too much even if all the runes do is make you move faster."

"Would a wooden sword even count as a weapon?" Taiga wonders. "That's all I have any experience with, and I doubt that would help at all."

"You're scary enough with that as is, I don't think we have nothing to worry about."

"Shut up Ryuji."

*Shana POV*

"So, simply put, you're some kind of inter-dimensional bounty hunter?" Kinji asks me as I sum up what it means to be a flame haze.

"That's not technically inaccurate, but that is really simplifying it," I tell him.

"I think police force would probably be a bit more accurate," Aria says. "Not so much hunting for them so much as punishing those breaking the rules."

"That is a much more accurate description," Alastor says.

"Still can't get over the talking necklace," Kinji says.

"Pendant, technically," I correct. "It's an easy mistake to make, I'll admit, like calling a nodachi a katana, but the two are still different. And Alastor isn't a talking pendant, the pendant is simply how he communicates to the outside world."

"Still not something I'll get used to easily."

"This is the time for asking question, isn't it?" Aria asks, to which I nod in affirmation. "Then let me ask what's with this situation? Why are there two of Louise and why were we brought here anyway? How are we supposed to help with against something that could destroy the universe?"

"They could just be twins, Aria. And didn't the white haired girl that was here say it was only a world ending threat? That isn't as bad," Kinji says.

"Shut up Kinji, they're practically the same thing. And there's no way they're twins," Aria tells him. "Why would they have the same name? Or way of speaking and similar body language? They're far too similar in every way to be just twins."

"Good call. There was only one Louise, but the other Louise and Saito were brought here on accident from the future, or an alternate timeline," I explain to the both of them. "I honestly don't quite know the details myself, something about a teleportation spell gone wrong. As for why you're here, I don't know myself. Ariana mentioned a few things about distortions and unbalanced timelines, but it's something I don't understand. I don't usually deal with parallel words or other related things, you understand."

"So then why us specifically?" Kinji asks. "What do those distortions have to do with why we were brought here?"

"Like I said, I don't understand either," I reply. "If the threat really is as bad as Ariana made it sound, I see no reason you'd be able to help."

"Don't insult us!" Aria yells, seemingly ready for another fight. I don't know why, It's already obvious I'd win.

"As much as you may deserve it, no, I'm not insulting you. Simply making an observation," I tell her.

Aria doesn't seem amused, but puts it past her. "Whatever. So this familiar contract thing... It's like a forced amica contract?"

"Amica contract?"

"A two person team where a younger butei undergoes intense training under his or her senior for a year," Aria explains.

"Hmm. They are kind of similar in a way. Obviously the familiar contract doesn't last for only a year, and training isn't strictly necessary, probably due to the familiar likely not being a mage of any kind and is usually an animal. Still, I can see how you'd think they're similar."

Aria nods to herself in satisfaction. "I see. This should be easy to deal with then I have plenty of experience with having an amica contract."

"I do too, but I highly doubt that kind of experience would help. I suppose it's nice to have," Kinji adds. "There certainly are weirder things to have experience with."

*Meanwhile*

"And the Founder Brimir, the original wielder of void magic, led a crusade against the elves, the wielders of the ancient magic, which allows them to cast without the need of a wand or any other type of magical artifact that all other mages make use of when casting spells. Of course that's only for this world. Shana is capable of performing her own impressive feats, like creating fire and stopping time without a wand and has even taught Saito, an ordinary human, how to create a simple fireball. Well I suppose being able to spontaneously create fire really isn't that simple when you think about it, but I digress. As I was saying, Brimir used his void magic to lead a crusade against the elves, though of course there was obviously far more to it then that. You see, Brimir..."

"Hayate?"

"Yes, milady?"

"She's still going."

"Yes, she is. She's quite knowledgable about these topics it seems."

"Do you think she'll stop anytime soon?"

"Honestly? No. We'll probably be here a while."

"How long has it been?"

"A few hours maybe?"

"Should we be taking notes? Is this going to be on the test?"

"I don't think you need to worry about that, milady."

"Hmmmmm. Oh!"

"What is it milady?"

"I found a deck of cards in my pocket. Wonder where these came from. ... Know any good card games?"

*Louise 2 POV*

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you two know each other?" I asked Taiga and Ryuji.

"Huh?" They both seem surprised by the question.

"I mean, this is the time for us to trade information and get each other up to speed, right? I've told you two about what you're doing here and stuff like that, so would you mind telling me about you two before you came here?"

The two look at each other, then shrug.

"What's there to tell?" Ryuji wonders aloud. "We're not really anything special. Just two high school students."

"... That's it? Just students?"

They nod.

"... Nothing? No-out-of the-ordinary occurrences? No fighting supernatural beings trying to eat humans?"

The shake their heads.

"Wow, I just realized how much Louise must have been disappointed when she first summoned Saito."

"Are you insulting us?" Taiga asks.

"No, just saying. I mean, my first familiar was Shana, so that may have colored my thoughts on what to expect from the summoning," I clarify. "I mean, you've got a super powerful girl that hunts down those things that eat people's existence. Then we've got high school students. Just a touch disappointing, wouldn't you think?"

"I guess," Taiga concedes. "Still not sure how I feel about being considered a disappointment."

"It's something you learn to live with," I tell her.

*Kinji POV*

"Seriously? How on Earth can you say that?"

"Easy, like this! Peach buns taste terrible!"

"I bet you've never even tried a good one, have you? You've probably only eaten second hand peach buns and decided 'oh, that's awful, they must all taste like that.' That's what you did, isn't it?"

"Maybe it is, but why should it matter? Garbage is garbage, no matter who makes it!"

"Oh, that's good. I don't need to state my opinion on that melon flavored trash you're so fond of."

"Real melon bread doesn't taste like melon! It's the appearance that gives it it's name, not the flavor!"

"Then what's the point of calling it melon bread?!"

"What's the point of calling them peach buns?"

"They look like peaches, obviously!"

"Oh, and yet melon bread isn't allowed to be called that on appearances alone, yet your slop can?"

*Schwing*

*Crash*

Ah, that one would bet the sound of Aria's twin kodachi colliding with Shana's nodachi. I wonder where she pulled that sword out of. Or the coat for that matter. Maybe she keeps it up her shirt like Aria? I believe Louise, don't know which one, said something about the familiars that are summoned being the most compatible with the summoner before we left. I can see why.

"So, it looks like I'll have to convert you by force, melonhead."

"I suppose there's nothing wrong with beating some sense into my familiar, peach lover."

*Schwing*

*Ching*

*Crash*

*Fwoosh*

... Let's hope that the magic in this world extends to fireproofing the hallways. It'd suck to burn down the entire school on our first day here. I wonder if my bulletproof cabinet back home is fireproof? I never tested that, but it sure would be nice to have about now.

Shana, the mad melon warrior.

The fighting peach bun lover, Aria.

This kind of monsterous battle, can a normal high school student like me stop it?

The answer is obviously NO.

That's why... I... Decide to turn around and walk away, escaping from this impossible reality. If you want, call me a spineless guy. Do as you please. But wouldn't anyone cherish his own life?

*Saito POV*

"So your father made you demon sisters to make your childhood wish come true?" Eve asks Fuka as she finishes explaining her family... "complications." And the award for understatement of the year goes to...

"Yeah," Fuka confirms. "I don't know why he thought anyone would want a demon for a sister. Seriously! Doesn't really matter, I suppose, what with it being a dream. I mean, what father would make a tentacled demon for his little girl? There's no way such a thing could happen. Ergo, dream."

She's really hung up on that. Maybe it's a coping mechanism to allow her to keep denying the fact that she's technically dead and supposed to be an exploding penguin? Certainly one of the most inventive coping mechanisms. Most would just try to forget, or hug their blanket and cry in a corner for a few months. Or explode, as prinnys are won't to do.

"Still, if you got past the demon thing she was pretty cool," Fuka admits. "I am going to miss her, but you can't keep dreaming forever, no matter how interesting it may be. Hasn't stopped my dreams from being really long, but that doesn't matter I suppose."

"I personally think dreams are highly overrated," I offer. "Reality can be so much weirder, if what's going on is any indication."

"I like dreams," Eve offers. ... And then stops, because there's nothing left to offer. "Saito?"

"Yes, Eve?"

"Is there a library in this academy?"

"Yeah, a rather sizable one. You like reading, Eve?"

She nods. "I do. A lot."

"Well, it's getting late so I don't think I could show it to you today, so how about we head back to the room where we'll all be staying and then visit the library tomorrow?"

Eve smiles and nods. "That would be nice."

"Where are we staying anyway?" Fuka asks. "The academy have things like this happen often and have guest rooms readilly available?"

"Sadly no. We're all going to have to stay in Louise's room. Don't know how we're going to do that with how many people there are, but we're going to figure something out," I tell her. "Follow me."

When we got back to Louise's room we actually had the luck to bump into Louise 2, Taiga and Ryuji.

"There you are," Louise 2 says. "Anyone else with you?"

"Nope. Just us," I tell her. "You see them?"

She shakes her head. "We just got here and decided to wait for everyone else outside, since we figured they'd have to show up eventually."

"Oh, there's everyone else."

We turn and see Kinji walking up to us.

"Where's Shana and... What was her name?" Louise 2 asks.

"She and Aria are a bit busy," Kinji offers.

"Busy with what?" Taiga asks.

*BOOM*

"They're have a little chat," Kinji offers.

*BOOM*

"A... chat?" Taiga doesn't seem very reassured.

"They'll be done shortly," Kinji reaffirms. "Where's the other half of the group?"

"You didn't see Louise, Nagi or Hayate on the way over?" Ryuji asks.

"Nope."

*Meanwhile*

"And that brings us to my father, the Duke de la Valliere, who is the illegitimate son of a royal family member, which means I do partially share in the royal bloodline, thus explaining why I can use void..."

"Got any threes?"

"Go fish. Hayate?"

"Yes, milady?"

"Why are you so bad at this game?"

"... Luck of the draw, milady."

*Saito POV*

"Well, I'm sure they'll all catch up eventually," Kinji says.

"That being the case, how is sleeping going to work?" Taiga asks. "Louise told us about how there's only one bed. And some hay."

"... Anyone wanna call dibs on the hay?" I nervously ask. Silence. "Yeah, didn't think so. Worth a shot. By the way, where's Siesta? Don't we need a place for her to sleep?"

"Who's Siesta?" Eve asks.

"Our maid," Louise 2 explains. "And don't worry, she went home for a week or two on vacation. She told us this already, don't you remember?"

"No. That's why I'm asking. Makes things a bit easier for a bit though."

"Well, we have how many people, twelve total?" Fuka asks.

"The bed can hold three, so that's nine people left to take care of," I make a note of. "I suppose the room can hold everyone, it's just most people will have to sleep on the floor until we can buy some futons or something like that. How do we decide the three who get the bed until we can get some more bedding?"

"Anyone have some paper and something to write with?" Ryuji asks.

"Um... Yeah, I think I have some in my room, I'll be right back," Louise 2 says as she disappears into her room for a few moments and comes back with some paper, a quill and an ink bottle in hand.

Ryuji takes the supplies and does a headcount of the people here. He tears the paper into seven even strips and then marks three of them with a star. He folds the papers so that the star isn't visible, cups them in his hands and shakes to mix them up. He assumes he doesn't need to explain what he just did, so he doesn't and just holds the papers in his hands for us to take. We all take a paper and then unfold them to see who gets the bed.

In this case, the lucky winners were Eve, Fuka and Taiga, who are lucky enough to get the bed, while everyone else just grabs a piece of floor. Yay. I feel we should have expected something like this. I blame you. 'I blame you.'

That problem dealt with, at least for tonight, we all head into the room and claim our spots in the room. We debated whether or not to wait for everyone else to arrive, but decided that they'd be back eventually, no need to worry, let's just hope the academy's still standing tomorrow.