Ch. 1 Nova

SKU belongs to BEPAPAS and not me. I am not BEPAPAS so don't sue me, got it? This is totally away from the type of fanfic I'd usually do, seeing as how it contains no yaoi…0o. I know I know. Enjoy!

"Yttrium - 16 ounces."

It was eleven-thirty when I figured I was nowhere near where I needed to be. That meant that I'd been wandering for about an hour and a half through the back woods. Getting to the school through the back entrance – the woods – didn't occur to me as a bad idea until I saw how seemingly endless the area was. From what I'd heard, Ohtori was a big school, but the forest area couldn't really be that large…could it?

"Attrium - 7.6 ounces."

That aside, I was late. The student council meeting was scheduled for midnight, and my first impression was going to be pretty shot if I showed up a few hours late. Plus, it was super-dark and I had only the moonlight to help me along, which was a crapshoot seeing as how the trees were blocking the way and all.

'Oh well' I though miserably, almost tripping over Something, 'maybe this'll teach me to wake up and get on the right train next time…'

Eleven thirty-five. No way was I going to get there on time.

"Thallium – 2 ounces."

What on Earth was I going to say when I showed up? "Hello, I'm Utena Tenjou, just transferred. Sorry I missed a whole day of school and most of the meeting – I was too busy getting intimate with the woodlands to show up. Whoops."

It was still getting darker, if that's possible, and I had the slight paranoid vision of being forced to sleep in the woods all night and/or morning. I was such an idiot. Why did I have to go in through the back entrance? Why, why?

I had to resist the urge to smash my face into the nearest tree. It wouldn't really do me any good if I was lost and disoriented.

"Copper – 17 ounce…wait, was copper even an ingredient? I don't think it was…"

Not only was I late (eleven-forty), I couldn't even remember that stupid formula I'd been working on for the past few months. The formula I was supposed to be showing the student council as soon as I got there…

Tatsuya told me to write it down, too, which only made my mood worse. Ugh, Lady Luck was obviously out flirting with someone else.

"Not copper, then…Magnesium? Was that it? No…damn, why can't I remember -?"

"You'll need 6 ounces of Californium – and you only need 1 ounce of Thallium, if I'm not mistaken."

Now I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. Usually crazy people aren't aware of it when they're off their rocker, but I think I can be pretty sure of my sanity. I don't paint myself in fish guts and commune with spirits or anything like that – so it came as a bit of a surprise when I first heard her voice. For a moment I thought that I was hallucinating when I looked around and saw no one there. That would make sense I suppose, due to the fact that I was exhausted and hungry, but the voice was too real to be imagined.

Only problem was I didn't see or sense anyone the whole time I was going through the Forest Of Doom. Was it on of them? No, if it was they'd have seen my rose crest and tried to decapitate me. Or something of similar violence. No, it wasn't one of them, so who was it?

"The last thing you'll need is Einsteinium. The trick is to get .6 ounces – any more and your whole formula will have gone to waste, I'm afraid. But you already know that, right? Of course you do. Nature-based elements are useless in synthesis, dear. Right?"

No one was there. Turning around – twice – proved that. My ears, however, knew otherwise. It had me a bit worried that maybe I was going mad.

'Where is that coming from?' Maybe it was one of them, just getting some kind of enjoyment from watching me twirl around in the woods like an idiot.

Why did I have to go through the back entrance?

"Excuse me, miss, but there's no need to spin around like you are; I'm nothing to worry about. I'm not going to…what was it? Oh, yes, 'mug' you for your whole backpack full of items. That is, unless you have takoyaki. I've only been in Japan for a few years but I'm quite fond of it, aren't you? It's rude to try and ignore someone when they're trying to speak to you, by the way. You should introduce yourself, too. Young people these days don't seem to have much in the way of manners…"

I would've replied to the indirect insults, but I didn't want to start conversation with invisible people who liked takoyaki. That would be crazy.

"It's not just takoyaki that I like, by the way. I also like yakisoba, okonomiyaki, modanyaki, and…why are you making that face? Since it seems that you're too dumbfounded to reply, I must do my best to uphold the conversation. You're not giving off the best first impression, you know."

Right in front of me; the whole time! That's where it was coming from! Following The Voice, I came to an area where the trees were sparse and the moonlight was actually putting itself to use. Actually, I could see lights up ahead. The school, maybe? Hopefully – I would be royally screwed if it turned out to be some sort of sadistic mirage. First thing I'd do was try to slide my way out of the whole awkward "I'm late" thing.

"Oh, so you're coming after me now? I'm used to it, but are you sure it's such a good idea? I said I wasn't dangerous but I could've just been lying. Just you wait and see. I'll hit you harder than Joe DiMaggio hits the stitches and take all your takoyaki. Do you even know what I'm referencing, I wonder? No, probably not, you are Japanese after all."

This was more than a little stupid; I could be walking into something dangerous. However, natural curiosity prevented me from using my brain. I had to find out who it was. And what exactly this Joe DiMaggio person had to do with takoyaki. For what may have passed as a few moments passed by, I walked further forward towards her voice and the lights. It was soothing, somehow – the memory of her voice. She hadn't spoken a word after DiMaggio, and it seemed like I did conjure her up in my mind.

Then I saw her.

Yay, my hands hurt!