Chapter Five
In Which Shortness Is A Factor

Human school was boring. Ina had adjusted well to it, considering the circumstances, and was intensely grateful that she lacked a roommate. The classes were tediously easy, she found, and so she sailed through with the bare minimum of effort. She saw Fade surprisingly little, for such a small school, because he was intensely focused on classes. She'd never noticed at the Academy, because she had hung with a different crowd, but he was very studious. So she found herself lonely, without someone to talk to. Her third day, she had chopped her long white hair and dyed it blonde, in order to stop the questions. One girl at the school had naturally pink hair, and another changed her hair color almost every day, but white hair, somehow, caused an incredible stir. Now she simply blended in among the other kids, with their friends, and she without. It was the first time since she'd started school that she hadn't had tons of friends. At the Academy, she had made herself popular with witty commentary and scathing gossip, but at Kadic, not only was she a nobody, she was an unsure nobody. And that made all the difference.

Fade, contrary to Ina, was thriving, despite - or perhaps because of - his roommate. Herve was a tall, geeky boy who had recently skipped a grade in order to graduate with his girlfriend. Some kids at school despised him fervently, including the other local genius, Jeremie, for either his intelligence or his ability to turn a situation to his advantage, but Herve had quickly become friends with Fade. They were evenly matched in disinterest in most people, and of a similar studious inclination. The only exceptions to Herve's social disinterest was his girlfriend, Sythandra Jones, and her step-sister, Naginata Tessen. With them, he was willingly social, and he had accepted Fade into that group. It left Ina all the more lonely, and ever more desperate to talk to Fade.

Standing in the breakfast line at the beginning of her third week, just after getting the wonderful surprise of getting a roommate (and it was still a mystery how Elisabeth Delmas, the principal's daughter, managed to lose her single), Ina witnessed a curious moment from a distance. Through the glass, she saw an unnaturally tall blonde woman talking to Naginata Tessen, the brunette giantess from the first day. Nagi towered over the woman as she did everyone else, but by very little, perhaps only a foot or two. Ina couldn't see enough of the woman to be sure, but she was definitely considering the possibility that it was Lucky, potentially. That's when she saw the blonde woman spin around and punch the thin air. A second later, she leaned down, picked something up that seemed to not be there, and then stalked off, leaving Naginata behind. Ina almost got out of line right then, but another exchange caught her ear.

"-something's up. First them, now them. We need to have an option."

"But we shut it down to end this stuff."

"Well, clearly this isn't related."

"So what are we supposed to do, sit around until it blows up in our faces? It hasn't happened yet, but what if it does?"

Ina knew them by sight. The group of five was extremely close knit, and comprised one senior, three juniors, and a sophomore who had apparently been held back. Two couples and a womanizer. Inseperable, except for classes. And they were suspicious of Fade and her, from the sound of it. How very...interesting. But Naginata and the potential Lucky were far more interesting. So she darted out of line, squeezed through a few people, and burst outside, straight into Naginata, who had evidently walked back. Her vision went blurry, as her head smashed right into the girl's pelvis, and she tumbled backwards.

"Are you okay?" Nagina immediately asked. She came slowly into focus for Ina, who rubbed her face in an attempt to restore vision.

"Sure," she said. "I somehow missed you there."

"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do that." She pulled Ina to her feet, steadying her. "Sorry, Ina. Hey, what'd you run out here for anyhow?"

"Oh, I thought I saw my friend, Lucky," Ina said, looking around, still dazed.

Nagina's hand contracted on her shoulder and Ina squirmed, feeling her skin bruising. At that moment, Fade walked out with Herve, chattering about something mathematical - and stopped dead. "Nagi, let Ina go," he growled.

Both girls looked at him, startled, but Nagi slowly released Ina's shoulder. "How do you know Lucky?" she asked.

"Lucky? She's here?" Fade demanded.

"I thought I saw her talking to her," Ina said, gesturing at Nagi. "When I came out, she was gone."

"How do you two know her?" Herve asked, sidling to the tall woman's side.

Fade slipped to Ina's side. "I'd be more inclined to ask how you two know her, actually," he said, monotone back for the first time in weeks.

It could have gotten ugly at that point, but then the lady in question strode up to them. She wore a black suit with red heels, and had hoisted something invisible over her shoulder, face quite put out. She squealed, dropped it, and swept Ina and Fade into her arms. "You guys! Oh my god I've been so worried you should have let me fucking know!"

"Lucky, you're crushing us," Fade groaned. Ina looked ready to faint.

"Oh, right, sorry." She set them down, gently. "Oh, you've met Nagi and Herve? And Syth, I assume."

"...yeah," Ina said weakly, glancing at Nagi. "We've met."

Lucky leaned down to peer at Ina's face. "Face to crotch, it seems. Ouch. Where's Syth? I can't heal worth a damn, but she can."

"I think she's going to work on some of the poisons you asked her for," Herve stated, still watching the werewolves closely.

"Oh, good. I need more shit to try on Slade. It's not been working so far." She grabbed the still-invisible object off the ground. "First, I'll get this back to me 'n' Koru's place, so he can have the fun of handling it, then I'll get back to y'all. Hey, you two. Be in Syth and Nagi's room at like, midnight. Easier to talk then."

"After lights-out?" Ina asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright then, I guess." She leaned on Fade. "Can you take me to the nurse's? I'm so not going to class."

"Sure." He picked her up, instead of helping her shuffle along, and she heard Lucky squeal slightly. So everything was different; Lucky was still, at least, a sappy romantic, no matter her professed opinions on romance.

"Shut up, Lucky," Fade called over his shoulder, and Ina giggled. Things were looking up again, at least.

There...really isn't much to say about this chapter. It didn't work as a part of the next one, but wouldn't bloody expand to be longer. :| It annoyed me greatly, of course. OH WELL.