Ikko woke warm and mostly dry. His back ached something fierce, and his head felt flattened against whatever he slumbered on.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to stretch. Dry feet slipped on wet ceramic, squeaking. His eyes snapped open. Had he fallen asleep in the shower? A quick look around told him that, yes, he had. In fact, based on the towel swaddling him, he guessed that he had somehow finished, started to dry off, then decided that the corner of the shower cubicle was, indeed, the perfect place to sleep off his exhaustion. Perfectly logical.

He groaned, struggling to his feet, trying vainly to stretch out some of the tension sleeping against a wall had stuffed into him. His back felt like a coiled spring, his neck wanted to lean into the shoulder he'd lolled into in his doze. Finding his hair to be mostly dry, Ikko surmised that he had slept for quite some time. He looked for his clothes, finding them neatly arranged on the toilet seat.

Ikko stared at the pile. Strange. He didn't recall folding them; but then, he didn't recall sleeping in the shower, either. Nervously, he dressed, checking his pockets for his phone and dorm keys. There they were, exactly where he'd left them – and on his phone, one new message awaited his attention.

Mizore S.: How did it go?

He checked the time. Barely two hours had passed since he recalled getting back to the dorm from the headmaster's office, and their conversation. Ikko rubbed his eyes, struggling to recall the details of their talk. Something about an ambassador, and his working with humans… Tsukune and Moka had been there, too, he recalled as much, but it came to him with great difficulty, as if he were reaching through treacle.

Ikko checked himself over in the mirror, finding neither obvious nor subtle marks of foul play. He frowned at his reflection. Had he really, truly, decided that the shower would be the best place to sleep? How stupid could exhaustion make a person?

He recalled a great many times where he'd binged a game or show when his parents were away, and his subsequent tardiness to morning classes. A string of detentions had straightened that out, sure, but Ikko realised with a small, shameful jolt that he could be quite stupid when tired.

Such a revelation in unpleasant hand, he stepped out of the bathroom. A yawn claimed him as he stepped out into the dark, and from that sprang a discomfited groan as his neck protested any sort of movement.

"Rough day, huh?"

His scream tumbled out before he could stop it, before sense recognised Mizore's voice and put the two of her presence together with the two of his slumber. Ikko jumped away, caught his foot on a shoe and stumbled back into the door, head thudding with unceremonious volume. He slumped to the ground, curling up and clutching his head.

"You okay?" Mizore's voice sounded, a little closer. "What did you do?"

Ikko bit back a curse. "What do you think I did? What are you doing here?"

He scrunched his eyes. The suddenness of the pain and its unexpected source had caused his eyes to smart. Something cold touched his shoulder; Mizore's hand. "I came to check up on you," she said, now much closer, "Good thing, too. That water's not free, y'know."

"Thanks, mom," Ikko grumbled, half-heartedly trying to shy away. Her hand moved up to his head, and its natural chill brought relief.

"Let me see," she whispered. Ikko let her, "Not that I can see much in this light and with your hair, but it feels fine. Maybe a lump in the morning."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Did you think you could single-handedly bring the mullet back into style?"

"Mullet?"

She sighed. "Never mind. Here, let me get the-"

Light shone on his eyelids. Ikko opened them, coming face-to-face with Mizore, crouching in front of him with her hand outstretched. In the harsh, bright light of his room, she looked about as tired as he felt. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

He counted them. "Four. I'm fine, Mizore. My name is Ikko Akada, just in case."

She smiled, turning the fingers she'd held up into an open hand for him to grip as he wobbled to his feet. "I found you asleep in the shower," she explained, "Turned it off, threw that on you."

"Wait, so you saw-"

"Yes, Ikko," she rolled her eyes, "You're not the first person I've seen in the shower. It's not like I went looking. I threw a towel on you, sorted your clothes out, and left you to wake up."

"You didn't think to get me out of there?"

"Would you have preferred to wake up naked, in bed, with me sat nearby?"

Ikko looked to the floor, hiding behind his hair. That he now found himself trying to decide if it resembled a mullet didn't help. "Good point."

Satisfied that he could make it three steps without keeling over, Mizore returned to the main space of his dorm and sat cross-legged on the bed. Ikko took his seat. "Why were you sat in the dark?"

She held out her phone. "I got distracted."

"Uhuh."

"I hadn't heard from you since you got whisked away by Nekonome. Ruby's told me the news."

Her tone shifted, hardening. Ikko caught her unbroken stare into his eyes when they flicked up to find them, and shied away once more. "What news?"

"Yokai's human ambassador," she framed the words with her fingers, "Lovely ring to it."

"Oh…" His memory slipped into place. He had agreed to that madness, hadn't he? Ikko shook his head. "Yeah. God knows why I said yes."

"He has that effect on people, our headmaster," Mizore scowled, "Must be something he does. Nudging people's emotions in the right way. A little bit of flattery, a dash of importance… did he say that you were 'uniquely qualified'?"

"Something to that effect."

"That's how he got me," Mizore sighed, "Said I was best placed to take on the teaching role. And again with protecting you. I wish I could hate him for it."

"You don't?" Ikko asked, finding in himself a festering resentment. He'd managed to avoid Kia's hypnotising influence and Masumi's venom, but the drop of a few honeyed words found him spun around the headmaster's finger.

"No," she shook her head, "He's more… subtle than the last headmaster, but he's got the best interests of everyone involved at heart, I think. You couldn't be in safer hands than Tsukune and Moka's, and Ruby said it was only after you dealt with Masumi that he made up his mind about you." Mizore's brow pinched with momentary thought. "The way she told it, he would have had another human plucked up into his games."

"He's mad." Ikko snapped.

"He is," Mizore smiled, empathetic. She reached over and squeezed his arm, "I've already told her I'll help you."

"Not gonna talk me out of it?"

"No point," her look turned wry, "You've agreed it with the headmaster. If you back out now…"

Ikko slumped further into his chair. "Great. And I was looking forward to summer, too."

"It's not all bad," Mizore offered, "You get stuck with us, sure, but we're not a terrible bunch."

"That's if I can't convince Kia and the others to help," Ikko murmured, recalling another piece of the conversation from the fog of his fatigue.

"What?"

He told her about his condition for agreeing to the role of ambassador. "Now that's madness." Mizore sighed. "Getting involved in this yourself is one thing, Ikko, but telling the others?"

"Su already knows what I am," Ikko noted, "Kia, too. I just need to ask them to help. Etsuko, well… she saved my life."

"Because you're friends – not because you're human."

"Because I couldn't defend myself," he corrected, shaking his head, "She wouldn't be in this position if I could deal with problems, right?"

Mizore pursed her lips. "Fine. Etsuko. But you're not telling the kids."

"We can't leave them out."

"We can, and we will," Mizore rebuked, "This is the human world we're talking about, Ikko. It's easy for us who've been there, but for kids-"

"I'm not much older!"

"For kids," she continued, glaring, "It's too much. Bad enough you want to tell them you're human, but to drag them along to help with human-monster communities?"

"What if they want to help?"

"Of course they'll want to help!" she cried, "That's the problem! You swing off after your famous fight, Kia and Su in tow, and of course they'll want to tag along with their seniors. What happens if they get hurt, huh? What happens if they reveal themselves to humans who don't understand? Are you ready to take responsibility for that?"

Ikko bit his tongue. He rankled at the idea that his fighting with Masumi had become the talk of the school, but she had a point. He nodded, taking a deep breath, "Fine. No telling Naoko and Nori."

"Thank you," Mizore relaxed. "How are you gonna do it?"

"What?"

"Ask Etsuko."

"Oh," Ikko scratched his sore neck, "Hadn't thought that far ahead. Probably with Kia."

"Makes sense," she mused, "Given how close those two are."

"Mm."

Ikko made to reach for his phone to check the time when, out of nowhere, his stomach gave an almighty growl. He clutched it, cheeks flushing. How long had it been since he'd eaten? "I'm gonna go make some food," he mumbled.

"Okay."

"Want anything?"

"Huh?"

"You've been as busy as I have," Ikko observed, "You hungry?"

"Oh." Mizore blinked. "Um. Sure. Yeah, I could go for a bite."

He slipped out of his chair, stretched, and dragged his feet out of the dorm and into the communal kitchen, a simple arrangement of hobs, microwaves, and fridges, with a table for six at the far end. Tiredness followed him; his feet dragged, his hands struggled to grip, his every movement came with the threat of a yawn. Hunger proved the prevailing sensation, however, and before long he had some boiling water for two cups of instant ramen.

Mizore followed behind him, apparently unconcerned with being caught in the student dorms. When he asked, shooting her a quizzical look, she merely shrugged. "The only other student on the floor is currently in hospital."

"How'd you know that?"

"You put him there," she answered, matter-of-fact.

Ikko balked. "Masumi's up here?"

"No, the other one. Judo."

"You didn't think that worth mentioning before!?"

"He never made a move in the dorms."

Ikko's heart sank. No doubt there would be hell to pay as soon as he was out of the hospital. He hoped that the eventual fading of Masumi's venom in his system would help Judo see sense. "How long did you know that for?"

"Since you moved in."

"Really?"

"I took your protection very seriously." Mizore frowned, her severe expression harshened by the light of her phone.

"Past tense?" Ikko quipped.

"Oh, yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Since you're so good at taking care of yourself."

Ikko grinned. As he checked on the ramen, he found himself wondering about what unseen efforts Mizore had put into his protection. Had she been in on the headmaster's machinations since his first day, merely playing reluctance?

"I wasn't a glitch, by the way." He noted, trying to sound casual. "I asked him about it."

"Well, obviously."

"What?"

Mizore returned his surprised with a singular arched eyebrow. "Accidents don't happen around our headmaster. He's too good at that."

"Did you know?"

"I didn't." Mizore sighed. "I don't think I would have taken the job if I did."

"Why?"

"Protecting Tsukune wasn't easy," she replied, setting her phone down to accept the ramen he offered her. They sat quietly slurping for a moment, Ikko relishing the instant gratification of barely passable nourishment, "Even when he could look after himself, we had bigger problems to worry about. I wanted to put all that behind me."

"Start a normal life?"

"Normal as can be around here. I expected some trouble, but…"

"Not like this." Ikko finished. She nodded, but he found himself smiling. "I'm glad you didn't know."

"Yeah?" Mizore looked up from her food. "Glad you roped me into another two years of hell?"

"No, no…" Ikko scratched the back of his neck. "I couldn't have survived without you, and, well – I'm glad I met you."

He saw her smile, buried quickly behind her cup. "Good food," she murmured.

"No, it's not," he laughed, "This is awful. I would've cooked more if I wasn't so tired."

"How tired are you?"

"Pass out in the shower tired, apparently." Ikko stretched. "I thought the worst thing I'd be dealing with at Yokai was exams."

"Hah!"

"Well, that was before I found out." Ikko added, setting his ramen down. He rested on the table, head in one hand. "I still can't believe it, sometimes."

"Think you could go back?"

"To not knowing?" He asked. Mizore nodded slowly, watching him. Ikko closed his eyes, mulling it over. Abandon all he'd learned of the world he thought he knew? Abandon the friends who'd dragged him away from cherished, time-wasting hobbies and into the light of a world of terrible wonders?

"Tsukune was the same," she said, clearly catching the spreading grin on his lips, "There was a chance, I think. Moka told me about it. Just after things started to get really rough in our first year, he had the chance to go back. Forget about it all, live out his life as a human."

"I don't think anyone could." They nodded agreement. Ikko wondered aloud. "Maybe that's what the headmaster was counting on? Catch me with an offer too good to pass up, then rope me into helping out with this… ambassador stuff."

Mizore shrugged. "Maybe. I gave up trying to figure out his plans."

"It's so weird." Ikko scratched the back of his neck. He started to lean more on his arm, eyes drooping. "If you'd asked me before if I wanted a life like this…"

"Like what?" she inquired, voice softening.

"Monsters. Dangers." Ikko mumbled. "But friends, too. So many friends. I would have laughed you out the room."

"Stuck with your games?"

"Stuck with my games." Ikko confirmed. His eyes didn't want to stay open. "But I'm glad I wasn't given a choice."

"No?"

"Mm." He yawned. "Wouldn'tve met you if I hadn't."

The thought slipped out, and he didn't care to reel it back in. In the pause that followed, he found his eyes shutting fully, and his breathing slowing. "Or Kia." Mizore added, her laugh spanning a single, nervous breath.

"You first," he yawned again.

"Okay…" Mizore sighed, patting his shoulder. He felt her hand scoop him up. "I think it's back to bed for you."

He burbled assent, and thought no more.

Expecting a chance to triumphantly reunite with friends returned, and to enlist their aid in a grand quest to unite the human and monster worlds, Ikko found himself infuriatingly distracted from his imagined reunion when Yokai Academy life demanded he instead attend class as if nothing had happened. He'd overslept, meaning he had missed homeroom, and therefore his only chance to catch Kia and Etsuko before lunch – and by then, there would be too many students around to properly talk.

He was at least spared the rumour mill as he walked shame-faced to his seat, dodging the teacher's glaring as he apologised. He caught Kia's eye as he pulled his chair out, smiling briefly. They had been messaging one another in the morning – in fact, this had woken Ikko up – but had only managed to exchange assurances of their health and a quick promise to catch up on their first break.

He had been at his desk for no fewer than five minutes when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Tilting his textbook up and shifting his phone to silent, he checked it.

Kia T.: Etsuko wants to talk

His heart jumped.

Me: about what

Kia T.: what else?

His heart jumped again, but he made a show of refocussing on his textbook, so that Kia could deduce his unwillingness to talk whilst they were stuck at their desks. Etsuko wanting to talk was good news, he decided. On the back of their shared ordeal with Masumi, and with the headmaster's offer hanging in the air over his head, he could see it as nothing but.

Mizore pushed her hair back, staring at the envelope that had arrived at her dorm this morning. The clean white envelope glared back up at her, the black of the ink curling into shapes like smirks and sneers.

It could only be one thing, and nothing would be gained by not opening it, yet she found herself paralyzed.

She exhaled. Quite often, her life had been painted in black and white. Choices that were good or bad, decisions that led to life or death. She realised that part of her longed for this consequence to be so simple – for the act of opening this letter to be more catastrophic that it was going to be. The consequence was black or white – pass or fail – but what did that mean? Pass, and life goes on. Nothing changed, save for the piece of paper telling her that, indeed, nothing was different.

Fail, and it all ends. She scrunched her eyes. On that train of thought, opening this was an overwhelmingly poor choice.

Besides, she mused. No-one had come to kick her off campus yet. That had to be good news, right? She pushed the envelope away, convinced, and her phone marked the occasion by ringing. She answered without checking the screen.

"Hello?"

"Mizore!" Tsukune's voice hit like the man himself was pressing down on her chest, squeezing the air out of her lungs. She took a breath.

"Tsukune? How- how are you?"

"Good. I'm good. Glad you picked up," he chuckled, "I thought I'd have to go through Ruby."

"Well, I did say we'd catch-up. I'm done running."

"We can save the catch-up for now," he said, "I had a meeting with the headmaster yesterday. Ikko was there."

"Yeah," she leaned back in her chair, sighing, "He told me. Yokai's new human ambassador. The more I hear that title, the more ridiculous it sounds."

"It's a necessary step. Monsters have taken the time and effort to join human communities – the reverse needs to happen."

"The difference being that humans are a few rungs down the food chain. What did you call for, anyway?"

"I thought I'd check in, say hi," she could hear the smile, the relief at being able to say that to someone who she had avoided for so long, "It's a way off, but summer…?"

"No plans," Mizore replied, "Not yet. The usual for you?"

"Yep. Ikko's coming, too."

"Of course he is."

"Will you be joining him?"

"Don't play dumb," Mizore shook her head, "You know I will. I'm his guardian."

"So is Ruby. You could delegate."

"I can't," she disagreed, "Or… more like I won't. I'll be there."

"I'll tell Marin to make up some extra beds."

"Yeah." Mizore looked at the clock; almost time for lunch. "Listen, I gotta go. Work and all."

"Sure thing. Speak soon?"

"Probably." Mizore smiled, despite the feeling grasping at her chest. "Yeah. Speak soon, Tsukune."

As she pocketed her phone, she noticed that the conversation had taken her out of the chair and across her room, pacing back and forth. Taking one last look at the letter on her desk, she slipped out of the room.

It could only be good news.

There was no avoiding Kia as lunch came around. She seized Ikko's arm the moment he nudged out of his chair, practically carrying him out of the class. "Where are we going?" He asked, hurriedly stumbling. For a girl almost half his size, she could move quick when she had somewhere to go. "Where're we going?"

"Club room."

"But I'm starving-"

"We'll eat after! Come on, Ikko – we're not putting this off."

"Not putting what off?" Ikko tore his arm out of her grasp, rubbing it. "What's the big deal?"

Kia dragged herself back to Ikko, a look of frustration in her baby blue eyes. "We can't talk here. People are listening!"

"Can you at least tell me what it's about?"

After a quick look around, she mouthed three syllables. "Ma. Su. Mi."

"What about him?"

Kia slapped him on the shoulder. "What did I just say!?"

"Alright, alright! Fine."

They marched in silence to the clubroom where, to little surprise, Etsuko waited for them. Ikko marvelled at how different she looked. Even bearing the changed hair that Masumi had forced on her, Etsuko's own personality and poise shone through the damage his influence had caused. She perched on the desk, one hand propping up her elbow to hold her phone in view. She didn't look up immediately, greeting them with a tiny wave of her free hand. "You'll be glad to know you haven't made the news."

"Do I have you to thank for that?" Ikko asked.

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "Unlike some of us, I haven't had a chance to bask in glory just yet. Lots of burned bridges to rebuild."

"That bad?"

"Mostly with the club." Etsuko sighed, setting her phone down. "I said a lot of things defending him. Most of them knew something was up, but…"

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. Not anyone's fault but his."

Ikko scratched the back of his neck. Kia sidled out from behind him, taking a seat next to Etsuko. "The headmaster said he had a word with you first," Etsuko said, "Talked to Kia and I together."

"What did he say?"

"Ah ah – you first," Etsuko's smile shifted, wry, "We're all here today, so it can't have been expulsion, and you don't look like you've been reprimanded, so…"

"Is this going in the newspaper?"

"Haha! Not a chance. I'll be keeping this scoop to myself."

Ikko stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm not sure this is how I planned the conversation going."

"Tough," Kia added, "Come on, Ikko. We got through this together. We have a right to know."

He nodded, ambling over and pulling up a chair. "You do," he whispered, "You saved my life. Both of you. Least I can do is explain, so…"

Ikko raked back his fringe. Strangely, he couldn't find the usual glut of nerves that stopped him talking. Instead, he smiled. "Pull up a chair, Etsuko. This might take a while."