A snake crawled through a decorative skull laid at the steps to the Yokai Academy dormitory. The dirt, shifting loose after almost a month of lighter traffic, rolled lazily over cobblestone, swept up by a wind from the crags. It pushed up the walls, spiralling up to the sixth floor, through the crack of the fifth room from the staircase, and over the toes of the one sleeping there.

Ikko grumbled, sitting up. He swung his legs out from under the covers, pulled on his face, and reached out to White, snoozing on her favourite seat; his games console. "C'mon. Up you get."

Once upon a time, she would have sulked at the prospect of waking up so early—the tiny bite scars on his fingers marked her protest plainly—but now she unfolded, blinked slowly, and crawled happily onto his wrist. Ikko threw on a t-shirt, joggers, and trainers, and was out the door before the first yawn tempted him to head back to bed.

His body followed the routine by muscle memory. Down the stairs, out the door, then an immediate left, taking off at a brisk jog. On the fourth step, he called on his magic, bringing his barriers to life around his arms, his eyes, his nose, and started counting.

A minute in, he began to focus on his breathing.

Five minutes, he felt sweat begin to bead.

At ten, as he reached the furthest crag from the dormitory, his spell gave out. He slowed but did not stop, walking a few steps to let his mind settle. When it stopped quivering, he picked the pace back up, starting the round trip to the dorms. Lacking the strain of maintaining a spell, his breath came more easily, and his pace increased.

Two laps later, his mind rattling and his breath ragged, Ikko finally stopped at the dormitory entrance. Learning from the last month of training, he refused himself the comfort of a seat at the top step. He made for the elevator, back up to the sixth floor, back home.

Only, he was not alone when he returned. Fumbling with his keys to get the lock turned, the noise of a door opening startled him.

A man much taller than him, arms almost as thick as Ikko was wide, even with his new muscle definition, peeled out of his room. He ducked to get under the door. "Akada."

Recognising Judo did a much better job of banishing his fatigue than any shower he had planned to take. Ikko clenched his fists, glaring up. "They let you back in?"

"Been back for a week," he said, looking both ways down the corridor, "Still the only two up here."

"You've been waiting for me?"

"Not for the reasons you think."

His voice was so low and so steady that Ikko had trouble discerning Judo's tone. Feeling no obvious threat, he settled for crossing his arms. "Why, then?"

Judo appraised him, expression inscrutable. "You're stronger than you were."

"And?"

"You've been training."

Ikko scowled. "What's your point?"

"They told me what you did to Masumi."

"You were there."

"Not quite. You're familiar with the alraune."

He tried to retort, but held himself back. Judo spoke the truth, after a fashion, and his words seemed to confirm what he'd suspected. "You were dosed, too."

Judo bowed his head. "To my shame."

He felt the grip on his arms ease. "How long?"

"Year and a half."

He repeated those words in disbelief. "One hell of a detox."

"Indeed."

"So you're here to… explain?"

"Apologise. It may not have been my mind, but it was my hands all the same."

"You've got grip." Ikko scoffed, remembering how he'd seized him from underground. "How's Masumi?"

"Not coming back."

"But he's alive, right?"

Judo nodded. "Expelled."

"Good. He's got a chance to set things right."

"So do I," he said, "I don't know where to start."

Ikko unfurled his arms, releasing the last of his anger in a cooling sigh. "Same way you start anything, I guess."

Judo's head canted to one side.

"One day at a time. I'm willing to live and let live, provided you… y'know. Don't try that again." He held out his hand which, after a moment staring at it, Judo accepted. It was like being swallowed by a tree branch. "Come hang out for lunch. I'll get you introduced."

"Lunch?"

"Yeah. It's not just me you need to apologise to." Ikko smiled. "And you've got a year and a half of time to catch up on."

Judo nodded. He might have smiled, but his expressions seemed to manifest in microscopic changes, so Ikko couldn't say for sure. "Lunch." He repeated, before returning to his room.

Coming down from the spike of adrenaline the confrontation sparked through his system, Ikko began to feel more acutely the strain of his morning exercise. He backed into his room, showered, and made preparations for his first day back.

More than ever, Ikko found himself wishing for something unusual to happen. As he and Kia split from Etsuko for their separate homerooms, and they took their seats at the corner of their classroom, the absolute mundanity of it grated more frustratingly against the coils of his mind. The week at the Kawamoto Inn seemed so far away now. The rest of the students talked about their breaks or lamented their exams. In a few moments, Mizore would enter and summer would officially end, dragging them back to studying and tests and everything normal about his life in a world of monsters.

He leaned back in his seat, craning his neck to catch Kia's attention. "Can you believe it's over already?"

"Hm?"

"Summer—a whole month, gone like that."

"You never had it slip away before?" When Ikko shook his head, she shrugged. "Best get used to it. Time flies when you're having fun."

"What do you think we're gonna do next?"

"Well…"

Mizore interrupted her answer by entering, bringing with her the beginning of the day. The class rose, greeted her, sat. Ikko averted his eyes, looking out the window.

"First up," she announced, "Yokai's cultural festival is in a couple of months. We'll need an idea for what we're doing, so we'll host a vote tomorrow and, please—no maid cafés. Apparently, we've had about four every year, so let's try and break that streak, okay?"

A collective, decidedly low-octave groan followed. Ikko chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, we're all torn up about it," said Mizore, "I'm sure you'll figure something out. Secondly, the student council will be looking for reps to pick up some of the extra work that comes their way. If you're interested, let me know. Finally, health checks are coming up."

Each announcement brought with it further complaints, though none were enough to stop her continuing. Still distracted, Ikko only made half a note of the things she said.

"Any questions? No? Great. Welcome back!"

"She's cheery," murmured Kia, as they moved along with their classes. Physical education came next, making Ikko regret his morning exercise.

"Makes one of us."

"Yeah. What d'you wanna put forward for the culture festival?"

"Uh… not sure," Ikko replied, not much caring, "You were here last year—what do they go for?"

"Miss Shirayuki wasn't kidding about the maid cafés. They're a hit. Besides that, usual festival stuff. Galleries, club stands, competitions… It's around Halloween, so there's some spooky events, too."

"Great."

Kia smirked. "Don't worry—you can hide behind me if you get scared."

"You're too small to hide behind."

"Hey!"

Splitting to get changed left Ikko without anyone to talk to, so hurried on through to the sports hall. He was the first person to arrive, his footsteps catching the attention of the teacher waiting for them.

They didn't look like a gym teacher, was his first thought. In fact, he didn't look like a teacher at all. He looked like a collection of spines and needles pushed together into the shape of a person and covered in a tracksuit like a sheet covering a corpse. He smiled a thin-lipped smile as Ikko approached. "Aha. You must be Akada."

Ikko stopped his approach, looking back to the entrance to the gym. "Sir?"

"Apologies, I was briefed that you'd be attending my classes. As Mister Kotsubo's successor, the faculty thought it important that I know the circumstances surrounding the vacancy I'm filling."

"Oh. Right. Nice to meet you, uh…"

"Chuku. Hara Chuku."

Mister Chuku offered a hand. Ikko looked down at it, all gnarled joints and long nails. He didn't accept the gesture; after a few seconds, Mister Chuku retracted it, laughing awkwardly. "Well. With a track record like yours, a little distrust makes sense. I look forward to teaching you, Akada."

"Thank you, sir," Ikko frowned, looking to the door. He couldn't have been that fast—where was everyone? "I can't say I feel the same. Gym isn't my best subject."

"Don't worry, I understand," Mister Chuku grinned, a cheery thing that sat ill on a sallow face, "If you can keep a secret, it's not mine, either."

Despite himself, Ikko chuckled. The rest of his class arrived, ending their chat and allowing him to blend more easily in as his normal life threatened, once more, to drag him back into the doldrums.

The worst gym lesson to ever haunt the halls of Yokai followed. Citing the upcoming health checks, Mister Chuku had them split into groups running laps, reps, stretches, and whatever else seemed to spring into his mind at a given moment. Sooner than usual, Ikko felt his lungs burning and his muscles begging for relief. He lagged in every group that he joined and, when the bell finally chimed to mark the end of the lesson, he dropped to cold linoleum like a dropped marionette.

He rolled onto his back, seeing Kia leaning over him; tired, but nowhere near as exhausted as him. "Noodle," she grinned.

"Shut up," Ikko gasped, wiping his brow with his arm, "Remind me to sleep in when we have gym."

"Need a hand?"

She helped him stand. Ikko stretched his arms up behind his back, walking in a small circle. "You're still up every morning?"

Ikko answered, "Not appreciating how shocked you sound."

"Impressed! Impressed, I promise. Never thought I'd see the day you'd be up early for something besides games."

"Yeah, well, it's not all good. Guess who I bumped into on the way back this morning?"

"In a sec." Kia said, pointing to Mister Chuku as he called them back.

"Good job, everyone," he announced, "Real good job. We're gonna keep this up next time, give everyone as much of a head start on their fitness as we can. Any habits you dropped over the summer you'll pick right back up. I'll see you all next week."

The class turned, Ikko with them. Mister Chuku cleared his throat. "Akada. Stay a sec, if you could."

He stopped, his right leg kicking slightly up as his haste carried momentum through it. Kia caught his eye, and made to linger, but Mister Chuku stopped her. "Just Akada, please."

She left, lingering every step of the way. When she was out of sight Ikko grimaced, spinning around to face a smile that felt kinder than it looked. "I saw you fall. Everything okay?"

Ikko sighed through his nose, and made a note to hold on a little longer next time. "All good, sir. Just a little worn out."

"You were the slowest time on everything I set today."

"Yeah, I—"

"By a lot."

He frowned and, as subtly as he could, took half a step back. "I-I don't follow, sir."

"Too much pizza over the summer?"

"No, no… I had a jog this morning. Guess I wore myself out there."

"Is that so?" Mister Chuku arched a spindly eyebrow. "Pulling double duty?"

"Not on purpose. I forgot we had gym today, honestly."

"Right, right…" he trailed off, "Well, take care of yourself. Any slower, and I would have called you out for a trip to the nurse's office. I've only ever seen humans move that slow."

Ikko's heart plummeted through the bottom of his stomach. "W-we can't all be proper athletes, sir."

"No, no, you're right. Perhaps it's my own disposition colouring my judgement. You'll have to forgive me." Again, his smile curled over sickly skin. His lips looked like leather stretched tightly over a ball. Did this guy even know what healthy meant?

"W-will that be all, sir?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, off you go. Can't have you late on your first day." Mister Chuku reached out to pat Ikko on the shoulder, but he was already headed for the door.

Thanks to Mister Chuku holding him back, it wasn't until lunch that Ikko found an opportunity to speak to Kia. By that point, as they waited for Etsuko outside of her class, his patience neared his limit, so rather than broach the topic with any sensitivity, it came out in a single, blurted, run-on sentence.

"Judo's meeting us for lunch I should have told you sooner sorry."

Kia blinked. Having not paid attention from the start, she asked, "Run that by me again?"

Ikko measured his sentences this time. "Judo's back in school. Bumped into him this morning. I invited him to lunch."

The corner of her cheek pinched, the resulting dimple a mark of consternation. Her tone sang sweet, but carried an edge in every syllable. "There's an important part of your explanation that's missing, and that's why. Could you get to that?"

"He was dosed by Masumi, same as Etsuko and Su," he answered, "It doesn't make what he did right, not by a long shot, but he seems… I don't know. He seems nice. Thought it would be worth giving him a chance to apologise to the pair of you, the same was Miss Shirayuki did when you came back."

She folded her arms under her chest. Her eyes, normally the first thing to show any emotion by breaking her Guise, didn't shift. "You didn't want to run that by us first?"

"I didn't have a chance. It happened very fast."

"Does Etsuko know?"

He shook his head.

"Alright," Kia relaxed, "Tell her."

"Tell me what?"

Etsuko slipped out of the classroom, greeting Ikko with a smile, and greeting Kia by sliding her hands over her shoulders, squeezing them gently. The summer vacation had seen her hair grow out with incredible speed; the first curls of decent length outshone her pixie cut, styled into a bob that stopped just above the neck. Ikko stared at the floor, mumbling through the news delivered so hurriedly to Kia.

Etsuko took it better than her girlfriend, her only reaction being a tightening of her arms around Kia's collar. "You think he's sincere?"

"Sounded it. Masumi always struck me as the problem of the two. Judo was just the muscle."

"Okay," she nodded, "I trust you."

Kia looked up. "You sure?"

"That I trust Ikko? Yeah."

"When you put it that way…" She shifted out from her arms, nodding at Ikko. "Let's not keep him waiting."

They headed down to the cafeteria where they found Judo, squeezed into a single chair in the corner of the room. He sat with his back straight and watched the door, and barely moved when he spotted them, beyond inclining his head in acknowledgement. From such a distance, Ikko was finally able to take full measure of the man without fear of neck injury. Ridiculous musculature aside, Judo looked very… deliberate. He did not move without needing to, spoke no more than absolutely necessary, and this extended to his appearance as well. He cropped his hair extremely short, to the point of baldness. He didn't button down his shirt like Kia, or roll up his sleeves like Etsuko; he wore it exactly as Yokai intended for it to be worn which, coupled with his scarce movements, gave him a striking resemblance to a mannequin.

Seeing this, Ikko couldn't help but grin as they approached. He sat directly opposite Judo, with Kia and Etsuko either side. "Thanks for saving us a seat."

"I didn't." Judo replied.

"Oh."

His head turned from Kia, to Etsuko, then back again. "He has told you about this?"

"More or less," said Etsuko, leaning forward in her seat. She kept her hands on the table, ready to push off at a moment's notice, "But I'd like to hear it in your words."

The consummate journalist, Ikko thought in no small shade of admiration. Etsuko cut both to the heart and the primary source of the matter. Her straightforward approach didn't faze Judo, who closed small, bark brown eyes in thought. "Very well."

In more words than Ikko thought him capable, Judo told them everything. From first dosage to their fight, he spared no detail; even when those details fell on the aftermath of the battle.

He watched his friends as they listened, gauging their reaction. Etsuko listened attentively, clasping her hands together. She focussed on Judo the entire time, practically unblinking.

Kia proved more reticent about his recollection at the start, but eventually began to join in, offering details herself when Judo's began to slide. By the time Judo reached the end, they had practically told the story together. Of the fight, she asked, "Was it really that bad?"

"Doctor Tsumugi made it quite clear. We were lucky our minds remained intact."

She looked down, through the table. Ikko reached out and placed a hand on her leg, squeezing gently.

"To think you were under for so long…" Etsuko intoned, "What will you do now?"

He considered the question, his eyes drifting over his hands. "I do not know. There is a temptation to return to the way things were, but… seeing you has given me cause to doubt."

"Why?" asked Ikko.

"The sight of you fighting together inspired something in me. Protecting one other, without question or judgement, it is… not a feeling Masumi cultivated. I must admit a little jealousy."

"You're saying you want to hang out with us?" Kia blurted, eyes popping.

"You have every reason not to trust me." Judo observed. "Just say the word, and I will leave."

Ikko leaned back in his chair, waiting for the girls to decide. To his shock, they looked his way. "Well?" asked Etsuko.

"Huh?"

"What do you think?"

"Why—why me? This is your call."

"You're the leader of this little group," Kia stated, joining the offensive, "What do you think?"

Wanting to protest, but also not wanting to drag this out any further, Ikko let his gut decide; though in truth, his gut wanted nothing more than to eat. "One day at a time," he declared, "You're not to blame for what happened. I don't see any harm in giving you a chance if you're asking for one."

Judo's lips creaked upwards into a tiny smile. "That's very charitable of you."

"Don't mention it," Ikko replied, frowning, "We're just hanging out, right? No harm in that."

Thusly decided, talk moved on to lunch and the culture festival. Discussion about different class's ideas was about to crest when Ikko's phone rang, interrupting them both.

He answered, confused. "Hello?"

"Ikko—it's Ruby."

"Ruby?" He repeated. The surprise picked the volume of his words up, attracting a surprised look from Kia and Etsuko, and a puzzled look from Judo. "What, uh, what's up? Has something happened?"

"No—nothing. Could you come to the headmaster's office, please?"

"Now?"

"As soon as you can, please." Her voice brooked no further curiosity.

Standing, Ikko mouthed an apology to the group. "I'll be right there."