If We Burn, Begin Again

by TheRoseShadow21

The members of high-school club Niðavellir have always protected Asgard Academy by whatever means necessary, leaving no enemy unscathed. But even their powers cannot prevent their numbers from dwindling as controversy swirls around them, and soon secrets will rise to the surface. It is in this year that Arisa Hiyama becomes leader.(Remake of 'Before the Beginning, and After')

4. 1-3

Haru Nakahara hadn't actually expected to find one of the people Kou'd seen in the stars.

It wasn't because he didn't believe Kou. It'd be a bit daft to not believe someone with precognitive abilities when they said they'd seen something, after all. And the time spent hadn't been so bad, no matter his aversion to spending too much time in school. Though he'd never openly admit it to either of them, it had been quite entertaining wandering around with Kou and Atsuya, never mind the search for these people. And Kou's claims had certainly been interesting ones. He knew what Niðavellir were, of course. One couldn't join this school without having some knowledge of that first. He, of course, had had no intention of joining, but if he had been going to join anything, it would have been them. They were the most intriguing thing by far, the one thing that'd set apart his life from the ordinary thing it had been before.

That, if anything, should have lent credence to Kou's claims and he supposed it did, in a way. Nonetheless, he hadn't been able to stretch his mind to fit the shape of the idea (not that he would have ever admitted that, either). It didn't matter that it wasn't possible for Kou to be lying, it also wasn't possible for him to be a part of Niðavellir. That was what he had thought. He'd made the bet fully expecting to win it. After all, he was not a joiner, not even for something like Niðavellir. Have his fun, and then walk away. That was all he had been aiming to do.

Only for that idea to go up in flames the moment he watched Kou get up and say: You're one of the people that I saw in the stars.

Then again, Haru thought, I suppose the idea quite literally went up with flames with that gods-damned stall.

He'd jumped in to help, of course he had, immediately seeing the traces of the spell that had been put on the pot and knowing exactly how they'd forged it wrong. That decrepit thing wasn't strong enough to hold onto that many spells and they should have known it. Perhaps now it was a melted pile of scrap, he could take it and make use of it. He'd forge it into something much better than what it had been, that was for sure.

Of course, first he had to see exactly how all this played out. There had been a long silence after Kou's words, as the reaper girl glared at all of them, but after a moment she directed that glare over their shoulders at the other students still milling around:

"Oi," she barked. "Show's over. If you're not interested in joining us, then scram."

There was some muttering, but most students did drift away either to other stalls or back into the school building. The girl then turned to them and made a beckoning gesture with her finger:

"You three, come with me."

The girl turned on the heel of her boot, slinging her scythe over her shoulder, and strode across the courtyard, meeting a small group that were apparently running to them.

"Chi-chan!" one of them, a cheery-looking girl, exclaimed. "You're back! Are you alright? What was going on?"

"Oh, a stall caught on fire, that's all. Hold on, give me a moment."

In a flash of smoke, the reaper girl un-transformed, and then let the cheery girl link arms with her. Naturally, while un-transformed the girl looked a great deal more ordinary. She lost a few inches of height owing to no longer being in those boots of her, and her school uniform looked a touch too large for her. Yet her long sweep of half-red and half-black hair still shone, and there was a sharpness to her features. Glass-shard eyes, dagger-smile. Haru liked the look of her. Or, perhaps, more accurately, he liked the idea that the look of her represented.

"I'm sorry," a boy with thick, blocky glasses said. "Did you say that a stall caught on fire?"

"Yes," the cheery girl said, her own smile tinted by concern. "What did happen?"

"The Paranormal Studies club were selling crepes, and they decided to spell the pot they were heating sauce in, to both keep the heat even and constant without needing to stir. It also looks as if they were trying to keep the caramel supplies self-renewing. Unfortunately, the pot they were using was a pile of crap. I would have been surprised if the stall hadn't set on fire after that."

The two girls who had come to scold the reaper nodded in agreement at Haru's explanation, the short-haired one going on to say:

"That's about the sum of it," she said. "However, it looks like these three boys managed to handle most of it on their own. Kato-san here added…unnecessary drama."

"Hey!" The reaper protested. "It would have battered that poor sod if I didn't!"

The 'poor sod' here was apparently Kou, indicated by a very flamboyant hand gesture. Haru smirked-it was a fair assessment-but Kou blushed and ducked his head. Oh, have a crush, do we? The reaper girl's obvious attractiveness wasn't really his type, but he could (obviously) see the appeal.

"How did you deal with it?" the blocky-glasses-boy asked. "Did you als-"

"Anyway, forget what I did!" the reaper girl declared, still pointing dramatically at Kou. "You-what did you mean?"

"Chi-chan?" The cheery girl asked.

"He said something about seeing us in the stars."

"Oh, hello, it's you!"

Another cheery voice, though this one had a mellower tone to it. It belonged to a boy with sandy hair. Haru idly wondered if he might be related to the boy with the blocky glasses, given that he too had sandy hair, but when this second boy came closer he saw that not only was it a different shade, but that their features looked completely different. What was more interesting was the way Kou startled, his eyes widening before his expression settled into a polite but distinctly uneasy smile.

"Yes, it is! Hello, sempai…sorry, I'm not sure I got your name before."

"No, no, I didn't get yours, either, though I do remember your sisters. How are Misa-chan and Maki-chan?"

A cloud passed over Kou's face, briefly, but then his nervous smile returned.

"They're alright." He said.

"That's good. In any case, I'm Kenjiro Takenaka, but you'll probably hear people calling me Jeff. Do whatever makes you comfortable."

Haru let Kou make the introductions for the three of them, and studied Kenjiro. On the face of it, he did not seem like the type of person to be part of something like this. He was dressed in something that looked like a waiter's uniform-white shirt, black waistcoat, green apron around the waist- and he was attractive in what Haru understood to be a comforting, brotherly sort of way (not his type, either, but still understandable). The type of boy that parents wanted their kids to bring home to meet them. His blue-green eyes held the calm of a summer's ocean. And yet, despite the amiable tone of his voice and the openness of his facial expression, there was something about him that was just as unfathomable as the ocean, too. The freshly-baked bread scent that wafted around him had the familiar intensity of magic, which told Haru that he was currently transformed. When he eventually cut the conversation short to turn to the reaper and the cheerful girl, he shot a sideways look at Kou that seemed almost sharp. But that, too, disappeared, and he was all softness again as he said:

"Hiyama-chan, this is who I was telling you about."

"Oh, yes, of course!" the cheerful girl exclaimed. "So, from what Chi-chan said, I assume that you're an astrologer?"

"Yes, that's right. And after what my sister said about Takenaka-sempai, I wanted to see if I could get a clearer picture and well…it seems like I am going to be a part of your group."

"Do you want to be, though?" the girl asked though. "I'll be honest, we do need you, but I don't want to force anybody to join us. That wouldn't be right."

Kou actually hesitated at this. Seriously? After the big deal that you made? Haru couldn't believe him, but then someone spoke up:

"Even though you can see it, fate isn't a fixed thing, is it?"

The speaker was a girl that Haru hadn't noticed before, but how he hadn't noticed her was frankly a mystery. Because her doll-like face was one that he always saw plastered on posters at the train station or the fronts of magazines at the convenience stores. Those same convenience stores were always blasting songs sung in the saccharine voice she had just used, and when he had travelled here, inconsiderate, insipid passengers played those songs through their tinny phone speakers, singing along tunelessly. This was Kotone Suzuki, the idol of their generation. And she was standing there, in a uniform that fit as perfectly as one of her stage outfits and with her brown hair unstyled. But she still managed to look doll-like and pretty in that insipid, cutesy way that made people squeal. He hated the look of her. Or rather, he hated the idea that the look of her represented.

And yet, she was here.

She was one of them too.

She tilted her head, and repeated her question. Then, though she had directed the question at Kou, she looked straight at Haru. He stared right back, as if he was trying to bore holes into her with his eyes. He wasn't one of the silly masses who would adore her blindly. And he was pleased for a moment when she blinked rapidly, pressing a hand to her heart briefly in the way he'd expect a flighty idol to do. But then she let her hand fall back to her side, and though she was presumably speaking to Kou, she kept looking at him:

"I mean, that's not necessarily the same thing as having a choice. I think…it's probably more complicated than that. But Fate isn't fully fixed. You're not beholden to it, really. Maybe it'll take you somewhere, but you can choose what to do on that journey. What you'll become."

Her gaze remained locked with his as she said these words, unsmiling. It was as if she recognised his contempt, and wanted to show him that she wasn't going to crumble beneath it. Perhaps she expected him to crumble in the face of such a response, instead? Haru didn't know. Didn't want to know, because if he knew, perhaps he would crumble.

Bring it on, then.

He smirked at her and was satisfied when she blinked again. But he was even more satisfied when she smiled back, and just for a moment, the world centred around it. It was no dagger-smile, it wasn't even sharp. But it had a strength to it he wasn't expecting-and it had been for him. Him, and only him.

Of course, that moment was over all too soon as she turned to Kou again and gave a little giggle, tucking her hair behind her ear and shrugging prettily. Now, her smile matched the saccharine flavour of her voice as she said:

"Well, I don't really know what I'm doing at all, but I'm figuring it out. If I'm going to be here, I want to be of help. Is that what you want?"

"Well…yeah, I mean, I know your reputation is complicated, but I guess you are trying to do good, right?" Kou asked uncertainly.

"I'll join you." Atsuya blurted out.

Everybody turned to him, and he blushed, pushing up his wire-rimmed glasses.

"I mean…" he stammered. "No, yeah, I'll…I'll join you."

"That's brilliant. And…you two?" The cheerful girl asked.

Kou bit his lip briefly, but then gave a determined nod. Now, it was only Haru who had to give an answer, and it was his turn to hesitate. He looked at Kenjiro, and his unfathomable calm. The reaper girl, and all her wildness. Kou, whose stars and persistence had brought him here in the first place.

And then there was Kotone. What she was and what she had, he didn't know. It certainly wasn't anything compared to the others. Yet, at the same time, it was clearly more.

That smile had been proof of that, after all.

And he wasn't a joiner, not at all. And he wasn't someone who got forced into things, not at all. But in the end, faced with all of them, there was only one answer he could give:

"Yes."

The cheerful girl beamed brighter, and beckoned to them:

"Well, though we did talk to a few interested-seeming people, we haven't had any other joiners so let's go up and get our three new members settled in. Chi-chan, can you help Kawamura-sempai and maybe….maybe Hamasaki-sempai dismantle our stall?"

"Oh, I'll clear up too!" Kenjiro said.

"No, Jeff-kun" the cheerful girl said. "You need to rest."

"Oh, I'm fine. Although, since we're finished for the day…"

Kenjiro's un-transformation was possibly the quietest thing Haru had ever seen. Even though it happened quickly, as all transformations did in both directions, it didn't happen in a flash so much as it was a careful fading away. His waiter's uniform turned into a school blazer, and his hair seemed a little more tousled. There was an air of tiredness that became more apparent now that the magic had also faded. Apart from that, though, he still looked almost exactly the same. Still the calm of the ocean, still its unfathomableness.

"There," he said. "That feels better."

"You might as well go up with them," the dour girl who was apparently 'Hamasaki-sempai' said. "We'll bring all of this up straight after."

"Well, if you're sure." Kenjiro smiled after a moment.

"Alright, let's go. Kurosawa-kun, you'll have to tell us about exactly what you saw in the stars, too, okay?" the cheerful girl asked.

"Yes, sure…"

Led by the cheerful girl, they started walking together. Haru learnt the names he hadn't known yet- Arisa Hiyama, Chika Kato, Naoko Kawamura, Hanayo Hamasaki, Rei Nishimori -and quietly memorised them, while Kou and Atsuya took on the bulk of answering all the small-talk questions: How was your first day? Who is your homeroom teacher? Favourite lessons?

All the while, Haru kept looking at Kotone. If she glanced at him, he would look away, make a big show of showing just how uninterested he was, only to keep looking at her again. He wondered if she could see through him. He wondered if she was doing the same. And then he wondered one more thing: what would Kou see if Haru asked him to look for him and Kotone in the stars?

Then again, why would he ask Kou? Why should he get to know something like that before even Haru did?

No, Haru decided, that won't do.

He'd just have to see for himself, instead.

…

"I don't suppose I get to chop this one up too?" Chika asked with a shrug.

"Absolutely not."

Hanayo Hamasaki snapped this at the same time as Naoko did, but it felt like her voice got swallowed up. Indeed, she let herself retreat, focusing on wrapping the cord of Kenjiro's kettle around itself and putting it in the box it had come from, before then packing away all the spoons and drink powders and all the other things Kenjiro had bought along. Niðavellir can keep them, Kenjiro had said, it'll be an improvement on what you had before. Hanayo hadn't been able to fully supress a smile at the way Kenjiro's face had oh-so-slightly scrunched up at the mention of their current drinks selection. It had never been up to much, but that was because none of them had really cared before. It had never even occurred to Hanayo to care before. She hadn't exactly joined to enjoy herself. Someone in her situation didn't really get to enjoy herself.

Well, that isn't exactly the truth, is it? She gave a sideways glance to Naoko and Chika dismantling the stall and placing the pieces on the trolley, still arguing about how Chika had dealt with the burning stall from earlier. Hanayo definitely agreed with Naoko that Chika had been excessive, but at the same time, that was just Chika. She was like a fresh breeze that blew obstacles away without thinking and Naoko was like a solid oak tree, trying to be un-moveable but forgetting that she had branches that could sway in the breeze too. Sometimes, their arguments were circular and repetitive, but sometimes, they were just funny:

"Well, next time, I'm holding you personally responsible if I don't get to destroy anything."

"That's not how that works, Kato-san."

"Sure it does! You'll see."

"Oh my gods, I give up! Just remember, we need that stall for the solstice festivals!"

Naoko threw her hands up in the air, and then walked over to sort out the other things, placing them into the third box they had spare. The final item was the clipboard they had been using to note down the names and pertinent details of anybody who had been interested in joining them. Hanayo, once she had placed the lid on her box, went over to read the clipboard over Naoko's shoulder.

"It wasn't many we got, was it?" she asked.

The list simply read:

Tsuyoshi Sakai, Class 1A, Gunslinger

Emiko Chiba, Class 2C, Merchant

Kie Kimura, Class 3C, Alchemist

The last name made Hanayo's eyes widen, only because she recognised it.

"Kimura-san put her name down? When was this?" Hanayo asked.

Naoko frowned at the name, and answered:

"I don't know. I think it was Hiyama-san who put her name down. I was helping those first year girls with directions to the library, remember?"

Hanayo didn't really know what to say to this, apart from:

"Oh."

"What is she playing at?" Naoko muttered.

"Sorry?"

Hanayo didn't understand. Kie didn't seem like someone who joined clubs. She was too busy either reading books or just staring at everyone as if she was seeing things that others didn't see. She was also pretty sure that Kie hated them. After all, though she acted as though it never happened, Kie had been seriously injured during the incident last year.

Naoko seemed to realise that she had confused Hanayo because she sighed and apologised:

"It's fine. It's just that Kimura-san said some pretty odd things to me today."

"Like?"

But before Naoko could answer, Chika called out to them:

"Heeeeeeyyy, I'm just going to fly off now!"

She had strapped the packaging the stall parts had come in onto her back, and now she swiftly transformed before shooting up into the air. Naoko rolled her eyes and muttered something about how she hoped that Chika wouldn't drop anything, before then saying:

"You're done, right?"

"Yeah," Hanayo said. "I've packed it all as carefully as I could. Hopefully I haven't damaged anything."

"We're not exactly going haring off mindlessly, I think it will be fine." Naoko scoffed. "Come on."

They picked up their boxes and walked across the now almost empty courtyard and back into the school. Though there really weren't that many students around, neither of them said anything until they got to a part of the school which was now completely empty.

"Kimura-san asked me if I knew just what it was we had joined. Erina and I, I mean."

Erina and I. Hanayo tried to ignore the sting of that phrasing. Even before the stigma of Niðavellir, as a child of an orphanage, she'd long resigned herself to not having any friends and assumed it just wasn't something she could expect. But for all this time, she and Naoko had been a unit and yes, it had been alongside Erina too, but Hanayo had thought herself part of that too.

"Do you?"

Hanayo blinked, self-pity interrupted by confusion:

"Do I what?"

"Know? What we've joined?"

"Well…"

Hanayo had made a point of not thinking about it. She had power, yes, but that didn't mean she was particularly powerful. She knew her options were limited, that no matter how proficient she was in her mahou shoujo specialism or any other discipline, she'd be looked down on for her background. More than anything, she had to prove herself. That was why she had joined Niðavellir-because whatever anyone thought about it, they were undeniably powerful. Whatever people thought about it, to see that membership on one's record set people up for great success. But for Hanayo, that great success simply meant a chance at a decent life.

She didn't want to be a bad person. She didn't. And the fact that Niðavellir's original purpose was meant to be that of protection had drawn her to it too. But there were a million different things that she couldn't articulate but that she had noticed anyway, a million different things she'd ignored and tried to forget. She didn't want to know just what it was she had joined. She didn't have the luxury of knowing.

She didn't know how to articulate that to Naoko, though. Eventually, she just shrugged, and Naoko sighed.

"Well for us, I suppose its alright. It's our final year, and then we'll be free of it."

Naoko sounded bitter, and Hanayo found herself tensing up. If you hate it, you can just leave. You get to choose. Naoko had big dreams of joining the police, and when asked why she had joined she often talked about how this was the closest she'd get to proper experience before joining the Police Academy. But Naoko's background was of solidity, stability. She'd be able to do anything she wanted even without Niðavellir. Erina had had that luxury, too.

Perhaps that's why I'm left out, Hanayo thought.

"Did you recognise that boy?" Naoko asked suddenly.

Again, Hanayo was jolted out of one thought and rapidly thrown into another, and her mind flailed before asking:

"Which one?"

"Atsuya Inoue."

"Inoue-kun…. Inoue-kun…"

Not the boy who had claimed to see them in the stars. Not the churlish looking one with hair that almost covered his eyes. But the other one, with wire-rimmed glasses and electric blue eyes and a shock of dark blue hair…

"Fukiko Inoue's brother." Hanayo realised.

"You think?" Naoko asked, tilting her head. "I did think he looked familiar, but I wasn't sure."

"So…so you asked me?" Hanayo frowned.

Naoko shrugged.

"Well, at this point, you don't know anyone at this school I don't know. Plus, you're better at faces than me. So if you didn't recognise him, I don't know who would."

"Inoue-san isn't going to be happy about it, is she?" Hanayo mused.

"No. But, Hamasaki-san, you have to help me."

"H-help you?"

Hanayo didn't know whether to resist or give into the feeling of warmth that spread through her bones at those words, the way her heart lifted again. In some ways, it was worse than the sting she had felt earlier. Neither of them were things she should have had the luxury of feeling…but something like this, so closely aligned with hope-it was somehow worse.

"We need to protect him."

Hanayo blinked:

"This is assuming he is Fukiko's brother."

"You said it, so I'm sure of it," Naoko almost snapped. "But while I don't want to make a big production of it, we need to protect him. Fukiko won't forgive us for being something that interested him in the first place, but it'll break her if anything happens to him like it did with Erina."

Naoko's eyes flashed, and after some awkward shifting of her box, she held out her hand.

"Promise me."

Hanayo stared at Naoko's hand, and then completely put down her box to shake Naoko's hand properly. After all, if she was going to do something like this, she may as well do it properly.

She gripped Naoko's hand as tightly as she could, and shook it firmly, meeting Naoko's gaze head on. Once they let go of each other's hands, she picked up her box, and they made the rest of their journey in silence. But as they walked, Hanayo allowed herself to hope:

Perhaps I am a part of them, after all.

…

Emiko Chiba put the final coin on the counter and met the receptionist's eye with as much steel as she could muster as she said:

"That is equivalent to a year's admission. You are welcome to count it."

The receptionist blinked as she poked at the coins tentatively. Then, she picked up one and thunked it against the counter. Hearing the hard metallic sound it made, she nodded to herself and then went and got one of the mahou-gin machines. She pressed the buttons on the side, then passed the coin through it. When the coin glowed a gold-edged white, and the lights of the machine flashed green, the receptionist nodded. The receptionist pressed the button to turn off the machine's lights, then directed a bland, strained smile to Emiko:

"No, there's no need. Hold on a moment."

Emiko nodded stiffly and forced herself to stand upright as the receptionist swept all the coins back into the threadbare pouch that Emiko had gathered them in. Once the receptionist had taken it and gone, Emiko finally allowed herself to sit down on the armchair opposite her grandmother. Her limbs felt like jelly, and the transformation was making her entire body ache. To say nothing of the pain on her upper arm.

"Sorry, grandmother." She whispered.

"Oh, Emiko," her grandmother said, only wheezing slightly as she reached forward to grasp her hands: "Don't be sorry. This is a much better place for me. I only wish I was healthy enough to continue caring for you."

"But even if you were healthy, we might still have been…"

"Yes, I know, but-"

"It's better this was, better than being in an orphanage. And it will only be for the year. I'll have saved enough that we can find somewhere else for my final year…and then it won't matter anymore."

It was the same argument that Emiko had made countless times over and over, but it had been as much for herself as it had been for her grandmother. She hadn't relished the idea of moving into the school dorms, if only because she liked her small, cosy life with her grandmother no matter all the hardships it had come with.

"I'll come and visit too, grandmother. You know I will."

"I'm sure you will-I'm the one who raised you, after all. Can't have you forgetting that."

But there was a twinkle in her grandmother's eyes as she said this, and Emiko couldn't help but giggle. But then the exhaustion made her choke on her mirth, and she started coughing. Her grandmother whacked her back until she stopped.

"Sorry, I'm just…"

"Overtired, as usual. You should un-transform."

"No, not until I've seen you into your room. They need to be able to take me seriously."

"Darling, you've given them mahou-gin," her grandmother said wryly. "Between that and your little demonstration proving you had no talisman, there'd be something wrong with them if they didn't take you seriously."

"I'll wait until you're settled, though." Emiko insisted.

Her grandmother pursed her lips, but then nodded:

"Very well. In that case, promise me one thing."

Her grandmother paused, and then said:

"No more of the blood magic."

The shock gave Emiko a sudden burst of energy, making her sit upright as she stared at her grandmother, who was now regarding her with the same steely look as she had been using on the receptionist.

"Oh, you think you can hide it from me? I raised you, Emiko."

This time, her grandmother's eyes did not twinkle. Instead, she gestured to Emiko's arm, hidden underneath the sleeve of her pink dress. Emiko covered it with her hand, before remembering that was more or less an admission of guilt, and letting her arm fall back to her side.

"It was just to make up the final number," she said. "Most of them were the usual…"

This wasn't strictly true, as such. Some of the coins had come from the magical energy she had removed from her old talismans before she had sold them, others from her tears or hair. She wasn't lying entirely, most had been made using the alchemical and transformational methods that came easier to her as a merchant mahou shoujo. She had also earnt a good number of mahou-gin by helping at the market stalls on weekends. But her grandmother didn't need to know just how much she had given up in order to soften the edges of their bad situation. So she lowered her eyes and said:

"Sorry, grandmother."

Her grandmother squeezed her hands again and said:

"You're a good girl, really. But don't you worry about me. I'll be perfectly well in here. You need to take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will, grandmother."

It was then that a nurse and one of the care home's managers turned up, and after polite introductions were made, they were escorted to Emiko's grandmother's room. Although Emiko really didn't have the energy, she insisted on being the one to carry her grandmother's bags all the way there. There was already a placard on the door bearing her name: Setsuko Chiba, and it occurred to Emiko that this could be very, very final.

No, she told herself, don't think that. It's only for a year or so, that's all. Just until I can save up some more.

She smiled and nodded and made mental notes of everything she was told, and helped her grandmother unpack. They exchanged somewhat teary hugs, and again Emiko promised not to over-exert herself. But, as the care home manager reminded her, visiting hours were technically over. So eventually, Emiko had to make her leave. And the moment she stepped out of the door, she untransformed and leant heavily against the wall to prevent herself from collapsing. Breathing heavily, the cut on her arm still throbbed, but eventually she forced herself to stand straight and start to walk. Something made her look up at the building as she did, though, and there she spotted her grandmother by the window to her room, still dressed in her blue kimono and looking ever so regal. Yet Emiko knew that just as she'd waited to be out of sight to collapse, so too would her grandmother.

She lifted her hand to wave, and smiled so hard her face ached, before walking away as quickly as possible. Despite her exhaustion, she did not slow down. After all, if her grandmother had worked out that she had used blood magic, she might have worked out why.

And she didn't know what her grandmother would have said to that.

Setsuko Chiba only said good thing about school armies like Niðavellir-but they were for other people. Heroes are all well and good, and I'm proud of the sister who rose so high in her army, but we can still live a good life without forgetting our roots, hmm, Emiko? That was always what her grandmother said, the few times the possibility had been bought up. I won't have you put in harms way for no reason, and no matter how hard things get, we have no reason. Emiko had consequently developed no real desire or interest join a school army.

Until now.

Even before Emiko had filled in the applications for a school dorm room, she had known it wouldn't be so simple, especially for such a last-minute request. That was why when she had spotted Niðavellir's club stall, she had quietly put down her name on the list after making polite small-talk with the third year girl who had the clipboard. She'd heard they were struggling to get members this year, so she figured that looking like she was interested would make other people interested too. She expected she'd have to pretend to show some interest to the current club members later, but she was sure that she wouldn't need to actually join, not once they found other worthier members and she was safely living in the dorms.

But then when she had gone back to the offices to hand her forms back in, Principal Asakura had been there.

"Oh, hello, P-Principal Asakura." She stammered.

"Hello there, Chiba-san, is it?" Asakura said smoothly. "What brings you here today?"

Before she could give him an answer, his fingers closed around the forms she had just been about to put down on the desk. She was seized with the urge to snatch them back, but instead she let go and clasped her hands together behind her back. She kept her eyes on Asakura's face as he read through the form, trying to work out what he was thinking. Then, he turned to her:

"This is a very last minute application, Chiba-san."

"It's an emergency circumstance, sir," the admin at the desk said. "Her grandmother's health is declining."

"Oh, is that so?" Asakura said. "I would have thought the care system would have stepped in?"

Emiko stiffened at that, and clearly Asakura noticed because he gave her a smile with far too many teeth.

"On the other hand…nobody particularly wants to go to an orphanage if they can help it, do they? Even when they're perfectly upstanding institutions such as the Blue Fjords Orphanage. Even so…Chiba-san, you recently tested as mahou shoujo, didn't you?"

"That's right."

"Remind me of your specialism?"

"Merchant."

After a pause, Emiko blurted out:

"I've registered my interest in Niðavellir."

Principal Asakura's eyes flashed, and again he gave that toothy smile:

"Ah, yes. Another upstanding institution that nobody wants to join. It is such a shame, especially when it comes with so many advantages…the continuation of fine tradition, the advantages for your career…the priority placed in applying to live on the dorms."

Principal Asakura's gaze met hers evenly:

"People who make use of their school to live as well as to be educated should give something back, shouldn't they?"

"I…um…"

"Chiba-san, I wonder if you could demonstrate your power for me in some way?"

"Of course? What would you like me to do?"

"Well. You will be joining Niðavellir, of course. But just because it has become smaller than before doesn't mean I am lowering my standards. It would be a mighty shame if you were not worthy, and if I did need to inform Social Services of…your situation."

Emiko closed her eyes and visualised the last talisman she'd had to sell. She remembered the way the little gems set into the gold had glinted in the light, the way the bracelet had slipped through her fingers like water the day her grandmother had given it to her, on a birthday that felt so long ago now. In a swirl of gold light, she transformed.

She looked uncertainly to Principal Asakura, who now leant against the wall, waiting. Her forms were in his hand, and he raised them ever so slightly. She felt her hands tremble, but she bit the inside of her mouth to try and still them while she thought of what would best impress him.

"Principal Asakura, perhaps you should give Chiba-san a few days to demonstrate? It would be difficult to really show a merchant's skill in an office. Or perhaps we could take her down to the marketplace?"

"No, no. If she's really made of what it takes, she'll find something to do. Won't you?"

Principal Asakura held the forms a little tighter, beginning to crumple them. Emiko flinched and opened her mouth to answer, to plead, but blood coated her tongue, and she had to swallow. But the salty, metallic tang of it gave her an idea.

Reaching for the brown leather purse knotted to her wide belt, she drew forth her curved copper dagger, and shook it out of its sheath. The sheath fell to the floor with a clatter, but she ignored it. She held up the knife so that the lights in the ceiling glinted off it, showing that although it was a cheap, unadorned thing it was still pure copper from handle to blade and wickedly, wickedly sharp. She then rolled up her sleeve, grabbing at some of the material with her teeth to keep it away from her arm. She bit down hard, knowing that though the soft material wasn't much apart from suffocating, it would still help with the pain of what she was going to do.

She angled the knife to the bare skin of her upper arm, and gripped it tighter. The gold glow of the spell heated up the handle and made it glow, but she did not flinch. Instead, she thought of her grandmother, of the talismans she'd had to sell, the rising rent she hadn't been able to do anything about, of the forms in Principal Asakura's hands.

I have what it takes.

I have to have what it takes.

She slashed the dagger across her skin, pressing hard to make sure it went deep enough, but not too deep. She watched the line of red spring up in the blade's wake, and as it started to glow she bit down on the material of her sleeve. She could feel fibres get stuck in her teeth, the bunching material almost making her gag, but it was better than the fiery pain. She made one more cut, and then another, and held out her blade to prevent either of the admins from coming closer, as they both looked about to do.

She watched the blood form little rivers down her arm, rivers that joined and became thicker, eventually forming large drops that dripped, dripped, dripped. She watched as mid-air, the drops became larger and rounder, as the vivid red turned into an equally dazzling silver, as swirling patterns set into the surfaces of these larger, rounder drops and as they fell to the ground with an unmistakably solid sound, tinkling as more joined the pile.

Eventually, she was able to spit out her sleeve as the waves of pain gradually smoothed out, as the heat of her wounds started to cool. But still, blood dripped, dripped, dripped that vivid red until it reached the ground and clinked, clinked, clinked into that dazzling silver. And neither the pain nor the heat entirely left.

To help her try and ignore it, she un-transformed back before bending down to scoop the coins. She lowered her head to try and hide how she had to catch her breath, but she suspected it was a useless gesture. Nonetheless, she did not look up until she had every single mahou-gin coin in her cupped hands. Even then, she kept her gaze lowered as she unsteadily got up and then walked towards Principal Asakura. Only once she was in front of him did she allow herself to meet his eyes as unflinchingly as he had hers, and give a smile she hoped was all teeth as she held out the coins.

The first thing she did when she managed to get back into her flat was to stumble to the bathroom and unwrap the bandage around her arm. The bandage had little drops of blood on it, but it appeared that the wounds had stopped bleeding now. Whatever the admins had put on it after Asakura had handed over her forms and told them to process them, it had worked. Or perhaps it had been their apologies. They had been so very appalled by Principal Asakura's behaviour towards her, and though Emiko was both touched and grateful for their concern, she had waved it off. She had just done what she'd had to do to take care of herself, that was all. Later, when her grandmother was healthier and they could afford rent somewhere new, then she'd let herself fall apart. Still, she had let them clean and dress her wound, if only because she knew she wouldn't be able to do it herself, not when she had to think about taking her grandmother to the care home and making sure everything was ready for moving in the next day.

Now, though, she had to change those bandages. Luckily, she'd left her toothbrush and some basic medical supplies out by the bathroom sink, so she quickly re-dressed the wounds, and then brushed her teeth. She knew she should eat, but there was nothing left in the cupboards, and she'd rather save the money for later on. Instead, she went to her bedroom, and shrugged off her school uniform, draping it across her already-packed bags. She opened the wardrobe for her pyjamas, then remembered she had packed them already. As she could not muster up the effort to look for them, she simply crawled into bed in her underwear, and fell fast asleep.

…

As Rei Nishimori turned the corner and reached the road Asgard Academy was set on, he was relieved to see that there were no protestors around today. Of course, the fact he hadn't heard any was a somewhat massive clue as to their absence, but nonetheless it was good to see.

Of course, it won't last, will it? On the homeroom group chat, they were saying that there were protests planned in various parts of the town centre, particularly around the town hall, the local thingstead and the marketplace. Some students were apparently planning on attending some themselves, particularly what looked to be a protest against school armies. Rei had thought of saying something to that, but he'd held back. Mostly because he was sure that the only reason he'd been added to this group chat boiled down to nothing more than a mistake, as almost all of them had been in the same homeroom the year before as well. With that being said, it didn't look like Kenjiro had been kicked out yet, and he'd quite literally confessed to his membership on the group chat. Not that anybody had acknowledged it, but there was no way they didn't know by now regardless.

Well, that's just the Kenjiro Takenaka effect, I suppose, Rei thought as he heard his phone buzz in his school bag and he stopped by a tree to check the messages. The homeroom group chat had now, thankfully, switched to complaints about having homework so soon, but Niðavellir's group chat had now lit up with a few messages:

Kenjiro Takenaka: I won't be in as early as I would like, we have a bit of a breakfast rush here. Mum says she'll be able to let me go soon, though

Arisa Hiyama: Don't worry about it! :)

Arisa Hiyama: Anyway, I'm on my way, and Chi-chan's out reaping, but she'll be done soon.

Hanayo Hamasaki: I'm on the bus, I should be there soon.

Kotone Suzuki: I'm being driven in, and I'm almost there too. I hope there isn't a repeat of yesterday.

Rei Nishimori: There isn't.

As soon as he sent the message, he thought he should clarify, so quickly he typed:

Rei Nishimori: I've arrived early to study, and there's just a few students (and teachers, I assume) around. All's clear.

Kotone Suzuki: Oh that's a relief. See you all soon?

Arisa Hiyama: yes yes sure!

As he tucked his phone away, he heard the sound of a car and looked up to see one-sleek, black, with tinted windows-come purring down the road, stopping right in front of him. Across the road, he spotted another student with a battered suitcase and a couple of bags balanced on the top of it standing right by the kerb as she waited for the car to stop. Once the car had parked, this girl crossed the road and started walking towards the school gates. Which, of course, meant she was walking up to Rei.

"Oh, good morning, Nishimori-kun!"

Rei jumped at the sound of Kotone's voice, and turned to see her get out of the car.

"Oh, right, good morning, Suzuki-san!"

"These are the Agency's drivers," Kotone explained as she got her school bag out. "They come to drop me off and pick me up each day. I wouldn't mind coming on my own but…"

"You're a literal celebrity, you'd be mobbed." Rei said. "Wouldn't you?"

Kotone bit her lip.

"Yes, but…"

She let her sentence trail off, and then turned to thank the driver. They exchanged a few words, and then after Kotone closed the car's door, they went away.

"Perhaps we could arrange something?" Kotone offered. "Not now, of course, I wouldn't want to impose right now. But perhaps if I was able to walk with some of you…"

"Well, I mean, we could…" Rei mused. "But anyway, good morning, Chiba-san."

It had been as the other girl had crossed the road that Rei realised that he had recognised her. Not only had she put her name-Emiko Chiba- down as being interested in Niðavellir, but she had also been in his homeroom last year. He didn't remember very much about her, except that she had been quiet and shy. It seemed that memory was at least accurate as Emiko blushed and stuttered out a 'good morning' in response. But then she said:

"I don't know…I don't know if you know, but I'll definitely be joining you."

"You are?" Rei squawked, before remembering himself and apologising. "Sorry, I mean…you've had time to think about it?"

"I…yes. Principal Asakura approved it, so…"

"Principal Asakura did?" Kotone spluttered, before Rei could ask the same thing. "Like with me?"

Emiko blinked at that, but didn't immediately respond. Rei frowned, not knowing what to make of that. It was true that not just any person could join, even if they wanted to. The leader could be trusted to a certain degree, but if the Principal or Shiho didn't approve, likely it wasn't going to pan out. But he had somehow assumed that all the new people would meet Shiho first, just as Kenjiro and the three first-year boys had.

But before he could mull on that, he noticed Emiko rub her upper arm, wincing slightly. Her suitcase stood next to her, and she started to pull it, but as she did, the two bags on top fell over.

"Oh!"

Emiko bent to get them, but Rei got there first, grabbing both easily.

"Did you want help? I can walk over to the dorms with you."

This, too, he was curious about, as everyone else who was using the limited dorm rooms this year had already moved in yesterday. But for politeness's sake, he decided not to ask.

"I…if you don't mind."

"No, no, it's fine, really. Here, let me take the suitcase too!"

"Oh, I'll take the other bags if you're carrying the suitcase, Nishimori-kun!" Kotone eagerly offered.

Emiko looked uncertainly between the two of them, chestnut eyes full of wariness, but then she gave them a small smile.

"Thanks."

They walked together to the small dorm building. A few students were coming out of it, rubbing sleep from their eyes, and presumably either heading to the school canteen for food or to the library to study. But the final student was Haru, who stopped and peered at them through his hair.

"What are you all doing here?"

"And good morning to you too! How are you, Nakahara-kun?"

Rei squinted at Kotone. Her smile was just as sunny as always, her eyes sparkling. She had even lifted her hand up to give that little fluttery wave that she was known for. Yet there was something there in her greeting that gave Rei pause. Haru didn't answer, simply scoffing, but Rei couldn't quite tell if that was just because he was like that, or if he was assuming sarcasm on Kotone's part and taking offence.

"Chiba-san is moving into the dorms today," Rei explained. "We're just helping her take her stuff up to her room?"

"Room 23, on the fifth floor?" Haru asked.

"Y-yes, that's the one. How did you know?" Emiko answered.

"Some students were assigned to get it ready. They were complaining about it. Well, two of them were, while a rather dreary mage knight kept pompously reminding us that actually, this new person was someone to be worshipped."

Haru grimaced at the recollection, but then rather suddenly the expression changed to a calculating frown directed at Emiko. He then asked her:

"So if you're with us, what's your mahou shoujo specialism, then?"

"Merchant. I assume you're also a Niðavellir member?"

"Apparently, yes."

"Wait, how did you know she's a new member when none of the rest of us didn't? I don't think Hiyama-san or Kato-san know either?" Rei demanded.

Haru sighed deeply, then held up one hand. As he listed off the reasons, he folded down a finger for each one:

"One, the complaining students. Two, she fits the description of one of Kurosawa's visions. Three, she's willingly walking with you two. Fourth, she's mahou shoujo and one with an unusual specialism. Five, lucky guess. Got a problem with that?"

"…"

Haru smirked at Rei's confusion, and added:

"In all fairness, R.E: the second point, only Kurosawa could confirm for sure. But slight, pale girl with chestnut hair…assuming she has a curled staff and a long dress in transformed form, she fits."

"I…I do have those things when transformed. Did you want me to show you?" Emiko asked tentatively.

"No need!" Rei said. "Let's get you settled and then I guess we can show you around our club rooms."

Rei didn't expect Haru to still be standing there when he, Kotone and Emiko returned, but sure enough, he was standing there with his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. When Rei asked if Haru was coming with them, all he got was a shrug. But sure enough, the first-year boy followed them as they crossed the grounds to the main school building. He ambled behind them, shoulders slouched and feet dragging as though he didn't want to be there. He didn't say a word to any of them either, though in all fairness Kotone and Emiko had apparently hit it off and it would have been hard to get a word in edgeways.

But just as they got to the side door that would take them to their staircase the quickest, Rei saw Haru stop, pulling his hands out of his pocket and looking over his shoulder.

"Nakahara-kun?" he called. "What is it?"

"Didn't you see?"

"See what?" Rei asked, irritated.

Haru pointed, but rather than wait, simply walked off. Rei felt a flare of irritation, but then saw that Haru was heading to the railings surrounding the school ground and a vague sense of dread started to bleed through the edges of his irritation.

"There's a song barrier around here, right?" Emiko asked.

When both Rei and Kotone stared at her, Emiko blushed, shoulders hunching:

"I-I can see it? It's kinda like of like lace, all domed above us…but someone's trying to tear it. It's pulsing, just there."

The direction Emiko pointed was the direction Haru had run off in and immediately, the vague dread spiked into alarm, and Rei set off on a run, transforming as he did so. He called out for Kotone and Emiko to follow him, and sensed them doing so. Haru, already at the railings, had already transformed, and in his hands he had what looked like a ball of golden wire, which he appeared to be using to help himself climb the very tall railings. Separate tendrils snaked out from the ball and looped around the railings and out the other side, forming a loose net.

"Did you see them?" Rei asked.

"In the trees."

With that, Haru leapt over and disappeared into the bushes that were on the other side. Rei geared up to do the same, but Kotone was faster, transforming and then flying over the fence. She landed gracefully but soon disappeared in the green, both her and Haru's footfall shaking the leaves. Shaking his head, Rei readied his weapons and then looked to Emiko. She, too, had transformed and though her long dress and bonnet did not make her look particularly formidable, there was a steeliness in the way she held her staff and advanced forward.

"I don't see them… Suzuki-san? Suzuki-san, do you see them?" Emiko called.

"We don't…wait, yes, there….can you see from there?"

Rei saw flashes of Kotone's pink and purple idol's dress and Haru's khaki coloured outfit as they pursued the figure. Haru's weapon flashed, and Kotone sung out a clear, high note over and over, which spiralled out and burst into colour, granting Rei a glimpse of the elusive figure: tall, and dressed in dark green, so as to almost blend into the trees. They dodged the reaches of Haru's net with ease, let alone the aim of the weapons and spells.

Rei levelled one of his guns and fired off a round, and then another. Each time, the figure managed to elude them, but still tried to advance closer to the fence. Emiko attempted attacks of her own, and though Rei didn't see when, precisely, she turned up, Hanayo also joined. Meanwhile, on the other side of the railings, Kotone and Haru both worked to keep the figure away from the fence as much as they tried to hit them. And through the cacophony of noise and colour, Rei caught a few glimpses of the person. They seemed lithe, and something about the way they moved and the shape of their body suggested female, though that wasn't a definite. At one point, one of Rei's magical bullets pushed away the figure's hood, revealing long light orange hair that they hastily tried to cover again.

The most intriguing thing, however, was their face. Or rather, lack of it. Their face was completely covered with a black cloth wrapped around it like a mask. There were slits, presumably to allow the person to see through, but Rei couldn't see the colour or the shape of their eyes. Nonetheless, he shivered when the person suddenly paused to stare at him. Whoever it was, they were searching for something, and whatever that something was, Rei lacked it.

"What's…what's happening? What's she doing?" Emiko stammered.

"What are we doing? Come on, attack!" Hanayo yelled.

Hanayo held up her sword and stabbed it through the fence, while Rei once again readied his guns. From the other side, he heard Haru's weapons clinking. The figure jumped back, then spun around to look at all of them. They then nodded slowly to themselves, then raised a hand in the air and clicked their fingers. Rei flinched, expecting something worse to happen, but instead the person just…disappeared.

"Is…is the person gone?" Rei asked.

Kotone and Haru pushed through the trees and bushes, looking all around them.

"Yes, I think so." Kotone said.

"No sign of whoever it was." Haru confirmed.

"Well, in that case," Hanayo decreed, huffing slightly. "Get yourselves back over here, and lets regroup. We'll have to let Hiyama-san and Kato-san know, too."

Kotone was the first to return over the fence, her feet settling on the ground somewhat serenely. Immediately, she turned to look up at Haru, using his golden rope to shimmy back down the railing again. As he got closer to the ground, she held out her hand to him. He raised an eyebrow but nonetheless accepted her help in making it the rest of the way to the ground.

"Are you both okay?" Rei asked them. "Did any of you get a good look at who it was?"

Much to his chagrin, Rei was ignored by both of them. Kotone was focused on helping Haru, and then when he got to the ground he immediately yanked his hand out of hers, stepping back and twisting his body away slightly, as if he were going to skulk off and hide in a hole. But he did not do either of those things. Instead, he tilted his head very slightly, frowning at Kotone the way he'd frowned at Emiko earlier before eventually pronouncing:

"Your magic didn't smell the way I'd imagine it to smell."

Kotone's face flitted through so many different expressions Rei had a hard time working out what any of them could even possibly be, but then she settled into a half-smile and head-tilt that somehow felt off:

"Yours wasn't the colour I was expecting, either."

Haru's eyes went wide, but then he averted his gaze and muttered:

"What colour would that be, then?"

Again, Kotone smiled, but again something about it felt off. Or, maybe not off, just so different:

"Well, I don't imagine you're going to be telling me anything about the scent of my magic, are you?"

"In your dreams."

"So, you two experience magic through a specific sense?" Rei asked.

He wasn't particularly expecting an answer. Indeed, Haru ignored him in favour of retracting the gold net and wrapping up the rope. To his surprise, though, Kotone turned to him. This time her smile had a more familiar shape. She tucked some hair behind her years and gave a light giggle:

"Yeah, it's always been colours for me. It sort of looks like glowing lights, a little like fireflies? Different colours and sizes, depending on the person. Like yours was a navy blue, a bit like your jacket and Hamasaki-sempai's is white and Chiba-san's was copper…Chiba-san, are you alright?"

Kotone went to kneel beside Emiko, who had un-transformed back and was now drinking a bottle of water with quite noisy gulps. She looked paler than she had before, but she put the bottle aside and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand with a hard swipe:

"I'm fine," she insisted. "But what was that? Did somebody just try to break into the school?"

"It sure looked like it." Rei said. "I'm more concerned with how they managed to get that close to the school with your barrier, Suzuki-san."

Kotone bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, it must not have been good enough."

"The barrier was yours?" Haru asked. "Explains the smell. But I think that woman must be at least mage level in multiple fields. Close to mahou shoujo in most of them, too. She was definitely transformed. Smelt like cut grass."

"Her magic smelt like cut grass?" Emiko asked, getting up somewhat unsteadily.

"To me, it looked green, like her clothes, so that tallies." Kotone said thoughtfully.

Haru grimaced at this, but didn't say anything. Kotone clearly noticed, and again her expression flitted through a few different emotions before settling back on concern as she said:

"Should we tell anyone? A teacher, I mean?"

"No."

They all turned to Hanayo, who stood there with her arms crossed, glaring at them.

"You'll learn quickly enough, but this isn't serious enough to need to involve a teacher." She scolded them. "Indeed, they'll think we're lacking if we do. This…this is what we're meant to be doing."

"We should tell Shiho-san at least, right?" Rei pointed out.

Hanayo pursed her lips, but then nodded stiffly.

"Um…who is Shiho-san?" Emiko asked.

"She's…oh, you'll be meeting her soon enough anyway." Kotone said. "But I wouldn't really know where to start."

"Uh, right." Emiko blinked. "But anyway…what would we say? I mean, apart from the smell and colour of her magic-which is so subjective anyway, right? I mean, I just see all magic as gold. Sorry, I'm rambling. Uh, what I mean is, we didn't see her face."

"Assuming that this person is a she, anyway." Rei pointed out.

"I saw their face." Hanayo said, unexpectedly.

"What, you can see through cloth now?" Haru sneered.

Hanayo looked down her nose at him:

"No, but I could see the shape of the person's features through the cloth. It was wrapped quite tightly. Goodness knows why they didn't use a mask. It's not the same as a proper glimpse of a face but…I'm sure I recognised them."

"From where?" Emiko asked curiously.

"I don't know. I've been trying to think, but I just don't know."

Hanayo rubbed her forehead and pulled a face. Rei looked around at all of them, and then said:

"Well, uh, let's just go up to our rooms, yeah? When the others arrive, we'll tell them about it and then take it from there. That sounds reasonable, right?"

"Yes, well, I suppose so…" Hanayo muttered.

Kotone and Emiko gave enthusiastic agreement, while Haru grunted in a way that could mean anything, really. They started to walk back the way they had come, in silence, until Rei became aware of a disturbance.

"WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS NAOKO?"

"Onee-san, please…"

"No, none of that from you! Where is she! NAOKO! NAOKO, YOU COME OUT AND FACE ME!"

"Oooooh, someone's on a rampage?"

"What's happening? Why is she so angry?"

"Is that…is that her brother? Didn't he…?"

"Yeah, he did…"

"No wonder…"

"There are other members of Niðavellir over there!"

At this sudden pronouncement, some of the chatter and babble quietened down, and the small crowd of students that had started gathering abruptly broke into two as a girl pushed through, dragging none other than Atsuya Inoue by the sleeve of his blazer. He was trying to pull away, but the girl was having none of it as she marched towards them. Like Atsuya, she had dark blue hair, although hers was longer, long enough to tie into two earnest-looking plaits. She also wore glasses, but the eyes behind them were a much darker shade of blue than Atsuya's. In fact, they were almost black. But that wasn't enough to dampen the fire sparking dangerously in them or to soften the rage that seemed to be making every molecule of her being tremble.

She kept marching, and only came to a halt when she stopped right in front of Hanayo.

"I suppose you'll have to do." She said with a bitter snarl. "Atsuya, you stay right there."

Atsuya looked despairing as the girl let go of him, and he shot an apologetic look at all of them as he went to stand by Haru. Haru looked to him, and raised an eyebrow that made Atsuya hunch his shoulders and go red. Rei opened his mouth to ask what was going on, who this girl was, but he didn't get a chance.

Because the girl lifted her hand and slapped Hanayo right across the face.

---

Notes on terms:

Mahou-gin: Literally 'magic silver' but referring to a special type of currency that is only formed during various types of magic. They are a separate type of currency to normal currency (for simplicity I am just assuming this to be Japanese Yen, like reality) but it still counts as legal tender.

Thingstead: This universe's equivalent of a courthouse/courtroom. Taken from the term for a place where a þing (thing) would occur in medieval Scandinavian times/ Viking times. A þing was essentially a meeting/assembly that was used as part of the law-making/law enforcing processes in those times. I thought of spelling the word as þingstead in this universe, but figured that it might be simpler as thingstead instead. However, the actual meetings themselves will be spelt as þing instead, so as to avoid confusion with the modern meaning of the word 'thing'. The law system itself will be a blend of the medieval Scandinavian stuff and modern day stuff, but I'll explain that when and if it becomes relevant.