"Now, we're just coming up to the floor that Niðavellir occupies. Their main meeting room is the largest one, at the end of the corridor, but you'll see there are other rooms for other purposes as well. Hiyama-san and Murakami-san will most likely give you a proper tour later. "

Kotone Suzuki strained to keep up with the long-legged, brisk-paced Principal Asakura, but somehow managed it. Niðavellir, huh? From what she understood, it was something of an exclusive club in Asgard Academy, but that was all she'd really absorbed. She hadn't really had any time to absorb anything. It had only been two months ago that a delusional fan had managed to sneak a gun into a concert and then used it on her audience. It had only two months since she'd managed to sing a protective spell over them meaning only four concert-goers had suffered, and only with minor injuries. It had only two months since she realised that this incident meant she wasn't just a mage who specialised in spell-singing, but a mahou shoujo. Only two months since it had been decided that once the last school year was over, she'd transfer out to Asgard Academy, which was much more magic oriented than her last school had been.

Only two months. That was hardly any time to absorb anything. She just had to hope that she'd actually be of use to the members of Niðavellir. She couldn't imagine quite how she could be, even after that concert. But she supposed that the adults of this world were the experts, so she'd go along with it. And hopefully, make some new friends in the process. Kotone touched her cat ears self-consciously. Hopefully these'll stand out less here, too.

Of course, she couldn't expect that she wouldn't stand out at all. She'd been ushered in through a back entrance, via the school kitchens, because of all the protests going on outside. From the sounds she had managed to hear, it seemed as if both sides of the argument were raging strong outside. But even if she had avoided the media, she hadn't been able to avoid other students. She had already signed ten autographs by the time she had seen her classroom and met her homeroom teacher. She had then gone on to sign more, but as they had gone further up the building, less students had approached her, and by the time they'd reached the flight of stairs that took them to this floor, students who looked as if they wanted to approach her had backed away instead, staring wide-eyed between her and Asakura and then whispering to each other.

The large wooden door was closed, and Asakura knocked on it. After a few moments, Kotone could hear something being dragged to the door, and then the doorknob jiggled a bit before the door opened a fraction. Then there were more dragging sounds, before the door opened fully to reveal a very short woman with large blue eyes. She wore a blue cape too, held together with a large bow, and she also had a small beige dog curled up on top of her head. Despite her height, it felt as if she was somehow looking down on Kotone.

"Ah, Shiho-san," Asakura said smoothly. "Here's your new member. I assume that since you're not down there, you have time to get Suzuki-san settled in?"

"That we do."

The woman stared at Kotone a moment more, and then held out her hand.

"I'm Shiho Murakami. It's good to meet you, Suzuki-san. I've heard a lot about you, and I like your music. This is Fen, my dog. He's also a fan."

"A-ah, thank you!"

"And it might also be useful for you to know that I live here. With Fen."

"I-I'm sorry?"

Shiho didn't seem to notice her confusion, simply waiting for Kotone to shake her hand. So, tentatively, Kotone did just that, doing her best to smile. She is a fan, she said, Kotone thought, so just think of her as a fan.

"W-well, Murakami-san, I hope we'll get along well."

"Likewise. And please just call me Shiho. 'Murakami-san' makes me remember I'm old."

?

Kotone thought of asking Asakura, but when she turned around to look for the school principal, he had already gone. I probably shouldn't ask her just how old she is, should I? Despite her height and somewhat youthful face, Kotone got the sense that Shiho was in fact, quite old. She could smell the magic on her, too.

"Anyway, there's no sense in you standing in the doorway, is there?"

"U-uh, no, there isn't."

Kotone stepped in and closed the door behind her, and then followed Shiho right to the end of the corridor-which she noticed was rather short-right up to another door, which was propped open. When Kotone got close enough, she realised that the doorstops were shaped like two ravens-Huginn and Muninn, most likely. They looked to be hand-carved out of dark wood, with the eyes, beak and feet painted gold and orange. Idly, she wondered who had made them, but then started to look around the room.

It was large, but simply furnished, simply boasting a large wooden table with some wooden chairs around it, a set of drawers and a filing cabinet leaning against one wall and two cupboard of some sort against another of the walls, next to the only window in the room, which was large enough to let enough light into, making the room seem at least a little welcoming. The smaller cupboard had a kettle, mugs and various packets of drinks arranged on the top of it. On the wall opposite the table, there was a large whiteboard with a holder for a number of markers and a board eraser, as well as posters of two maps-one looked like a building plan, and the other was a map of the town. Curiously, for some reason there were a small pile of sleeping bags and large beanbags tucked away in the furthest corner of the room, and a bobble-head toy of a Valkyrie with a scythe on the windowsill.

"Feel free to take a seat," Shiho said. "I am sure that once the disturbances outside have been dealt with, they'll be here to greet you properly. Some of the charms still need to be renewed, after all. "

"The charms?"

Shiho gave her a withering look.

"The protective charms for the school. They're a basic measure-surely your old school had them too."

"Well, yes, of course…Don't teachers do them, technically? Or specific protective staff?"

"Here, it is Niðavellir. Though of course, I assist."

"Oh."

Kotone felt herself redden, and averted her gaze, looking all around the room again. She found herself looking at the whiteboard, and realised that there was a note on the board with her name on it, though she couldn't see what the rest of it said. Curious, she got up and walked to the whiteboard, then crouched slightly to read it better. In large, spiky letters that looked as if they were going to start dancing across the post-it note, it said:

Kotone Suzuki's joining us! Yes, the actual Kotone Suzuki! OMG!

And then, underneath in a different handwriting but the same ink, it said:

Let's make sure she feels welcomed, whoever meets her first, okay?

Kotone blinked at the note, and some of her embarrassment faded away to be replaced with something that was a little warmer. Nonetheless, she still wondered if they would really feel that way when confronted with her in reality. She was sure that all her uncertainty had been on display to Shiho, making her seem deficient. There was no reason to assume it wouldn't be the same with the actual students. She didn't want to be deficient, though. She wanted to be of use, to make the turmoil worth it.

"Perhaps I could help, Mura-ah, sorry, Shiho-san?"

Shiho tilted her head. Miraculously, the dog on top did not fall off. Kotone felt herself blush again, but she re-asserted herself:

"I can help. I've woven together protective songs before."

Another head-tilt, and then:

"Very well. Can you make a spell-bubble?"

"To contain the song-spell within?" Kotone asked. "I've been learning, but I work best when I can cast the spell as a net."

"A net, huh? Then the roof it will have to be. Get that pole."

Shiho pointed to a pole resting against one of the walls. It was very long and had a small hook at the top, which Kotone looked at curiously even as she struggled to hold the pole upright.

"Alright, now use it to pull aside the door there."

It took Kotone a moment to realise there was indeed a door in the ceiling, with a hook attached to it, next to a small handle. She struggled to manoeuvre the pole, given it was longer than she was tall, and she came dangerously close to smashing a lightbulb but eventually she found her rhythm with it and was able to hook it and push aside the door. It wasn't as if she could ask Shiho for help anyway.

"There's a ladder there-pull that down next."

Kotone did just that. Shiho immediately approached the ladder and practically scampered up it. Kotone took a more cautious approach as she followed, finding herself out on the school roof. Across from her, she saw a small door, which suggested that like in her old school, other students could access the school roof. She looked uncertainly to Shiho, who stood by the ladder, but the woman just kept staring as she always had.

I guess that means I need to prove myself.

Kotone had one of her amulets with her, but rather than call on that to help her transform, she decided to picture one of her others. She imagined the oversized heart-shaped locket, rotated it around in her head and zoomed in on all the details, and as she hoped, felt the fizzing of magic rise up from her toes all the way to her head. As the transformation finished, she smiled, brandishing her microphone before then holding it up in front of her as though she was at a performance. She walked to the centre of the roof. Then, after thinking for a moment, she began to sing, imbuing her song with the intention that made it not just a song, but a spell too. The air began to glow around her, and she focused on making it spread around and above the building, forming a bubble around it all. When she reached the end of the song, she begun it again, in order to strengthen the spell. Then when she finished that one time, she repeated herself.

But this time, another voice joined in.

It was a quiet voice, little more than a whisper in the breeze, but it was there all the same. Kotone was a seasoned performer, she did not falter but nonetheless, she startled at the accompaniment and as she looked around her she tried to identify the owner of the voice. Of course, she could not look back behind her, the way she had come, until she had finished. But as soon as she had, she lowered her microphone and looked over her shoulder-only to see a bunch of curious faces peering out at her.

The only thing she could think to say was:

"How are you all fitting on that ladder?"

"We have a second ladder," one of them said. "But also, I can fly."

"She's a reaper," another said. "Which explains that. But, were you just renewing our charms?"

"I…yes. I thought it would be helpful. Shiho-san mentioned that was something you needed to do."

"Yes, it is…oh, but come back down first. You must be parched!"

The figures retreated, with Shiho hopping over to scramble back down the ladder. Kotone didn't immediately follow, and instead looked around. There had been another voice, she was sure of it. Maybe…maybe by the door? If a fan had realised she was up here, they might have tried to listen in. She took a few steps and then heard her name being called, so she turned around:

"Didn't you hear it?" she asked.

"Hear what?" one of them said.

"Someone…oh, never mind. It was probably nothing."

She tried to tell herself that too, as she rushed back to the ladder and clambered down. Once she was done, one of the girls stepped forward to put the ladder back in place and close the door. This girl was tall and serious looking, though her straight-cut dark brown hair was a little bit messy, even though it was held back in a high ponytail. She was still transformed, and was clearly a knight from her white military jacket and long cloak, though she only got a brief look at it before she transformed back into an ordinary girl in her school uniform, the skirt a touch too long and somewhat worn out.

The other five had also been transformed, but as with the knight girl, Kotone only got a quick look at their transformed selves before they returned back to normal. One of the girls, with the most unusual hair she'd ever seen, was clearly a reaper. Another girl, short-haired and toting two guns was most likely a gunslinger. This was possibly the case with one of the boys too, who had looked very buttoned-up and earnest, but his dark, elaborate outfit made her wonder if maybe he was another knight. Seeing him un-transformed, all bespectacled and earnest with his school blazer over his shoulders like a cloak, didn't make it easier though. She wasn't sure what the fourth girl (who looked bright and girly) could possibly be either. But the final boy intrigued her the most, because his transformed outfit had made him look like a waiter. A waiter, of all the things.

Now he was un-transformed, he was standing at the cupboard with the kettle and mugs, and was arranging them all.

"Now that I'm a member," he was saying. "I'll have to make sure you've got better drinks."

"Oh, what?" the reaper-girl teased. "This isn't up to your high standards?"

"Well, I'm sure they do the job, but…I may as well have some use."

The boy's turquoise eyes twinkled, and then he looked to Kotone:

"Did you want anything to drink, Suzuki-san? You worked hard too, from the sounds of it."

Kotone blinked, and then the boy also blinked before laughing.

"I'm so sorry," he apologised. "We should introduce ourselves properly, right? I'm Kenjiro Takenaka, I'll be in Class 2A this year. My mahou shoujo specialism is barista."

"K-Kotone Suzuki, Class 2B. Oh, and I'm a spellsinger. Though you probably already know that…"

What she really wanted to ask was, how can a barista be a magic specialism? But she didn't get to find a polite way to ask because the reaper girl exclaimed:

"Oh, cool, you're in our class!"

She then pointed to herself and the girl with the pigtails:

"I'm Chika Kato, and that's Arisa Hiyama. Ari's our leader."

Arisa turned out to be the bright, girly one. In keeping with that impression, she gave Suzuki a huge beaming grin as she said:

"That's right, yes-Chika's my right-hand man, so I guess you'd say she's a deputy."

"And best friend, and don't you forget it. But I'm sure we'll get along fine too, especially once we're out slaying people together." Chika proclaimed, also grinning as she rubbed her hands together somewhat evilly.

"Uhh…"

"She is joking. Mostly. Thankfully. " Nishimori muttered, rolling his eyes.

Arisa also rolled her eyes, but there was a fondness in the gesture. She flashed a smile at Chika, who returned it, and then she continued talking to Kotone:

"That aside, it's very nice to meet you at last, Suzuki-san. So, that's me, Chi-chan and Jeff-kun but the others here are Kawamura-sempai and Hamasaki-sempai in third year, while Nishimori-kun is in the same year as us. Although he's in Jeff-kun's class."

Jeff?! Kotone wondered. On top of everything else, this had her wondering if at this rate, she would end up spending the rest of her life confused.

"Ah, that's just what they call me." Kenjiro said, pointing to himself as he continued making drinks.

"They…call you Jeff?" Kotone asked after a beat. "May I ask why?"

"I mean, you can if you want to," Arisa said lightly. "I don't think you'll get an answer though. It's Chi-chan's fault, you see."

"Pffft, fault?" Chika scoffed. "Don't you mean 'genius revelation'? He just looks like a 'Jeff'! I keep telling you this!"

"Yes, but we still don't know what you mean, Kato-chan." Kenjiro said patiently.

"But…everybody calls you that anyway?" Kotone asked.

"Yes, that's right. I don't mind though. "

"Oh…right."

Well, that both explains everything and explains nothing, I guess, Kotone thought with a sigh. It seemed like this was part of some long-standing joke, so perhaps once she got to know them all, she'd feel less discombobulated.

Kenjiro was still talking, however:

"Anyway, I just realised I didn't explain my magic specialism very well. Technically, what I do falls under alchemy, but I've always been better with food and drink, and especially drink. I get a lot of practises at home, since I help my mother out at her café. So, barista. Speaking of which, did you have a drink you wanted?"

"Just a coffee…with cream and sugar? Any kind."

"That works. I'll bring in a much better selection now that I'm a member, as I said."

"What, are we turning into a café now?" the other boy-Nishimori-asked.

"Huh, that'd be a way of getting people to like us again." Chika said thoughtfully.

"Absolutely not."

Everybody startled at Shiho's straightforward pronouncement. She was crouching on the ground petting her dog, glaring over her shoulder.

"This is where I live. You might live in a café, young man, but I certainly do not want to."

Kenjiro looked a little bewildered, and Arisa stepped in:

"Don't worry, they were joking. Jeff-kun wouldn't do such a thing. This is just for us."

Shiho stared at them, and they all stared at her. But Kenjiro had turned back to his drink-making, and after a moment picked up a plain blue mug and carried it over. Kneeling down, he said:

"And for you. Here you are, Murakami-san. Black coffee with sugar, right?"

Shiho took the mug and sniffed sceptically. She then took a sip, before nodding and simply saying:

"Correct."

Shiho seemed perfectly happy to sit on the floor drinking, and everyone else seemed perfectly happy to just let her, so Kotone also decided not to particularly dwell on the odd woman anymore. Though, I don't understand why or how she lives here. Instead, she learnt that as she had guessed, Hanayo Hamasaki was a knight, and Naoko Kawamura a gunslinger. Rei Nishimori turned out to be a machinist, and Arisa a summoner. The most surprising thing to her, however, was that Naoko and Hanayo were both third-years, and yet it had been Arisa who had ended up the leader.

"I don't want to be leader," Naoko said shortly. "I agreed to stay here, but just being here is enough responsibility."

"As for me, I don't think I'm good enough." Hanayo said stiffly. "Hiyama-kouhai is much more suited."

"Well," Arisa said, blushing and rubbing the back of her head. "I don't know about that, but I'm going to do my best. Let's sit and talk before we have to go to homeroom-there's still time."

Kenjiro handed out their drinks, as well as some biscuits he had found inside the cupboard (these, too, he said he would replenish with things that were much better) and then they all sat around the large table. Looking at them all, Kotone could see that they were all rather tired looking-especially Arisa. She looked as if she hadn't slept for a week, the brightness of her eyes nowhere near enough to distract from the bags beneath them. Rei and Chika both took a large number of biscuits and practically inhaled them, and Naoko's hands held her mug too tightly.

"As you can see, Suzuki-san," Arisa began. "There aren't very many of us, not after the graduating class left last year. Our first mission will be to try and get more of us. Or it would have been, if we didn't have to deal with the media first thing this morning."

"They're making a big thing of this 'mahou shoujo purpose' debate now, and I guess schools like ours are a great big target for both sides." Chika sighed. "Which, for the side saying we're a pointless club…well, if they're threatening students to make their point…well, that's what we're here for."

"But we can't do it with just us. " Arisa stated. "We're glad you're here to help us, Suzuki-san…and Jeff-kun, too, thank you. The fact remains though, we still need more people to help us. I have a feeling things aren't going to get easier. We also have the usual Student Council type things to sort out. Last year's Solstice Festivals were interrupted, so Principal Asakura wants to do them bigger and better this year, so when we're not defending the school and recruiting we'll be sorting that out, for one thing."

"Well, people like Takenaka, and like, you're a super-popular idol," Rei said, pointing to Kotone. "Can't we use that?"

"There's no use recruiting people who are just going to follow them around like puppies whining for autographs and hoping for private concerts!" Naoko snapped. "That's not going to help us against any real threats."

"I…I'm here to do something meaningful. To help." Kotone said quietly.

Naoko gave her a sideways look, and then sighed.

"I know," she said. "I can feel the safety of your spell-song, too. It's a lot stronger than last year's charms. It's just…Niðavellir's been through a lot, in the past few years. "

"We'll tell you about that some other time," Arisa said. "We'll have to, anyway. But for now…"

They spent some time discussing ways of trying to persuade people to recruit. Kenjiro seemed to know so many people, and talked about one of the new first-year students who might possibly end up with them anyway (something to do with an encounter at his mother's café and a tea-leaf-reading child). Rei remembered someone from their year who had wanted to join, but hadn't been proved to be a mahou shoujo and therefore had been turned down. For the most part, however, they would put up a stall after school for club recruitment, just like every other club, and just hope for the best. Kotone had to admit that there, her presence and its fame would probably help, even if to get people to the stall.

There were then talks about monitoring visitors to the school, and what was apparently a refresher of strategies for dealing with attempted kidnaps, vandalism and a whole host of other things. How am I ever going to remember all of this, Kotone thought with some despair, I can protect people in a simple way but this…

"I don't know if there's a handbook," she heard Kenjiro whisper to her. "But I'll make you some notes or something for later. It's a lot to take in-I know, because I'm new too."

Kotone blinked in surprise, and then smiled gratefully.

"Anyway," Arisa said. "What we should focus on is the club recruitment. As far as I'm aware, nobody has wanted to make a new school club, though I suppose that might change if any of the first years aren't content with what's there."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Rei asked. "There's loads. I probably would have joined the History and Literature Club, or maybe even Kendo, or Archery if I hadn't joined here."

" I'd been looking at the History and Literature one too, or maybe Astronomy…" Hanayo mused.

"So, if I'm understanding, Niðavellir is basically a Student Council of sorts?" Kotone asked. "So we do all the usual things that a student council does, as well as defending the school?"

"Essentially, yes." Arisa said. "Despite how we've made it sound, 90% of the time we function more like a Student Council rather than an army."

"Sadly." Chika interjected.

Again, Arisa rolled her eyes fondly, but after a moment of pulling a face, Chika looked serious:

"Still, the fact remains we are an army. And things are…well, you know about this morning. I think we'll definitely be more of an army than we have been in recent years. Apart from that incident, of course."

Kotone wanted to ask what Chika meant, but then Rei suddenly exclaimed:

"The gates!"

"What about them, Nishimori-kun?" Arisa asked curiously.

Rei sat up straighter, looking eager.

"I know our protections cover the whole of the school grounds anyway, so it's not as if too much will get past the gates anyway…but maybe we should add extra to the gates themselves?"

"I'll take care of that while you're all studying."

Everybody startled and looked to Shiho, who had climbed onto the table at some point. Fen sat on her head once again, and she glared at them:

"What? Uneducated soldiers aren't exactly useful, are they? Homeroom's already started, so go."

Everybody looked up at the clock on the wall. Immediately, Naoko and Rei hopped up, but Arisa got up more cautiously.

"But we still need to show Suzuki-san around…I didn't intend everything to take so long."

"Um, it's alright…" Kotone said. "I don't want to take up more time than what's needed."

"No, this is necessary too. You're one of us, now. We have to look after each other." Arisa said determinedly.

"That's true, but I kind of got dumped on you, huh?"

"Believe me," Chika scoffed. "We need it."

"I know, it's just…"

Kotone gave a sideways look to Naoko, who had paused halfway to the door, Hanayo now a few steps behind her. But though Hanayo gave her a confused look, Naoko stared fixedly at the door.

"I'm sure you'll be a help, Suzuki-san, don't worry about it." Arisa said cheerily.

"Yes, exactly," Kenjiro said. "You and I, we can get used to it together. And besides, if we're lucky, you're not going to be the only new person struggling to get used to it."

"I've seen videos of that concert where you saved everyone -that was amazing." Rei exclaimed. "Like, such quick thinking."

Kotone blushed and shrugged. It had been instinct, that was all. How could she stand by and do nothing in such a situation? Her fans had come out expecting fun and safety, not fear. So I can do this, right? I have to believe I can, because otherwise…

She mustered up her best smile and flicked her hair back.

"Thank you! I'll definitely do my best!"

"That's what we like to hear!" Chika crowed. "Now, come! Let's show you to our homeroom, at least!"

"That would be great, thank you."

They all left the room, walking down the corridor to the entrance to their floor. Just as they got there, though, Arisa paused and asked:

"By the way, Suzuki-san, did you say you'd heard something up on the roof."

Kotone had almost forgotten about that, but now it came back to her in a flash. That second voice. It had been so soft, it may as well have not been there at all. Yet, it had been there, it had tried hard to sing with her. Hadn't it? Or did I just imagine it?

Again, a big smile, and a slightly embarrassed laugh:

"Oh, that. It was nothing, really."

Kie Kimura had heard that other voice too.

She hadn't meant to, not exactly. She had gone to the roof hoping to listen through Niðavellir's roof entrance, to find out what they were talking about. Specifically, she had wanted to know what type of person Kotone Suzuki was off the stage to join Niðavellir so easily. But then she'd heard her come out onto the roof and sing what was clearly a protective song, and so Kie had had to hide by the main roof door, and hope she wasn't noticed.

It had seemed as if she'd almost gotten away with it, but then she'd heard Kotone start to walk towards her, and then she'd had to flee, heading to the entrance ceremony (which none of the Niðavellir students had been there for) and then onto her third-year classroom as if nothing had happened.

The teachers at the entrance ceremony had barely talked about the protestors and media people who had been camped outside the school entrance that morning. All they had done was remind the students to not talk about them, and then to be reassured that Niðavellir would keep them safe. They hadn't even given any of the students time to ask their own questions. And of course, Niðavellir were away doing 'important work' so they couldn't be there to answer questions in the teacher's stead. So they all complained to each other instead, about how difficult it had been to get into school and how intimidated they felt by them, or the spectacle that Niðavellir had been causing by pushing them away.

There were a few talking about the whole reason the protestors were there in the first place, too:

"Yes, well, I don't see why they have to bother us. We're just getting on with our lives."

"Yeah, well, people think we shouldn't be just, because we're mahou shoujo. Which is fucking dumb."

"We're not all even mahou shoujo anyway. I'm certainly not, though not for a lack of trying."

"Hence: fucking dumb."

"Niðavellir aren't helping our case. Why do we need a special club to 'protect us'? From what?"

"Well, I mean, there was last year…"

"But like, we could have got the police in…."

"Still, that was really scary…and one of them died, remember?"

"Oh yeah, she was in our year, right? Wait, I think she was in Kimura's class. Oi, Kimura!"

Kie looked over her shoulder at the person who had called her name.

"Yes," she said. "I was in Erina's class."

"So, what do you think about all of this, then?"

Now that was a very good question. There was the side that thought that great power should come with greater responsibilities, that thought mahou shoujo abilities were there to be used, not wasted. Then that group divided itself further into groups that debated fiercely on what 'use' meant. Some of them overlapped with the other side, who pointed out that high schoolers were still technically kids, and that many of them did try to use their skills to help others despite that. This other side pointed out that the likes of reapers had no choice, but how that didn't mean they should be denied a childhood, an adolescence. Both sides talked of discrimination against mahou shoujo and mages, or discrimination against the less powerful parts of the population. And it went deeper, and further, and spiralled out.

And what Kie thought about it all was this: She had no particular side, not really.

But what Kie thought was this, too: There was something wrong with Asgard Academy.

She'd thought that for most of her time here. Not right at the beginning though, not really. She'd not come into her mahou shoujo skills immediately, so she'd flown under Niðavellir's radar and her school life had been normal. But as her power increased and her skills improved, she started to notice things. Little things, here and there, that by themselves wouldn't necessarily be suspicious but all added up meant something was very wrong.

"Um, Kimura?"

"Huh? Sorry…uh, you know what, I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" her classmates gawped at her.

"We're third years, I just want to get on with things and graduate."

It wasn't the truth. But it wasn't a lie, either. It seemed to be enough to get her classmates off her back, as they just shrugged and then returned to debating with each other. Which left her alone with her thoughts.

Two of the things she had noticed had been bigger than the others: the first, what she had noticed about Principal Asakura and second, Erina's death. But Asgard Academy had been around for at least a century, she thought, and though its net of power was not cast wide, it was cast deep. What was big to her would not be big enough to cut that net to shreds. That was why she had tried to go onto the rooftop this morning, that was why she'd ended up hearing that second voice. She had been looking for something bigger, and she'd found it.

Because that second voice? It had been Erina's.

She hadn't been close to Erina, not any more than them being classmates who got on. Yes, she had been allowed to use Erina's first name, but that was because Erina didn't like being formal. That was all, really. But her death had cast a dark shadow when it had happened, and Kie had been there. She had noticed things there that the others hadn't noticed, and knew that something hadn't been right. She hadn't known what it was then, and she certainly didn't know what it was now. But hearing Erina's voice gave a new layer to her suspicion:

Something was wrong with Asgard Academy-and Niðavellir was at the heart of it.

Whatever I choose to do, it's not going to be easy to expose the truth, huh?

At that moment, her homeroom teacher came in, so all chatter ceased. Kie had to put her thoughts aside as she stood up and bowed with the rest of them, then listened out for her name on the register.

"Kawamura?"

The name before hers, but it was accompanied by silence. The homeroom teacher looked up and around, and then said:

"Ah, I suppose Kawamura's doing things for Niðavellir. Did any of you see her when you were trying to come in?"

"She broke one of those reporter's cameras!" a boy yelled out.

"Yeah, she shot right through it, and knocked it out of his hands." another said.

"Did you see what that reaper-girl did too-"a girl piped up. "She-"

"Alright, alright, knock it off." The teacher said. "Kimura?"

"Present!" Kimura called out.

The teacher went through the next few names on the register when suddenly, the door opened, and Naoko Kawamura walked through. She was un-transformed, her short blond hair neat and her expression cool, if a little suspicious. She held her head high as she said:

"Sorry for arriving late, sensei."

"No problem, no problem. We should thank you for your service, really. I trust the disturbance has been dealt with?"

"It has, yes, but we'll be on the lookout just in case. It would help if we had more members, of course. Hiyama-san is having a hard time managing with just us seven."

Seven? Kie went through the names she knew. There was Naoko, of course, and her friend Hanayo Hamasaki, who was also a third-year like them. Kotone was also clearly a part of Nidavellir too, and then there were the other second-year students: Arisa Hiyama, Chika Kato and Rei Nishimori. Kie knew of Chika, since she was currently the school's only reaper, and she'd recognise the other two by sight. But the fact remained that that only made six. None of her careful research and snooping had unearthed another person who could be interested in joining.

unless, they've already managed to recruit a first-year student? Perhaps there's one particularly excitable one who couldn't wait until club recruitment? It was entirely possible, but something about that didn't feel right to Kie.

"Yes, yes, well, hopefully some of this class will decide to step up to the plate. It's a real honour being in Nidavellir, you know? Oh, if only I had come into my powers during my adolescence, I would have attended this school-"

Kie tuned out this lecture in favour of the mutterings of her classmates, most of which targeted the boring nature of their teacher's dronings, or Naoko's demeanour. In actual fact, most of the whispers were about Naoko, and most of them were just loud enough for Naoko to hear. Stuck-up, bitch, who does she think she is? People wondering who in their right minds is joining Niðavellir these days and claiming she'll turn on us if we don't toe the line, ooo, so scary, don't look, she might shoot you instead.

Yet, Naoko acted as if she had not heard a thing, simply walking to her desk, which was right next to Kie's. Naoko's back ramrod straight and head still held high, even as she sat down and took out everything, she needed for their first lesson. Though Kie could tell she was not using any magic, the words seemed to hit an invisible wall and bounce away. But then somebody said:

"Bet she'll just end up like Erina Watanabe. Nobody missed her, either, did they?"

And whatever wall there had been crumbled instantly. Naoko flinched and bit her lip. She did not cry, or even look like she was about to cry. But her shoulders hunched, and her head was not held so high anymore.

"Alright!" their teacher snapped. "Enough with the chattering. Let's get on with the lesson!"

They would have stopped anyway though, Kie thought. Because none of them had expected that wall to crumble so easily. Half the fun for the rest of the class had been to see just how far they could go, and they hadn't expected to reach the end of the line so easily. But Kie studied Naoko closely. The stiffness of her posture, the very slight tremor her pen made as she copied down notes diligently. These things were not things that gave Kie any amusement though, or even disappointment. Rather, it made her wonder: do Niðavellir know the truth?

She pondered this until the lesson ended and they were let out of the classroom. The next lessons had them split up according to magical specialisms, and then by year groups-though a few students ended up in different year groups. Kie was headed to the alchemy laboratories, while Naoko was supposed to be going to one of the combat gymnasiums. Instead, however, she made as if to go to the alchemy labs, so Kie hung back and tailed her. Naoko was straight-backed again, but there was something still a little dampened about her posture. Yet, she seemed purposeful as she walked.

When they reached the courtyard, Kie saw Naoko pause for a moment, looking this way and that. There were a lot of students around, including a large group clustering around Kotone Suzuki, all clamouring to help show her to her class. But none of them paid a blind bit of attention to any other student-including Naoko and Kie. Kie hung back, crouching down and pretending to readjust a shoe-lace as she watched Naoko think for a moment longer and then walk to the centre of the courtyard. There, she stopped in front of the statue.

The statue was an old one. She didn't think it had been around since the school had opened, but for long enough, since although the girl the statue depicted wore an outfit that was clearly an Asgard Academy uniform, the skirt was longer and the overall cut of it just looked somewhat more old-fashioned. But the bottom of the skirt looked as if it was being picked up by the wind, swirled in a cloud as she looked to the sky, holding up a staff. The statue was clearly that of a mahou shoujo who was mid-transformation. There were similar statues in most of the courtyards, each depicting other high-schoolers on the verge of different transformations.

They were not meant to be of any particular student, Kie didn't think. But she wondered if Naoko was looking at this particular statue and seeing herself, or seeing Erina. Whoever it was she was seeing in that weather-aged bronze face, Kie just couldn't tell, and after a moment Naoko shook her head vigorously as if telling herself to get it together before striding away. She brushed past Kie, but didn't seem to notice her. Kie looked over her shoulder, but then gave up and stood up, dusting down her knees with the intention of hurrying to her own class when she heard someone ruefully laugh and say:

"Well, I suppose I don't need to show Suzuki-san to her class then, do I? Shall I walk you two to yours?"

The friendly male voice sounded familiar, but Kie couldn't say why. The voice that replied however, was very familiar:

"We're closer to yours, though. How about we walk you to your class instead?"

"Well if you insist, Hiyama-chan? What about you, Kato-chan?"

"Sure, sure, why not?"

That third voice, Kie definitely knew. That was Chika. Which meant the other female voice had been Arisa. But the third…? It might not even be important, Kie told herself, yet as she headed to class she looked for Chika's distinctive red and black hair, and Arisa's pigtails, knowing she'd spot the third person with them. And sure enough, there he was. A sandy-haired young man whose face looked as soft and friendly as his voice. She recognised that face too. Though he was in the same year as Arisa and Chika, he'd been moved up a grade level for the alchemy-specialist lessons specifically. He specialised in a sub-category of alchemy, and called himself something else because of it, but she didn't quite remember that either. Instead, she kept staring at them, trying to listen to bits and pieces of their conversation. But amongst the hustle and bustle all around them, she couldn't quite hear all of it.

So for the rest of the short walk, she made do with watching how they interacted. She watched the way the boy held open doors and gave both the girls kind smiles and looks, with flavours of exasperated fondness for Chika and hints of deeper devotion for Arisa. She saw how Arisa had an easy comfortableness with Chika and how Chika shared that with her. She saw how Arisa was made sunnier by the boy, and how Chika seemed more exuberant and less savage with him.

And then they reached the laboratory, and the boy paused in the doorway to bid Arisa and Chika farewell. This time, Kie could hear their conversation:

"Well, see you at breaktime, then?"

"Yes, sure. And Jeff-kun?" Arisa asked, suddenly looking pensive.

"Yes?"

"Thank you, really. Thank you so much for joining us, and helping this morning."

"Yeah, what she said, basically." Chika added flippantly.

"Like I said, Hiyama-chan, anything for you. Oh, and you of course, Kato-chan."

"Pfffft, am I chopped liver now?" Chika groused, though she was clearly joking.

"Oh no, never. But let's put our heads together at breaktime, and we'll see what we can do to get more members. Try not to worry, Hiyama-chan."

There's love there, Kie realised. There's so much love there. But how can that be possible? Though his name wasn't coming to her (though she had a sneaking suspicion his actual name didn't even vaguely resemble 'Jeff') she had at least been able to work out that he must be the seventh member of Niðavellir that she hadn't known about. Arisa and Chika turned to leave, and the other boy went into the classroom. Kie followed him, and looked for a seat where she could watch most of the class from. Once she had, she proceeded to keep watching the boy, who was enthusiastically talking to some other members of the class. It was hard to tell if they didn't know if he was part of Niðavellir or they just didn't care that he was, but unlike Naoko, he was clearly liked.

He was liked, and he was loved, and he loved in return too.

And that realisation allowed another one to root: she couldn't understand all of this from a distance. Observing from a distance wasn't going to prove whether Niðavellir knew what the truth of this school was or not. Sneaking around following them wasn't going to show her what they were really like and what they were really doing. Hiding wouldn't give her explanations as to why she had heard the voice of a long-dead girl on the rooftop. Listening in on their conversations and watching their mannerisms wasn't going to tell her what it felt like to love and be loved in general, let alone to love and be loved in the confines of a situation like theirs. Kie wanted to understand all these things, so badly.

But…I'm going to have to join them to do that, aren't I?

Their teacher arrived, and the lesson started. But as she got on with things, she kept looking at the boy, and that thought kept circling through her head. And the more that thought kept circling, the deeper its roots spread. She had never wanted to join Niðavellir, not ever. It was safer to be in the background, especially when the truth was potentially dangerous. But sneaking and spying just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

So, yes…she concluded. I will have to join them.

But not yet.

Naoko liked the school library.

She was not, as far as these things went, a particularly bookish person. Despite the fact she studied hard, she wasn't studious either. She didn't like it, it didn't come easily to her. But when she had to go and study, Asgard Academy's library was the very best place to be.

It was like something out of a dream, a separate building that was all warm red brick and wooden wall panels and amber-glow lighting, thick carpets and shelves that reached the ceilings in some places, and lots of little alcoves to hide away in. It was a place where everything sounded quieter, further away. The Gardening Club from decades back had grown an ash tree right in the centre of it, and sometimes the sun streamed through the spaces in the ceiling that the tree's highest branches poked through. Also thanks to the Gardening Club, vines crept up the walls both inside and out. Sometimes there was a cat or two wandering around.

Why all these things made her like the library so much, she couldn't really say. But it was natural that, when breaktime came around, the library was her first port of call. It didn't matter that it was only the first day of school, as a third year and one who was a member of Niðavellir, there would be too much to do and too much to catch up on. She may as well start as she meant to go on, after all.

Of course, not many people would be thinking like that, so she figured the library would be nearly empty-and she turned out to be right. The few that were around, she assumed, were people who actually were studious, as well as the two student librarians manning the front desk. The actual staff librarian was nowhere to be seen, but a light shone in the library office window, so Naoko presumed she was there.

The two student librarians looked up and seemed to recognise her, because their eyes narrowed even as they shrunk back. This felt like nothing though, not compared to homeroom, so she just nodded at them, then turned away and looked for somewhere to study. Though a desk would be the common-sense place to go, she didn't really feel like a desk. All she was really going to do was read and highlight some notes, so she told herself an alcove was forgivable this time around. Truthfully, though, she just wanted to curl up for a moment. She would spend the rest of the year ram-rod straight, always at attention and ready to fight. It surely could not be such a wrong-doing to curl up, just for a moment. Especially not if she was doing so while still doing something.

She thought of the tree first. A sturdy, tall, thick-trunked thing, there were many places she could curl up there. Students were even allowed to climb the thing and sit in it. Perhaps I could do that, too. After all, I'll be able to spy any threats from above. But when she got there, a student was already sitting at the base of the tree, between two of the roots. She had a stash of old books in a pile at her feet, and one in her hands, none of which looked like textbooks or study guides. She seemed absorbed in the one she was reading, but at the sound of Naoko's footsteps, she looked up.

It took Naoko a moment to place the girl's pinched features and differently-coloured eyes, but she did end up recognising her as somebody from her homeroom class.

"Kimura-san." She greeted politely.

"Kawamura-san."

Despite the pinched features, Kie's face was almost completely blank. Yet her eyes seemed to gaze right through Naoko, as if trying to peer right inside of her. She did not seem to particularly hate Naoko, or fear her though, which was both a relief and intensely unsettling. Naoko had become used to being feared and hated. It was just the price to be paid for the choices she had made, that was all. Everything required sacrifice. And yet…

"It's not quite true, what they said about Erina, is it?"

There it is. The one chink in her armour. Naoko's arms twitched, but she fought to keep them by her side-though she could not stop herself from clenching her fist.

"What's not true?" she asked Kie.

"About her not being missed. She did have friends outside of Niðavellir."

Naoko just stared at her. She did have friends. They both did. But that was before. Just as Naoko had watched her friendships become un-moored and float away, so too had Erina. Or perhaps it was the friends who had untied the two of them and cast them out to sea. The path they had chosen wasn't respected the way it had been in the past, but Naoko hadn't joined for respect in the first place.

And of course, she didn't really have the right to call herself alone, did she? Because Kie had said 'outside of Niðavellir', which meant…

"More importantly," Kie continued, as even-voiced as before. "You had each other. You, and Erina…I suppose Hamasaki to an extent. And…you are loyal to each other as a whole, right?"

"Well, yes…"

"But the point is, you miss Erina. And you're a person too, right? So…they're wrong."

Naoko scrambled for something to say, feeling her throat clog up with the feelings of that day at the school festival when Erina had died. When everything had died down and she'd felt the relief of knowing that they had escaped relatively unscathed only to discover just how wrong she had been. But she would not let herself get washed away by those feelings, not when she was already out to sea. So she swallowed, and then gruffly choked out:

"Thanks."

"I'm not saying this for thanks."

"Then what are you saying this for?"

This time, Naoko couldn't hold back her irritation and this time, Kie blinked. But the same eerie calm settled over her again and she replied:

"You miss her. Violence might be your default, but you're as human as the rest of us, you and the rest of Niðavellir. You miss her."

"Your point?"

"Don't you ever wonder?"

Now, a flash of emotion. Kie looked down at the book in her hands for a moment, then straight at Naoko.

"Do you never wonder about just what it is you and Erina joined?"

"I…"

Kie's mouth twitched, but then she shook her head.

"Never mind. "

And with that, she returned to reading her book. Naoko stared at her for a moment, and then looked at the tree. Suddenly, the thought of climbing it felt like too much work, so she decided to head a little further into the library in search for somewhere to sit. She had one particular bookshelf-nook in mind, but her luck clearly was in low supply because when she got there, it was occupied by somebody. Naoko sighed and started to walk away, but then the person looked up and she froze.

"You." The girl in the nook said.

"Fukiko." Naoko said wearily. "How are you?"

"Fine, until I saw you."

"I'll just go-"

"I cannot believe that you would still be a part of it, after what happened with Watanabe-san."

Erina. She liked being called Erina. She didn't like formality. Even someone who wasn't her friend should have known that. Then again, Naoko knew that Fukiko liked formality as much as Erina had disliked it-and Fukiko had been one of her friends too, once upon a time. Until either Naoko had ended up casting her out to sea, or Fukiko had ended up throwing her overboard.

"What happened that day wasn't actually our fault," Naoko said. "It would have been worse if we hadn't intervened."

"Violence begets violence." Fukiko said, as she always did.

"Yes, but-"

"NO," Fukiko raised her voice and held a hand up. "No. I don't want to hear you make the same righteous excuses over and over."

"Fukiko-"

"I thought you were a good person. Truthfully, I still thought you were a good person, but I don't know how I can believe it if you're still willing to be a part of Niðavellir and all it stands for."

"What do you think would have happened if we hadn't been there this morning? Some of those protestors…they weren't planning on just using their words."

"And you know this, do you? Or are you so used to using violence that you see it everywhere? By any means necessary, after all."

With the last sentence, Fukiko's voice became mocking, and her mouth twisted in a sneer to match.

"Even if they didn't intentionally set out to cause violence, their presence was close to causing a riot-"

"My gods, you're really still justifying it! You've really been taken in huh, Naoko?"

"Then why are you even arguing with me, still? Just walk away, why don't you?"

Fukiko glared at Naoko, and Naoko glared back. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to look away, but in the end it was Fukiko who did so. Naoko had the uncharitable thought that this was why Fukiko was so against Niðavellir-because she didn't have the iron will to manage it. Yet that wasn't really true, not when she insisted on rehashing the same argument over and over without seeing Naoko's view.

"Do you even know what you've joined, really?" Fukiko whispered.

Naoko stumbled back a little, bowled over by the question. It had been almost identical to the question Kie had asked her just moments ago. But just like then, she didn't know how to answer it.

"Is there a problem here, girls?"

The staff librarian stared them down owlishly.

"No, sensei, there's no issue at all." Fukiko said.

"In that case, please keep it down," the librarian said. "And you, if you're incapable of keeping the peace then you may as well leave."

Naoko wanted to bristle at that, but she didn't have the energy to do so anymore. Besides, suddenly, this library had stopped being the refuge she had hoped for it to be. The walls, those beautiful wood-panelled walls, they seemed to be closing in on her. The soft lights seemed now to glare at her in suspicion the way Fukiko and the librarian were. Even though she had made her choices for the sake of this school, it seemed as if there was no place for her in it, not anymore.

"In that case, I will leave now. Have a good day, Fukiko."

Naoko didn't wait for Fukiko or the staff librarian to say anything, instead just striding off without stopping. She noticed Kie was still sitting by the tree, but this time the girl didn't look up from her book. Naoko kept walking and walking until she found herself at Niðavellir's corridor. Opening the door, she heard two voices.

"And this…this, well, I should just show you really."

Neither Arisa, Kenjiro nor Kotone had seemed to notice Naoko's arrival, so she walked up behind them and looked over their shoulders. It seemed as if Arisa was giving the other two a tour.

"A sort of memorial room, huh?" Kenjiro asked.

"Are these…all students who died while a part of Niðavellir?"

Despite the trembly sense of wonderment in her voice, Naoko found herself impressed. Clearly, the idol wasn't quite as slow on the uptake as she had seemed. But perhaps that previous judgement had been an uncharitable one, too.

"They are, yes," Arisa said. "But although it looks like a lot, this is still over the entire history of Asgard Academy, and it includes wars as well. None of them are recent apart from…"

Arisa pointed to one photograph, that had been placed on the middle shelf of the wall directly opposite them all. In it, a freckled girl with a wicked grin and very dark eyes gazed back at them. It was hard to see from the picture, but on that day, the ends of her hair turned slowly into feathers.

"What was her name?" Kotone asked after a moment's silence.

"Erina Watanabe."

Naoko had forgotten that they hadn't noticed her until they all startled, Arisa jumping and Kotone yelping.

"When did you get there?" Arisa asked.

"Just now…sorry, I didn't mean to startle you all."

"No, no, that's fine-say, Kawamura-sempai, you were friends with her, weren't you?" Kenjiro asked.

"You were." Kotone asked, wide-eyed.

"I was." Naoko said carefully.

"I'm so sorry about that." Kenjiro said sincerely. "That must have been hard for you."

"Yes."

Naoko stared at the photograph. Thought of Erina laughing: man, I really hate school picture day. I bet I'm going to end up looking like a troll. You, you'll be fine though, you have such a photogenic face, Naoko…

"Was this…was this related to that man who was accused of trying to coordinate attacks at school festivals? The autumn solstice ones, specifically." Kotone asked gently.

"That's the one." Naoko said. "She gave up her life to make sure no one else's was taken."

Perhaps not literally, but that had been the sentiment they'd all had drilled into them. They protected the school and its students by any means necessary, after all.

"That's awful…" Kotone said.

Naoko looked at Kotone, and at Kenjiro too. Both of them so fresh-faced and handsome, so pretty and popular, so charismatic and lovely. It had been easy for them to be this way all this time, because they had floated through life being liked. No doubt, they thought that being liked would help shield them from the worst of the vitriol. Perhaps they even thought they would be able to use that goodwill to show people there wasn't anything to fear, or something lofty and idealistic like that.

Naoko wasn't someone who knew how to guide others through storms. She knew how to fight through them, or to shield others from them. She could bear the heaviest of responsibilities, but not the responsibility of imparting wisdom at the right time, in the right way. That was why she had shied away from becoming the leader. But if she was someone who knew how to guide others through storms, what she would have told them was: there will always something to fear, always. And the goodwill you've spent your lives accumulating won't carry you through. It is quite the opposite-being here will drain it all away. You'll have to accept that. There is no changing it.

But if she could tell them that, she would tell them this, too: It will not be forever.

It will not be forever. There is a natural end in sight, and you must just set your eyes on it. It is the only thing you can do.

It was the only thing Naoko could do. She had her dreams for the future, far from here. In a certain way, setting herself up for that future was the reason she had decided to join Niðavellir. This, like anything else, was just another storm to fight through. So even if she did not know how to guide the two of them through the storm, she could help them learn to fight through it.

"How proficient are you with combat?" she asked in a clipped voice.

She was aware this was somewhat of an abrupt subject change, but to both their credits, both Kenjiro's and Kotone's confusion only lasted a moment.

"Some," Kenjiro said. "It was never my strongest subject, but I've got better."

"I've done a little…but nothing at close quarters. Only with spells. I'll practice, though."

"The lessons here will give you plenty of opportunity to practice," Arisa piped up. "And we can all pull together to help you."

"Actually, Hiyama-san, that's what I was proposing. In fact, I'll take care of it. Suzuki-san, you've seen the Green Room, right?"

"Y-yes."

"Then, we'll make use of that. Jeff, too. "

"That's great, Kawamura-sempai!" Arisa exclaimed. "That would be a big help!"

Naoko acknowledged Arisa's pleasure with a nod, but looked to Kenjiro and Kotone. They were full of these good and noble intentions, puffed up on goodwill and idealism, but could they handle what was to come? Would they be prepared to handle it? She did not think they were bad people, far from it, but she truthfully did not think that much of them. They would be cast out to sea, and have no way to keep afloat. That was what she thought. But then-

"When do we start?" Kotone asked.

"Yes, I'd like to know too." Kenjiro said.

And though Kotone looked uncertain, and Kenjiro's entire being seemed impossibly soft, there was a glint of something else there too. They both looked straight at her, with a resolve that seemed steelier than what should have been possible for them.

Ah, so maybe I am wrong. Maybe they will keep themselves afloat.

For the first time all morning, Naoko smiled slightly, and challenged them:

"How about now?"

"Whatever you do, don't join Niðavellir."

That was what Atsuya Inoue's sister had said to him when she'd cornered him at lunchtime to ask him about his after-school plans. She was heading straight to cram school, but she knew he'd be seeing what clubs Asgard Academy had on offer. He hadn't bothered to ask why, because he'd heard her ranting about it ever since she'd joined the school two years before. As a middle schooler, she'd ended up President of the Student Council and she'd had every hope of doing the same in high school until she'd ended up here. Here, where instead of a normal school council, there was Niðavellir.

And though his sister was ambitious and driven, she was also an idealistic pacifist. So the discovery had been enough to stoke a fire and then keep it burning. She'd have transferred, but their parents had said no. This was a perfectly good school and in fact, it was one of the best for both mahou shoujo and mages, so unless something happened to her, directly, there was no reason to move. So the fire kept burning, every term in the school fanning its flames. Atsuya had felt the warmth of it, and was well aware of all that was wrong with Niðavellir. But he had looked into it himself, and he wasn't so sure that 'wrong' was all that there was to Niðavellir.

On top of that, when Atsuya's sister had come to him, he was sitting with two new friends: Haru, an edgesmith from the countryside who would be sharing some of the specialist classes with him and Kou, a local boy who was in his homeroom. Well, it seemed a stretch to call Haru a friend, but he'd hung around with both Atsuya and Kou for most of the day, so he thought he may as well call him one. That was somewhat beside the point, however, as his sister had barely acknowledged them sitting there, proof that Atsuya had settled in, since she'd been so focused on making sure her point got across. And once she felt it had done so, she had stomped off. Atsuya had apologised immediately, but while Haru had brushed it off with wry amusement, Kou had looked more troubled. And when Atsuya had asked him what was wrong, Kou had said:

"I think we might be joining anyway."

He talked about the visions he had seen in the stars-since of course, he was an astrologer, and that was his thing. He had said there were other people too, others he thought attended this school too, since they were all of a similar age, but more importantly, he had seen both Haru and Atsuya in the visions. And while he didn't know if they were Niðavellir, it was the only thing that made sense. But if Niðavellir was so awful, he wasn't sure if he could.

"Psh, don't be so wet," Haru had scoffed. "Shouldn't you see for yourself, first? And you, are you just going to obey your sister unthinkingly?"

And Atsuya had had to think about that. Eventually, he had agreed that Kou should at least try to find out more and do so by meeting the people. It could turn out that the scenes he had seen had a different explanation, after all. If he managed to meet any of them, he could find out. And if Atsuya could meet them too, then he'd be able to make up his own mind too. After all, for all that he'd heard of Niðavellir's wrongdoings, they'd had plenty of rightdoings as well. They were supposed to be there to protect. Even his sister had admitted that much, though only fleetingly, not wanting to lessen her hatred even a little.

So, here they were now, at the end of the day, wandering around the school, peering into the club rooms and talking to the second and third years who were already part of those clubs.

"Anything interesting?" Atsuya asked as they left the Alchemical Arts club and started to make their way outside.

"Hmm, maybe one or two things…" Kou answered thoughtfully.

"Why not just ask any of them about Niðavellir." Haru asked with a shrug.

"Shhhh!" Atsuya scolded, noticing two students turn and give them surprised, wary looks.

"Why?" Haru asked, peering through his messy fringe "Nothing to lose from asking."

"Well, yes, but I don't want to make too many waves…" Kou said. "From what Inoue-kun's sister said, and from some things I've heard, it might be trouble if…well, you know."

Haru scoffed and shook his head:

"Trouble would certainly be more interesting than all this…"

"How come, Nakagawa? Nothing here interests you?"

"It's Nakahara, and no, I'm not interested in clubs." Haru responded gruffly.

"Well, that's fair, but you don't have any interests? The clubs here cover a lot." Atsuya pointed out.

"Oh, I have interests, Inoue, just none of them are worth spending more time than necessary in school yet. Therefore, no clubs."

"Oh, but that…..I…."

They both looked at Kou, who stared at both of them while biting his lip. Despite having misgivings about the idea of Niðavellir (which wasn't helped by Atsuya's sister's earlier scolding), it seemed like Kou had been particularly compelled by the visions he'd seen. Atsuya tried to think of something reassuring to say, but in the time it took for him to do so, Haru ran his fingers through his fringe (though this didn't seem to make it messier or tidier, by Atsuya's estimation), smirked and declared:

"You seem inordinately troubled by that, Kurosawa. That, along with your visions, intrigues me. So let's make a deal."

"A deal?" Atsuya asked, almost at the same time as Kou did.

Haru's smirk became a fraction wider, though not enough to start calling it a smile:

"Yes, a deal. I'll tag along with you and Inoue here. If you find any of the key players from your visions and they confirm the existence of the type of alliance you claim they're part of, then I'll join that club with you. If not, then, well, I have no problem with simply forgetting that you exist and not getting involved in any club at all. And I'll even be nice, and let you have right until the last student leaves the building for the day. So then, how about it?"

Atsuya raised an eyebrow. That's a bit dramatic, much? And I don't think this is a game to Kurosawa. But Kou's relieved smile was so big it threatened to take over his face as he exclaimed:

"Thanks so much, Nakahara-kun."

"Pfft."

Haru shoved his hands deep in his pockets and strode ahead. Kou, being shorter and scrappier, scrambled to keep up. Atsuya managed to keep up with both of them, but kept a more casual pace. They looked around at some of the sports clubs, including the tennis courts, where quite an enthusiastic match was occurring. They ended up staying just to see how that played out, but moved on soon after that, to the school courtyard, where some clubs had set up stalls.

Somehow, they ended up at the Paranormal Studies stall, which was selling crepes. They didn't have a queue now, but judging by the number of people in the courtyard happily munching on different types, it seemed like they were doing good business:

"Should we get crepes?" Atsuya asked. "I'll pay."

"Hmm…" Kou said. "They do look pretty good."

"Alright then. Nakahara, do you want one?"

Haru tilted his head slightly, and then shrugged:

"If you're paying, why not?"

Atsuya sighed but let it go, and just asked them what flavours and toppings they wanted before approaching the stall. It didn't take very long for all three of them to end up in an enthusiastic discussion about poltergeists while their crepes were being made by the nice-enough club members. Though, it was only once his crepe was made and he took it, that it occurred to Atsuya that it was a bit odd for a magic-oriented school to have a Paranormal Studies club in the first place. On top of that, why on earth would they try and market themselves with crepes?

He didn't have that much time to ponder that, however, because as soon as Kou and Haru's crepes were done, the pot that was being used to heat caramel sauce went up in flames.

The flames spread quicker than might have been expected, starting to climb up the side of the stall. A spell? Atsuya thought, but at the shriek of the students manning the stall, he quickly pushed them back and shielded them:

"Sempai, get out of the way!" he yelled.

"Inoue-kun, I've got this," Kou said, shrugging off his jacket. "You and Nakahara-kun, go and get some water!"

"Got it!" Atsuya yelled.

He heard Haru saying something about having 'a better idea' but didn't pay much attention as he ran across the grounds, remembering a tap near some of the sports fields. He bumped into a few people and yelled a few apologies without stopping. Once he got there, he hurriedly filled two buckets and then raced back. He picked up the first bucket and threw it over the fire and then picked up the second. But then Haru snatched it from his hands, and muttered a spell that, when cast, made the bucket glow, and the water make a perfect arc from the bucket straight onto the fire, no stray drops falling anywhere they were supposed to. The rest of the fire had apparently been put out by Kou's blazer (Atsuya presumed it was Kou's blazer, since Kou wasn't wearing his anymore and was standing right in front of the stall.

All that remained of it now was a half-melted pot, and a stall that was very much charred. The entire Paranormal Studies club seemed to have come out, and were arguing very fiercely with each other, which Atsuya politely ignored. He turned his attention to the crowds that had rapidly gathered, and despite only being a first year with no authority whatsoever, decided to try and get them to disperse. He turned his back to them, and after adjusting his glasses, smiled and said:

"It's alright, everything's contained now. There's nothing to worry about, so pleas-"

Atsuya was interrupted by a very ominous creaking sound, and he spun back around to see the stall start to fall apart…

…with Kou right in front of it.

As Chika flew over the school grounds, she smelt the smoke before she saw it, but once she did, she immediately flew down to take a closer look. She only wanted to check if it had anything to do with Arisa. If Arisa was alright, then she probably didn't need to stick around. No particular souls called out to her, but there were always people dying in hospitals or retirement homes. It was exhausting work, but better than school.

Better than school, with the nausea it sometimes gave her.

But she didn't think about that now, not when there was smoke, because when there was smoke, there was usually fire. She was still invisible, as she tended to be when doing most of her reaping work, but also transformed, so it did not take her very long to get close to see what was going on. And by the looks of it, the cause of the fire-a stall-had been contained. Not by Niðavellir, though, but by three boys she didn't recognise. Well, the dark-blue haired boy with glasses seemed vaguely familiar, but the scrawny boy and the brooding one didn't at all. First years, probably, she thought, maybe I should point them out to Ari…

Though she looked around for Arisa, knowing that she had set up a stall outside given the good weather, she still kept an eye on the burnt stall, which was how she noticed it starting to fall apart, with one of the three boys standing right in front of it, staring. One of the others yelled at him to get out of the way, and some other kids standing next to the stall (Chika recognised them, but couldn't put names to faces) screamed uselessly. But the pieces of charred wood were already falling, and so Chika sprung into action.

First, she pushed the boy out of the way, and then she swung her scythe at the stand, over and over until it was just a pile of wood and metal. Exhausted, she then let her arm fall back by her side and sagged slightly, gasping in huge breaths. She was vaguely aware of her invisibility fading away, but didn't really notice or care until someone handed her water, scolding:

"Kato-san, you didn't need to transform just to deal with a cooking malfunction!"

With her free hand, she grabbed the water, and turned to raise an eyebrow at the person who had given it to her, which turned out to be Naoko. Hanayo was also standing there, slightly behind Naoko and looking somehow more disapproving than Naoko. Which was quite the achievement, considering.

"Oh, shut it. This is the first thing I've been able to cut up all year." Chika drawled.

"It's the first day of school though…" Hanayo pointed out.

Chika snorted, before then draining the water bottle completely and holding it back out to Naoko. She heard Naoko mutter something along the lines of seriously, but then take the bottle, but ignored her and Hanayo in favour of something much more interesting: the three first-year boys.

The one she had pushed away-the scrawny one-was still on the ground, but being helped up by the bespectacled boy. She walked towards them both, and the scrawny boy looked up. When he did, though, what had been idle curiosity abruptly changed. His brown eyes got wider, and he even blushed. Chika was aware that, in her transformation outfit of choice, she was attractive. Not that she wasn't anyway but being transformed made her so. That was why she'd chosen this jacket, these boots. She knew the effect, and when she had to be seen, she made the most of it. She had to have a little fun, after all, didn't she? So she leaned forward very slightly, smiled and pitched her voice low and sensual:

"Did you like what you saw there?"

"I…"

The boy's blush did deepen, so clearly he wasn't immune, but the longer he looked at her the more she felt that this time, she had missed the mark. He shakily got to his feet, accepting the help of the bespectacled boy, and dusted himself down. And all the time, he kept looking at her.

"Kurosawa," the bespectacled boy asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I…she's one of them, Inoue-kun! I've finally found one of them!"

Chika's smile fell away. Now, this wasn't a statement that necessarily meant anything. Or rather, nothing new. It wasn't unreasonable to assume they had heard of Niðavellir. But the scrawny boy was still looking at her, and now she could pin it down, that look.

Sometimes, when she reaped, before a person's soul could leave their body, there was one more spark of life. And in that spark, that person looked at her. They looked right at her, recognising her and what she meant. It did not happen very often. Most people, when their time came, resisted, though not consciously. They were wracked with fear or sadness or anger, and their souls were slippery. Those who didn't were either too exhausted from their deaths to try and hold onto life any longer, or simply resigned to it. There were a very few who welcomed the end with an exhausted smile on their lips.

But there were even fewer who looked at her. Whose life-force flashed once more, brief and bright, before their souls slipped softly into her hands. These were the people whose awareness of their ending was the last thing they gave up, before they gave up completely. They were the ones who had to stare down their destiny before they could give into it. This boy was looking at her in that exact same way.

But he was living and breathing, and that wasn't changing. She'd know if he was, his soul would be there, pressing through the confines of his body. But he was living and breathing, and was continuing that way, so whatever destiny he was meeting, it wasn't an ending.

Then, what is it?

"What am I one of?" she asked.

The boy hesitated, and a silence settled between them. Yet still this boy was living and breathing, showing no signs of ending. Still, he looked her right in the eye, as if she were his destiny. What is this, then? And what do you mean, you've found me? And the silence stretched between them, and all she could do was stare right back at him. She did not dare to ask again.

But then, the bespectacled boy interrupted:

"Kurosawa, are you sure?"

And the boy broke eye-contact to look at this boy and tell him that yes, he was sure. But before Chika could allow herself to feel bereft, he turned to her again. And finally, finally, he gave her an answer:

"You're one of the people that I saw in the stars."