Mika was currently staring at Trinity Plaza from the Tea Party's balcony by her lonesome. Her gaze wandered for a bit before she spotted Sensei from the crowd. Right now he was busy talking to a pink-haired student by the Trinity Fountain. Said student was Urawa Hanako, one of the students in the Make-Up Work Club.

Hanako was at one point under consideration to join the Tea Party. Fillius, Sanctus, and even my own Pater faction wanted her, Mika recalled what she knew about the girl as she picked up her tea cup. Though if I recall correctly, Sanctus rescinded their offer shortly after meeting—

A certain short and sickly blonde fox girl came to Mika's mind, which caused her to grip the handle of her cup a little too hard and formed a crack. Mika panicked as she held the cup with her other hand and lowered it to the table before calling for someone to replace it.

"Are you alright, Miss Mika?" The Tea Party member asked in concern as she replaced the cup as Mika wiped her hand with a napkin.

"I'm alright, I'm alright! Don't worry about it!" Mika frantically waved her hands as she laughed it off before turning her attention back to the fountain.

"I wonder what they're talking about…?" Mika muttered as she watched the two banter for a bit before they eventually left the fountain, but not before Sensei turned to her direction and gave her a wave.

"He noticed me…?" Mika muttered before shrugging it off as she smiled and returned the wave.

It had been nine days since the meeting regarding the formation of the Make-Up Work Club, and the result of the first evaluation exam two days ago was terrible as far as Sensei was concerned.

When she read the report regarding the exam results, only Hifumi managed to pass while Azusa, Hanako, and the Justice Task Force's Shimoe Koharu failed. Normally this would have meant that Hifumi would be free to leave the Make-Up Work Club.

However, with Nagisa changing the rules requiring all club members to pass, this resulted in Sensei confronting the former before he decided to organize a boot camp to better teach the students of the Make-Up Work Club. Mika suspected that Nagisa may have sabotaged the exam, but it didn't really matter. After all, the longer Sensei remained in Trinity then the more she could progress her plan.

Mika recalled that Sensei had a student from Abydos with him, but didn't question it further. Mika would have been more concerned had Abydos been in its prime and could rival Trinity and Gehenna, but at the moment it's merely a shadow of its former self.

It would have been great had Sensei promised to side with me yesterday, but for now I'd have to take his word that he would protect Azusa, Mika thought. Azusa was an essential plan for her coup to succeed according to Saori.

Long-term planning was never Mika's strong suit, so she didn't really bother with the details when she last contacted Joumae Saori regarding the plan. Just thinking about the details was giving her a headache.

"Forget it, I might as well enjoy the pastries on the table!" Mika said with a giggle to no one in particular.

…

…

…

A few hours later…

The sun had nearly set, with Mika making her way back to her room. She had dismissed the guards with her—not like she needed protection anyway. Also, with very few students around at this time Mika was able to take her time with her stroll without having a student approach to greet her.

Mika soaked in the silence, closed her eyes, and hummed as she went about on her stroll. For a while all she can hear are her own footsteps and the chirping of insects.

Clang* *Clang*

Mika's eyebrow twitched as she heard the sound of metal falling to the ground before she sighed as she continued walking.

Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

What's making that noise? Mika wondered as she started looking around. She listened a bit more to figure out where the sound was coming from.

"...had it too!"

Mika heard a voice come from a secluded area nearby. She decided to check it out of curiosity.

Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

"Not again…! Why is this so much harder to do?" Mika could now see the figure of a student's back just outside the street lamp's range as she complained while picking up various metal cans lying around. And she seemed to…be…

Is she…floating? Mika rubbed her eyes in response. When she looked at the girl again, she was already picking up the last can. With both feet on the ground. No, she was probably just moving really fast. It's really dark after all! Though that in itself is pretty impressive.

Her thoughts were cut off by the girl's next words.

"And I wanted to surprise Sensei too before—"

"You know Sensei?" Mika wondered aloud, startling the girl.

"Awawawa!" The girl turned around. Mika wasn't able to take a good look at the girl's features due to the darkness, but she could tell that the other girl was a bit taller than her. "H-How long were you there?"

"Just now. I heard the sound you were making so I checked to make sure nothing was wrong," Mika replied as she stepped into the street lamp's light. "It seems you know Sensei. Are you from the Make-Up Work Club?"

"Not exactly…" The girl replied sheepishly as the girl also stepped into the light.

"That uniform seems familiar…Which school are you from? Did you get lost while looking for Sensei?" Mika asked.

"Oh, I'm from Abydos!" The cyan haired girl replied with a smile. "My name's Yume! Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise~! I'm Mika, and you must be the student Sensei is currently looking after!" Mika said as the identity of the student became clear to her.

"How do you…?" The girl tilted her head before she took a closer look at Mika's appearance. "Oh, you're the girl that Sensei was talking to by the pool yesterday, Miss Misono!"

"Yup~!" Mika smiled as she did a V-sign. "And please, just call me Mika, Yume! I heard we are in the same year after all!"

"Got it, Mika!"

"Let's take a seat!" Mika said as she gestured to a nearby bench as she and Yume made their way to it. They stopped by the adjacent vending machine as Yume offered to buy them some drinks after throwing away the cans in a garbage bin next to it.

"Anything you want in particular?" Yume asked while looking at the selection.

"I want to try that bottled tea!" Mika replied.

"Got it!" Yume replied as she pressed the button for the bottled tea. "As for me…I guess I feel like going for coffee this time!"

After getting their drinks, the two girls sat down on the bench.

"So Yume, what were you doing out here?" Mika said before she took a sip out of her bottle before widening her eyes in surprise at the new flavor. "Wow~ I've never had tea like this!"

"I was practicing something using cans while I'm taking a break with my studies," Yume replied.

"I didn't hear gunshots, so are you trying to juggle?"

"It's, um…" Yume tried to find the right words, but ended up giggling awkwardly as she nodded stiffly.

"What's your relationship with Sensei? Do you follow Sensei around? What's it like following Sensei around?" Mika asked one question after another, while Yume nodded along.

"Sensei is my cont—guardian as he's helping me readjust to liv—my studies! Yes, due to my circumstances I need to stay close to him for a while, though considering his work he can't exactly stay in Abydos so I end up tagging along with him. I've been out of school for a few years now so I have a lot of catching up to do. Can't exactly let my juniors do all the work while I'm out here…" Yume's shoulders slumped as she muttered the last part just loud enough for Mika to hear before she regained her cheer. "With that said, it's been fun meeting people and trying out the local specialties of districts we visit!"

"Really?" Mika asked. "Like what?"

"Well, there's Gehenna and their hot springs!" Mika's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the mention of Trinity's rival school, though her annoyance disappeared as Yume continued. "Millennium is incredibly hi-tech that it boggles the mind! Then there's Hyakkiyako and its festivals! They're such an expert in festivals that I just had to ask Miss Shizuko on how to manage a festival while I was there with Sensei. Then there's Shanhaijing—"

"Shanhaijing?"

"Ah, I guess they're not as well-known compared to some of the other districts since they usually keep to themselves." Yume put a hand on her chin as she pulled out her phone and opened a map of Kivotos before pointing where Shanhaijing was located. "If you ever feel like going on a food trip, I recommend visiting Black Tortoise Promenade! Sensei ended up trading recipes with their President while we were there last time."

"Can't I just ask Sensei to cook some of their dishes if he already knows their recipes?" Mika asked.

"You could, but the experience is part of the fun!" Yume replied with a smile.

"I guess there's no harm in checking out the schools you've mentioned," Mika said. "Maybe not Gehenna though."

"Why not—Oh right, Trinity and Gehenna don't get along. Though that's what the Eden Treaty is for, isn't it?"

"That's…right…" Mika said with a bitter smile. "If only it were that simple…"

"What do you—" Yume cut her words as she noticed Mika's mood souring and quickly changed topics.

"Ah, since we're talking about other districts, I shouldn't forget to mention Abydos!" Yume exclaimed. "We have a recently built hot spring which I highly recommend trying out at least once! If you're particularly daring you can always go treasure hunting in the desert—though you should probably give Hoshino or Ayane a heads-up before doing so… And of course, there's the lifeblood of the district—the Abydos Oasis! The sword planted on the center island is really special."

Yume talked a bit more about Abydos before she turned to face Mika. "What about you, Mika? What can you tell me about Trinity?"

"Trinity is famous for many things! But if I were to mention the things I like about it the most, then it's the variety of sweets and all the malls that you can shop from! I personally like collecting various make-ups and accessories, as well as different clothes!"

"Wow, you must be really rich!"

"You don't collect things, Yume?"

"I used to collect Peroro merchandise, but I had to sell them due to Abydos' debt," Yume replied with a forlorn smile.

"Why didn't you just transfer to another school then? Wouldn't it have been much easier for you that way?" Mika asked. "I talked to a few Trinity students who transferred from Abydos during my first year, and they all said the school was doomed."

"Hehe, I don't blame them for thinking that. Abydos really was in dire straits until recently," Yume said. "But the reason isn't anything special—I just wanted to do everything I can for my school and district. It's my home after all."

"Home…" Mika might not be the most well-versed in reading other people's expressions, but even she could tell that Yume meant every single word she said. It reminded Mika a bit of herself back when things were…simple.

Abydos' problems are different from Trinity, but fighting for your home…that I can understand a little, Mika thought. She wondered if there was anything she could do to help her new friend. The answer to that came just as quickly.

"Tell you what! Once I'm the host of the Tea Party I'm going to push for stronger relations with Abydos!"

"Eh…Ehhh?!"

Yume's voice echoed in the silence of the night as Mika continued smiling.

Author's Note:

This meeting is like a dream, wouldn't you say? :)

Puns about Yume's name aside, I did wonder how Mika and Yume meeting would go, and this is what I came up with.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.