Four's A Crowd

[Gamer50018]

Kiana Kaslana, known more widely as the White Ghost, one of Siberia's most renowned mercenaries (according to her), stared at the site of her latest job and wondered, not for the first time, if there hadn't been a mistake.

She checked her phone. Nope, definitely the right place.

She stared at the gate again. The gate to Chiba Academy, one of the most esteemed schools in all of Japan, stared back.

…. She really wished there had been a mistake.

Sighing, she went back to her phone, this time opening the message that had brought her here in the vain hope of finding an explanation that made sense.

"Kiana,

Your mission has been changed. You have been enrolled in Chiba Academy, Nagazora, as a transfer student. An ID and cover story for your background has been provided. Your task is to attend classes as normal while reconnoitering the area for any signs of unusual Honkai activity. Payment has been sent as per your normal rates for long term missions.

On a more personal note; Kiana, I know you have your reasons for being so single minded, but despite your condition and past, you are still very much a child, and you deserve to have a chance to act as one, and to get an education. I understand you will feel uncomfortable with spending so much time around others and in one place, but your readings have been stable for almost a year at this point, and one of my highest ranking associates sends his own daughter to Chiba Academy - I assure you, nobody will learn of your presence. If you choose to return to your usual wanderings, I will accept it, but please, try to attend class for at least one month before making your decision.

I will be in contact again in a month's time. Sincerely,

W.Y.

Ps: Do not worry about your previous assignment, it's been handled."

The explanation failed to make sense.

"What do you mean, 'it's been handled' you jerk!" she hissed to herself in frustration, shaking her fist in futile anger at the message's absent sender. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into Japan with no records!? I spent half my savings getting here!"

With a last explosive sigh, Kiana put her phone back in her pocket, before returning to her wary standoff with the school gate. She probably wasn't going to accomplish much by doing so, but she could totally win a staring contest with a gate! It didn't even have eyes! Her victory was assured!

…. In hindsight, Kiana supposed she should've expected something was up. The doctors had been super shifty at her last check up, and the job she'd taken that led her to Nagazora had been pretty light on details. But seriously, this whole thing was entirely unnecessary.

… Well, maybe. She supposed she probably wouldn't have gone for this idea if they told her ahead of time, but so what? Yeah, she didn't have any friends and the White Ghost's work hours were pretty high, but she was a mercenary! A Siberian mercenary! Who cared about her social life - she had work to do!

It didn't help that they had been all sneaky about it. As stated, the message had been accompanied by a fake ID that she knew without even checking was impeccable - cleanly explaining away all the questions anyone would have about a sudden mystery transfer. It even explained away her last name, establishing that she was from an unremarkable family that had lived in Siberia for generations before leaving after the Second Eruption - and which had no relation to the noble House Kaslana that were known among European history buffs for their long history as knights of renown in times past, and among some others as far, far more.

Even the enrollment itself had been handled, with transcripts of her "interview" and a copy of her entrance exam - barely above the pass mark, which was rude but, admittedly, probably true - so she wouldn't get caught out by any discrepancies. And even if she did, whoever it was her benefactor mentioned was apparently with AE and would cover for her. It was all set up - but did she really need school? S-sure, she hadn't gotten any kinda education since she was tiny, but what did someone like her need one of those for-

She… she was avoiding the issue again. She'd always been too good at doing that. She took a deep breath and sighed.

… This was absolutely her old man's doing. Making her go to school as a vacation sounded exactly like the sort of zany nonsense he'd come up with.

… She missed him.

Timidly, old, bone deep fear slowing her, Kiana reached within her mind to a sense few possessed. The Honkai flowed through her body, as it always did - but not much of it. Her stigmata glowed dully, but kept its power tightly leashed - the Core buried in her chest remained dormant, only a trickle escaping it. She was safe, or at least not an active bomb.

She took a deep, shuddering breath. One month. She would take one month to live a normal life, before she returned to her wanderings. She… she could handle that long. Her resolve firmed, she walked forward, entering the gates to the first day of school she had ever known -

"Huh?"

Kiana paused a few steps away from the door, frowning to herself. Slowly, she turned her head, scanning the area as her old man had taught her. There was nothing. No zombies hiding in dark alleys to ambush unsuspecting prey, no Beasts lurking as they waited for their chance.

"... So why is there so much Honkai in the air here?"

Quickly, making sure nobody was watching, Kiana grabbed her phone and opened an extremely unusual app. The tiny Honkai sensor backed up her own senses - there was ambient Honkai energy here. Not enough to hurt anyone, not yet, but noticeably higher than the average - and it wasn't fading away like it would if it was merely the remnants of some long ago incident. If anything, it felt like it was getting stronger.

Kiana checked her Core again. Still no signs of it leaving the dormant state it had been in for most of her life. She used her phone to double check, just in case. It said she was stable. So if it wasn't her, what was going on here?

Kiana frowned, troubled - before her gaze caught on the time. Why did something about it being 8:55 feel unnerving -

The realization hit her as hard as the Ganesha that had rammed her through a building a year ago. "OH CRAP I'M GONNA BE LATE!" She yelped in alarm, slamming open the door as she sprinted past a thoroughly surprised receptionist in the direction of her first class.

As she raced to avoid truancy, a small part of Kiana's mind kept a note of the strange Honkai spike. It looked like that excuse about "reconnoitering for unusual Honkai activity" was going to be more relevant than she'd thought.

---

Kiana stood outside her classroom, unable to ignore the nervous energy filling her. She had never been to a school before - would she do something wrong? She checked her uniform, a white sailor uniform in the style of the place she was allegedly transferring from. It didn't look dirty or anything, but she had lived on the road for years - what if it looked like crap? "Oh man, this is gonna go to hell- maybe it isn't too late for me to just - no! None of that Kiana. One month, that's all you gotta handle!" She rambled to herself internally, her stream of consciousness as fragmented as ever.

Finally, a voice drifted out from the room. ".... now, we will be receiving a transfer student today. She will be with us for the foreseeable future, and I expect you all to give her a warm and polite welcome, are we clear?" There was a chorus of "Yes, Sensei" from the class, before the door opened. "Hello there, Kaslana-san." The teacher greeted, a courteous smile on her face. "Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah, Sensei. I can manage that for sure!" She said, making an effort to smile in feigned excitement.

The teacher's smile turned sad. "I'm glad to hear it. I know you went through quite a bit in Siberia before moving to Japan-" oh okay her cover story included that she wouldn't have to make something up, good "-and while we haven't told your classmates where you're from, your appearance might get some attention. If anyone starts making you uncomfortable or asks about something too personal, just tell me and I'll set them straight, alright?"

Kiana felt a little bad. The lady clearly sympathised pretty hard with the presumably traumatised war orphan her cover story made her out to be, but growing up in Siberia with her old man had been the happiest years of her life. Still, it was nice to know she had an explanation for if something caused her to freak out. "I will. Thanks, Sensei." She said, smiling gratefully - misplaced or not, the kindness was appreciated - before squaring her shoulders and walking into the classroom.

Sitting in the front row was the single prettiest girl Kiana had ever seen.

Mistakes had been made.

Kiana froze midstep, her eyes locked on the other girl. Silken black hair tied in a ponytail fell down to her back, over the dark uniform of the school. Purple eyes gazed back, a polite smile adorning her face. Her skin was utterly perfect, and her… yeah Kiana was feeling a little envy there.

Kiana was very aware she was gay, but if she somehow hadn't figured it out before, she definitely would have realised it now, because woah. Should… should she say something? Introduce herself? Wait, did the other girl even like girls? How would she tell? What was her old man's advice again - wait, no, bad idea, her old man's advice was awful. But then how was she supposed to - the girl was starting to frown, why - oh God she was staring like a creep crap no ABORT -

Desperately fighting not to blush, Kiana rapidly turned her head away from the pretty girl and walked towards the front of the class, praying her zone out hadn't been too weird looking to the others - she did not want to cement her status as a headcase on the first day. Arriving at the teacher's desk, she turned to face her new classmates.

That… was a lot of people. Not the most people she'd ever seen in one place, but definitely the most her own age. Kiana took a deep breath, going over her plan to introduce herself one final time. "Please, God, don't let me screw up my Japanese here. I will never live it down."

"Hi, everyone!" She announced cheerfully, smiling widely. "I'm Kiana, Kiana Kaslana! I just moved here to Nagazora, and I've transferred here for the year. I'll be with you from now on - pleased to meet you!" She finished, throwing a V sign with her hands and winking. "Nailed it."

Immediately, the class exploded into whispers. "Wow, talk about energetic!" "She seems pretty outgoing." "Geez, those looks… so unfair." "Did anyone recognise that accent?" "What kinda name is Kaslana? Is she a foreigner or something?" As the storm of muttered words continued, Kiana almost wilted, her confidence fading into embarrassment until the teacher strode up next to her and made a polite cough.

The silence was instant. This lady was good.

"Now, if you're all quite done..?" She said, eyebrow raised as she cast her eyes around the room. Nobody dared speak. "Good. Now then, Kaslana-san, please sit down - there is an empty seat over there -" she nodded towards the window - "so we can begin our lessons for the day. Our first class will be on mathematics, so if everyone would please get their texts and notebooks ready…"

As Kiana rushed to her seat, she suppressed the urge to wince at the idea of math - she had always struggled with it when her old man tried to teach her before. Still, that had been years ago, and her old man sucked at teaching. She could totally do this!

---

Kiana had never been less able to do something in her entire life.

She stared at the textbook. The textbook stared back. The problem had letters in it. Math wasn't meant to involve letters, Kiana was pretty sure, just numbers, but there were letters anyway. Everyone else seemed completely unsurprised by this, so apparently this was normal? The teacher had launched into an explanation of what the lesson was about, seemingly under the assumption that her students all understood the basics already, which was perfectly fine except for the fact Kiana didn't know what the letters were.

The young Kaslana could practically feel her brain frying itself inside of her skull. Should she speak up? No, it was obvious she was the only one who didn't know this - she'd just look like an idiot. Wait until after class? No, she'd be late for her next lesson then. Ask one of her classmates…? Kiana nervously glanced around at her peers, and immediately decided against that plan. Smacking her head on a brick wall it was.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was actually just an hour or so, the teacher put down her chalk. "And that concludes today's mathematics class. Now I'm sure you're all tired after that one just after summer break, so we'll have a ten minute break to talk among yourselves before the next class. Do behave yourselves now, yes?"

"Yes, Sensei!" the class answered en masse, Kiana joining a second late as her brain processed the end of it's suffering. "Very good." The teacher said, nodding in satisfaction. "Then I'll leave you to it for now." So saying, she stood, turned, and walked out the door.

The moment the door closed behind her, the class exploded in activity.

Kiana let her head fall onto her desk, groaning in exhaustion. That… had sucked. A lot. She was starting to understand why all the kids on tv or in books hated school so much - if it was all like this, she wasn't a fan herself. Maybe… maybe she should just take a nap. That'd be fine, right? She had ten minutes… just… let herself… drift… off…

"Ah, Kiana-san?"

"Bweh?" Kiana startled awake, her head snapping up. What - who woke her up - what had happened - oh God it was the pretty girl. "Ah - y-yes, that uh, is me! Kiana Kaslana, nice to meet you!" She babbled, sitting ramrod straight. "Wh-what can I do for you, pre - uh, new classmate?" She tried, desperately trying not to blush like a fool.

"Oh dear… did I wake you up?" The girl asked in concern, blessedly not mentioning Kiana's rambling. "I had been hoping to introduce myself properly while we had time, but I can wait if you're feeling drained -"

"No!" Kiana blurted. "I'm fine. Just. Didn't sleep great, that's all. I'm up for talking!"

The other girl blinked in confusion "I… see?" Shaking her head, she continued on. "Well, my name is Raiden Mei. I lead the Kendo club here at the Academy. I'm glad to meet you, Kiana-san… or… hmm…" she trailed off, seeming confused at something. Kiana stared back, blinking in bafflement, until she remembered that oh right, Asia.

"Oh! Uh, my last name is Kaslana." She clarified, waving her hand. "Sorry about that, I forgot it's the other way around here. I don't mind if you just call me Kiana, though!" She said cheerily.

"Oh, you're a foreigner then?" Mei asked curiously, borrowing the chair in front of Kiana (It's occupant having crossed the room to speak with someone else). "I was wondering about your looks, but I didn't want to assume…"

"Yep!" Kiana answered, leaning backwards with her hands behind her head. "This is my first time in Japan actually, I only moved here a bit ago. I travel a ton though, so I'm pretty used to being in new places." She averted her eyes for a second, momentarily embarrassed. "I uh, hope I'm speaking properly - Japanese is pretty complicated and I'm not sure how politely I should be talking right now."

"Really?" Mei said, astonished. "Your Japanese is excellent! I could barely hear an accent - I'd assumed you'd lived here for years." She shook her head. "You must've had an excellent tutor."

"Actually, I picked it up from my old man." Kiana said, grinning at the memories. "He's such a fanboy for anime and stuff…I think the word was otaku?" She shook her head. "I don't think I could not learn Japanese, after how many Arahato marathons he dragged me into watching."

"Oh my…" Mei giggled at the description, thankfully not noticing how Kiana's heart skipped a couple beats. "That's certainly an interesting way to learn a language."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Kiana agreed, smiling to herself. This was… fun. She couldn't really remember the last time she'd just sat down and talked with another person, not about something that wasn't super important. It was… nice. "Anyway, enough about me for now - what about you? Any languages you know? Uh, other than the obvious, I mean."

"Hmmm…" Mei answered, putting a finger to her chin. "Well, I'm a fair bit better at English than most, I suppose? I don't know if that really counts when everyone learns it in school, but my father happens to be a businessman, so I was exposed to it a fair amount more than usual whenever he would speak with associates from overseas… I suppose it must've rubbed off on me, given how often my friends ask for help with English homework."

"Wow, really?" Kiana blinked in surprise. "That's pretty impressive - English sucks if it's the second one you learn!"

"Oh, it's nothing that impressive." Mei denied. "I can hold a conversation, but that's really all."

"Still impressive!" Kiana stubbornly insisted. "God, when I started to learn English it was hell. There was this one time…"

As their conversation continued, Kiana felt more and more at ease. For years, she'd avoided other people for a multitude of reasons, never going beyond passing conversation with anyone around her. Yet now, talking to this girl, she felt more comfortable in her own skin than she had in years.

"Huh." She thought to herself absently as the teacher walked back in. "Maybe the docs had a point about me needing to talk more."

"Ah, looks like the break is over." Mei realised, getting to her feet. "Thank you for your time, Kaslana-san. I hope you'll enjoy your time here at Chiba - talk to me if anything comes up, alright?" She added, smiling. She had a really good smile.

"Got it" Kiana replied, grinning back. "See ya later, Raiden-senpai~!" "Wait, was that too forward? Oh shit it was wasn't it, oh no-"

But Mei just laughed to herself, seemingly almost embarrassed. "Thank you, but I don't think I deserve that much respect just yet. I'm just doing what anyone would, really." Before Kiana could reply - and point out nobody else had come to talk with her - the black haired girl was halfway back to her seat.

As Kiana quickly grabbed her books for the next lesson - English, ironically enough - she found, to her surprise, that she wasn't having to put effort into her usual, cheery smile. Even more strangely, she didn't feel like she could stop. For the first time in a long while, Kiana smiled not to reassure others, or to make herself seem harmless. She was smiling because she was happy.

All from one conversation with a pretty girl. She supposed her old man was right - girls really were amazing. Maybe this whole school thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

---

As Kiana walked out of the classroom, she couldn't help but groan a little to herself. English had gone well enough, even if she had decided not to volunteer for any of the questions the teacher asked, but History… holy hell, History. Kiana had never cared about it much, and she certainly didn't now - the fact she had to remind herself not to interrupt when they talked about things that she knew were really paper-thin coverups of the Honkai doing something just made it worse.

Still, it was over for now. It was time for lunch! Or, well, a break anyway - Kiana was more or less broke at this point, and her cooking skills… were about average for a Kaslana, so she didn't have anything to eat. Still, a break was something she direly needed after banging her head against her own lack of knowledge for a couple hours, so she was more than willing to head to the cafeteria and take a breather.

If she knew where the cafeteria was.

Which she didn't.

"Ugh…. Where is it?" She muttered, looking around in confusion."It's gotta be around here somewhere, right? Maybe there's a map nearby…"

"Kaslana-san?" A voice called. Kiana jerked her head in surprise, only to relax as she saw who it was. "Ah, there you are." Mei said, sighing in relief. "Sorry to disturb you - I was just wondering if you knew where the cafeteria is, seeing as it's your first day."

"Hi, Raiden-senpai…" Kiana said sheepishly. "I was, uh, just trying to figure that out, actually, ehe…" She waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about me, though! I got this, just… need a second to figure out the directions." She assured, peering at the plaques on the nearby doors in the vain hope of ascertaining her location.

A sigh of fond exasperation was her only warning before she suddenly felt her hand being grabbed. "Honestly, Kaslana-san, there's no shame in needing help." Mei said wryly, thankfully missing how Kiana stiffened at the unexpected contact. "It's only your first day - it's perfectly understandable you don't know where everything is yet. Come on - I'll show you the way."

"W-wait, no need! I'll get there, no need to take time out of your day-" Kiana blurted out - and then instantly shut up as Mei turned and smiled.

"If you're going to call me your senior, it's only right that I act as such, isn't it?" She said, tugging Kiana along behind her. "Don't worry - it's no bother. Now, the stairs should be down this hallway…"

---

Kiana had thought she'd seen a lot of people in one room when she'd first gotten a look at her class, but apparently she'd had slightly more skewed standards than she'd thought, because when Mei opened the door to the cafeteria, the first thing that went through her head was "Holy SHIT that is a lot of people."

Still, even if the room was packed with teenagers like a can of sardines, they at least weren't focusing their attention on her this time. Kiana was proud to note that she only stumbled over her feet for a moment in surprise, rather than freezing up completely. Progress!

"Hmm, seems we're here on time." Mei noted absently, casting her gaze around. "Now, there should be - Ah, there we go." She walked forward, tugging on Kiana's hand as she went. "Come this way, there's a free table."

Sure enough, there was, a bit away from the main pack. Kiana couldn't quite stop the sigh of relief that escaped her as she sat down, collapsing halfway onto the table. "Hoo boy, there's a lot of people here… thanks, Raiden-senpai. I'd be completely lost without you."

Mei laughed politely, waving her off. "I told you, it's nothing. I know I wished someone showed me where to go on my first day of class - it wasn't a bother."

"Well, thanks anyway." Kiana said stubbornly, before lifting her head to look around. It was strange - the room had a lot of decorations and stuff, even a few paintings hanging on the walls. Those made a little more sense once she focused her eyes on the plaques declaring them to be the works of various students, but the place was still pretty fancy for what was ultimately a school cafeteria. "Then again, Chiba is apparently a pretty big deal." She mused to herself. "I guess if most of the students are rich kids and stuff, it makes sense the school is all ornamental and fancy. I'm probably the only one who thinks it's odd -"

"Mei-san! Hey!"

"Morning, Mei-san!"

"Mei-san, how was your summer?"

"What the-!?" Kiana blurted out, startled from her thoughts by the sudden barrage of greetings. Somehow, in the few moments she'd spent looking around the room, their isolated table had become surrounded by almost a dozen other girls. For a split second, Kiana tensed, but Mei simply smiled in happiness.

"Hello, everyone! I'm doing quite well - Father was on a business trip in America, so I got to spend some time overseas again. How about you, Hikari-san? I heard you were planning on visiting Greece?"

"Yeah, we did! It was great too - you have to go see the Pantheon one day, it's gorgeous-" And with that, the conversation exploded, a flurry of gossip, anecdotes and more than a little one upmanship passing between them. Mei stood, alone at the eye of the storm, demurely waving off the torrent of compliments and well wishes headed her way while simultaneously praising the others on their own accomplishments. Kiana, meanwhile, sank into her seat and desperately tried to disappear.

Mei, unfortunately, didn't seem to get the memo on Kiana not wanting to be in this mess. "Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot!" She said in shocked realisation. "Everyone, this is Kiana Kaslana-san - Kaslana is her last name - a new transfer student in my class." She explained, gesturing to Kiana to guide her fellow's attention towards her. "Kaslana-san, these are my friends. Sorry about that - we didn't see each other much over summer, so we got a little distracted…"

"No big deal…" Kiana said with a shake of her head, turning to face the new arrivals as she tried to bury her nerves under her usual cheery facade. "Hey! Uh, nice to meet you all. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, it's my first day so Raiden-senpai was just… showing me around and stuff…" she trailed off, under the other's stares. She knew it was wrong to assume, and these people were Mei's friends so they were probably alright people, but… Kiana couldn't shake the feeling they were judging her somehow. But for what? She hadn't done anything yet…

"Hello, Kaslana-san." One of them, the one Mei had called Hikari, replied evenly. "I hope you've been feeling welcome here. I assume from the order of your name that you're a foreigner?"

"Yep!" Kiana answered. "I, uh, only moved to Japan a little while ago. This place has been pretty neat so far, though"

Hikari hummed to herself non comitally. "I suppose that explains your accent. Where are you from, if I could ask?"

Kiana tensed, not particularly fond of the way she'd asked that, but she didn't exactly have any excuse not to answer either. "... Siberia." She said flatly, intentionally not looking directly at any of them. "I was from Siberia."

There was a moment of silence around the table, followed by what Kiana could've sworn was someone being kicked discretely under the table. Everyone, even sheltered rich kids, knew Siberia was a hellhole. "I'm sorry." Mei apologised softly, reaching a hand to rest on Kiana's own. "That can't have been easy. Do you want to…?"

Kiana shook her head quickly. "I'd really rather not, thanks." She said, continuing to keep her voice carefully blank. "I'm here, not there. No point going into it." In truth, Kiana had no real problem with where she was from, but the fewer questions about her past she had to answer, the better. If that meant pretending she was just another traumatised survivor of the hell Siberia had become after the Second Eruption, well, it wasn't that far from the truth.

"I understand." Mei said gently, unaware of the twinge of guilt Kiana felt at the deception. "I won't ask again -" and a quick glare at her friends that wasn't as subtle as she probably thought made it clear she expected them to do the same "- but, if you ever feel like talking about it, I'm willing to listen, okay?"

Kiana didn't need to fake the small smile on her face at that. "This girl is too damn kind, seriously." "I'll keep it in mind." She answered wryly. "Thanks, Raiden-senpai."

There was a moment of awkward silence, after the rather depressing subject they'd suddenly found themselves addressing. Kiana couldn't help but notice that Hikari and a few of the others seemed to be judging her even more now, even as some of the others shot her looks of sympathy. Finally, after shooting a Look at Hikari, one of Mei's other friends - Kiana thought she was called Kimiko - clapped her hands to attract attention. "Well then! That's enough of that, I'd say. Has anyone heard about that new branch that Yukimaru-san's family set up in the old city?"

"I had, actually!" Mei said, seizing the opportunity. "My father was saying that -" And with that, the gossip began once again. This time, it was the rest of their peers that were the focus of discussion, dozens of names and references flying to and fro. Kiana barely understood a word of it, but kept an ear on it nevertheless, quietly absorbing what she could. She'd been right, apparently - basically everyone was either the kid of some major business owner, or from some old money family. Kiana wasn't exactly judging - heck, she was old money technically, even if she and her old man had basically disowned most of the rest of House Kaslana after… everything - but it did mean a lot of the subject matter went right over her head.

And then, a question was asked that would have consequences nobody at that table could've considered.

"By the way, has anyone seen Miyuki-san lately?" One of the girls, Kaneko or something, asked. "I saw her this morning, but she ran off and wouldn't talk to me…" the girl trailed off, confused by the stares she was met with. "What?"

"You… didn't hear?" Yumi asked, suddenly subdued. She wasn't the only one. While a couple of others, Mei included, seemed just as baffled by the sudden drop in the mood as Kiana and Kaneko, most of the others had suddenly gone quiet, saddened expressions on their faces as they looked between each other. "I'm… surprised she was here today. I thought she might… well… want some time before coming back." She finished, her voice quiet.

"Hear what?" Mei asked, worry in her voice. "Did something happen to Asakura-san?"

All of the girls who seemed to know what was going on suddenly flinched. "Okay yeah something happened." Kiana thought, straightening. "Why does it seem like everyone knows about it though?"

"I'm… not sure it's my place to say." Kimiko, one of the few people at the table Kiana didn't have a bad feeling about, answered carefully, her voice shaking in a way Kiana suspected was very much out of character for the girl. "It was a… very personal incident. I don't feel like we should really speak of it behind Asakura-san's back like this -"

"Oh it was terrible!" One of the girls - Kiana hadn't caught her name - blurted out. "It was just a few weeks ago - one of Miyuki-san's friends was supposed to meet up with her, but she was late, so she went looking for her but it turned out she had run into some group of thugs on her way there, she had to call an ambulance!"

"What?" Mei jolted in her seat. "That's awful! Did the police find out who was responsible yet?"

"They did, Mei-san, don't worry, but we really shouldn't-" Kimiko tried to say, only to be interrupted. "Oh, the police found them alright." Hikari said coldly. "But apparently they were only charged with battery and theft. Not enough evidence, supposedly." She snorted in disdain.

"Not enough evidence of what?" Kaneko said, looking around sharply. Hikari's mouth clicked shut, seemingly realising she'd said too much. There was a tense silence, nobody seeming to want to be the one to answer, before Kimiko sighed.

"I suppose it's best you hear it now, since apparently nobody understands privacy…" She muttered, Yumi, Hikari and the other girl wincing at the callout. "There were… Well." She took a deep breath, putting a hand on Kaneko's. "There were reports that Asakura was… assaulted. During the incident."

The silence was deafening.

"...What?" Mei breathed in horror. Kaneko, face white, jumped to her feet and half walked, half ran off. Kiana gritted her teeth. The incident had already happened by the time she was in Japan. There was nothing she could do. "That…. that's horrific!" Mei said, her voice rising. "And you're saying those thugs weren't even convicted!?"

Kimiko shook her head. "The police apparently couldn't prove they were responsible. They were proven guilty of the theft and her injuries, but… I'd think we all know that's the least of her concerns right now." She finished quietly, a heavy silence falling over their group.

"Has anyone been checking in on her?" Kiana asked, looking around. But she was met with the sight of the others shaking their heads in denial.

"Asakura-san is something of a loner, you could say." Hikari explained. "She has few friends, and none especially close. Kaneko-san is actually one of her closer acquaintances, and as you saw, she didn't even know about all of this." The older girl shook her head. "I'd say she's mostly been dealing with it on her own."

"There are rumours going around too." Yumi noted quietly. "Some students haven't been seen in a couple days now, and people are saying nobody knows where they went. I hope they're okay…"

"We all do." Mei reassured her, having regathered her composure. "But right now, the best we can do is keep an eye out to make sure Asakura-san is okay. And I shouldn't have to remind you all to keep this to yourselves, yes?" She added in exasperation.

Kimiko scoffed. "Honestly, Mei-san, there's no need for concern. Most of us understand that privacy is supposed to be respected. Never fear - I'll make sure the rumour mongers show some tact for once."

"I'd expect nothing less." Mei said, nodding graciously. And that, it seemed, was that, for the little circle of popular kids - the table falling back into a subdued silence. Kiana, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. An inkling of suspicion entered her thoughts.

---

As the final bell rang, Kiana couldn't help but yawn, stretching her arms over her head. "Man, what a day…" she muttered. "Here's hoping school isn't normally this crazy."

"Indeed." An equally exhausted voice rang out next to her. Kiana definitely did not jump out of her seat thank you. "Ah! Sorry, did I startle you?" Mei asked worriedly.

"Nah, it's fine!" Kiana hastily reassured, waving her hands in the air. "Just didn't hear you, that's all!" Mei didn't quite seem convinced, but after a moment, she nodded in acceptance.

"Very well… at any rate, I came over to apologize…" Mei winced. "Well. For what happened at lunch. I didn't expect your first day here to be overshadowed by such a tragedy…"

"No need - not like it's your fault or anything." Kiana said with a shrug, grabbing her bag as she walked to the door. "Really, I'm just hoping everyone will be alright."

"Still, I'm sorry your introduction to the campus got interrupted this way." Mei said sincerely. "Don't worry either way - with any luck, Asakura-san will be fine. We just have to make sure she doesn't feel alone."

Kiana stopped, then turned and smiled softly. "... you're a good person, Raiden-senpai."

"Eh?" Mei blinked in confusion, not entirely sure what she'd done to earn such praise - wouldn't anyone do what she did in her position?

"Thanks, for helping me out." Kiana continued, tracing a pattern absently on her shirt. "To be honest…" she hesitated a moment, trying to decide how much she was comfortable revealing, before she finished her sentence. "... I haven't been out of Siberia very long, y'know? This was my first time ever going to a normal school like this…" she admitted scuffing her heels on the floor.

"Really?" Mei asked, eyes wide. "I… I'm sorry. It can't have been easy."

"Eh, you'd be surprised." Kiana said, flashing a cheeky grin at her classmate before becoming serious again. "But… Really, thank you. I was nervous as hell today. You might think it was nothing, but coming over and talking to me… not a lot of people really bother, so it helped more than you know." Kiana bowed formally. "Thank you for the help, senpai!"

Kiana couldn't tell her how much it had really helped. She couldn't tell Mei just how grateful she was for the other girl, the first person in a very long time to see the young Kaslana and decide to help her simply because it was the right thing. It would put her in grave danger, to know anything of Kiana's past, and frankly, Kiana didn't know if she trusted her enough to tell her in the first place. But she could at the very least, thank her for this.

It was a good thing Kiana had lowered her head, because if she saw Mei blushing in embarrassment, she'd have had a heart attack. "I still really don't think I've done anything to earn such respect… but, consider your gratitude accepted." She managed, turning away to start walking again.

Kiana flashed another grin, before trailing off after her. Soon, they reached the exit, and Kiana turned to leave. Before she exited the gate however, Mei interrupted her one last time. "Kaslana-san?" Kiana turned, curiously gazing back. "I'll see you again tomorrow." Mei said simply, smiling.

Kiana's eyes widened for a single instant, before she smiled widely - the second real smile she'd had in a single day. "Yeah! See you!" she said happily, before heading off.

After a few minutes walking, Kiana grabbed her phone, humming to herself merrily as she went. Today had been a good one - the best in a while. "Maybe this whole vacation thing was a good idea after all." she mused to herself, tapping a long since memorised code into her phone to bring up the Mercnet. "Now then… aha, that's perfect!" She cried, seeing a job excellent for her skills - and for good pay to boot. "Time to build up some savings." She thought cheerily, heading in the indicated direction.

And so began the next stage in Kiana's life.

 

[Vojta]

Oh this is gonna cause so many butterflies. The funs gonna begin so quickly~

 

[DragonlordSyed101]

Well this is a thing. Good luck and welcome to the Cabal, you got noticed by your fellow Honkai fan fic authors. I look forward to how this version of Kiana will impact things.

 

[WielderOfFate01]

Ooh, an aware tuna and merc hired by Welt Yang....

Very interested in seeing how this goes.

 

[Quibbles]

/finally got through the April Deluge to get here

It's a fascinating start! Very, very interested to see how the aware tuna proceeds, and an interesting insight into Mei's social circle pre-arrest. I wonder if she knows Bronya and/or Cocolia's lot.

Prose and characterization is excellent; I am eagerly awaiting more!

 

[Gamer50018]

The alley was dark. Silence filled the air, the bustling sounds of city life muffled - this area was far from where most people lived. The buildings were boarded up; the lights were broken, hanging loosely from their mounts. Nobody had been here in quite some time.

Or at least, nobody living.

The zombies were still, unmoving. There was none of the shuffling, moaning or aimless wandering one would expect from movies or games; the Honkai did not waste the energy of its soldiers. They simply stood, statue-like, so still and silent one might think they were truly dead.

They weren't. They were simply waiting.

Though the dead themselves had long since been purged of any remaining brain activity, and no greater force was there to command them, the Honkai animating them had a certain instinctive cunning. It knew that were the zombies to rush forward to slaughter the people of Nagazora, they would fail; they were too few, too weak - merely animated corpses with sharp teeth and claws, the humans they had formerly been lacking the Honkai resistance to become any true threat in death. Were they to strike, they would kill some, yes, but it would be mere moments before the Valkyries of Shicksal's Far East branch descended to purge the infestation - and then, the jig would be up.

And so, the zombies simply stood there. Waiting. Always waiting, for the balance to be shifted - an Eruption to either empower them or hold the attention of Honkai's enemy, a powerful Beast to command them, or maybe, should the Will of Honkai deem it suitable, even a Psuedo-Herrscher to issue the call to slaughter. But until then, they would linger here, in the places humanity had ignored, remaining beneath Shicksal and AE's notice, slowly yet surely growing their numbers as they slew the unfortunates who stumbled across them.

Suddenly, movement. A young girl turned the corner, a few dozen meters away from the horde. Dressed in old, battered clothes, she looked to be nothing but another unfortunate street rat - a poor, unloved soul who had just made a horrible mistake. Someone nobody would miss, once her body was added to the Honkai's forces.

One of the zombies raised its head, burning orange coals for eyes locking on the new prey. Beginning to take a step forward, its maw unhinged, letting forth a hiss that began to raise into an unearthly shriek -

The corpse's head exploded.

The Zombies hadn't expected that.

The girl rolled her shoulders, pulling a pistol from somewhere under her jacket to join the one she'd just fired. As she reloaded, her eyes quickly flicked between each of the dead as they turned as one in recognition of the threat she had proven herself as. Thirty zombies, none of them the more advanced forms that could pose a threat. She wouldn't be here long.

The horde rushed forward, unnervingly silent. Their clawed arms raised before them, their pale skin, still marked with the lines of Honkai Energy that had killed them, lit up as the meager power animating them flared. For any regular person, instinct and common sense would both dictate she retreat - put distance between herself and the dead, so that she could continue gunning them down at leisure and not risk an injury that could lead to her dying a slow and painful death later.

Instead, she sprinted headlong into the fray. As she ran, she quickly crouched low and leaped forward, a flying kick slamming into the first zombie with enough force to cave in the ribcage. Landing, the girl quickly stomped on the neck to ensure the corpse wouldn't get back up, before launching into a devastating combo of kicks, pistol strikes and punches, interspersed with the occasional bullet aimed at those farther away. The second zombie died nearly instantly, its skull smashed apart with a whipping strike from a pistol; the third and fourth lasted little longer, a pair of bullets to the chest and a spine-breaking side kick sending them back to their graves. The zombies tried to strike back, then, finally realising the danger was in their midst, but their swiping claws and lunging bites found no purchase, the young warrior easily ducking under and jumping away from the attacks.

Jumping backwards, the girl snapped a short burst off at the zombies towards the rear, bullets slamming into heads and torsos, before landing and whirling around, her elbow crushing an assailant against the wall. Another tried to grab her, teeth seeking her throat, but a single punch broke its arms, before the warrior grabbed its head and, in a single movement, snapped its neck. Dashing towards a corpse that had become separated from the group as the horde tried to track her astounding speed, she snapped her leg up, knocking the zombie skyward - and then leaped upwards, a second kick slamming it into the ground. There was another burst of gunfire, the warrior smoothly switching from target to target, until her guns clicked empty.

She didn't bother reloading. Instead, she launched back into the now much reduced horde, a whirling ball of violence smashing through the Honkai's ranks - until, in a few short moments, it was over.

Kiana Kaslana sighed, twirling her pistols around as she reholstered them - sure, nobody was there to see it, but it looked cool, so there. Casting her eyes about, she quickly counted out the corpses strewing the alley. Sure enough, all thirty one zombies were accounted for. Smiling in satisfaction, the young Kaslana stretched, yawning as she raised her arms above her head - while the tiny horde was no real threat to her, it had taken her a while to find it.

Grabbing her phone. Kiana quickly snapped a few photos of the carnage, before flipping over to the Mercnet and opening the page for the job. Quickly getting to the bottom of the page, she sent the photos in and claimed the mission complete. Once the evidence was reviewed and her success confirmed, the money would be wired to the White Ghost's account - and, she hoped, the corpses of the people the Honkai had slain finally returned to their loved ones.

It was a fairly standard job, all told; a kind she'd done over a hundred times. While most people were only vaguely aware of the Honkai, and had no clue how big a danger it really was, the people of Siberia had no such illusions, and so jobs to exterminate minor threats such as this one, below the notice of the likes of Schicksal, were fairly common. Of course, the White Ghost's success rate and willingness to deal with jobs twice as dangerous as most mercs would accept had earned her a small degree of notoriety but, well. She was a Kaslana. She was, quite literally, born for this - even ignoring… everything. Of course she was good at it.

Putting her phone away, Kiana frowned at the nearest corpse, the glowing pink lines crisscrossing its pale skin fading as the Honkai dissipated. While her senses told her the energy levels in the alley were dropping, quickly plummeting to a level where even someone with no notable resistance could survive it, they weren't falling as fast as she knew it should be now that the Honkai had been purged like this. "That's twice." She noted to herself. "Both here, and at the school. Something is causing the ambient Honkai energy level to rise around here… but what?" After a moment, frowning in deep thought, Kiana shook her head and sighed in frustration - she simply didn't know enough to realise what was going on. She'd just have to keep an eye out and deal with it as it came.

Turning away from the alley, Kiana's frown remained in place as she quickly did a rote check for injuries; as expected, she didn't find any, but her sense of pain was iffy somedays. At the very least, there wasn't any blood. Well, no human blood - some of the black-pink sludge from the zombies had gotten on her sleeves. At least it was easy to clean off - when she got injured herself, it took weeks to get the stains out. Fortunately, she hadn't wrecked her uniform - that was safely buried under her jacket.

At that thought, Kiana's frown turned into a small smile. "I wonder what Mei'll talk about tomorrow… Heh, good thing I thought to put my old clothes on first. If my uniform was a mess, she'd freak." Strangely, the thought wasn't as bitter as it normally was when Kiana thought about people's reactions to her life.

"I wonder what school will be like tomorrow." The girl wondered as she ambled away from the field of bodies. "Hopefully not as crazy as yesterday - now that was a mess…"

---

Kiana ducked into the door, rushing to her seat - she wasn't quite late, but she'd definitely cut it close."Okay!" She muttered to herself, collapsing into her chair. "Note to Kiana; do not put your uniform in the laundromat before bed and then oversleep! Ever!"

After a taking a few moments to vent to herself about laundromats, accidentally silenced alarms, and being too broke to afford a second uniform, Kiana sighed in exhaustion, and accepted defeat; she'd just have to wash the damn thing at the weekends and try to keep it as clean as she could. "Ugh, God I hate being broke... maybe next time the others make contact I can set something up."

Picking herself up, Kiana flicked her eyes around. It seemed like she was one of the last students in the door - almost everyone was there. A few other stragglers had yet to arrive, but most of her peers apparently had better time management skills than she did. Still, she wondered where -

"Good morning, Kaslana-san!"

Kiana perked up. "Morning, Raiden-senpai!" She answered cheerily, waving as her new… friend? She hoped they were friends at least, walked over to her desk. "How've you been?"

"Oh, well enough." Mei answered, putting her bag down - had she switched desks for some reason? - and quickly grabbing a few books. "My father had a bit of time off for once, so I got to spend most of the evening with him without work getting in the way."

"He busy a lot, then?" Kiana asked sympathetically.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Mei replied wryly. "One of the perils of running a company as large as ours I suppose - it feels like we are lucky if he can grab a day to himself a month, sometimes." She shook her head in long suffering exasperation. "Fortunately nothing seems to be catching fire when he wasn't looking, so I'll hopefully have a bit more time before he has to run off and handle some new disaster."

"Eesh." Kiana winced. "Sounds rough. My old man's never been able to be around as much as either of us liked either, but that's…" Kiana trailed off, realising she definitely couldn't tell Mei the reason she didn't see her father much. "Kinda a different story. I didn't think company people had to work that hard!"

"A lot of them don't." Mei confided. "It's just that father prefers to be far more active in keeping things running, rather than resting on his laurels, as it were." She looked away slightly, seeming… embarrassed about something? "I'm… not sure if what we do really counts as hard work compared to what you're used to, though…"

Oh. It was that. "Raiden-senpai, trust me, just because your dad's job revolves around talking to people doesn't mean it ain't hard." She snorted, intentionally keeping her tone light. "Especially if what you just said about things catching fire when he isn't looking is anything to go by." She frowned to herself. "Is that normal? For things to be going wrong a lot?"

Mei put a finger to her lips, thoughtful. "Well… in most fields, things are usually fairly stable. It's just that my family has a number of research and development firms under our general umbrella, so there's a lot of experimental projects and such running at any given time." She tapped a finger against the desk, missing how Kiana winced a bit halfway through her sentence. "It's the energy branch that causes him the most trouble, I think. It always seems like that blasted reactor is trying to go wrong…" Mei looked over to Kiana, curious. "Now that I think about it, what does your father do?" She asked, realising too late that this might not be a pleasant subject like it would for most of her class.

Kiana floundered, mentally flailing for an answer that didn't make Siegfried Kaslana sound like a lunatic. "Uh - w-well, he does a bunch of things really!" She stammered, fidgeting with one of her braids. "He's a, uh, contractor! Does all kinds of odd jobs - helping out with construction, hunting, acting as a pathfinder for any groups passing through the area, just about anything!" She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she flicked her eyes around in mild panic. "Siberia is, well, itself, so we don't really have the kinda working on just one job thing as much, y'know? So there's a lot of that style of contract jobs available. Pretty common way of getting money, actually!"

All of that was true, of course - contract work was the basis of most things in Siberia. Even the Mercnet showed that - Kiana had seen everything from plans to pillage entire towns on behalf of one warlord or another to requests to go check to see if an old lady who lived alone was still okay. She just… wasn't mentioning what kind of work her and her father specialised in.

"Oh." Mei blinked, seeming mildly bemused. "I… think I understand. That style of doing things is pretty rare here in Japan - odd to think that's the norm for you… how do they organise everything for larger tasks?" She muttered the last sentence to herself, unaware she'd spoken aloud.

"We don't." Kiana deadpanned. "It's chaos."

"... Ah." Mei winced.

At that moment, the teacher walked in. "Good morning, everyone." She said calmly, with a chorus of "Good morning, Sensei!" answering her. "We'll be starting off with Geography today. If all of you would please get your textbooks, we'll begin with…"

As the teacher continued her sentence, Kiana lunged for her bag, the conversation left for later. But not before sending Mei a thumbs up so she didn't think Kiana was mad or something.

---

Kiana stared at her book. The questions stared back.

The letters were back. Kiana could feel the headache coming on. Glancing up to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, she surreptitiously flipped back through the book, searching for an explanation. There was nothing. The weird math with letters stuff remained stubbornly incomprehensible. Was this… meant to be something from a previous year? A piece of revision they'd skipped? Was math with letters instead of numbers just how it was done outside of Siberia? No, her old man hadn't grown up there, he'd have known, so what were the stupid letters for -

"Kaslana-san?"

Kiana jerked in surprise, whipping her head around to see Mei looking at her in concern. "Is everything alright?" She asked. "You've just been staring at your textbook all class…"

Kiana hesitated, eyes darting around as she thought to herself. Kiana didn't want Mei to think she was dumb. She liked Mei, she wasn't exactly keen on showing off her lack of smarts. But on the other hand, Mei had been nothing but understanding so far. Sure, she hadn't known the other girl long yet, but Kiana had always been good at reading people, and Mei seemed completely genuine in wanting to help her. And it was pretty clear by now that Kiana wasn't figuring this out any time soon. So… maybe asking Mei for help was okay?

"Ah fuck it." "Uh… Raiden-senpai?" She asked sheepishly. "Uh. Could you, ehehe… tell me what the uh, letters mean?"

Mei blinked. "The… letters?"

"The uh, the math questions," Kiana whispered, desperately hoping nobody could overhear them. "There are letters in them? But math is supposed to be with numbers? I'm… everyone seems to know what we're doing. What do they mean?"

Mei looked at Kiana like someone watching an airship smack into a mountain. "Kaslana-san, you… Don't know Algebra?"

"Alge-what?" Kiana blinked.

"Algebra." Mei said faintly. "I. Well. That's…" Mei trailed off. Right as Kiana was about to wonder if she had somehow done something wrong, Mei shook her head, blinking rapidly. "I, I'm sorry, Kaslana-san - I was just surprised. It's a common principle in math - a slightly complicated one, but it appears in all sorts of places, so most people learn it quite young. You… you genuinely haven't heard of it?" She questioned in disbelief.

Kiana felt like sinking into a hole in the floor. "No… my old man taught me before, but I've never seen letters in math till yesterday…" she muttered. "It's… normal, then?"

"I'm afraid so." Mei answered, the faint tone in her voice Kiana couldn't identify still there.

(Kiana was not unfamiliar with "dawning horror", but she didn't usually associate it with something as unimportant as her education.)

Kiana's head slammed into her desk. "Why meee…"

Mei tried to stop herself from staring. She really did - people staring at her like she was a zoo specimen was the last thing her new classmate needed right now, but she couldn't help it.

Mei had known, of course, that Kiana's life had doubtless been a harsh one. Everyone knew Siberia was a horrible place, a war torn no man's land that had vast stretches of territory still outright unsuited for human life after the horrific natural disaster that had struck it at the turn of the millennium. It was why she had gone to talk with Aki the previous evening to ask if they could switch seats, so she could keep an eye out for the poor girl.

But somehow, all the horror stories she'd read, all the awful statistics and news reports she'd seen… none of it had made her so acutely aware of how lucky she was as the idea that the girl currently muttering invective into the wood of her desk didn't know something taught to children years younger than them.

Mei took a deep breath, and quietly released it, quickly looking around them. Miraculously, nobody seemed to have heard their conversation, though Kiana's dramatic display of despair was earning her a few confused looks. Mei quietly nodded to herself, determined. She'd known from the moment Kiana had first barged into the classroom as a cavalcade of mixed social anxiety and hyperactivity that the girl needed some help, and decided there and then to be that help, the way she wished someone had when she was still recovering from the mess of her preteen years. It was just… slightly more complex than she'd initially thought, that was all.

Resolve firmed, Mei reached out, carefully placing a hand on her new… no, she didn't want to presume or make Kiana feel pressured. Her new acquaintances' shoulders. Not for the first time, Kiana jerked in surprise at the sudden contact. Mei determinedly stopped her mind worrying about why such a social person seemed unused to physical contact. One thing at a time.

"Kaslana-san, I'm sorry." She said gently. "I should've realised after yesterday that you probably hadn't gotten the kind of education I did, but I assumed either our teachers or whoever helped your family leave Siberia had already handled it." Kiana gave her an askance look at that one, causing Mei to chuckle. "Haha, a little foolish in hindsight, yes. But there's nothing wrong with not knowing this - you just didn't have a chance to learn yet."

Mei quickly internally braced herself, knowing she would be touching on an unpleasant memory. "I… also had a time where I was far behind my peers." She said simply, not wanting to burden someone who surely had trouble of her own with the sordid tale of her childhood. "At first, I felt terrible about it, like there was something wrong with me for not knowing something everyone else did… but none of it was my fault. I hadn't chosen to end up in the situations that delayed my education, nor asked to be left behind by my teachers. And the same is just as true of you." She squeezed Kiana's shoulder, smiling encouragingly. "Why don't you come with me after class? I'll try and help you catch up."

Kiana looked back at her, wary. She hid it well - Mei suspected she hid things quite often - but Mei knew that hidden, judging look of someone who wondered if it was too good to be true. She'd been there, once. So she simply kept up her smile, and hoped whatever Kiana found was alright with her.

Finally, Kiana sighed, a sheepish grin answering Mei's own. "Sounds like a plan... thanks, Raiden-senpai."

Mei simply gave Kiana's shoulder one last squeeze before letting go. "No need for thanks, Kaslana-san."

---

Kiana looked curiously as Mei, instead of turning in the direction of the cafeteria, turned to go further down the hall after class. "We going somewhere else today?" She asked, trailing along behind her.

Mei nodded, turning her head to address Kiana even as she kept walking, apparently confident in her sense of direction. "I thought you might want some peace and quiet, since it sounded like you were struggling a lot with the problems." She explained. "Not to say the cafeteria isn't often used for studying, it certainly is, but I know somewhere a little quieter… Ah, here we are!" She exclaimed excitedly, darting through a small, unmarked door and up a set of stairs. Her curiosity piqued, Kiana followed.

She wasn't disappointed. "Woah…" Kiana breathed, the door at the top of the stairwell opening to reveal part of the roof of the Academy. The area was small, sectioned off somewhat by the slope of the roof behind them, but still had more than enough room for two people, and held a commanding view of the city. "Talk about a nice view…" she said in amazement, walking over to rest her arms on the railing. "Do you come up here often?"

Mei nodded, casting her own gaze out over the comfortingly familiar sight. "I do, yes. I found this little place in my first year here at Chiba, when I was younger. It's an older part of the school, so it's a little cut off from everywhere else - nobody uses this part of the building much anymore. I think I'm the only one who ever really comes here… ever since then, this has been where I go whenever I want some time to myself." She explained.

"You sure picked a nice spot." Kiana joked, casting a mischievous grin towards her. "Thanks for letting me come up here." She tilted her head up, thoughtful. "You're right about this place being nicer than the cafeteria. It's quiet… think I like it."

"I'm glad to hear it." Mei smiled back. The two took a moment there, enjoying the sight of Nagazora spread out before them in the midday sun, before Mei nodded to herself firmly. "Now then… I usually sit over there, on that old bench when I'm up here." She said, nodding to the furniture in question. "There should be more than enough room. Would you like to get started now, Kaslana-san?"

Kiana shrugged. "Don't see why not. Faster I start, sooner I catch up, right?" So saying, she stood and meandered over to the bench, plonking herself down as she grabbed her books. "Okay, so… where should I start?" She asked, glancing at the table of content.

Mei hummed in consideration, sitting down next to Kiana. "I think we might want to start from the beginning. Fortunately our textbook has a revision section… Try page 39, for now." Kiana duly flipped over the pages, frowning in confusion at the slightly arcane problems adorning the book. "Alright, let's start with the basics…" Mei murmured, low enough that most people wouldn't have heard her, before looking to Kiana. "First of all, I'd like to make sure I understand what you already know. What's the most recent thing you learned as far as math goes?"

Kiana frowned, her gaze drifting to the clouds as she wracked her brain for knowledge. "I think…"

A flash of memory, sitting at the table as she pouted to herself. "Papa, this stuff is boring!" She'd complained, her uncovered eye screwed up in frustration. "Can't we just practice katas instead?"

Her old man laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "I know, baby doll, it's not much fun, but even Valkyries need to know numbers. After all, do you know how much money it takes to keep yourself fed for a month?" Kiana frowned, then shook her head. "Well, this'll help you do that." He explained, gesturing to the worksheet in front of her. "After all, if you have to go on a long mission by yourself, you'll need to know how much money and food to bring, or you won't be much help to anyone."

Kiana made a small sound of realisation, her eye lighting up. "Oh, I get it!" She exclaimed in excitement. "Because I'm no good at fighting when I'm hungry!" She looked at the sheet with new interest, only to frown again. "But… I dunno what these symbols mean…"

"And that's okay." Her father said gently, shuffling over to rest a hand on her head. Most children would've flinched away from the man's icy touch, but Kiana never had - she'd never known anything different, her father's cold body simply one of the things she'd never questioned. "Nobody's born knowing stuff like this. It's just something we all have to learn, sooner or later. You'll figure it out, don't you worry." He smiled, eyes twinkling. "Here, why don't you let your old man lend you a hand?"

Kiana frowned, dubious. "But Papa's terrible at numbers."

Her father spluttered, waving his arm in denial. "I- no I'm not - I can totally remember this! Why do you even think-"

"I've heard Papa saying bad words at the money sheet for not making sense." Kiana answered plainly.

"OH COME ON-"

Kiana smiled softly, drifting away from the cherished memories of her father's flailing attempts at parenting. "My old man was teaching me how to keep track of money and stuff." She said quietly, bittersweet happiness in her voice. "He's horrible at it, but he always tried his best to help me understand things… I think the most recent thing he taught me was the uh, multiplication and division stuff. He said that part is really important, and it sure does come up a lot when I'm tracking my money."

"Ah, good." Mei said in relief. "You're not quite as far behind as I was afraid of, then - that'll make it easier to explain everything." She shut her eyes, focusing, then nodded decisively, quickly grabbing her text book and opening it to the same page as Kiana. "Now then, this problem should be a good example. In this question, we're told what amount of time the task will take, but, you may notice, not how many times it needs to be repeated. We're asked to calculate the time it will take for the mechanic to finish for the day, which you might think is impossible with the information we have. This is where Algebra comes into play…"

---

"Okay…" Kiana muttered. "So, the letter means a number in the question I don't actually know yet. And I can use it to figure out what the answer would be, so once I do know that number I can fill it in… And this is also helpful if I'm trying to answer a question where one of the numbers could change?" She hazarded, squinting at the textbook as she tried to get the knowledge into her head.

"Exactly!" Mei said warmly. "We can then use this to create a special type of equation called a function…" as she spoke, Mei glanced at her phone, only to frown when she saw the time. "... but we'll have to look at those later - class will start soon, so we have to leave now, I'm afraid."

"Ah, no worries!" Kiana said, waving a hand dismissively. "I already know, like, ten times as much as I did this morning! That classwork has my name on it!" She proclaimed, puffing herself up in pride. Mei giggled a little at that. Kiana liked her laugh. Smiling, she hopped to her feet, stretching her arms with a sigh. "Right then! Time to get moving." As the two of them grabbed their bags, and started walking back down the stairs, Kiana looked curiously at her companion. "By the way, where was everyone else? Your friends, I mean." She clarified, seeing Mei's confusion.

"Oh." Mei replied, her eyes lighting up in understanding. "I texted them earlier - they were all at our usual spot in the cafeteria." She explained. "I just told them I was taking some time to myself, so we'll be meeting up later."

Kiana nodded, then hesitated a little. "Where would you all be going?" She asked, trying to keep herself casual.

Mei blinked at the non sequitur. "The garden on the way to the club buildings - right outside on the opposite side from the entrance." She explained, gesturing off in the direction of her social circle's favoured meeting place. "Like I said, not much happens in this part of the building, so it's a good place to meet up after class when the clubs aren't busy. Why did you ask?" She said, tilting her head curiously."

"Oh, uh, nothing." Kiana said hastily, trying to hide a flash of disappointment - she had no reason to be near the school once class ended. "Just curious I guess." She shrugged, reminding herself to keep her smile in place. "Hope you guys have fun."

Mei blinked, realising a slight miscommunication had occurred. "Kaslana-san, you did realise I was including you when I said 'we', right?" She said carefully.

As evidenced by how she stumbled and whipped around to face her, Kiana did not in fact realise. "I- wait, seriously?" She asked in disbelief. "I mean, those guys are your friends and I thought you might want to hang out with them instead of me so…" Catching the rambling before it properly began, Kiana shook her head rapidly, staring at Mei in confusion. "I mean, do your friends even want me around?"

Mei gave her a fond look. "Why wouldn't they? You've done nothing but make a good impression since I've met you. Besides…" She made a show of looking around them, before leaning towards Kiana. "You might not have noticed, but most of my friends are chronic gossips." She whispered conspiratorially. "Honestly, they'll just be happy to have someone else to tell all the stories they've been hearing to."

Kiana giggled a little at Mei's acting - she could tell it was intentional to get her to relax, but, well, it was working. Still, she wasn't entirely sure Mei's friends shared her high opinion of the young Kaslana - some of them didn't seem to think much of her. Then again, she'd only met them once, and she did notice they seemed to like gossiping a lot… maybe it'd work out? "Alright, then." She conceded. "I'll be there. Not sure I'll be making much of a contribution to the discussion though."

"That's perfectly fine." Mei assured her, turning the corner. "And besides - oh there they are!" She exclaimed happily. Sure enough, the motley crew of girls Kiana had met the previous day were walking down the corridor, talking amongst themselves. "Hello everyone!" Mei called, waving to her friends as she went to join them, Kiana hurrying after her. "I hope everyone's had a good day?"

"Ah, Mei-san." Kimiko said, smiling as she greeted her old friend. "Yes, we're all quite well." Turning slightly, she nodded to Kiana. "Hello to you as well, Kaslana-san. I hope your second day here has been enjoyable."

"Yeah, it's been going fine." Kiana said cheerily, forcefully ignoring the looks Hikari and a couple others had shot her when they realised she wasn't just passing by. "Raiden-senpai was actually a big help, explained something the teacher was saying I'd missed out on learning before. Seriously, thanks again - you're a lifesaver." She added sincerely, bowing slightly in thanks.

"I've already told you, it was no trouble." Mei said, clearly gearing up to wave off the gratitude, only for one of her friends, Yumi, to jostle her slightly. "Aw, cmon, Mei-san, she's just being grateful." She chimed up, before turning to Kiana. "Sorry for this. You've probably noticed it, but our Mei-san's allergic to compliments. Don't take it personally!" She said, gesturing energetically as Mei flushed in embarrassment.

"Heh, no worries - I'll wear her down eventually!" Kiana said in reply, dramatically placing her hands on her hips.

Mei shook her head in dismay. "Oh dear…" she muttered apprehensively, causing Kaneko to giggle a little. "Wow, you definitely found a stubborn one." She joked, leaning into Mei's side. "Lemme guess, she's been bulldozing past it whenever you waved her off?" At Mei's sheepish nod, Kaneko smiled. "Good. You need someone able to get past that humility of yours."

"I still don't think I've done anything special, but she seems convinced otherwise…" Mei admitted, casting a glance towards Kiana, who was currently competing with Yumi over who was more dramatic (Kiana was winning). "I guess I'll just have to live up to her opinion of me." She shook her head, frowning as a darker subject came to mind. "On another note… Kaneko-chan, is Asakura-san…?"

Kaneko's face fell. "I talked to her for a bit this morning. She's…" Her shoulders slumped. "She's acting like she's fine, but… I've always been a better actress than her." She whispered. "She's hurting. Badly."

Mei nodded sadly. "I expected as much." She cast glances to Hikari and Kimiko, meeting their eyes. "And you both?"

Kimiko frowned. "The usual suspects were causing some trouble, yes." She waved a hand, sniffing in disdain. "'Fear not, they got the point after a stern talking-to. However…"

Hikari took over. "It seems the missing students wasn't just a rumour. Three girls went missing over the last month or so, and nobody's certain what happened." She said neutrally. "The police aren't involved yet, but they likely will be soon."

"I see." Mei murmured, a hand on her chin as she thought over this strange turn of events. Glancing at her watch, she frowned. "We'll have to talk later - we'll all be late to class soon. Our usual place?" She checked, and was met with a round of nods. "Alright. We'll see what we can do then." She nodded decisively, then remembered something, her eyes widening. "Oh, right!" Turning to Kiana, she called out loudly. "Kaslana-san! Do you know where the club buildings are?"

Kiana paused, turning around. "Eh?" She blinked, confused. "Uh… behind the school?" She said blankly. "I didn't really pay much attention to that part of the intro speech…" She scratched her head bashfully, not looking towards Hikari, who had narrowed her eyes upon realising Mei's point. "I didn't bother signing up for a club, so -"

"You haven't joined a club yet!?" Mei exclaimed, eyes wide. "Oh dear, now we definitely need to bring you along later!"

Kiana stared in confusion, causing Kimiko to cough politely. "Kaslana-san, the school actually requires students to attend at least one, and preferably two, clubs." She explained. "They count towards our grade. You won't be allowed to pass the year if you don't find one."

"HUH!?" Kiana yelped, alarmed. "I-wha-nobody told me that was - oh crap, I never even looked at them -" Her panic was interrupted when Yumi laughed, nudging her in the side. "Aw, don't worry about it, Kaslana-san!" She said. "We meet up by the club buildings anyway, and Mei-san already invited you! We'll just show you around later and help you pick." She breezily declared.

"The clubs haven't begun meetings for the year regardless." Kimiko added, reassuring. "The first years are still making their own choices, after all. Fear not, we'll handle this little crisis soon enough." Hikari frowned to herself, but didn't deny it, nodding in acknowledgement.

None of them noticed how Kiana stiffened at the unexpected contact, before relaxing as the others spoke. Mei however, did, her eyes narrowing before she forced herself to ignore it - she'd figure out if Kiana had an issue with being touched later, in private. "It seems we're all in agreement then." She spoke authoritatively. "For now, we should all get to class before -"

There was a scream.

Most of the girls froze, shock overcoming them. At first, they thought they had been hearing things, before the horror struck cry rang out again. Mei and Kimiko reacted quicker, but they too were off guard, whirling in confusion as they tried to figure out what was going on.

Kiana, however, didn't hesitate for a moment.

"Kaslana-san, wait-" Mei called, reaching a hand out as Kiana ran past, but she was too late, the other girl already sprinting to the end of the corridor and turning towards the sound. Cursing, Mei went after her; the others, still processing what was happening, instinctively followed her.

Kiana was distantly aware it probably wasn't a good idea to be hauling ass like this. A random, white haired girl in the middle of a city wasn't anything of note. A white haired girl capable of running faster than some cars was far more likely to reach certain ears. But she didn't care. Her usual fears and worries faded, drowned out by one, single thought;

"Thou shalt constitute thyself a shield, for the weak and innocent…"

She was a Kaslana, and her oaths came before all else.

Kiana turned a corner, skidding to a halt as she rapidly looked left and right - there, the scream rang out once again. A small part of her tracked the footsteps following after her, noting in confusion that one set of steps was keeping up with her much better than the others. The rest was too busy determining the best way to get to whoever needed help. Whirling left, Kiana moved, charging down the corridor and turning to engage the threat -

And halted.

Mei ran after her new friend, gasping at the exertion. Gods, but the other girl was fast! Still, Mei could keep up, though the others fell behind. Turning a corner, Mei looked around wildly, and found Kiana finally stopping, staring down a corridor. Quickly, Mei rushed to join her. If there was something wrong, she was not going to sit back and let her new classmate deal with it alone if she could help.

But it was too late for that, she realised distantly as she saw what Kiana was looking at. It was too late for anything.

There wasn't much anyone could do for a dead body, after all.

 

[Quibbles]

W-Well, there's a cliffhanger alright. Oof.

 

[AngryMartian]

There wasn't much anyone could do for a dead body, after all.

Click to shrink...

Hmm? Perhaps this might be the work of that serial killer Kiana killed in canon. Kiana going full murderblender might make a wrong impression.

I'm worried about Meis friends here. This is one of the first time I have actually seen faces attached to them and the first time I've seen them humanized. I really am not looking forward to the sudden but fated betrayal after Ryoma's arrest.

 

[Gamer50018]

For a single moment, all Mei could do was stare.

The body was lying in the middle of a room, face down in a pool of blood. Its limbs lay limp, one arm clearly broken. The back was covered in wounds, and from the blood, Mei suspected the front was as well.

Herself and Kiana weren't the only ones there - a whole class was gathered in front of the classroom, frozen in front of the horrific scene. One girl had collapsed on the ground, back against the wall as she shook in terror - the one who had screamed and alerted them. Mei simply stared, her eyes locked on the body that had once belonged to one of her fellow students, and for a single instant, became lost in the memories -

And then she was knocked to the side as Kiana moved, and the moment was broken.

Kiana barged through the crowd, brusquely shoving aside anyone who got in her way. Pushing past the teacher who had frozen alongside his students, she skidded to a halt next to the body. Mei belatedly followed, trying to be somewhat more polite as she made her way through, but was barely making any progress until she heard a familiar voice snapping out behind her.

"Move, all of you, if you would! You, there - get the nurse and a first aid kit! You as well, please, find the principal! And will one of you kindly hurry and call the police?"

A wave of relief flowed through Mei at Kimiko's voice. That girl's calm really was a godsend. She'd forgotten about grabbing her phone herself. Finally, she finished getting through the rapidly clearing crowd, and was met with the sight of Kiana kneeling next to body, her hand on its wrist. Despite herself, Mei felt a single moment of hope. "Kaslana-san, is she…?"

The look on her new friend's face as she slowly looked up and shook her head shattered that hope. "She's gone." She said quietly. "Body's starting to get cold… no way any doctors could fix her." Mei heard several sharp intakes of breath behind her, as well as a wave of sobs as the reality began to sink in. She closed her eyes, silently sending a prayer to any Kami listening to make the poor girl's journey a peaceful one.

A slowing series of footprints told her when her friends caught up with them. "I've gotten everyone moving." Kimiko told her quietly, stopping next to her. "The police and paramedics are on their way… although, from the look on Kaslana-san's face, I suppose the latter will be superfluous, by now." She added sadly, glancing at the corpse for a moment before needing to look aside.

"Do we -" Mei began, only to be interrupted by a truly awful sound as, without warning, Kiana reached out and carefully flipped the dead girl onto her back, exposing her face.

Behind them, someone threw up. Mei did not blame them. As awful as the girl's wounds on her back looked, her front… It looked like an abattoir. "The injuries on her back came first, then this." Kiana noted in a detached tone, seemingly speaking to herself. "The wounds look bad, but they didn't hit any organs…" she hesitated, her voice becoming quiet before she looked towards them. "Raiden-senpai… whoever did this, they weren't just trying to kill her." She said flatly. "They wanted it to hurt."

Mei almost felt like she was going to throw up herself, only just noticing Hikari tensing up next to her. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she spoke, barely cutting off whatever Hikari had been preparing to say - now wasn't the time for her friend's usual waspishness. "Can you tell anything else?" She asked, trying to keep herself focused - the more they could tell the police when they arrived, the better. Kiana looked back to the body, frowning, then shook her head.

"I don't think so. There aren't any of the kind of injuries you get when you fight, so the killer -" some part of Mei curled up at how bluntly Kiana described it, because true as it was she did not want to think about what it implied - "must've caught her off guard. The body is cold, but not icy or anything… I think she's been gone a few hours."

Mei heard Hikari breath sharply, whatever complaint she'd had for Kiana seemingly forgotten. "Barely anyone comes to this part of the school. Which means…"

"There wouldn't have been anyone to catch them in the act." Mei finished,voice tight. "If a class hadn't come by, the first person to find her would've been the janitor at the end of the week." She took another deep breath, knowing that none of her friends would miss the implications of this. "Whoever did this was familiar with the school." She concluded to herself, head bowed as her thoughts spun. Looking up, she looked towards her friends, the only ones still there. "Does anyone recognise her?" She asked.

She was met with shaken heads. "She… she looks familiar." Kaneko said haltingly, gulping little as she spoke. "But I can't place it. Someone I've seen on the way to class maybe?" she guessed, her voice an octave higher than normal. She wasn't the only one stressed - most of the others looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Mei closed her eyes and sighed. There was nothing more they could do. Kiana agreed, apparently, getting to her feet and walking over to the window. Mei's half formed question was answered when the younger girl reached up and yanked the curtains free, before turning and gently laying it over the body. "We can't do anything more." She said aloud, keeping her voice gentle for her friends' sakes. "We should probably leave… the police will want to have space to work once they arrive. Does everyone have a way to get home?" She checked, looking around until she counted a nod from everyone present. "Alright, then. Let's all go home for now." She declared.

"B-but-" Yumi, who had gone white the moment they'd arrived, stuttered, only to be interrupted when Kimiko gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Classes will be cancelled for the day after this, dear." She said calmly. "Even if they weren't, you couldn't possibly focus on it after this. Just get yourself home - your father is on vacation, yes?" She asked, and was met with a jerky nod. "Well then, let's call him and get you on your way then." She announced, gently leading her away - but not before shooting Mei a Look that she knew meant her old friend would be having words with her later.

"I'll stay here." Kiana spoke, still glancing around the room even as the others peeled away. "Cops might want to ask me what I saw when I found her."

Mei jerked in surprise, staring at her. "Are you sure you're…" she began, only to be cut off by a wry smile.

"Raiden-senpai, I've seen things like this before." She revealed, a sad turn to her ever present smile as Mei froze. "I'll be fine. Just get going, okay?"

Mei hesitated - Kiana having seen sights like this before was just more reason she shouldn't stay, as far as she was concerned - but something in Kiana's eyes told her there wouldn't be much point arguing. "If you're certain." She caved, sighing. "But… here." She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled on it, handing it to her new friend. "My phone number." She explained, causing Kiana's eyes to widen in surprise. "I'll be calling you later. You'd better answer me, am I clear?" She declared, arching an eyebrow.

"We're clear." Kiana agreed, laughing softly. "Get going, Raiden-senpai. See ya later, okay?"

She nodded, sending a final, saddened look at her dead peer. "Goodbye for now then, Kaslana-san." She said, before turning and walking away. Sighing, she grabbed her phone typing in an all too familiar number. Miraculously, she was answered on the first ring.

"Mei?" Her father's voice asked. "Is something wrong? You should be in class at the moment."

Mei inhaled, then exhaled. "Father. There's… there's been an incident at the school."

"What kind of incident?" Raiden Ryoma asked sharply, his voice tense - he remembered the chaos of Mei's childhood just as well as she did.

"I'm fairly certain there was a murder." Mei said with a calm she did not actually feel.

There was a single moment of silence, followed by a sound of rustling paper and screeching chairs. "I'm on the way to you now." Her father said simply. "Stay on the phone with me, if you don't mind?"

Mei smiled shakily. "I don't. Not at all."

---

Mei sat down heavily, an explosive sigh escaping her lips. She was in her own room, having just gotten home. As he'd promised, her father hadn't hung up until the moment she was in the car with him. She hoped he hadn't been doing anything too important. As it was, it had taken almost an hour to escape his watchful gaze, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't be left unsupervised very much for the rest of Ryoma's vacation.

Mei cast her gaze around tiredly, eyes flicking between the various mementos and decorations in her room without focusing on any of them for long. After a moment, she stood for just long enough to grab the bokken she kept on one wall, the familiar weight of the training weapon something to center herself with, before sitting back down. She felt exhausted… but, she wasn't quite done with the day yet.

Taking out her phone, she immediately started making calls. "Yumi-san? Yes, it's me… oh, I was just making sure you got home alright." She reassured her, keeping her voice light - her friend didn't need more stress on top of what she was already going through. "Oh, yes, I made it home fine. My father came to get me. He was intending to spend the evening at home today, so thankfully he wasn't otherwise occupied…"

She spent perhaps an hour there, slowly working her way down her contact list as she checked in with everyone in her friend group. She didn't touch on the subject of what had happened that afternoon, simply speaking as she always would on a normal phone call. Fortunately, most of her friends seemed to be mostly alright, despite the horrible event that they'd seen. She'd still be surreptitiously emailing everyone contact information for an appropriate therapist, of course, but it seemed they'd all escaped the worst of the trauma of the experience. She was glad - the others didn't deserve to live through the nightmare she remembered of her childhood.

Speaking of that nightmare… Mei hesitated a little, staring at the last number on her contact list. She wasn't looking forward to this conversation whatsoever. She sighed. "If I don't, she'll accost me at the first available opportunity to harangue me for answers." She thought wryly. "May as well get through it now." Taking a deep breath, she called and, to precisely zero surprise, was answered before the first ring was even over. "Hello, Kimi-"

She didn't even get to finish her sentence. "Mei-san, are you alright?" Kimiko's voice rang out, a completely uncharacteristic note of urgency in her voice. It wasn't too much of a shock, though. After all, of all her friends, Kimiko was the one who'd known Mei the longest… and the only one who knew the details of her past.

Mei heaved out a sigh of exhaustion, collapsing onto her bed. "I've been much better." She admitted, before taking in a shaky breath. "I had… truly hoped my days of seeing dead bodies were behind me."

A rustling noise exited her phone's speaker as Kimiko sat down. "As did I." She answered, her deadpan tone managing a smile from Mei. "I can't say I expected this when I came into class today. Although, I suppose it certainly explains a lot about the strange rumours lately." She noted, her usual proper vocabulary dropped altogether.

Mei's answer was equally informal. "It does." She agreed quietly. "For all I've told the others that the disappeared students are probably alright…"

"... it's far more likely they're the same case." Kimiko finished, her tone heavy. "As much as we'd wish otherwise. I made a few calls. It seems our unfortunate peer was Miyazaki Mao. She shared an economics class with Kaneko-san. She never returned home yesterday."

Mei closed her eyes. "She must've been attacked just after school, then…" Turning over as she tried to work through what had happened, she took a few seconds to speak again. Her old friend waited patiently as she did. "Have the police said anything yet?"

Kimiko answered in the negative. "If they have, it wasn't to me. The school has, though; judging by the rant I can hear downstairs, it isn't one my mother approves of." Mei winced in sympathy - the wrath of Kimiko's mother was legendary.

"My father isn't happy with them either." She admitted. "Apparently, we're still expected to be in tomorrow, but all classes will be canceled and the old wing will be sealed off by the police."

"They're calling us in? After a murder on school grounds?" Kimiko exclaimed, scandalised. "Well, that certainly explains why Mother is so furious. What fool made that decision?"

Mei couldn't help but agree - it struck her as foolish too. "Unfortunately, it isn't really up to us. We'll just have to stick together - hopefully we can get everyone to stick in groups without wandering off…"

Kimiko exhaled in annoyance. "Hopefully, the police resolve this before anyone else is hurt. We're not exactly the right people to handle a crisis like this, after all."

Mei nodded tiredly, forgetting for a moment that Kimiko couldn't see her. "Agreed… but, needs must." Gazing at the ceiling, a small smile flickered across her features as she noticed a silver lining on the clouds hanging over her school. "At least this gives us a chance to show Kaslana-san around like we planned. I can't believe this happened on her second day…"

Kimiko hummed in agreement. "It is an example of truly atrocious luck." There was a moment of silence before she continued. "Kaslana-san… is a very strange person, isn't she?" She said carefully.

"She is." Mei agreed. "She's very open and seems to be naturally social, and yet she seems to keep a great deal close to herself - she can spend hours talking, and yet it feels like I still know almost nothing about her." She sat up, her gaze pensive as she remembered how Kiana had spoken so happily about her father, but hadn't told her anything about the man himself - not to mention how she clearly hadn't been giving a straight answer when Mei asked what he did. She hesitated a moment before speaking further, but if there was anyone she could trust with this, it would be Kimiko. "I think… I think she's like how I was, back then." She admitted, voice heavy. "She… told me this isn't the first time she's seen things like this."

"I see… I suppose it's only natural, given where she's from." Kimiko remarked sadly. "The poor girl… it's unbelievable. She finally leaves that hell, and the moment she's in Japan, there's a murder. It must feel like she's not even left at all…" Kimiko sighed. "You definitely made the right decision, reaching out to her. I hope this club showcase goes well."

"So do I." Mei admitted quietly. "I can't even imagine what she's been through. I just hope we can be of some help for her while she adjusts to being out of there."

"I know." Kimiko assured her. "You're too much of a do-gooder to think of any other motive, at any rate." She teased.

"I- Kimiko-san!" Mei yelped, flushing at the implication. "That-that's completely uncalled for! I- we don't even know-"

Her flailing was cut off by her friend's laughter. "I kid, I kid! Really, Mei-san, you're far too easy to tease." Mei pouted in exasperation as her friend's giggles trailed off, only fr Kimiko to suddenly grow serious. "Mei-san… I…" her friend hesitated, a long moment hanging between them before she gingerly continued. "I don't want to bring up bad memories, but… you don't think this has anything to do with…?" She trailed off, clearly unsure of how to finish that sentence, but she didn't need to. Mei knew exactly what she meant.

It was impossible to forget.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, shoving the memories aside with long practice. "It isn't." She answered confidently. "The people from back then were specifically interested in me, not anyone else. If it was the same group, they'd have no reason to randomly attack girls around the school like this - they'd just try to kidnap me again while I was alone." She snorted. "And more fool them, Father's quadrupled my security since then. They wouldn't even get within a block." She declared with disdain, burying the old nervousness under humour.

"And good riddance." Kimiko declared, primly. "I have to leave you for now, I'm afraid - dinner's almost ready." Mei jolted, looking at her clock - sure enough, it was already late. "I suppose we'll have the group meet up at the club area tomorrow morning?" She checked.

"Precisely." Mei affirmed. "I'll make sure to track Kaslana-san down - hopefully she won't get too lost. Honestly, who designed those corridors…" Both girls shuddered in memory of the utter maze of their school. "At any rate, goodbye for now, Kimiko-san!"

"Goodbye, Mei-san. Stay safe." Her old friend replied, before hanging up. Mei stared at her phone for a moment, her thoughts buzzing from the chaos of the morning - despite everything, she couldn't shake a dire feeling her friends would be more involved in this incident than any of them would want. Then, she shook herself, sighed, and stood up; with any luck, a good meal would calm her mind.

---

Mei and her father sat together, a comfortable silence filling the room as they ate. The meal was, as ever, delicious - Mei would need to thank the staff yet again. Still, the quiet wouldn't last forever - it would be a waste to spend one of her father's rare days off not speaking, after all.

In the end, Ryoma was the one who broke the silence. "I've been told you've been borrowing part of the kitchen in the mornings." He remarked, turning to face her with a smile. "When did you decide to learn cooking?"

Mei smiled back, sheepish. "It was nothing, really. I just thought that even if I don't have to, it's only proper I know how to take care of myself." She looked away, rubbing her arm. "I'm, ah, not very good yet, though…"

"Everyone starts somewhere, Mei." Her father reassured her. "To be truthful, the first time I tried cooking my own food as a child, I managed to set rice on fire." He shook his head, nostalgic schadenfreude leading to him wincing through his smile. "How I managed that one is beyond me, if I'm honest." Then he blinked, noticing how Mei had cringed backwards at his words. "Is something wrong?"

Mei laughed nervously, rubbing her shoulder. "I ah, well. To tell you the truth, I…" she looked away. "... almost managed to burn down the kitchen making katsudon." She admitted, flushing with embarrassment.

"Oh dear…" Ryoma chuckled at his daughter's misfortune. "I can't imagine Zhou was very happy about that one."

"He wasn't." Mei admitted, cringing at the memory of the lecture she'd received from her family's head chef once the Yunchin native had successfully salvaged the disastrous attempt at pork cutlets. "I'm fairly sure I'm still not allowed in there unsupervised."

Both of them shared a quiet chuckle, before Ryoma's face grew solemn. "How are you feeling?" He asked gently, resting a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

Mei slumped, leaning into her father's side. "I've been better." She admitted. "Part of me can't believe it's real, another part is just surprised it took this long." She sighed, her eyes distant. "I truly was hoping I was done dealing with this sort of thing." She noted quietly.

"I know." Ryoma said softly. "So was I. But this won't be like back then, alright? I already managed to bull my way into getting the school board to let security on campus. You'll be okay."

Mei blinked in surprise, looking up to face him. "Really? How did you manage that?"

Ryoma smiled wryly, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Judging from the yelling I heard in the background during that phone call, I was not the only one displeased by the idea of school still being in session tomorrow. Allowing those of us with private security to bring them appears to be their way of trying to save face." He looked away, frowning slightly. "To be frank, I'd still vastly prefer you stay home until all of this is resolved… but I suppose they value keeping up a semblance of normality over anything else." He muttered to himself darkly.

Mei nodded tiredly, staring absently through the window. "I hope it'll at least help my classmates stay calm. They don't deserve to get dragged into things like this." She said sadly. Ryoma squeezed her gently in response, dragging her into a proper hug.

After a while, Ryoma let her go, reluctantly pulling away. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?" He suggested, met with a quick nod. "Hmm…" he mused, mind flipping through all the topics he wished to discuss with his child, before settling on a more recent one. "I've heard you and your little group have gained a new member." He said, smiling. "What's the story behind this one, then? The rumours about your newest forced adoption are already getting quite impressive." He asked teasingly.

Mei blushed. "I'm not that bad!" She protested, despite the fact she was exactly that bad. Sighing, she immediately moved on, refusing to allow herself to be teased further on her habit of unofficially adopting anyone in the school who had problems in their lives. "But, yes, I have been trying to invite someone into our group recently. All of… this, has been making it awkward, though…"

"I can imagine." Ryoma said solemnly. "What is she like? I gather she's a transfer student?"

"She is." Mei confirmed, nodding only to frown. "She's… well. She was born in Siberia."

Ryoma's eyes widened in dismay. "Truly?" He asked, alarmed. "That can't have been a good life. I can see why you decided to reach out."

"Yes… I can't imagine what she's been through." Mei murmured, eyes downcast. "I realised something was wrong the moment she walked into class… She's such an energetic and social person, and yet I could tell she was terrified of managing to somehow make a mess of things. It was…" Mei hesitated, then looked at her father sadly. "It reminded me of myself, when I tried to go back to school right after everything." She confided, her voice heavy.

"I see…" Ryoma mused in sympathy. "I'm sorry your new friend had to go through something like that. I hope today's events haven't been too hard on her."

Mei frowned at that. "She seemed to be taking it the best of us at the time, to be frank. I'm not sure if that's still the case now there's been time to process it all though - I, ah…" She looked away. "I gave her my phone number, and then forgot to ask hers. So I'm… still waiting for her to call back like I asked." She admitted sheepishly.

"Oh dear." Ryoma chuckled in amusement. "A familiar mistake, that one. Hopefully you'll be able to fix that little error soon."

"Yes, I'll be asking her -" At that moment, Mei's phone began to ring. "Oh!" She said in surprise, quickly fishing it out of her pocket, only to frown in confusion. "Unknown caller…?" She muttered, almost hanging up on instinct - only for her eyes to widen as she remembered who, exactly, would be likely to call her from an unfamiliar number. "Ah! This might actually be Kaslana-san now!" She exclaimed, quickly rising to her feet. "One moment, Father - I just need to take this! I'll be back in a moment!" She said, rushing off as she brought the phone to her ear without turning to look.

As a result, she missed the moment Ryoma shot upwards, his eyes widening. "Kaslana?" He thought to himself in astonishment. "It can't be… but that certainly sounds like her." He shook his head, an amused chuckle escaping as he took a sip of his water. "Well now, I may have known she was coming here, but to think, she's in the same class as my Mei… the world really is a small place, isn't it?"

Smiling to himself, he stood up. It seemed he had a call of his own to make.

---

Mei speedily walked through the hallway, quickly arriving at a small nook near a window. She knew the spot well; usually she used it as somewhere to read, but it was far enough out of the way to make a good location to make calls without being overheard. Raising her phone, she hesitated, before pressing answer despite her instinctive desire to ignore the unknown number. "Who is this?" She asked tersely, unconsciously slipping into her colder tone.

"...Raiden-senpai?" A baffled voice asked. "What are you -" There was a moment of silence. "... I never gave you my number did I." Kiana said, her voice flat.

Mei couldn't help the smile of relief at hearing her new friend's voice. "I'm afraid you didn't, Kaslana-san."

There was a groan, followed by the sound of what she suspected to be Kiana smacking her head against something. "Uuuuugh…. I am so sorry. It completely slipped my mind. What was I thinking, seriously it is not hard to remember this stuff come on -"

Mei let her friend burn out her frustration for a moment, the stream of muttered invective eventually transitioning to a language she didn't recognise. After a while, Kiana sighed, before returning to their conversation. "Well, I'm glad you actually answered. Sorry about that, really."

Mei laughed softly, trying to wave the unneeded apologies away before she remembered it wasn't a video call. "It's no trouble, Kaslana-san! I'm just glad to hear from you - I was worried, when I realised how long it had been."

"Ugh, yeah… sorry I didn't call earlier, I only managed to get away from the cops just now." Kiana said apologetically.

Mei blinked. "... Kaslana-san, it's been five hours." She pointed out, mildly concerned.

"Yeah, and it looked as if they were gonna take another five there for a while." Kiana grumbled. "Seriously Raiden-senpai, it felt like they were never going to run out of questions! It was ridiculous!" She sighed explosively, throwing herself onto a bench. "And then there was that one dumbass who noticed I'm Siberian and decided that meant I had to be the one who did it -" She continued, realising too late that she probably shouldn't have said that.

"I'm sorry, they WHAT!?" Mei yelled. "Kaslana-san, are you alright? Did they try to arrest you!? Do you need a lawyer-"

"Woah woah woah, Raiden-senpai, slow down!" Kiana protested. "I don't need a lawyer, geez! It was just one guy, and he got smacked down for it the moment the others noticed - it was actually kinda funny."

Mei stopped, calming a little at Kiana's reassurances. "Are you certain you're alright?"

"Yes, Raiden-senpai, I'm sure I don't need a lawyer." She assured. "I'm just tired from how long it took."

Mei remained silent for a moment, unsure, but eventually decided to move on - she had the feeling Kiana wasn't the type to admit to any difficulty she faced. "Well, if you're okay, I suppose that's what's important." She murmured, leaning into her alcove. "How did it go, for that matter? Did the police find anything useful?" She knew it was a dim hope this early on, but the sooner this was over, the better.

Sadly, all she was met with was a sigh of frustration. "Not a thing." Kiana said bluntly. "Even when I showed the detective guy around, they couldn't find anything new - there just isn't anything to find. Couldn't even find anything they could use those fancy DNA thingys to look at - whoever this was, they didn't leave jack." Lying down on her bench, she frowned in annoyance at the memory. "It didn't help that I had moved the body - apparently I wasn't supposed to touch anything, which sounds really stupid to me because of course people are gonna touch things when looking at stuff like this -" Kiana stopped, clearly having overheard Mei's sudden facepalm. "Raiden-senpai?"

"Anyone without law enforcement training touching the crime scene could be tampering with the evidence." Mei said, voice flat. "How did I forget that."

"... oh." Kiana said, audibly wincing. "Well. That's. Pretty dumb of me, huh." She noted, shaking her head in embarrassment.

"No, you wouldn't have known." Mei denied, shaking her head. "I hope they weren't too upset with you…"

"Nah, most of them were cool - think they must've realised I knew what I was doing." Kiana answered, putting her legs up. "They actually agreed with me on the injuries- said it looked like the ones that killed her came hours after the first one."

Mei's eyes widened in horror. "That's horrible! Why would anyone do that?" She asked, aghast.

Kiana sighed sadly. "No idea. Could be someone with a grudge, someone who blamed her for something bad that had happened to them… could even just be someone too crazy for anyone else to understand it." She replied. "They don't know enough yet. Too many options."

"I see…" Mei muttered, bringing a hand on her chin. "Well, unfortunately there's little else we can do. We'll just have to trust the police know what they're doing." Mei hesitated, then brightened as a far happier subject came to mind. "Oh right! Kiana, we're going to be meeting at the club buildings tomorrow! Do you mind waiting for me at the gates so I can show you where to go?"

Kiana blinked in confusion. "Wait, we're still in school tomorrow?"

"Yes, though class is canceled and the right wing is closed off… Did you and your family not get the message from the school board?" Mei asked.

"Nope, hadn't heard. Weird choice though." She answered lightly.

"Well, at the very least it gives a chance for you to speak more with the others, and for us to help you find a club to join." Mei said, only to frown when she was met with a surprisingly hesitant hum rather than Kiana's usual enthusiasm. "Is something wrong?"

Kiana's answer was rather sheepish. "I've… never been to anything like a club. Never seen any point in it." She admitted. "Before, I didn't care much, but… what if I don't find anything I like?"

"Kaslana-san, Chiba has more clubs on more subjects than we know what to do with." Mei answered, confident. "I know that you…" She took a moment to check her phrasing. "...probably didn't have much of a chance to pick up hobbies, until now. But that doesn't mean you can't get one now. If anything, it just means you have a chance to explore the kinds of things you enjoy now." She encouraged, wishing they were speaking in person so Kiana would know she was being sincere.

"I hope so…" Kiana answered. "What about you, Raiden-senpai? You already joined one, right?"

"Yes, I actually mentioned it before - I'm the president of the Kendo club." Mei replied, nostalgia filling her at the memories - she was looking forward to the clubs reopening, it'd been too long since she had a chance to spar with her club mates.

"Kendo?" Kiana questioned, abruptly reminding Mei that her friend wasn't actually Japanese. Before she could rush to explain her error, she was met with a storm of muttering. "That's… Ken is a word for sword, Do is way… Sword's Way? Way of the Sword?" She murmured in English, rolling the unfamiliar word around her tongue. "Is that like, some kind of sword fighting club?" She tried.

"It is, yes!" Mei confirmed, impressed.

"... what's it like?" Kiana asked, trying to sound casual.

Mei smiled. "Well, Kendo specifically is a formalised sport, much like Fencing, but though that's the main focus our club actually covers all kinds of sword techniques and styles…"

---

 

[AngryMartian]

"I'm fairly certain there was a murder." Mei said with a calm she did not actually feel.

There was a single moment of silence, followed by a sound of rustling paper and screeching chairs. "I'm on the way to you now." Her father said simply. "Stay on the phone with me, if you don't mind?"

Mei smiled shakily. "I don't. Not at all."

Click to shrink...

Aw. Ryoma cares. It's good to see Mei's relationship with him explored a bit more. Come to think of it, Mei might very well be the only family he has left.

I know." Kimiko assured her. "You're too much of a do-gooder to think of any other motive, at any rate." She teased.

Click to shrink...

KiaMei is on track.

Mei's answer was equally informal. "It does." She agreed quietly. "For all I've told the others that the disappeared students are probably alright…"

"... it's far more likely they're the same case." Kimiko finished, her tone heavy. "As much as we'd wish otherwise. I made a few calls. It seems our unfortunate peer was Miyazaki Mao. She shared an economics class with Kaneko-san. She never returned home yesterday."

Click to shrink...

Nah, most of them were cool - think they must've realised I knew what I was doing." Kiana answered, putting her legs up. "They actually agreed with me on the injuries- said it looked like the ones that killed her came hours after the first one."

Click to shrink...

Miyuki is really going to town here. Kiana's going to give the rest of the gang quite the shock when Miyuki tries coming for her…