Hours later at Unmei High.


    "Umm...did you want to see me, Manabu-sensei?" Nozomi nervously asked while fidgeting. She had been called from class after the school bell rang for recess to pass by the teacher''s office. Rea almost coerced the nervous blondie to ignore it until it was revealed that the one calling had been Manabu. This was all the delinquent needed to let Nozomi go.


    "Yes, Nozomi, don''t worry. You didn''t do anything wrong this time. I just wanted to talk with you about something else." Manabu casually waved her student''s concerns off.


    "I see..." The airhead girl breathed a sigh of relief. Her fidgeting calmed down a little. "What did you want to discuss?"


    "Your classmate, Heiwa Rea." The girl''s homeroom teacher answered professionally. Even Nozomi hadn''t immediately become nervous upon the mention of that name. She would have noticed the hint of troubled emotion from the woman''s tone.


    Nozomi''s breath hitched before she hastily composed herself. "O-oh, what about her?" The agitated teenager asked. Her fidgeting returned full force. Now, now, Nozomi, no need to panic. It''s just your teacher. She''s probably wanting your opinion on a student of hers that also just so happened to be their niece. That niece is someone you''ve never told them to keep what happened yesterday a secret...no big deal. No big deal!


    Manabu simply stared blankly at Nozomi before sighing, her professional expression deflating. "I see...I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised." The soon-to-be-confused teenage girl swore she heard her teacher mutter something barely audible.


    "Wha-, what do you mean by that, sensei?" Nozomi attempted to feign ignorance. Her expression grew apprehensive before it became a dreadful realization as she caught on to something. She isn''t surprised? Why? Did...did she expect this? Is she aware of magical girls and darkspawns?! The troubled girl was so caught off guard that she almost missed what her teacher said next.


    "Hmm, I suppose it should be alright for you to know." Manabu shrugged. "Y''see, believe it or not, Rea is my niece."


    "Oh. I already know." Nozomi admitted.


    Manabu relaxed her back on the chair. "Figures...did she tell you?" The dark-haired teacher asked.


    Nozomi nervously nodded. "Y-yeah, when she commented about how I..." She looked away from the adult questioning her. "...embarrassed myself in her aunt''s class. It didn''t take long to connect the dots, especially after directly asking if you were the aunt she was referring to."


    The responsible one between the two nodded. "I see...well, not to worry. I''ll have a LENGTHY talk with her when she comes back home. Rest easy. She won''t be bullying you anymore."


    Nozomi tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, what?"


    Manabu frowned in response. "Hmm? Isn''t she harassing you?"


    The blonde student quickly denied this claim by shaking her head. "Wha-, no. Heiwa-san has never done such a thing!"


    The frown on her teacher''s face deepened. "Really? You don''t need to lie to me. If she''s trying to intimidate you, again, I promise she won''t ever bother you if I tell her to." Manabu assured the student in front of her again.


    Nozomi nodded with a smile. "Thank you, sensei, but it won''t be needed. Heiwa-san might admittedly be someone who acts rougher than most. But I do believe she''s far from a bad person." The nervous blonde looked down at the floor. She fiddled with her fingers. "And...I''d also like to believe we could be good friends in time."


    If Nozomi had been looking at her teacher when saying that, she would see Manabu''s eyes widening in surprise. "I see..." The teacher with long black hair cleared her throat. "Very well then, I suppose that''s all. You can go now."


    Nozomi gave a small bow to Manabu before turning to leave, but just before she left the room.


    Now alone, the veteran teacher sniffed the air for a few seconds before nodding. "Yep, she isn''t smoking." Manabu muttered in relief.


    <hr>


    A few minutes later, at Unmei High''s rooftop.


    "So... will you guys finally answer my questions now?" Rea asked the group of Nozomi, Yoshino, and Seiza, who sat side-by-side facing her. However, if the delinquent had to judge from their expressions, it may have sounded like a threat.


    Did you really need to come off as if you were going to beat them up if they didn''t comply? Tsujin questioned. Her expression told Rea how unsure the former thought the latter would be at handling this conversation.


    For a moment, Rea side-glanced at Tsujin before rolling her eyes. Pain in the ass... She lit up three cigarettes before putting them in her mouth. She would need them to get through this conversation.


    The rude student might admittedly prefer to let her fists do the talking instead of her mouth. But she didn''t think of herself as a brute incapable of having a civil argument with another person.


    As Rea took in the effects of the cigarettes, she watched the two girls and a talking dog group exchanging nervous glances with one another before turning to Rea. "Very well...what do you want to know?" Seiza offered.


    Taking the three cigarettes out of her mouth and puffing out the smoke, Rea considered what she should ask before frowning. Y''know what? Screw it. Better to just ask anything than nothing at all!


    "What was that thing?" Rea finally asked.


    Seiza tilted his head at the delinquent. "That thing?" He tilted his head in confusion.


    Rea rolled her eyes. "That creepy ass doll thing!" She scoffed. "What else could it be?" The sharp-eyed girl asked rhetorically before putting the cigarettes back in her mouth.


    Seiza nodded. "I see. That...was a darkspawn. A creature that is either born from dark magic fueled by the negative emotions of a single powerful individual or born when enough negative emotions are produced by humanity. The latter is recent information and would fit that darkspawn you just encountered. They can also create barriers such as the one you had found yourself in yesterday."


    When Seiza finished his explanation, Rea slowly nodded before grabbing the cigarettes with one hand and scratching the back of her neck with her free one. "Ok...I suppose that clears some things up...I guess? Now say," The gruff-looking student showed them the circular pendant with a Scorpio sign engraved on its bronze surface. "Would you mind explaining what the fuck this did to me?"


    The talking dog widened his eyes before looking at the floor. His expression was apologetic. "I''m sorry, but I still don''t know what might have caused the pendant to burn you alive or switch places with Tsujin."


    Rea groaned. "Not that. Although... never mind. What I wanted to know is what this thing did to my body AFTER transforming back and you guys healed me?" Rea asked, annoyed.


    "After that? Care to elaborate?" Seiza frowned while asking that.


    Rea raised the fingers from her free hand to count each incident. "Well, let''s see. I ended up jumping higher. I mean, WAY higher than I should''ve. I broke one of my aunt''s dining plates and finally broke the door of my clothes closet. All of those things happened after encountering you guys. So yeah, explanations, please!" After a moment she added, "Or is this another thing you guys don''t know about?"


    "I mean..." Seiza trailed off. His and the girls'' expressions immediately told Rea they had as much of an idea as her, which was none.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Rea tsked. "Just my luck..." She said before putting the cigarettes back in her mouth to calm down. She knew that if she were to lose control of her frustration as she was, an accident with her strength would likely occur.


    Hey, do you mind asking them a question for me? Tsujin asked, with Rea reacting with a raised eyebrow.


    After Rea finished her cigarette and had time to think and consider the question of the ethereal being who claimed to be her humanity, she finally addressed the trio in front of her again. "So...since you guys seem to have NO idea what''s going on with me, care to share something that you probably do?"


    "Sure," Nozomi shrugged. "What do you want to know?"


    Rea unwrapped her bento and started eating, speaking between bites. "Your deal. I mean, unless going around town hunting monsters as masked vigilantes is something that people in this school consider normal and I''ve yet to hear anything about it...that isn''t the case, right?" Rea genuinely asked that last part, hoping her aunt didn''t just make her join some weird hero-wannabe school.


    Nozomi and Yoshino unwrapped their respective bentos to eat too. "Oh, well, no...I''m afraid that isn''t the case." The brunette proceeded to give Rea a summary of the events that led her and Nozomi to find out about darkspawns up until they met the delinquent student. The same nodded along with Tsujin to the explanation as they all ate.


    Said explanation made Rea feel that Yoshino was omitting some details from it if the former had to guess from the expressions of the two girls when the explanation delved into certain parts before abruptly skipping forward. The girl with scary eyes decided to ignore it. She felt it would probably be more trouble than it was worth if she were to push it.


    "And...that should be everything, I think?" Yoshino glanced at Nozomi, who nodded in agreement.


    "Wow, that''s...wow. Me and my aunt may disagree with each other regularly, sure. But she never hired someone to kill me, even by accident. How are you guys still alive?" Rea asked before adding, "I mean, you guys don''t really look like the type of people who regularly fight for their lives."


    Yoshino opened her mouth to answer before closing it and sighing. "As much as I''d like to say we survived by purely being better than then...I would be lying if there weren''t plenty of moments where I and Nozomi got lucky." The brunette admitted before adding, "Honestly, I''m unsure how long we can keep up like this. That''s why..." Yoshino trailed off as she hesitated.


    Rea tsked. "If you''ve got something to say, just say it already!" The rude student motioned for Yoshino to get to the point.


    Yoshino bit her lip in surprise before nodding. "We want to know if you would still be willing to continue helping us?"


    Tsujin nodded. Of course, righ-


    "Yeah, sorry, but no." Rea cut Tsujin short before they could finish that sentence.


    Wha-, what do you mean no?! After everything you heard, you''re just going to let them to their fate? Really? Give me three reasons why! Tsujin demanded, undignified by Rea''s answer.


    Yes, REALLY. As for my reasons, first, we barely know them. So why should we risk our lives for them? Second, I don''t know about you, but I''m not a huge fan of burning myself alive. And third, I''m also not the biggest fan of the idea of giving up my urgency to you in fights. Three reasons. Satisfied now?


    Tsujin did not, in fact, look satisfied.


    Yoshino frowned. "...I see, I understand." Rea watched as the expressions of the two girls and dog in front of her looked down at the ground. Their expressions were somber. "I suppose it isn''t surprising that''s your answer considering we barely know each other. So there''s no incentive to help," the brunette added.


    As Rea watched their sad expressions, an idea crossed her mind. Although the chances of them succeeding in what she was planning were slim, the girl with a criminal record felt she should at least allow them to earn her help if they were serious about this. "Now hold on..." The rough-looking student raised her hand to stop Yoshino. "Yes, you''re right. We barely know each other. But when it comes to having an incentive...surely, we can figure out one together."


    "...What do you want?" Yoshino cautiously asked as a frown grew on her expression.


    Rea smiled. "Well, if you really, and I mean, really desire my help, you have two choices. The first one is to give me...wait, let me check." She pulled out her phone and, after messing with it a bit with dollar and yen conversion, finally showed it to them. "Here, you pay me this much for EACH monster encounter." After a second, she added, "In cash, of course."


    [1600000.00 Yen]


    Rea obviously knew how absurd and unlikely it was to pay such a price. The whole point was to make the second and most fun option for the fight-lover the most likely.


    Everyone but Rea stared at the number displayed in shocked silence. Their eyes were unblinking until finally Nozomi snapped out of it and asked, "A-and the second choice?"


    Rea''s smile turned into a smirk as she heard that question from Nozomi''s mouth. "The second choice is a pretty simple one. Beat me in a fight!"


    "...WHAT?!" Everyone but Rea screamed at the same time.


    Rea crossed her arms. "You heard me. Choose a time and place to fight and we''ll fight there. The first side that becomes too tired to get up or surrenders loses." After a moment she added, "I''ll even throw you guys a bone and allow you two to fight me together with your powers and weapons. No dogs allowed through," Rea said while motioning her finger in a circle around Nozomi and Yoshino.


    Are you insane? Why are you doing this!? Tsujin mentally shouted at her other self.


    What? Are you telling me that you, who claims to be me, DON''T want to know how I would fare in a fight against them? Rea raised an eyebrow at Tsujin.


    I mean...yeah, but still... Tsujin trailed off.


    "Why can''t Seiza join us? Is it...because he may heal us during the fight?" Yoshino wondered.


    Rea''s expression turned baffled at Yoshino''s question. "Wha-, no. I don''t want to beat the crap out of a puppy! Come on, what kind of person do you take me for?"


    Wait, what about yesterday when you tried to grab Seiza but you couldn''t because you didn''t have a physical body? Aren''t we counting that or...? Tsujin trailed off.


    Rea rolled her eyes. "I wasn''t going to hurt him! Just...hold him in place so he wouldn''t try to escape before answering my questions. I mean, I certainly didn''t try to hurt him after getting my physical body back, so y''know, how about that!"


    ...Fair enough. Rea''s humanity begrudgingly relented.


    Everyone stared silently at Rea mentally talking with someone they couldn''t see. The latter frowned in response upon noticing. "So, are you going to accept my offer or...?" The delinquent trailed off as she offered her hand for anyone from the trio facing her to shake.


    Rea watched with bated breath as Yoshino stared at her offered hand. The mature one between the two girls turned to look at Nozomi for what Rea assumed to be asking for permission to involve her in the fight if she had to guess from their expressions and the hesitation that carried them. There was also something else in how they looked at each other, but Rea couldn''t pinpoint what it—


    "Alright, we accept your challenge to fight."


    Rea was snapped out of her wandering thoughts upon feeling Yoshino''s grip on her hand.


    The delinquent''s smirk returned in full force out of respect for their decision and anticipation for the new challenge that might give her a fight to look forward to. "Good. Got a place in mind?"


    "Yes," Yoshino nodded. "Could it be today, after school?"


    After considering for a minute, the tall delinquent nodded her head. "Sure, why not? But are you sure you can prepare yourself in such a short time?"


    "Yeah, I think I know someone who can help me with that." Was all that the girl with short brown hair told Rea. It had been everything the delinquent needed to hear.


    "Alright then, don''t come to regret it later!" As Rea let go of the handshake, the school bell rang, signaling the end of recess.


    After Rea got up with her finished bento and turned around to leave, she heard Nozomi''s voice from behind. "Wait, uh, would you...be willing to answer a question of mine at least...if it''s not too much trouble, of course!"


    The delinquent sighed before arguing that if it made them less of a nervous mess around her, she could at least allow one question. "One question." Rea glanced behind her while raising one finger to emphasize her point.


    Rea watched as the nervous blonde teenager bit her lip. She reconsidered whether they should ask before finally answering. "Are you okay?"


    Rea frowned at Nozomi. "Excuse me?"


    "I mean, after everything that happened yesterday..." The blonde teenager trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.


    After giving it some thought, Rea shrugged. "I mean, I''m alive...I could''ve done without burning myself alive and switching bodies with a ghost who proclaims itself as my humanity...but as of now, it''s more of a pain in the ass than anything that''ll keep me up at night. So, yeah, don''t sweat it."


    Nozomi smiled a little at Rea. "I see, what about Tsujin-san?"


    Oh. I''m—


    Rea cut Tsujin off. "Still a major pain in the ass! So y''know, I guess she''s fine too."


    The delinquent contained an amused smirk as Tsujin gave them a not-so-subtle middle finger.


    "I see...good, thank you." Nozomi directed a small bow at Rea and Tsujin''s direction before smiling brightly at them.


    Rea couldn''t help but feel weird about having someone worry for her. But she kept to herself, deciding to leave the rooftop instead, leaving the Nozomiand Yoshino behind.


    <hr>


    "Hey, Seiza?" Nozomi called for her friend''s attention as she calmly descended the school stairs. Yoshino stayed behind on the rooftop and told her to go ahead. She said she needed to make a call and that they would catch up with them soon.


    "Hmm?" Seiza acknowledged from inside the soft-eyed girl''s schoolbag. The puppy didn''t poke his head out of the bag. If Nozomi had to assume, he didn''t want to risk a random bystander seeing him.


    Nozomi gulped. She internally told herself that the dog inside her schoolbag probably needed someone to talk to. "I was wondering if we could discuss about, y''know...what happened this morning." She whispered that last part. If she were to guess from the noticeable rustling coming from her bag, Seiza heard it.


    "I...would prefer to talk about it another time. I don''t think I''m comfortable enough to do it just yet. Besides, I already made you late for school. It wouldn''t do if I made you late for another class again." Seiza tried to wave her concerns off.


    Nozomi frowned. "I wouldn''t mind getting late..." She whispered to herself even more quietly moments before reaching the desired floor where her class was.


    If Seiza was adamant about refusing to talk about it, Nozomi wouldn''t push him. Instead, she would wait for a better time to approach the topic.