So what do you think?"

Looking in the mirror, Pro gently touched the braid knotted aside her long hair. A braid held by a red ribbon that was apparently a family heirloom. "I thought to style your hair since it was getting a tad overgrown. Now you kinda look more like your mother. She used to have a bunch of ribbons in hers." Her aunt said.

Pro liked the new look but she would never admit that so outright, stating simply that it looked fine before handing back the mirror to her aunt. Pro's aunt was one of the few lucky adults who still looked like a teenager despite being much older. She was lazily dressed in an oversized black shirt and blue pajama pants, her hair was short and eyes a very mysterious blue that when looked at from certain angles, looked like the deep sea. Comments about their eyes resembling such was ironic given their main magic element was fire.

But that fire would fall cold when her aunt commented, "A cute bow would look nice on this kitty too."

The look on her face was enough to say all. Pro spun her head only to see her holding Monai by the back of its neck with a frustrated glare. How did she manage to find Monai that easily? She wasn't that skilled of a witch or magician as she focused more on alchemy and other stuff with potions and environmental study. Maybe it was too obvious, and old habits never die.

"Explain."

Pro was screaming in her mind and stuttered out, "I-I found her in a box. Cold and alone."

"Cats don't hide inside shadows, Pro. Tell me the truth or I'll turn you into a frog." Her aunt spoke more harshly.

Pro scratched her head trying to think of something, anything! To explain Monai's presence. Telling of the garden and the masked girl would only bring up more questions and possibly the public knowing of strange things happening in the world. If that happens then the Tokyo Government Agency would have to get involved in something they don't know about.

The truth couldn't come out yet, not until more questions were answered…

"A uh… It's my familiar! I was messing around with magic and accidentally summoned her out of curiosity. S-sorry." Pro averted her gaze away.

Her aunt looked at Monai, a guilty looking cat. "Familiar huh… your mother wouldn't approve of this."

"Mother isn't here. So just let me keep her." Pro argued.

"Fine. I can't stop you from being a great witch and all, but don't you try disappearing on me okay?" Her aunt dropped Monai and the cat quickly returned to Pro's shadow,

"Both of your parents would be extremely upset with me if I let you do that. Even if they aren't here…"

Pro nodded and quickly escaped to go to school.

The council room was silent but cool with a gentle breeze flowing from the open window. The stacks of requests were cut in half, half being completed and the other half being shredded. Requests too vague or specific or simply impossible for them to do; the rare forms filled with students asking for the council to single out another they didn't like, or requesting the council for their assistance in illegal activities. What was left was a few weeks of work ahead.

Lari narrowed her eyes, lifting the next request. "This one is from Sophie Tatesaya. Apparently the band club is in dire straits, but she didn't list specifically what the problem was."

So that was her first name… As said before the council didn't take vaguely written requests but this was different. Maybe it was out of bias but Luka was curious as to what Saya meant by the club being in dire straits. It could've been related to the superdimension or something else less sinister. There was no harm in taking the request to at least see if this was a joke or not, together with Remy, they took to the first floor where the band club was located.

A room at the far end of the school to keep their music from disturbing the other classrooms. They entered a dark room filled with instruments covered in dust. Unused and lost their tune the musicians that played had long since gone. Lari said there were three but here there was only one, Sophie Tatesaya. Hunched over in a chair with a guitar in her lap she looked to be crying or dead, the latter just a random thought passing through Luka's mind. Remy flipped on the light switch as Luka slowly moved towards Saya, this time--

"Sophie…" --Luka was the one to touch her silky hair. "Are you dead?"

"Murakumo…you came…" She replied dryly and stood up placing her guitar aside. She looked worse for wear having dark circles around her eyes and having trouble keeping them open from a lack of sleep. She stood up straight, forcing herself awake and confessing, "Murakumo, I want you… to help me write a love song."

"For real?" Luka tilted her head.

"I'm afraid that's beyond our expertise." Remy said.

And Saya's face fell pale as a boy peeked from behind a large drum, "Told ya it wouldn't work Sophie."

And another girl peeked from behind him, "I didn't know her name was Sophie. How quaint."

She furrowed her brow. "Enough!" She said to the peanut gallery and again faced Murakumo with another proposition. "If not a love song then, help me create a song about the light."

"That is beyond our expertise." Luka replied in a blunt tone that mimicked Remy's.

"Then it has come to this…" In one swift motion she swung both arms down unleashing an arsenal from her sleeves to her fingers. Drum sticks, guitar picks, reeds and pencils. Glaring at them with a blue glare, She declared, "To war with Murakumo."

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"There's no need for that!" The boy hurried from behind the drum to Sophie's side and lowered her arm. Speaking in her stead, a boy with shaggy blackish hair. Not unkempt because he didn't wash it, but styled in such a manner out of choice. He was the woodwind player of the group, Eric Isle, and often the calmest one as displayed here.

And so he elaborated, "Sophie has been playing rhythm games recently and that spurred her into joining the club wanting to create a beautiful song of her own. Though… for being hardcore gamer, she's really bad at playing music."

"No, I'm a hardcore deredere."

"Eh?" A puzzled look painted on Eric's face.

She looked to Luka with a question. "Have I ever smiled during our encounters?"

Thinking back to Chapter 4 when they first met, and Chapter 7 when they encountered again. Luka could recall her laughing which was smiling, at least she considered so. Pointing this out resulted in Sophie lowering her armaments, dropping the plethora of equipment she held. When the clattering of dropped musical pieces stopped, she had the most melancholic look of disappointment let down by the council. The second member of the club, seeing this, walked over to her guitar leaning on her chair and picked it up. She had light green hair cut short just above her shoulders, straightened and orderly compared to her windward friend. She was the guitarist, now Sophie's teacher, with the instrument. She was now the keyboard player of the group, Silique Lowell--also the leader of the club and the most strict but motherly.

"I know you want to create the most radical song," Substituting beautiful for radical being Sophie's words once before. "But you will need more than just motivation to do it. Murakumo, I'm sure you understand well?"

Remy nodded. "We'll do it. As the student council it is our duty to ensure students' satisfaction."

"Then we'll try our best to make the greatest song, that is the plan--okay everyone?" Said Luka and everyone came to this agreement. This long term request was going to be their hardest request yet.

For the other members gathered in the gym, they would face a different problem. Pro accepted a request to clean the gym’s floors. Mopping up the mess made from various sports games. However she wouldn’t be alone, as always she was accompanied by Kyokai and Gachi who were sitting on top of the bleachers. Gachi lying on the seats and Kyokai on his PC typing away.

Pro wiped sweat off her forehead then glanced at Kyokai and Gachi. "...Go home."

"Aghh! Pro you’ve been cleaning for hours! We could be in the forest slaying beasts!" Gachi sat up. "Or training. In fact, you need to get a weapon so you can cut down on using magic. Kyokai told me all about how you almost died without me there to supervise you."

Pro continued to mop. "It was a small setback. I feel fine now."

"No you don’t! Quit lying to us Pro." Gachi exclaimed and hopped to her feet. "We’re gonna get you a weapon and you’re gonna like it."

"Quiet down. Someone might hear us." Kyokai warned and closed his laptop. Gachi scoffed "Yeah right. No one is even here right now."

She then hopped from one step to another and landed smoothly on the floor.

"Careful I just washed that floor."

Gachi pointed at Pro, ignoring her comment. "Pro I’m gonna train you!"

Pro tilted her head slightly. "...huh?"

"I’m gonna teach you how to use a weapon. Preferably a sword or maybe dagger…" Gachi rubbed her chin and quickly came to the conclusion. "A dagger, like a spell dagger!"

Kyokai dropped a sweat. "Where are we supposed to find something like that?"

"In the forest of course. Maybe it’s hidden within a chest." Gachi nodded confidently. "Alright. I’ll teach you the basics of a blade."

Pro groaned in annoyance as Gachi ran to a bucket of wooden katanas and took two before returning. She tossed one to Pro who dropped her mop for the weapon. "What if we slip on the floor?"

"Well I guess that leads into one lesson. Not every battleground will be a fair zone. You have to learn to adapt and control your surroundings, use them to your advantage." Gachi explained.

"How come you haven’t done that before?" Pro questioned.

Gachi shrugged. "Never needed to. But with a situation like this…!" She dashed forward and allowed herself to slide on the slightly slippery floor. "Battering kick!"

"..!?" Pro brought up her sword to block. Gachi kicked up one leg striking the sword out of her hand while backflipping away, and it landed behind Pro with a clatter.

"T-that was unfair." Pro said while sweating nervously from the sudden attack caught her off guard.

"Your form was way o-o-off!" Gachi slipped and landed on her butt causing Pro to snicker at karmic justice.

"H-hey! Don’t laugh!" Gachi shouted then rubbed her lower rear. "Ow.. my ass…"

"I think that attack was a bit too extreme. Even for you." Kyokai chuckled. Gachi stood up. "Yeah maybe. I kinda just made it up on the spot there."

"It’s getting late. I’m gonna turn this request in and head home." Pro said and picked up the mop and bucket.

Gachi sighed. "Fine… we’re still gonna train someday, whether you like it or not. Then we’ll continue through the garden in the superdimension."

"Alright." Pro nodded then halted when the doors were kicked open and Maine entered with crossed arms and questions to pay. "Garden? Superdimension? Start explaining what the hell you are doing and why you're doing it without ME!" She cried.

"Oh no we've been caught." Said Gachi in a sarcastic tone.

Kyokai shrugged, "Dragon and dungeons game."

Maine growled. "Fess up! I saw you 'training' in here and talking about fighting with your powers. I wanna know!"

"You're just imagining things!" Gachi retorted.

"And besides." Maine dug in her pocket and took out a link sign. One with an image of barbed wire unraveling. "This fell out your pocket. Some kind of magic card."

That was enough to seal the deal, they couldn't talk their way out of this. Kyokai looked over to Pro "Guess we gotta tell her."

"If you let us join you, I won't say a word about this to anyone. Deal?" Maine said.

Pro walked up to her and snatched the card from her hands. "Deal."

Gachi didn't expect this turn of events. "Huh?!"

"The more the merrier." Kyokai shrugged with a small smirk.

They were members of the council. It wouldn't be right to keep this a secret to them for too long, especially Maine. She had her own talent that would be useful against future enemies. They told Maine the truth of it all, and being the wild girl she was, she believed it all. In fact, she believed it to be related to the sudden absence of a certain student. That is…

"Superdimension huh? I wonder if that's where Cocoa went missing!"