The sounds of the underground walkway filled Pro's ears. Standing by the wall out of the way of people moving in and out of areas. She impatiently tapped her foot watching her phone screen waiting for another text message from Maine or Luka.

'Let's meet at Yongen-Jaya station then we'll go to Akihabara together! I'll show you around and we can visit all of the arcades!! ヾ(●ω●)ノ'

Feb 17

She closed her phone looking around again for her friends hoping she didn't have to go alone searching for Juno. Maine wasn't aware of her new acquaintance to keep her from suspecting too much of Juno. The girl didn't give a time or location they would meet at. It all felt like a trick but she knew Tatesaya and was a magician herself.

The trend of Pro's friends getting the jump on her continued, getting surprised by Maine wrapping her arms around Pro's waist and spinning her around.

"Hiya Proooo!!" Like Gachi, Maine was always cheerful when Pro called upon her to hang out.

"Waaah! I'm getting dizzy!"

"Hehehe!" She placed Pro down watching her almost lose her balance on her feet. After recovering from the wild spinning, she asked, "All ready to go? I hear Akihabara has lots of maid cafes, but most importantly of all, a new dungeon in the superdimension."

Though Maine shook her head at the suggestion "We are not going there. You both need to relax to let your wounds heal. Going into battle right after your injuries close will just make them worse."

Luka frowned, as their train pulled in coming to a slow stop and a plethora of people came pouring out. They waited for the wave of busy men and women to subside before boarding the train. Their excitement made the trip there an afterthought and when the train's doors opened they stepped out into another world. When they walked out of the station they were immediately greeted by hundreds of advertisements and anime billboards. A lot of which Maine recognized, taking the two girls on a made up tour on their walk through the city. She monologued about the sights but Pro ignored most of it, looking around for Juno and eventually Maine caught on to her shifting gaze.

Stopping in the middle of her explanation and tilting her head towards Pro, Maine squinted her glare. "Pro you've been awfully quiet. Same with you Luka! Are you hiding something from me?"

"Uh no..?" She then averted her eyes. Maine jabbed her finger on the bridge of her nose causing her to wince. "Yes you are!"

"Ow! Don't do that." Pro said flustered, when she opened her eyes she caught Juno in the corner of her gaze, facing one of the many advertisements signs outside a store. She hurried over to Juno, dressed in something similar to her school uniform meant for fashion, and mysterious, like an angel who came to visit from heaven. Pro reached out her hand but hesitated fearing that her touch might burn her light elegance, instead saying her name. "Juno…" Which sounded so foreign coming from her mouth.

She turned to face Pro with a smile. Bowing her head to Pro and her friends that caught up; Only Maine was out of the loop. "I knew it, you were hiding something from me. Have you been making new best friends without me?"

She then smelled a familiar scent from Juno and her tail rose. "That smell…" Her nose twitched. "You smell… Familiar." Not saying out loud that she reeked of snow and iron.

"Your inner dog is coming out." Luka commented.

Juno dug in her skirt pocket and took out thick frame glasses to put on her face. Blinking a few times adjusting to her new vision then grinned. Changing the topic to something about them than about her and completely ignoring the dog giving her a stinky glare. "What a coincidence for us to meet here. A surprise, and a surprise you brought your friends too. I am Juno Suwahime and I come from Sapporo. I moved here to study at Seven Saint High School. Though I initially wanted to be a part of Nokken, the winds of life took me elsewhere."

After a bow and poetic greeting, she moved between Luka and Pro wrapping an arm around theirs. She exclaimed proudly, "Let's go paaarty!" then dragged them away to the many hotspots in the city while Maine was oddly left out of most of the fun.

Taking pictures with cat eared maids advertising their cafe, trying out odd drinks in vending machines and so much more. Akihabara seemed to have it all but Juno was more into the electronic part of Akihabara. "Electric Town" being the district's nickname for it being a hub for all things electronic. Her interest extended beyond the arcades she promised to visit later, dragging Pro to the quieter and less popular shops containing machine parts, recording equipment, lights and cameras. In the electronic store for the mundane, Juno was practically talking to herself the entire time shuffling through shelves of cameras that all looked the same but she assured were different in minor ways. Pro awkwardly stood behind watching her interpretation of an angel named Juno crumble apart, almost forgetting why she came in the first place because of how boring this trip was becoming, struggling to keep her eyes open while standing--feeling particularly like Gachi and wondering when their trip was going to be fun and not an essay on camera lenses and their uses. Luka nodded her head occasionally, listening to Juno ramble on and Maine took a slight interest but was more into her scent which still bothered her the whole time.

Somewhere during her long explanation, Pro let her thoughts spill out, mumbling sarcastically, "Wow that's so cool, Juno." Which caused Juno to go on another tangent about this camera and that camera and that tripod and the electronic parts over there. Ending on a rather somber note where she lowered her head speaking softly.

"All of these cameras are nice but my cousins already sent me one of the best from overseas. But it was damaged in the shipping."

"Do you like taking pictures? Are you something of a photographer?" Said Luka who was still nodding occasionally, now out of her control.

Juno returned the head bobbing. "You know what they say, a picture's worth a thousand words. I want my memories to last forever." She pointed to herself sticking her tongue out in a cutesy way before asking, "What about you?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Luka shrugged, never considering what to do after. If there would even be an after. Their future depended on if they succeeded with killing all of the dragons and despair. Pro never considered the thought either, surprising Maine the most.

"Don't you wanna become a great alchemist like your parents--"

"Sshshh!" Pro covered her mouth. "Don't let everyone know."

"Ah I see." Juno stepped past them with a new camera in hand. "Well a secret is a secret, you don't need to tell me. I had enough looking around here. This camera looks like a decent enough replacement until I fix my old one. Is there anywhere you want to go?"

"Anywhere that isn't this dull place. Come on, let's get out of here!" Maine hurried out, eager to leave Juno's boring hobby far behind.

Back to the exciting part of Akihabara, they entered an arcade cramped with rows of various machines for all to play provided they had the funds to continually attempt to win lucky prizes from crane machines which Maine drooled over. There were a lot of various prizes for the otakus of Japan--from scantily clad figures of fan favorite girls, to figures from more popular series, but what Maine wanted to win was stuffed dolls to add to her ever increasing collection. Poking the glass to a purple dragon head with a large mouth and sharp teeth sitting on the top of the pile, Maine said loudly, "That's the one I need to win. A dragon, Pro! What a coincidence right?!"

Pro on the other hand started to sweat nervously. "Quiet down a little." Worried her loud friend might let a word slip or two.

While the excited wolf focused on their crane game and winning that prize, Juno aimed her camera at Pro, adjusting the view and blur of her beautiful face. Beautiful to her but Pro felt a weird nostalgia being seen by her lens and covered her face instinctively.

"Not too fawn of snapshots?" Juno lowered the camera.

"Reminds me of violence." A response that confused Juno until She reiterated. "The pictures in the newspapers are...violent." While half a lie it made Juno nod slowly in understanding. Then her mind instantly hopped to the next thought. Grabbing Pro's hand she led her to a favorite arcade game of hers, a light gun shooter game full of horror and zombies. Juno took the plastic blue gun while Pro took red, awkwardly holding the gun not used to its size in her hands. Juno was familiar with the weapon, clarifying she had shot many different types of guns back in Sapporo as a child.

Pro aimed at the screen with shaky hands which Juno giggled at. "Don't worry I'll protect you!" In one swift motion she aimed at the screen to start the game. Though it felt as though Juno was playing by herself, or in her own separate world having shot many of the zombies on her own leaving Pro to fumble about with the ones she didn't shoot immediately. It was a massacre, for the zombies that is. Pro didn't understand why Juno even brought her along if she could so easily manage on her own. She was good, too good. Pro was never a gaming type of girl, her specialty lied in reading or managing the council, talents she picked up from being council president for a long time. Gachi often invited her to spend a night over her house to play games and though fun, Pro preferred to watch.

Wrapped up in self doubt, it ended up costing them the game but not without Juno putting up a tough fight alone against the boss named The Hermit Reversed, based on the tarot card of the same name. She sheathed the gun in its holder and turned to smile at Pro and without saying anything she was ready to drag the girl to another game cabinet. But Luka had enough with the pretenses and distractions and stopped them by stepping in Juno's way and questioning her seemingly random appearance the day they met. It wasn't a coincidence they just happened to meet outside the cafe after working with their injuries.

Starting with a simple question hoping she'd elaborate "Do you know a lot about Tatesaya?"

"Only as much as you do. Curious about her? I am too, about where she is and how she's like now." Juno tapped her cheek thinking then an idea came to her head. "I'll tell you what she was like before if you tell me what she's like now, how's that sound?"

"Alright, but you go first."

To which Juno giggled and reluctantly agreed, "Fine fine… Where should I start."

After a brief pause she began where they first met until the falling snow in a winter festival. December, she remembered it so clearly. Under the evening moonlight they met by a bench--Juno coming to a poor and abandoned Tatesaya. Not abandoned homeless but she had lost her family, being taken in by old caretakers who found her lying in the snow. Tatesaya was peculiar. Eager to explore the wonders of the world yet too afraid to take her first stride into the unknown. She always was the kind of girl to watch her peers have fun rather than join in--admiring how Juno carried herself and how determined she was to be an idol. They became quick friends in the festival and afterwards Tatesaya wanted to reach the same determination Juno had and decided to dabble in musical arts but she could never completely grasp it in the same way. Eventually their rivalry grew, then fell when she moved out of Sapporo, and eventually Juno did the same.

"I never thought I would have the opportunity to see her again." Juno smiled softly. "Hehe, well I've said my part. Now it's your turn to tell me about Tatesaya."

"Hmm…" Luka had trouble describing how Tatesaya was like now. She was a complete mystery now that she thought about it. Often appearing to Luka to say something so vague then leaving with random words of encouragement. Insistent to learn how to play guitar from the council specifically and getting no better at it. Though she knew a lot about Murakumo and their beginnings, and the previous student council president. When she spoke about it to Luka, it was like she was preparing them to succeed by making sure the previous president's wishes were fulfilled.

Maine and Pro returned having won their prizes, a purple dragon doll and a rabbit doll that reminded Pro of Cynthia. Hearing the topic of Tatesaya, Maine was quick to give her thoughts. "Sophie Tatesaya is weird." An astute observation.

She would then sniff Juno's scent again, now getting the answer she found on the tip of her tongue. "Juno… why…" She paused for dramatic effect. "Why do you smell like you're from Imperia?"

The colorful arcade almost turned colorless had Juno not stumbled back for equally dramatic effect. She bursted out laughing and readjusted the glasses on her face. "Pffft are you serious? That's the funniest guess ever!"

"I'm being serious!" She pouted in response. Luka's heart skipped a beat after hearing "Imperia" and a new flood of memories came back to her. Now less vague in words than flashing images in her head. She was able to connect some dots and in doing so she brought into question whether or not Tatesaya was an abandoned child from the war.

Juno smirked. "I'dunno. I wasn't in any position to ask at the time. Anyway this is something we shouldn't be discussing. People get wary if you talk about the Imperia-Japan war publicly."

"R-right..." Maine agreed, awkwardly staring down at her feet leaving Pro and Luka confused and even more when Juno declared her departure abruptly, having to return home before her parents got upset at her staying away for too long.

Their little trip to Akihabara ended uneventfully as it started and they parted, returning together back in school the next day where a plethora of problems awaited them not requests from the students but from within the council.

"I didn't tell you Pro but…" Maine switched her glance to Rei sitting at the front desk leaning back in the seat with his feet on the desk. "Rei Valoris joined the student council."

Similarly Luka would find Tatesaya returned in the band room with a poster in hand. A concert notice, "Luka my time has come, the great performance awaits me. Help me start a full band to participate in the Nobel School Festival this year!"

Two events that played one after another.