Luka was given the last student council uniform, a spare that was made but never used. Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, the dress was surprisingly form fitting and flexible. The tailor clearly put a lot of effort getting the stitching and smooth material just right. The plaid pattern on the hem of the skirt was spotless and its length was adjusted to show the absolute territory of knee sock covered legs. Luka wore a red ribbon around the sailor collar like Pro and the black tights she had on her previous uniform. After admiring herself in the mirror, doing a slow spin to see the skirt sway, she nodded confidently to herself. This was really the start of something new, she was to begin a long journey as a member of Murakumo. She didn't know what role she would have but today she was going to meet in their council room to discuss that as well as their plans going forward.

When she entered the school now dressed in the council uniform and her arm adorned with their armband, the other students shot her disgusted glares and nudged and pushed her around when they walked past. None of this bothered her since it already happened before during her vegetative state but it really opened her eyes to how badly Murakumo was treated. Afterclass she joined the council members going to their room on the third floor. The student council room looked like it was fairly larger than the usual classroom since it didn't have the usual things seen in a classroom like desks and chalkboards. The layout was different too, windows with red curtains were lined in the back of the room rather than on the side and it was presented more like an office with a front desk in front of said windows. In the center of the room were two green couches facing each other and a small wooden table in between. Lying under the furniture was a large patterned rug; and lining the walls were shelves full of books and files and other assortments like a globe. It was a welcoming room but felt out of place in a school.

Sitting at the front desk was a little green haired girl who Luka had never seen before in school. She didn't even look like she belonged in high school judging by her child-like looks and clothing. Her hair was in a low ponytail held by a big red bow and she was dressed in a polo shirt and black shorts. Not exactly the school's proper uniform. When she saw Luka she jumped out of her seat and the pen she held rolled off the desk.

"W-w-wait who is that!?" She exclaimed with mostly confusion in her tone.

"You could at least be nice about meeting new people, Lari." Gachi placed her hands on her hips pouting. "This is Luluria Wagami and starting today she'll be joining Murakumo."

Lari smacked the desk repeatedly. "But the paperwork, the elections, you can't just keep bringing people in without doing the proper procedures!" She fell back in her seat defeated by their lack of care in the rules. "Kris is going to kill me for this..."

"Look at the bright side, at least Pro is finally here with us too." Gachi struck a dazzling pose pointing towards Pro but Lari groaned in response, covering her dissatisfied face. "Doesn't matter. I don't even know if this girl is trustworthy or not. Remember the last person you invited in here?"

"She's super trustworthy and honest! And besides..." Gachi lost her smile and told Lari about Hinata holding blackmail on them. She spared specific parts of Pro and Luka fighting a dragon but explaining that Tanaka had shown up dead and Hinata thought they were the cause for it. They were placed in a terrible dilemma and Luka joined to try to fix things but Gachi didn't have hope she could. They needed to find Cynthia, the doll, to get a fuller explanation but Luka hadn't seen her ever since she fought that dragon.

Lari let out a deep sigh and rubbed her forehead as if she was some old officer worker, muttering the words, "This is bad..." while trying to think of a solution herself but the only option she had--though ridiculous, "So you need to find a talking rabbit doll, am I getting that right?"

Kyokai was embarrassed for even saying it. Furrowing his brow and placing one hand around his chin. "Yeah... until then we're stuck at Hinata's whims."

"And we still have a lot of uncompleted requests..." Lari also rubbed her chin and nodded slowly. "We're pretty shorthanded right now so we'll need to divide up the work. If what you're saying is really true about this talking doll then leave it to Luka and Pro to find it. Search the school grounds as thoroughly as you can. Gachi, Kyokai and I will worry about the requests and keep an eye open if we see it."

Luka lowered her head. "Sorry that we have to meet during a bad situation."

Lari flashed a smile trying to elevate the situation a little. "It's fine, really. I'm used to Murakumo getting in trouble."

With their plan all decided, Pro and Luka stepped out into the hallway ready to begin to search. Before that however, Pro grabbed her sleeve. She averted her eyes towards the ground asking, "Are... are you really sure you want to join the student council? Because..."

If Luka was honest then her answer would be no. She wasn't sure or certain about any of the decisions she took feeling pulled to them not out of any sense of rightness but because it fell more in line with what someone else would do, someone who was more heroically determined in seeing goodness achieved. She had none herself or any ambitions or interest in getting a reward for herself. All her life she could remember was just listening to that doll. Maybe she was a slave to it or some kind of machine that doll created. Either way it was all she had for now, other than those visions of a black haired girl--a girl who was fueled by violence. The more she thought about those implanted memories the more she was compelled towards that line of thinking, where that girl hid her intentions behind titles such as 'detective' her underhanded methods were that of a 'killer' and 'anarchist', but Luka wouldn't be able to hide that if she ever indulged in those memories. She fought with herself against further questioning those memories.

Who was that black haired girl?

No, it doesn't matter.

Why was she a detective and an anarchist?

No, it doesn't matter.

Cynthia had a lot to explain...

The days went by, Pro and Luka searching high and low for a lost rabbit in Shibuya. They pulled aside other students and even adults questioning if they had seen a rabbit doll wearing a top hat and aristocratic clothing but it yielded no answer. What made the search more agonizing were the students that answered in riddles or lured them to a dead end where they were hit whether by fists or sticks; Hinata held a leash around their necks, getting them to do embarrassing acts or further adding to their pain by doing things like dumping a bucket of cold water on them and getting students to flip their skirts. It felt like weeks of being pushed around and still they couldn't find a trace of Cynthia. It was starting to take a toll on their minds and Luka was beginning to regret getting involved, like Gachi said, this wasn't her problem. She had no obligation to them but...

This particular day after school was different. After finishing her search, Luka went out the back of the school rather than the entrance to leave. The back route was a path that circled a hill where the track field and courtyard laid. It was also a beautiful sightseeing place with flowers lining the hill and trees with petals that fell more gentle than water. It was a great hangout spot for the students to relax at, which many did but not today in particular. She followed the path up to a bench where she fell face down completely out of energy and any motivation to continue any longer. It showed on her untidy uniform, a girl that was sleep deprived and beaten around always had her ribbon tie loose from a lack of care for her own well-being.

Here in the silence, Luka could at least take a break away from her mission and not think about a thing. Petals fell on her back from the tree overhead, sticking to the back of her uniform, not she cared. She basked in the serene silence until the sound of a guitar being played filled her ears. Curiously she lifted her head up to see where the song was coming from and her eyes found the source on the top of the hill where a female guitarist was playing in front of a crowd she wasn't facing. The song she played soothed the soul but it was just someone in the band club showing off their skills, or so Luka thought.

After the song ended with an applause, the students disbursed away to continue their day and Luka was able to get a clearer look at the guitarist she recognized as the girl who fell into her arms that day. She remembered it clearly, her face, how light she was when she dropped into her arms. The guitarist saw Luka gazing endlessly at her and gasped. Quickly she packed her guitar in its case then slinged it over her shoulder, and with a gleeful hurry she skipped down the hill to get to Luka. Though Luka remembered her face, she couldn't remember her name or why she fell that day. The only explicit detail of that memory was what she looked like. Her brownish hair was in two buns covered by white bun covers with a ribbon. One side of her bangs covered her eye leaving the left green eye exposed. She had to be the peak of perfection in the eyes of male students.

To top it all off her voice was so gentle."Wagami-san." And she knew her name! "Why do you look so sad?"

Sad? Well, there was no hiding it. Luka dropped her head to stare blankly at the pavement. "Im…Just a little lost."

She leaned over to rub Luka's smooth brown hair out of curiosity, wanting to touch her to know what she felt like. "But you're in the student council now. Shouldn't you be happy that you now have friends?"

Luka raised her head again making the girl pull her hand away. "Who are you?"

"You can just call me Tatesaya."

"Tatesaya hm…" There was no need to introduce herself since Saya already knew her name. Instead Luka wanted to know what happened on that day she fell, all the specifics like everything leading up to it and after. She wasn't kind asking about it either.

Expecting a serious response or a deep emotional story, Luka looked at Saya in disbelief when she burst into a giggling fit. "I remember getting careless and I ended up falling. The floor was slippery because it was recently mopped. I'm thankful for you catching me but…" She changed the direction of her gaze, feeling embarrassed for herself and Luka. "When you caught me I guess I was a bit too heavy for you and you ended up collapsing on the ground hitting your head."

"I think I've heard enough." Luka returned to planting her face on the bench feeling embarrassed for the first time. Something inside her died knowing that the outcome was worse than she thought. If her other vague memories were the same then she might've called it quits here and go back to being a vegetable.

That is if Saya didn't tell her, "I saw that you changed. You seem like you're yourself. I've been wanting to thank you properly but I couldn't do it while other students were watching so..." She stepped back to deeply bow even though Luka wasn't looking. "And before I go," This made her sit up attentively.

"I have been watching the student council closely. I admire your courage and determination to keep going even though everything is against you. Please don't give up." Saya then ran off to grab her guitar case and escaped the scene before anyone saw. The words she left behind for Luka to dwell on, though generic, had some truth and power to it.

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The three members of Murakumo sat beside the many desks on the rooftop of the school. The sky was grey much like the scenery around them and the clouds gathered looking as if a storm was about to occur. Unable to eat lunch during lunch break because of some unfortunate circumstance, they were left to eat the remainder of their food on the roof in private. Kyokai took a bite of his sandwich, letting it sit on his tongue to take in its exquisite rich flavor. He sighed.

Nothing could keep his mind away from what happened earlier. Suffering a black eye from previous events, same with Pro and Gachi. Gachi with a slightly wet uniform after being pushed into a puddle. Pro with fizzled hair probably suffered the least because she could immediately burn her enemies. A lost umbrella can easily be replaced.

"So…" Kyokai decided to start a taboo topic. "I'm thinking about quitting the council."

Pro was calm about the subject-- "Kyokai… please don't quit."

"But think about how much life would be better for me. I won't be a loser anymore, no more bullying or getting hurt. Someone else can take my spot-- in fact Luka can. Oh! How about you both quit too!"

--But Gachi wasn't. A clap sound followed her swift slap which left a red mark on Kyokai's cheek while tears streaked down hers. The slap didn't hurt because of her soft hand but it did hurt emotionally. Kyokai rubbed his cheek lightly with his heart tight. "That was a stupid idea of mine. Sorry."

"...We have each other's back. Forever and always. That was the promise we made." Gachi turned around to wipe her tears silently. Back to silence while the cold wind occasionally blew, Such a melancholic moment would be interrupted by…

"Hey? Hello? Can you idiots stop sulking for a brief moment?" Cynthia hopped up and down while waving her hand trying to get their attention in the most obnoxious way possible. She snuck up on the group while they were deep in woes.

"I think I'm starting to see things…" Gachi rubbed her eyes again and blinked looking down at the doll. That doll below her spoke, it was speaking and..!

Pro pounced forward like a cat would with its prey. "That's the doll we're looking for!"

The three now gave Cynthia the attention she demanded. With sights finally set on her, she could explain.

"You all can use magic right? I heard from some locals that you three were mostly recognized for your special abilities rather than being on the council." Cynthia, though without a proper human face, had this smug look expressed through her attitude. "Help me and you'll get to unleash that power upon foes with reckless abandon. Interpret that as you will, but know this might be the only chance you'll get to use your powers for something worthwhile."

Gachi picked up Cynthia to examine her small doll body, checking for any strings or zippers in the back. "Dolls can talk..?" The doll slipped out of her grasp like butter. She then sat cross legged where the doll landed and her intrigue endless. "Tell us rabbit, what's your offer? Deals? Are we dealing with the devil with this choice or just one plain evil mascot?"

"Straight to the point, I like that. I think we'll get along like two peanuts in a jar." --Not exactly how the phrase went but they listened to every word she had. "Call me Cynthia. I'll be your guide for the time being."

She glanced at Kyokai. "You haven't said a word since I've been here. Am I too scary? Eeheehee! Luka thought the same when we first met. Now, how about I get your names?"

"Gachi Momomeno! This nerd here is Kyokai." Gachi forced a smile.

“And you?” Cynthia aimed to the third.

"Pro Shijunko." She answered bluntly.

Though Cynthia was kind about her introduction and meeting them on friendly terms, Kyokai wasn't falling for any of her trickery or deceptions she made the others fall for. A talking rabbit? Falling into another world? Having to fight dragons? He cut straight to the chase. "Spit it out rabbit! start explaining what you need us for and why you now show up out of the blue with an offer."

"You want the long version or the short one?"

"Long as possible." Said Pro, the most desperate for answers and being the one to first face a dragon.

"It's really simple but I doubt your tiny brains could comprehend it all." And so Cynthia began explaining.

"Right now the world is facing a crisis hidden in shadow--that is to say a problem they unconsciously don't know. If you ever looked closely at the state of humans you'd notice a glaring trend of despair spreading throughout and its reaching an all time high again. This kind of depression is one of a kind; it's the dark age approaching because of the dragon's return. You know how the story goes."

Pro nodded heavily recalling the story of the war on dragons that took place centuries ago. "Dragons came to not only Europe but the entire world, nearly shattering it in two. It took the entire collective of Europe to eradicate them all, and still they could only push them out of western Europe, Japan, and a handful of other places thanks to magic the people were granted. My aunt told me the story because my family was involved at the tail end of the war."

"The Momomeno clan was there too! A lot of my relatives didn't get to see the end of the war." Gachi added.

Cynthia continued, "A lot was lost in that war making the details of where the dragons came from and why incredibly shaky. Though one thing is certain, that is, the dragons were always prophesied to come back and when they do it'll be the end of humanity for real. There's a world of shadows that was recently created and I think it came from the despair humanity is facing, just like before the war on dragons where the world was showing its cracks."

Kyokai tapped his foot anxiously and he couldn't hide the fear in his voice. "This really sounds like nonsense. I mean, we have magic powers--but after so much time why now? I guess we couldn't see it because we were in despair ourselves."

"Eeheehee! Don't feel too down about it. The situation is a lot worse because A: There's no heroes like Arthur and his legendary Excalibur, B: The Tokyo Magic Government Agency has made the practices of magic illegal so no one has the one thing needed to even scratch the dragons, and C: No one is aware that the despair they feel powers the other world and in turn that world causes more despair to leak out into the real world creating a self fulfilling relationship."

"Holy shit… Humanity is doomed…" Kyokai had fallen to all fours stacked with the weight of a million. What made this worse is that they haven't even dipped their toes into fixing their issue with Hinata, that paled in comparison to the much grander picture.

Was it possible to fix their situation using the world of shadows? A question Gachi threw out without putting much thought into it and much to her surprise, "I suppose there's a way. There's these things called 'tempest'-- areas with particularly large amounts of shadow activity from humans rather than dragons. In the tempest you can find a person's shadow, defeat it, and maybe something will change about them in the real world."

Gachi clasped her hands together with sparkles shining in her aquatic eyes. "That's the plan! We'll go, kick the hell out of Hinata's shadow, and get him to leave us alone back here."

"Alright…" Cynthia was put off by her willingness to vent her frustrations by technically killing another person.

Pro was similarly ready, now with a bigger picture of their situation she was more than willing to help Cynthia with this mission to stop the dragons. She was the first to pick up her things ready to go to the library but there was no need. There were many ways to get into the inverted world such as unfortunately slipping into it--a one in million chance of happening. The library just happened to be particularly fluctuated with despair at the time. Cynthia would use the last of her power, or so she claimed, to transfer the three into the other world. Their vision blurred and their bodies tore apart to fit into the tiniest crack of reality beneath the surface, reshaping their distorted being on the opposite side of the world below. Now, what surrounded them wasn't the dull grey buildings but the lush green forestry under the darkness. They stood in the middle of a clearing yet the ground was uneven with tree roots and tall grass everywhere. Looking up past the top of the trees obscuring the background they saw the top of the school meaning they had been moved from where they transferred from.

Gachi opened her mouth but nothing came out. She couldn't believe it even though her closest friend told her about it, seeing it in person was a completely different experience. Pro smiled at their utterly shock reactions plastered on their faces.

"Shibuya forest." Cynthia said.

Their school's campus was completely overtaken by the overgrowth of nature. Thick huge trees with leaves that covered the purple sky, moss and vines lining the decor, benches, fences, the concrete walkway, all showing its age. It was an apocalyptic scene, a realm that looked like what the future could be if humanity was completely eradicated through unknown means.

"Yes this is the world of shadows. It's really dangerous for a normal person to be here but you lot aren't normal. Be prepared to fight." Cynthia raised her arm and appearing out of thin air in each of their hands were weapons to use to fight. Gachi was given a katana, Pro was given a longsword and Kyokai was given a chakram, the last weapons Cynthia had on hand.

"World of shadows eh?" Kyokai tossed the chakram up and down repeatedly, getting used to the weapon's weight. The thrill of getting to use his powers was exciting. Finally a chance to use his natural ability for good. "How about we shorten the name a little."

"Superdimension." There wasn't a vote. "Now chop chop! You better start searching if you want to find that tempest. It might be inside your school."

Pro was the one leading and using her sword she cut down the foliage on her way to the building. Once she reached the school's back pathway she found that most of the area was blocked off by tree roots leaving Pro with one option and that was to follow the walkway around to the school backdoors however a thick tree root that broke through the door frame blocked it off. Sure Pro could use her fire to burn it down but that would only cause a separate issue magic couldn't solve.

"Well crap… Can't climb up either since the roots are too smooth." Kyokai scratched his head looking up at the school building. Now in ruins with trees and roots sprawling out of it. It was like looking at a glimpse of a terrible future, desolate yet life remained in the form of flowers.

"Then we'll find another way inside." Gachi turned around and spotted two small black bunnies with red eyes. "Awww look at those cute lil things." She ran over to the creatures.

Kyokai sighed, starting to lose all his enthusiasm. "Gachi don't touch the wildlife, they might be monsters. We have more important matters to attend to."

"Eh whatever. I'm not seeing any real threat so we can just leave her here--" Cynthia was about to walk past the creatures until.

"AAAH! IT BIT ME!"

Cynthia stopped and did her ghostly laughter. "Ok nevermind. I guess everything is a threat here no matter how small. Kyokai, Pro, do your thing."

"Heh! Alright!" Kyokai ran over to Gachi and kicked the rabbits away. Pro took Gachi's arm to look at a small wound from the bite, an injury that could easily be fixed if they had prepared aid kits beforehand.

Kyokai glared at his foes, two rabbits.

And he just...

Kept glaring.

…

"Ahem? Are you gonna… do anything?" Cynthia said impatiently.

"Uhm.. let's go Pro!"

"Alright!"

The two lept into action and it was a disaster. Kyokai crouched by the monster facing his head away and swung the chakram up and down not wanting to look if he cut the rabbit. And Pro aimed her sword at the creature carefully, poking it sending shivers down her spine when she could feel that it was a living thing and not some mindless monster sent to kill them.

"I don't wanna kill him, he's too cute..!" Whined Pro.

"I can't look, am I hitting it? Is it over?" Cried Kyokai with his arm covering his eyes.

"Holy cheesus… humanity is doomed..." How could anyone be intimidated by such weak minded individuals was beyond Cynthia. Her mood changed from a smug asshole to a serious asshole. "Special abilities my ass! How are people even afraid of you?"

She wished to rant more, really give them a head screwing for their incompetence before the battles ahead even began, but she spotted more rabbits coming into battle, almost surrounding them had they not escaped the area on Cynthia's command. She latched onto Gachi's skirt while being chased by killer bunnies..? Killer rabbits? Who cares, just keep running!