Most children believe that monsters live in their closets. Most adults think they live all around them as their colleagues and closest friends. But only those from the Union of Magus knew where monsters rightfully belonged.

In cages.

A draught of cool air swept into the dark room as chrome doors swung open. The earthy smell of damp wood also drifted in, accompanied by the sounds of stray dogs barking in the distance. Pale moonlight painted the highly polished linoleum floor a faint yellow before being promptly blocked by a pair of shadows.

The doors closed without a sound behind the couple.

Footsteps echoed as fluorescent lamps on the ceiling blinked to life one by one, shedding light on the winding hallway. The couple walked briskly, their mahogany robes sweeping slightly above the floor.

They turned into an empty circular room.

"This is a bad idea, Luca." The woman looked around before snapping her fingers with a resounding click.

Purple sparks darted from her hand, flitting around as though they were sentient before landing on a switch hanging inconspicuously on the wall beside her.

Glowing glyphs spread the entire room like hundreds of fireflies covering the walls. Bluish-white light flashed for a moment, before dispelling the illusion that hid the room's true nature. The man beside her stood unflinching as his false surroundings melted into nothingness.

"So was accepting our House-ship, Ava." He smiled warmly at the woman by his side. "And yet here we are. We make do with what we've got. That's how we always roll, darling."

Intense white light flooded the room now, yet there seemed to be no visible light source in this containment room. Four sleek-looking containers stood in the corners of the now rectangular room, while a particularly huge one imposed itself right in the middle. Dark blue glowing chains wrapped around them, each of them being tended to by at least two people.

A muscular Japanese man was leaning against a corner of the room with his arms folded, intently watching the workers with his strikingly green eyes. His slightly frizzy hair was pure white, although he looked no older than forty.

Ava walked past the Japanese man as though she had not seen him.

"How are the charms holding up?" she asked a grey-haired man fussing around the largest container.

"Surprisingly well," the old man commented. "Considering how powerful this creature is supposed to be, I'm surprised it hasn't given us any trouble yet. It has been the calmest one so far."

"That's good, that's good." The woman nodded, releasing a warm red light from her palm that fused with the magic chains. "Keep up the good work—"

A loud bang reverberated around the laboratory as a nearby cage shook violently.

Luca swung around in shock, throwing several orange star-shaped glyphs at the container. The glyphs stuck themselves on the cage, and the glowing chains tightened visibly.

The huge cat paw that had thrown itself against the translucent cage wall retracted slowly.

"Our magic isn't compatible with these creatures, Luca." Ava folded her arms, turning to the man. "Wendigos, Chupacabras, Skinwalkers... Those, we are equipped to handle. But our incarceration charms don't work as well on these Eastern monsters. We should just tell those Japanese blokes that we can't hold them."

"We're the Chief Magus for this migration project," Luca insisted. "We can't just give up like that; it's our duty to hold these monsters until the Japanese branch is ready to take them back."

"Bloody selfish, the whole lot of them. Just because we have our own monsters well-contained doesn't mean we can spare manpower to take on someone else's problems. We're under the damn cosh for no good reason."

"A Magus lives to serve. To sacrifice. To protect those in need. There is no greater calling. Besides, we only have a week left, dear. Don't be so stressed out," Luca said. "Who knows, we might even get a promotion once we present HQ with the good news. Then we can finally go for that family vacation that our boy always wanted."

Ava broke into a small smile as she gripped her husband's hand tightly. Luca kissed her gently on her forehead, before leading her out of the room. Everyone else continued their work, furiously strengthening the protective charms around the cages.

All except for one.

The Japanese man unfolded his arms as he cast a grim gaze at the huge container. He shook his head and walked out of the room as well, muttering under his breath.

"Fools. You are in a lot less control than you think you are."

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Hazel Adams was a few inches away from kissing the prince's lips when a shrill voice rudely interrupted her perfect wedding ceremony.

"Miss Adams, are you still with us?"

The handsome prince vanished in a puff of smoke as the golden palace around her dissolved into nothingness, giving way to a boring modern-day classroom.

Hazel groaned, swiping her auburn hair from her mouth as she groggily lifted her head from her desk. Why did her dreams always have to get interrupted at the best part?

"Hazel, it's your turn," her teacher repeated herself. "Come up and present your work."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

The girl blinked as she adjusted her thick silver-rimmed spectacles while her awareness booted back up. It took her a few more seconds to remember that she was not a princess married off to a young charming prince, but a boringly normal sixteen-year-old schoolgirl in Starlight High.

Why did reality always have to be so disappointing?

Hazel's heart skipped a beat as she tripped over her bag and earned a few annoyed stares from her classmates. It didn't matter much; they went straight back to sleep anyway. The timid girl made her way to the front of the class, burying her face in her journal as though they held the secret to eternal youth.

"Today—" she squeaked, before clearing her throat awkwardly. Her mouth felt drier than the Sahara desert; she must have been sleeping with her mouth open.

"Ahem. Today, I will be presenting about the Japanese Yokai: Kitsune," she announced with as much confidence as she could muster and finally took her nose out of her worn-out journal.

Thankfully, none of her classmates was awake to watch her painful performance. Her teacher, however, gave her a look reserved for a starving stray kitten one would find on the sidewalks.

Hazel planted her face in her book again.

"Kitsunes have many powers, such as casting illusions, playing mind tricks, and even clairvoyance. But most notably, they are extremely skilled at the art of disguise. Some are so powerful that they can even turn invisible and completely hide their supernatural presence from skilled mediums. Despite having a fox-form, they often appear in the guise of beautiful human women in the mortal world. Sometimes they do this just for pranks; sometimes for more nefarious purposes. However, they retain their fox-like nature even in their human form, such as being afraid of dogs."

The girl's voice rose as confidence blossomed within her rapidly.

"Despite their playful nature, these fox spirits will keep their promises and treasure friendships by doing favours for those they are fond of."

Hazel set her journal away. She never needed it in the first place, especially not when the topic was about something she spent her childhood obsessing over.

"Unlike regular foxes that only live up to ten years, Kitsunes can exist in the mortal realm for up to a thousand years, growing an additional tail after a hundred years of existence. As such, the most powerful of Kitsunes have nine tails. After which, their essence in which most of their powers are vested— also known as a 'Hoshi no Tama'— will become one with the celestial realm. With that, the Kitsune will turn into a Fox God— also called a Tenko— and ascend to the heavens forever."

Hazel became completely animated as she continued her presentation with as much confidence as a popular girl auditioning for cheerleading try-outs. Although considering her general lack of hand-eye coordination, she probably looked more like an excited gremlin instead. Not like she cared; only one classmate had woken up from his stupor to witness her rambling anyway.

"... And with that, I conclude my presentation on Japanese occult culture. For more information, please pick up my articles about Japanese folklore from the Journalism Club!"

Silence flooded the class once more before the teacher clapped lazily from behind. Hazel hurried back to her seat, her timidness quickly rising again.

"Are you daft? The topic was 'Significant historical events around the world', you numpty," a patronising voice laced with a thick Cockney accent greeted her as she sat down. "What does Japanese Yokai have to do with that?"

Hazel glared at her sneering deskmate, who was, unfortunately, the only one awake during her presentation.

"Mind your own business, Watson," she hissed as the boy casually leaned back on his chair, flicking his curly brown fringe from his eyes.

"Aww mate, really? You ain't calling me Chester? I thought we were on a first-name basis here." Chester winced slightly, putting a hand on his chest as though he had been shot by an arrow.

Hazel rolled her eyes and ignored him. Chester Watson was the only British student in her class. Like her, he had also transferred to this school this year. In fact, he only enrolled just a few months earlier than she did.

But unlike Hazel, he wasted no time mixing around with everyone else. Chester was a relatively good-looking guy in the traditional sense, after all. Square-jawed, short dark hair, untucked shirt and tie, all that jazz.

If only he weren't so rude and loud-mouthed.

"Oi, Liam. Psst, Liam Davis!"

Hazel stole a glance from the side of her eye. For a relief, Chester had given up bothering her and was now prodding his poor friend whose head was practically planted on the desk. He was so far into Liam's personal space that Liam should've been charging him rent.

"Stop sleeping all day, you sodding—"

A loud rapping on the whiteboard interrupted him as the class stirred back to life, wondering what time of the day it was and what they were doing in a concrete room on a humid summer afternoon.

"Class, pay attention," the teacher announced curtly. "We have an exchange student from Japan and she will be staying with us for the next... few weeks or so?"

Her voice trailed away as a confused look crossed her face, as though she was suddenly unsure of what she had just said.

A petite girl of an obviously Asian heritage walked gracefully into the classroom right on cue. Her ash blonde hair draped in front of her face as she sank into a deep bow.

"Hello, my name is Tomoko Sanada. Nice to meet all of you." She had a slightly slurred accent, but Hazel could still somehow understand her perfectly, almost as though it was by some kind of magic.

The teacher pointed at a desk beside Hazel. "There's an empty seat beside Hazel. You may sit there, Tomoko."

"Uh, Missus Rogers?" Chester's hand shot up. "That seat's already taken. That guy's just bunking off."

"Which means his seat is free." Missus Rogers put her hands on her hips. "That's what he gets for skipping class. And for goodness' sake, Chester. Please refrain from using such slang in class. The correct term is 'playing truant'."

"Oi, Hazel." Chester poked his deskmate with a cheeky grin. "Wanna switch seats with me? Please, please, I'm begging ya. Do me this favour, will ya? C'mon, she's peng! At least let me introduce myself to her."

Hazel rolled her eyes, but Chester wasn't the only one thinking the same thing. The other boys were also murmuring and staring at the new girl as she made her way to the back of the class. Hell, even the girls seemed enthralled by Tomoko Sanada's unnaturally natural beauty.

"Geez, dude. Ya ever think you might be bothering someone?" Liam's serious-sounding voice jabbed in, having finally woken up from his slumber.

"W— What?" Chester stopped drooling and snapped his head to the side. "I just want to be friendly, is all."

"Seriously, man. We don't need another complaint about your antics." Liam plopped his head back on his desk and closed his eyes.

"But you'll always have my back, won't you?" Chester smirked playfully, poking his friend again.

His voice faded into the background of the classroom chatter as Hazel turned her attention to the foreign student now sitting quietly beside her. Tomoko smiled sweetly at her, although she kept her silence as the lesson resumed.

Hazel kept her journal awkwardly and took out her textbook.