After a quiet walk to the food court, most of the Paranormal Club find themselves on a table at the far end of the cafeteria. The silence hangs in the air, before Katsuki finally ends it. “I said it because I was mad but now I’m actually curious.” She looks at the two standoffish girls. “Why did you join this club?”

Cerys scoffs.

Akina takes a sip of her drink. "You forced me to, remember?"

"Yeah, but why are you still here?"

Akina thinks for a second, then replies. "Demons. I have an interest in them that goes deeper than you would understand, mage." Venom drips off Akina’s final word.

Katsuki looks at Akina with interest. "Try me, I might-"

"If you did know anything, I'd have to remove you from this earth." Akina sets her cup down, only the intensity of her stare belying her seriousness. "It's not for frauds or pretenders to know."

“How dare you...whatever, you’re just trying to rile me up aren’t you?” Turning to Cerys, she asks, “And what about you?”

“I don’t have any desire to tell you that.”

“Do you really have to be like this now? I’m asking as a friend.”

“We’re friends now? News to me.”

Katsuki grumbles, taking a sip of her drink. “This club is nothing like I was hoping.”

Cerys leans back in her chair. “Well, I guess I can’t say the same because I’m getting what I was looking for.”

Yuudai raises his eyebrows. “I can’t imagine you were looking for anything other than people to mess with.”

“I’m looking for things that are interesting and, as much as I don’t want to be seen in public with any of you, interesting things happen around you.”

Katsuki and Yuudai slouch in their chairs and sigh, the frustration of talking to the two wearing on their patience. Katsuki lolls her head to the side to see Kirika, fuming at the air and muttering something. “Do you have something wrong with the club too, Kirika?”

The elf grumbles, “Saito...”

Katsuki leans forward and places her head in her hands. “Am I the only one who actually likes being in this club for what it is?”

“Maybe this club is just doomed to not have members that care.” Cerys says. “Your mom had the same problem, didn’t she?”

Katsuki violently jumps up from her chair. “Do NOT bring that into this.”

“Why not, it was a friend of your mom’s that recommended I join this club, after all.”

Katsuki’s arms go limp, before she falls back in her chair, defeated. “Whatever, you’re all in the club now, couldn’t you at least pretend to be excited sometimes?” she asks no one in particular, staring up towards the ceiling.

“If we can actually do something paranormal instead of having your friend put ghost stickers on photo booth pictures, sure.”

Katsuki slams her hands down on the table. “Huh? You sayin’ Yuuri faked that? Where’re ya gettin’ that from? Does that booth even have that kind of sticker? Why would she fake it? She’s been my closest friend forever and you’re saying she’d lie about somethin’ like this? That’s too much, you English-”

“Alright, Katsuki, calm down, you’re getting too worked up. Your accent is slipping. We’re supposed to be here for them, remember?” Yuudai hooks his arm around Katsuki’s shoulder, giving her a pat on the back .

Cerys gives a chuckle as she watched Yuudai. “Nice of you to jump in, loverboy. Your damn ex-girlfriend’s the closest this club’s come to paranormal. She was paranormally crazy, but at this point I’ll take anything.”

Yuudai looks over at Cerys sternly. “Why do you have to be like this? Do they put jerk powder in the tea over where you’re from?”

“I was born with the natural talent, I’m fated to use it.” Cerys says with a smirk.

Akina turns her gaze to Cerys. “Don’t talk about fates so lightly. You wouldn’t have the first idea about them.”

“And you do? You sit there and talk like you’re the reincarnation of an ancient Japanese asshole, don’t get all mystical now.”

“If one more word about me comes out of your mouth then you won’t have to worry about reincarnation.”

Katsuki dives into the conversation in an attempt to avoid turning this into a crime scene. “A-and what makes you such an expert anyway, Cerys?”

Cerys harrumphs. “You call yourself a mage and don’t know of my mother's books on magical theory? Our mothers worked together, how do you not know about her?”

“Why would I have read a book in English? And- Wait, you said our mothers worked together? When?” Katsuki’s eyes change from angry to curious.

“Yes. A decade ago at Yakumo Magic Academy before it closed down. My mother talked about yours often. A shame that it seems the reverse isn’t true.”

“Wait. She’s the same Miss Alcott that my mom talked about when I was younger?” Katsuki goes wide-eyed as the realization hits her. “I assumed the last name was just a coincidence; she was a respected mage and you’re...you.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Cerys pouts. “I thought we were friends.”

Katsuki sighs. “You just said we weren’t. And that’s besides the point. I had no idea you were the kid she always dedicated her books to. Of course I’ve read them.”

Akina looks at Cerys with curiosity in her eyes. “I know nothing at all about magic, was she important?”

“Very much so. My mom was overjoyed when she came to ask to use her students and facilities for part of a book. Her research expanded the access to magic to more than just a privileged few.”

Akina sighs. “And your mother was important too?”

Katsuki giggles. “Ehehe... in certain circles. She was a teacher at Yakumo for a while and founded the original Paranormal Club.”

Cerys looks at Katsuki. “So you do know about my mother. Do you know why she stopped publishing books, though?”

“She did? But one of her books just came out earlier this year.”

“Yeah, posthumously.”

The table falls silent. Yuudai is the first to speak up. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

The expression on Cerys’ face softens. “And that’s why I joined this club, to continue her work and keep her memory alive.”

“Fallen relatives are certainly a powerful motivator.” says Akina, knowingly.

Katsuki turns back to Cerys. “Are you doing alright? Losing her so recently must be hard for you.”

“It was a year ago. You didn’t hear of it because it happened in England and she wasn’t that active in recent years. The arrival of powers made her change focus, so the current book is nothing more than a bunch of half finished notes and articles.” She looks away from everyone else and smiles. “She always wanted me to be more like her or dad, so I won’t let her legacy end with a bound together pile of sticky notes.”

The sombre mood is broken, suddenly, by the bang of a cup against a table. “That stupid Saito guy is being all dorky around Yuuri! He’s ruining her coolness!” Everyone stops to look at the cause of the sudden outburst, Kirika.

Katsuki gets an annoyed look on her face. “And here we were raising our friendship stat and you had to ruin it.”

“Friendship stat? What the hell are you talking about? Did you bang your head on something?” Akina looks at Katsuki, perplexed.

“You know, our attributes like attack and defense and all that.”

“Are you certain that is tea you’re drinking, and not hard liquor?”

Katsuki pouts, taking a sip. “Yeah, I’m sure. Whatever, don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, great. They’re coming this way, now he’s going to make us ALL look uncool.” Kirika fumes as the two approach the table.

“Hey everyone.” Yuuri waves as she arrives at the table, Saito in tow. A few club members return her wave. “Did any of you figure anything new out about the ghost?”

“Nope. Just some… sensitive stuff around the table.” Katsuki replies.

Akina speaks up. “And how some of us here have a legitimate reason for being in this club.”

“And that you’re way too cool for that headphoned geek, Senpai!” Kirika exclaims, raging at the injustice that she’s feeling.

Saito laughs at Kirika’s words, while Yuuri looks at everyone. “Looks like you all learned a lot about everything except what we came here to learn about.”

“Yep. A bust with no ghost.” Katsuki says with a slump.

Yuuri places the pictures from the booth down on the table. “Here, here’s the ghost pictures from earlier. At first they were strange, but now I think they’re kinda… cute?”

“Well besides that, how was the fake date?” Katsuki asks.

“It was cute up until this, then it got spooky.”

“So it was...spoocute?”

“What?” Yuuri cocks her head to the side.

Yuudai cracks a smile while Cerys and Saito burst out laughing at the corny comment. Akina just shakes her head. “Perhaps instead of ghosts we need to start hunting down those who make puns like that.”

Katsuki blushes. “Q-quit making fun of me!”

Yuuri giggles. “Well I thought it was a good one. Spoocute, huh?”

Kirika stands up. “I think it’s horrible! Not just the pun, but the date too! If anything is spookycute here, it’s going to be me walking out of this mall!”

“What was that all about? Did I do something to her?” Saito turns and asks the remaining members of the club, as Kirika storms and stomps away upstairs.

Yuudai responds. “Don’t worry about her, she’ll just needs to blow off some steam. She’ll be back eventually. She hated this plan from the get go anyway.”

“Yeah, well, about-” Cerys starts to speak up, but as she watches Kirika leave she notices some orange fabric swaying behind a pillar next to the stairs. “One sec.” In a flash she’s behind the pillar.

The figure straightens up and starts to move, but is grabbed by the nape of her shirt. “Too late, stalker. You have ten seconds to explain why I shouldn’t teleport you to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Stahp, stahp! Ya already caught meh, so lay off meh!”

Cerys pulls the figure’s face closer to hers. She can tell that it’s another Miyafuji student since she’s wearing the girl’s uniform. “Tell us why you were following us. Five seconds.”

“I-I-I wanted ta see how tha pictures came out!”

“Pictures? How would you know about those pictures?”

“Ah helped take ‘em. Made ‘em more memorable, too!”

“You- Wait. Are you the ghost everyone’s been gossiping about?”

The mysterious girl nods her head. “Un!”

Kirika runs through the mall to nowhere in particular. She passes store after store into the more neglected area of the mall, a trail of tears following her. She stops near a bench in a darkened area and takes a seat, wiping her face. “Why… why can’t I get her attention? Why does she stare at him? He’s nothing, a failed human! Yet she places him above me!” She rages, adding in some curses in Elvish.

“Humans are simply fickle, little elf,” says a voice behind a nearby pillar.

Kirika looks up towards the source of the voice. “What do you mean?”

“They will want what they can’t have and never be satisfied with what they do.” Kairu moves out from the pillar, taking a seat next to Kirika.

“You look like the dean, are you his brother?”

“Haha, you could say that.”

Kirika smiles lightly, then looks back down with a frown. “I still don’t get what you mean.”

“Think about it. She’s going on fake dates because she can’t have real ones.”

“I could give her real dates, though!”

Another chuckle from the mysterious stranger. “She knows, but because she knows she’ll never take them. Humans are truly fickle. Not like elves, who show their affections freely and live in sincerity.”

“You’re right…” Kirika says with a slight smile returning to her face. “But aren’t you a human too, Mr. Dean’s Brother?”

The man puts his finger in front of his mouth, a light shushing sound coming from his mouth. As soon as Kirika nods, he sticks his tongue out to reveal a sigil burned onto it.

A light gasp comes out from the elf girl. “W-what kind of sigil is that?”

“I can’t tell you, but you’ll come to know it as one you can trust, Miss Komori.” He says with a wink. He then reaches his hand in his vest pocket and pulls out a card with a flourish. “Here, my business card. My phone number is on there. Call me if you need anything, little elf.”

Kirika takes the card, entering the number onto her phone. When she looks up to thank this new ally, he has already vanished.