For many, the day had ended. Adults were returning home from work, children and teenagers were returning home from their clubs, after school. The sun was steadily sinking lower beyond the horizon, the sky bathed in a brilliant orange hue. It was a stunning end to what, for most, was an average day. For most. Certainly, few saw this as anything other than an average day. What could possibly be unusual about it?

These many were, of course, unaware of what the night beckoned. Even before the sun had fully set, there were stirring. Those who wished to fight for it. For the White Night of Klarsberg. Whether it was due to nerves, or a desire to scout their surroundings in order to have a greater advantage, some of those who had come to Rokuro City in order to win the Origin were already stirring. These forces were moving, preparing for the first night of battle for the Origin of All Magic. For this was the last ritual, the one that would decide the victor, the one that would determine who finally, truly obtained the Origin. There was no exact count of the participants, but they all had their own reasons for being involved in such a conflict, for being willing to battle, possibly to the death, for such an end. The Origin of All Magic was, after all, the ultimate, original source of all mana. The endless wellspring of all that was magic as well as the limitless receptacle that stored all knowledge of magic from the moment of the world’s inception.

And yet, Rokuro City as a whole was utterly unaware of such a thing. It was that way when it came to every single battle prior to this. For the world of the uncommon, the unlikely, and the impossible was a secret, kept apart from the world of the mundane by a network of magic, organizations, and individuals keeping that portion of reality hidden from the rest. And so, many of Rokuro’s residents went to their homes or prepared for the night, be it for recreation, work, or even late-night errands, without even the barest scrap of awareness as to what would soon be occurring in their town.

The White Night approaches.

---

The girl’s long red hair swished through the air behind her. Both hands were firmly jammed into her pockets as she walked, keeping her head down. She had been in Rokuro for a few days now. It was exactly how she had been told it would be. It was a very small city and, as far as cities went, was really quite quiet. For some, it might have been hard to believe how important the location is. However, Ando Asami was quick to accept this fact.

There was really no point in dwelling on it, after all. And so, the red-haired mage continued on, glancing around. It was, so far, fairly routine. Asami had taken to growing more and more used to the town’s layout, strolling the streets so she was fully aware of their battlefield, and the places where it would be unlikely some innocent civilian could stumble into everything. As she walked, her eyes travelled briefly to those around her. People returning from work, students returning from clubs, and all variety of people were on the streets. Given the volume of students, and the fact that she had been close to it before, Asami was certain she was near the high school. Up ahead she could even see the buildings giving way to a clearer area that was likely the schoolgrounds, if she had to make a guess. It was a portion of the city she had yet to explore in her preparations for the upcoming night. She assumed that there would be other schools not too far away. The shopping district, too, was nearby…

Taking her hands from her pockets, the younger of the two daughters of the Asami family stretched. She could feel it, anxiousness inside her. It was only natural given what would be happening so soon. But it was really kind of frustrating! She wanted to be more collected given what was going to be taking place, but… Jeez. It was hard to be.

… People were going to lose their lives. There was no easy way to think of it. For the sake of gaining the Origin, people were going to die. Asami had known this since the moment she made her decision to fight in this battle to claim the White Night. But… it was a chance unlike any other. A chance to claim something like this… Even if she had less faith in her family’s ideal than she once had, there was no way she could pass up this chance. These people who involved themselves in something like this… they knew what they were getting involved in, didn’t they? They had to.

Asami sighed. Regardless, she had to win. She’d keep innocent people out of the battles, and she’d win. It sounded simple, and Asami kept that firmly in mind.

She paused briefly, contemplating what next to do. Soon it would be time for the final preparations…. Maybe she should grab something to eat first.

---

The white-haired girl quietly adjusted her bag. With the small amount of money she had been given for the day, she had managed to purchase a new book. Of course, speaking to the cashier had… it wasn’t easy, speaking to people like that… so she had simply tried to indicate what she wanted by holding up the book and her money in the most direct ways she could manage. She liked her selection, but… but the cashier was so intimidating, she had so much energy…

Shi gripped her bag tighter, as her crimson eyes traveled skywards, across the deep orangey hues playing across the clouds as the sun set. It was approaching, wasn’t it… The tiny girl nodded to herself. Yes, it was soon. There was a strict order to things that would follow. First she had to head to the appropriate location, which would begin shortly.

She tried to keep her head down as she walked. She wanted to drop off her new book first, and… she didn’t want to be the center of attention. She didn’t want people looking, there were so many people… even with her cover as a middle school student, she still tried to avoid other people as much as she could. Shi had been approached before, asked about her looks… what did she say to something like that?

Her mind centered on her objective.

Miu was getting considerably less stares than would be expected for somebody walking around with a sword in this day and age. True, the short girl was getting quite a lot--white hair was definitely not a normal thing to see and the scar on her chest wasn't really hidden--but nobody really seemed as alarmed as the very real weapon would have suggested. It was Miu's lazy test for fellow competitors: react to the weapon in any way and you were obviously magical enough to see through the pathetically weak illusion. Hopefully, she could get all the warnings over and done with today then move onto actually fighting the suicidal tomorrow.

After all, once she gave a proper introduction, only an idiot would stay and fight. There was no chance that anyone more powerful was going to show up just for this ritual; they all had better ways of trying to obtain the Origin than a fight to the death. Probably too much ego to use somebody else's work for it, as well.

A few cherry blossoms drifted down as the white-haired mage entered a park and stopped to admire the trees. Despite appearances, she wasn't from Japan and the sight itself was something unusual. This place was definitely going to provide a more scenic backdrop than central London... or that time she'd fought someone in a sheep farm.

The same unfamiliarity was definitely annoying Miu, to say the least. She was getting hungry and running into the rather annoying prospect that she had absolutely no idea what to get.

---

The city's resident vampire was currently watching gameshows whilst waiting for either the White Night to start, somebody to actually come in and order something to drink (or eat, provided they liked it spicy), or someone to inquire about the open job she'd started trying to fill last week. It wasn't like she could simply close the entire bar for the length of the ritual but at the same time she couldn't really help people out if leaving wasn't an option.

At least, this was the last time and soon Rokuro would calm down for good, with nothing more dangerous for her to deal with than the occasional criminal who thought that the police were the only thing in this place that would deal with them. People coming in from all over the place and fighting to the death was a depressing thing to live through time and time again.

Hopefully, any wet-behind-the-ears brat who thought they were such a hotshot would notice the two supernatural messages on the bar's exterior--the constant 'mages welcome' one that was up constantly, and 'Information about the White Night' that went up in preparation for this. If they were going to take part without even looking in the busy sections of town, and a bar incongruously placed between two larger buildings stood out, then this was going to get really messy...

Tetsuo usually stopped by Rokuro every few months. Most of the time it was to visit his brother or make a quick buck off of mages looking for an advantage when the white night was coming. More recently, he'd made regular stops to help his brother get ready, but this time his brother never answered the doorbell. What Tetsuo found in the house was a grisly sight, somebody had killed his brother and done a messy job of it. The local police were looking into it, but Tetsuo wasn't confident that they'd be able to find anything. All he had figured out is that some Kotetsu's magical items were missing, but it was only a few, and none of his mundane valuables were stolen. If someone took them, they were definitely knew what they were looking for.

Finding out who had killed his brother was Tetsuo's top priority right now. He wasn't much of a detective and the police had asked him to leave the scene, leaving him with little information. Eventually the cops would release what they found, but Tetsuo didn't want to just sit around and wait. He had few leads, but he decided to start with what he knew about Kotetsu's social life. There was one bar that they liked to visit together, he didn't know if Kotetsu went there regularly but it would be a good place to start. It took him a considerable amount of driving around town to find it, especially after he passed the same park three times, but he did get there eventually.

Parallel parking his RV was a challenge even when he found the space for it. The building looked out of place and had a "mages welcome" sign just like he remembered. He hesitated a bit before walking in, going here without his brother felt strange. Tetsuo took his time and found a seat at the empty bar. He said to the bartender "Could I get a glass of Suntory Malt? Today's been a downer, and I need something to get my mind off of it." Although he remembered seeing the woman before, he didn't know much about her. Maybe they'd talked before, maybe he'd even sold her something once, but he couldn't be certain.

Here he was, a new country a new adventure. However, this time, Norvell wasn't around to sight see. He had a goal and was going to do everything within his power to achieve it. He was aware that there were others who would oppose him and he was fully prepare to slaughter them if he meant accomplish what he hoped to. Don't get him misconstrued, Norvell by no means intended to do harm to others. Every act he committed was for the sake of the greater good - or so that was his reasoning. He had come a long way to Japan. It was his first time in the country and he had no intention of it being his last. As he stepped off the train arriving in Rokuro City, ignoring all the stares of civilians as they passed by, Norvell smiled. There were preparations to be made hastily.

The White Night of Klarsberg was why Norvell had come to Rokuro City all the way from America. He needed to compete to reach the Origin of Magic - thing very thing that would allow him to reshape the world for the better. For too long he watched as those with power abused it while the weak cowered without any of their own. With the Origin of Magic at his disposal he hoped to change the distribution of power throughout the world and create a new hierarchy with him on top. Slipping out of a restaurant with a drink in his hand, Norvell dwelt on the conflict to come as he slurped on the straw. The impending destruction to the city would be a necessary evil in the pursuit of balance. This was his only chance. Failure surely meant death.

After he finished his drink, Norvell tossed into a trash bin and resumed his trek through Rokuro. His first priority was to get a good consensus of the city's layout and geography. If it was to be his battleground he would need to have proper knowledge of the area or else he would be at a clear disadvantage - which he already was considering that he was completely foreign to Japan. Norvell began learning Japanese before his arrival to the country but his mastery of the language was barely novice at best. He even struggled to order his drink, the language barrier resulting in the cashier messing up his order and giving him the wrong flavor of beverage. Oh well, Norvell was going to stay hung up on it. There were more important matters for the mage to tend to. Enemies were certain to be lurking about and there was no telling when one when spring.

All was peaceful in the city of Rokuro, just your normal, regular weekday afternoon. Kana Yamaguchi, a 'newbie' to this city, was simply preparing herself for the evening ahead.

You know, simply preparing to kill people.

The White Knight of Klarsberg. The only way she would be able to obtain the Origin of Magic. It was something that she - no, her family - had desired for many, many years. And this was her last chance to obtain it. Her only chance.

So, she decided to keep herself hidden. Kana couldn't just jump in straight away and start demolishing people left and right. She would have to be smart. She would have to wait. It was all for the better, after all. Preserving her mana was key, even if she had an above average amount of it. Of course, you can never be too careful.

With her black coat swaying in the wind, Kana strolled through the park, gazing around at the trees surrounding her. Benches, bins, all that typical park stuff.

Maybe she could lift one of the bins up and throw them as a means of offense. That would be fun.

It had been about a month since she'd actually arrived in Rokuro. Thankfully, a not so old relative had been lingering here for the past few years, so Kana was able to avoid the troubles of booking a month long stay at some crappy hotel. Keeping a low profile was a bit of a challenge sometimes, but there were those people who bought her act completely.

A few sprinkles of charm here and there and you've got yourself and award winning actress. The only problem with that is Kana wasn't an award winning actress.

She was a (crazily) ambitious, manipulative mage. And she was going to get what she came for, no matter what sort of troublesome trials she would have to face. Sitting herself down on a bench, Kana tugged on her grey scarf.

Now all she had to do was wait.

Seeing somebody come in, the vampire quickly muted the gameshow rather than subject her customers to watching singers fail to get extremely simple questions wrong and other such pitfalls of celebrity quiz shows. The girl's clothing seemed a bit too casual for an environment that appeared to have been plucked straight out of 19th century Europe: lots of wood in evidence, windows with an unreasonable amount of panes, brass, and carpeting. After centuries of running a ryokan, Ami had wanted a change in decoration... yet modern styling hadn't really grown on her yet.

Today's first customer was someone that she hadn't seen in a while and never on his own. Not that it was hard to guess why, deaths weren't the easiest thing to keep hidden. Certainly not messy ones--not from a vampire with a habit of wandering the town when everybody else was sleeping or working a night shift.

The beer was placed in front of the much larger man, no request for payment made, "That one's on me; I heard what happened. I'm sorry for your loss." And I wish that I knew more or had been able to stop it.

---

Continuing her meandering pace through the park, the 'one-eyed' girl decided to just do the simple thing and ask a local where she could get something to eat; then she'd just pick the thing they had for sale that sounded the simplest. Unfortunately for the rumbling in her stomach, Miu picked the single person travelling through the park that seemed local yet wasn't from the area--much like herself.

Funnily enough, she also managed to single out a mage when her attention had wandered from singling out her opponents in order to warn them that 'The World' was going to kill them if they didn't drop out of the war. Though any overt notice of the sword wouldn't be missed, general surprise would pass unnoticed due to her injuries.

"Excuse me, miss, but could you possibly suggest somewhere nearby I could buy dinner?" Miu asked Kana, her unnecessary politeness belying both her normal attitude and ego. Her parents had brought her up to be deferential and it was a habit she'd never grown out of--mostly conversing in English gave her little reason to.

Just another school day over, another slog through an attempt at everyday life completed without incident. Isamu sighed in relief as he walked down the street with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Not attracting attention to yourself was a lot harder to pull off when you were actively trying to do it, but ever since a few incidents in elementary school that had been exactly what he'd had to do just about every day. After all, he had no desire to be looked at as a freak and potentially hauled away to some lab to be experimented on by mad scientists to see what made him tick. Especially when he didn't even know what it was that made him tick.

For now he was just glad to be on his way back home and out of any situation where he might have to reveal himself, even if those mostly came in the form of gym class and occasional harassment from one bigshot or another these days. Yes, thankfully Isamu's life was as ordinary as could be, or so he hoped. Rokuro was a peaceful place, and though he didn't always appreciate it as much as he should, it really was a nice place to live. Yeah, days like this where Isamu could just relax and know the hardest part of the day was behind him were the best.

Later, he would realize he had never been more wrong.

As Shi walked, she felt as if there were eyes on her. It was a feeling she couldn't stand... why was someone else watching her? It was bad enough already... so many people, it made it hard to breath. She felt so closed up inside. The tiny girl's heart hammered in her chest, as growing nervousness swelled ever higher. She couldn't handle this. What's more, she couldn't risk being followed to her destination. The white-haired girl had to avoid being witnessed, avoid being seen acting as her true purpose no matter what it took. Naturally, this extended beyond simply avoiding the eyes of others. Far, far beyond it. But she had to lose whoever was following her. As much as she didn't want to be in a crowd, with so many people around her, so close... losing someone like this wouldn't be hard, would it?

Shi glanced over her shoulder to try and get a quick look at who was following her, taking her eyes off her path for only a second. She felt herself hit someone, some person, and with a yelp fell backwards onto her bottom, the book tumbling from her hands as she tried to brace herself to avoid knocking her head on the concrete.

Realizing what she had done, the white-haired girl sat completely still for a moment, before slowly looking up towards the person she'd knocked into. Shi's red eyes were wide, her lower lip trembling as her body lightly quaked.

---

Asami's hands remained firmly in her pockets as she walked along. She came to a pause after a few moments, her eyes travelling over the nearby storefronts. There was a ramen shop, apparently quite a decent one. Takaki's, ran by a young woman who was apparently quite popular in some circles. There was certainly plenty of time for ramen, that was for sure. It was strange, in spite of this still being a city, it had that nature that only a small town could hold. That way a shop could be known by nearly anyone who lived there. It wasn't something Asami was used to, she had to confess. She lived near Tokyo, and naturally that wasn't anything like a small town. But here, in Rokuro, it was like some sort of hybrid.

It was an odd place to wage such a battle, but it was the only place that permitted such a thing, wasn't it? The only place the White Night could exist in this world. It was a combination of so many factors. As Asami understood, one of them was Japan's isolation from the influence of Mage Circles so long ago, when the ritual was first conducted. That was, at least, part of the explanation for the location as she knew it.

Regardless, this wasn't getting her any closer to filling her stomach. Asami approached the humble storefront, pushing the glass doors open. Immediately she was struck with the delicious smell of ramen... all varieties.

It spoke deeply to her empty stomach.

"Ah, hello there!" said a cheerful, if somewhat rushed, voice from behind the counter. It was the shop's owner, a young woman with short brown hair. Asami returned her smile.

"Hello," she began, brushing her long red hair back, "I'll be a minute, I have to decide on what I'm ordering."

"Ah, right, good! Er, sorry, things are a little hectic!" the girl replied, hurrying off to attend to one of the other customers.

Right.

A meal to fill her stomach before the night. Before the fighting began.

Kira walked through the streets, trying to figure out where her new residence was located. She sighed as she looked at the paper in her hand, she shouldn't have been so hasty in writing the address down, because now she could barely read it. The woman wore the typical kimono one would see these days, nothing unusual or special about it, pretty plain really. However, underneath it was a secret, something passed down in her family for generations; her family's spirit-bound armor. She also happened to be carrying a bag with her, it's contents clearly not visible, but known only to her. The bag held things she needed, most of them to bind a spirit to a scroll she would later use. There was one thing in the bag that was not used in that process, her family's katana. It was no regular old katana, it was special, handed down alongside the armor to each generation. Now it was her turn, as future head of her family, she was given the treasures to signify she was heir to the family name. However, she had another plan, The White Night. I will do more than inherit the family name, I will make it known by all. she thought. She heard footsteps behind her, getting a good whiff of alcohol coming from the man when he was close enough, his hand reaching out. "Hey! Y-you...shouldn't be o-o-out here...alone...some...guy might t-try to...take a-a-advantage...of a cutie...li-like you..." he stuttered, clearly drunk.

His hand rested on her shoulder, "Remove. Your. Hand." she warned, dropping the bag. The man chuckled drunkenly, "Aww, c-come on...g-g-g-give a guy a b-break..." he started. Before he could finish, she had broken his arm with her bare hands in several places, now turned around to face him. She held the man's throat, the look she gave him was dark, she clearly wasn't fooling around with him. "Don't you ever lay your filthy hands on me again, pig, otherwise I'll do something far worse next time!" she hissed in anger. He nodded, swallowing as he thought she was going to kill him right then and there. She pulled back from him, reaching for her bag, picking it up and slinging it over her shoulder again. Men. Filthy disgusting creatures. she thought, continuing on as if nothing had happened. She eventually arrived at her destination, sighing once she was inside. The apartment was almost bare, aside from a tatami mat and a couple of blankets, So this is where mother stayed during her time, hmm? It's...acceptable, I suppose, there's no need for anything other than food. she thought to herself. The White Night, she wondered just how many there would be this time? It didn't matter, she would win. She had to.

Tetsuo downed the beer quickly. He said "Guess news gets around fast here. Damn it, I didn't think it'd be like this. I mean, he was joining in the white night, and I knew that the odds of him making it out weren't good, but I just wanted to see him one last time. I wanted him to wait a bit, but he kept saying that this might be the only time for him to be part of it. He had all this stuff planned out, not just about what he'd do during the white night but how he'd say goodbye to everyone. His whole life was leading up to it, and someone killed him before the whole thing even started.". His voice was a low monotone and there was a small tear in his eye.

He looked around the bar for a bit while he regained his composure. The interior was old and ornate, it was strange to see what was a bar mostly populated by eccentrics and outcasts so lavishly furnished. Of course, everyone in the magical community knew that this wasn't just a gathering place for weirdos. A lot of important business happened here, especially when a white night was approaching. He asked "Kotetsu didn't talk much about his social life. I don't know if there was anyone with a grudge against him, or if someone wanted his stuff. It looked like they stole some of his gear, but they knew what they were looking for. Do you have any ideas?"

Kanon stared at the contents of her change purse in slight disappointment. No matter how tempting the smells that wafted from the bakery were, she just couldn't afford it. With a sigh, she picked up her school bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. She had hoped to surprise Shiroi with favorite bread, but taking care of the young shikigami and her assortment of pets were proving to be too much for her measly inheritance.

Maybe it was time to get a job? She was in her final year of high school and could always forgo college to go straight into the work force. And really, it wasn't as if she didn't expect this inevitability from the moment of her father's passing.

Not too far from the bakery, she spotted an underclassman that she occasionally noticed around the school and city. Kanon couldn't remember his name (Higurashi maybe?) but she had heard a classmate or two talk about him once. Not that she could recall what that was about either as she rarely paid attention to gossip, either.

With a friendly smile, she greeted the boy with with a wave. Unfortunately, in her absent minded thoughts about the future, she didn't realize that she had left her school bag open. Or that the contents of her bag had fell out one by one, leaving a trail of paper and books.

---

The playground was eerily devoid of activity. Only a single child, clearly foreign, sat on a swing as she stared blankly at the dirt. Cornelia was avoiding going home, or more accurately, she wasn't allowed to return home until the night had passed. Of course, she couldn't even really do anything until it was night fall. So here she was, sitting alone in this empty playground.

Or so she thought.

The crunch of shoes stepping on loose gravel made the young blonde look up. A younger girl stood in front of her, carrying a large purple ball. Curiously staring at Cornelia, she held out her ball, "Do you want to play?"

Cornelia stared back, not uttering a word. Play? She didn't even know how.

The girl scrunched her eyebrows, "You don't want to...? Ah! Do you speak Japanese?"

"... yes," she replied slowly, unsure what to make of the situation. Cornelia really did want to play. But... something in the back of her head told her no. It insisted that she would get punished for playing.

She... hated being punished.

"Does that mean we can play?!" The girl asked again with a cheerful smile.

The magus continued to stare back quietly. A moment passed before she shook her head. The other girl instantly deflated, probably disappointed in how her attempt to make a new friend ended poorly.

"Oh, okay," She said softly before walking off, once again leaving Cornelia alone to her swing.

The vampire thought. Grudges, huh? If anyone had been planning this for a while, then they'd done a remarkably good job of keeping it to themselves. A quick, one-man job was easy to fly under her radar, especially in the build up to the White Night when there were so many more people than usual.

Ami shook her head, taking the glass and replacing it--though this time expecting payment, "I hadn't heard anything before the murder happened. If you're going to stick around for the White Night... be careful. I've seen people come in assuming it's a one-night fight to the death and throw their lives away aiming for a kill they didn't even need to do."

"If you lose, come here. This is the safest place in the city," she warned, "Don't turn this into a suicide attempt."

"Excuse me, miss, but could you possibly suggest somewhere nearby I could buy dinner?"

Kana glanced up, facing the girl. The one-eyed girl to be exact.

"Um…"

Shit, she had to think of something, and fast. This definitely wasn't any ordinary girl, so Kana had to be wary. I mean, how often would you see a (seemingly) young girl with an eye patch and a sword strapped to her back walking down a park in broad afternoon daylight? If she wasn't a mage, then Kana wouldn't know what to believe anymore.

Kana placed her mask on her face, smiling sweetly at the girl.

"Oh, of course. There's actually a restaurant that specialises in ramen nearby. Would you like me to walk you?"

Of course, Kana was going to act courteous to this supposed mage. Not only that, but she would need something to feed her stomach before everything turned to hell in the evening. Making good first impressions was probably the safest thing to do, too. Even the smallest of weapons could have the most destructive potential.

"Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to accompany me," Miu replied, bowing slightly and--as would have been expected--missing the startled reaction to her equipment. Ramen, huh? She'd never actually had the proper stuff, but it wasn't like Kana was suggesting pickled sheep brains or fermented shark or the many other bizarre dishes that the white-haired mage wanted nothing to do with. A better version of those terrible boil-in-a-pot snacks couldn't be that bad, either...

Patiently, the war's most powerful magic user waited for her unknown competitor to lead the way.

"Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to accompany me."

"Oh, it's absolutely fine," Kana responded with another smile. "I'm actually a bit hungry myself, to be honest."

Things seemed to be going quite smoothly as of now. As long as Kana kept up her charming facade, she wouldn't be dead before the battle began. Stocking up on food would also give her a boost of energy, too.

Being the polite gentlewoman she was, Kana held the door open for the mini mage and stepped on behind her. Ah, the smell of freshly made ramen. Definitely something that would send Kana's grumbling stomach on overdrive.

"Wow, to believe it would be this busy during this time of day..." Kana muttered. The restaurant was bustling with countless customers, deafening anyone else that dared to step inside. Glancing around, Kana eventually found the supposed owner of the restaurant conversing with another young lady.

A lady with red hair.

That woman… Kana had spotted her roaming around the city for the past few days. A newcomer, perhaps?

Or maybe, mage.

There could be a chance that this red head was, though. Getting a rough idea of the surroundings was a way to gain a good advantage against the other mages, so it wouldn't be surprising to have her wander around anywhere and everywhere. But then again, she could just be a normal human being… For some reason, red hair just screamed 'different' in Kana's eyes.

Kana then turned back to the little mage beside her.

"So, anything you're thinking of getting? I do highly recommend their seafood ramen. It's one of my favourites, actually."

If Kana could find the opportunity to speak with this supposed mage, she would.

The smaller of the two mages was rather confused at Kana's surprise that the restaurant was so busy. Why wouldn't it be? If it was actually a good place to get food, then the early evening was going to be a great time to do business. It seemed like she'd been here before, though. Much like the charmer, Miu looked around for the proprietor and found them. Exactly like her, Miu took note of the redhead. Asami wasn't interesting because of any suspicion, however, but because the older mage had seen her before.

"Order for me, I don't mind," she said, walking over towards the pair and watching for a second. She'd definitely seen the girl, though not spoken to her, whilst at the Tower for various rather dull reasons. It was the other one of the sisters that she'd ever had cause to speak with, however.

Miu switched to English--English plainly without a Japanese accent, instead sounding perfectly suitable for a news broadcast... sixty years ago, "Asami Ando, I presume? Once we both have food, there are some business matters I would like to speak to you about."

---

Isamu was surprised to be approached and cheerily greeted by an upperclassman considering how hard he had just been working to try and avoid notice! Still, he supposed that it would be nice to have friends and that it couldn't really hurt to be nice to her anyways. It wasn't like she a scientist who was going to dissect him or anything. So he smiled right back and waved, though he couldn't remember the name of this particular upperclassman at all since he tried to avoid getting to know people very well in order to keep them from learning too much about him. That said she seemed pretty nice and-

"W-wait um...um...Senpai your bag, your bag is um..." He pointed weakly at her openly hanging back and the papers scattered around, before wordlessly starting to run around collecting her papers and all of her stuff as quickly as he could. Well, as quickly as he could in a normal way without giving anything away. It totally couldn't hurt to help this nice upperclassman pick up her stuff right? Nah, it was fine. So he gathered up armfuls of stuff and carried it back over to her smiling and offering to help put it back in her bag

"Um...sorry Senpai but...what's your name again? I don't think we've really met. I'm Igarashi Isamu!"

After a short time, Asami decided she would go for the pork ramen. One of the myriad orders she had detected while attempting to make her decision was the smell of pork, and that had tempted her until she could no longer resist. She briefly glanced up when two more customers entered, but didn't pay them any real attention at first... until one of them approached her first. A small girl, with a myriad of injuries, now healed over. It took a few moments for Asami to realize she had indeed seen this girl before. At the Tower. No-one else would realize it, of course, but the atmosphere, to the redheaded mage, instantly became far more tense. And yet, she was certain there would be no conflict. not here.

Business matters? That was one way of putting it.

"... I see," Asami replied, not bothering to return the gesture of speaking in English. It was only one phrase, it's not as if it made any real difference. She sank back into her seat, slightly, eyeing the other mage, as the shop's owner slowly made her way back through, giving the other newcomer a hurried greeting.

"Order for me, I don't mind."

"Ah, okay. I see. No problem," Kana responded. Well, it was going to be seafood ramen for the both of them, then.


"Sorry for the wait! It's been a bit hectic these past few hours," the brunette interrupted. Her voice was, surprisingly, quite upbeat and cheerful.

Almost annoying.

"Oh, it's no problem," Kana said, giving the shorter woman a small smile. A smile used to melt the hearts of unsuspecting civilians and mages alike. But Kana wasn't here to cause some quiet chaos. She was here to fill her hungry stomach, as well as the stomach of the other smaller mage.

"Two bowls of seafood ramen should do for the two of us," Kana asked, gesturing to her new friend.

Only thing is, she wasn't there anymore.

The woman looked over at the small mage's current position, eyeing her as she spoke to the redhead from before. It was way too loud to hear what they were saying from this distance, but it still looked pretty… suspicious. Maybe the two knew each other perhaps.

Once Kana had found her table, she walked over to the two mages with soft steps. She brushed a few strands of her hair back, just for the extra charm factor. After all, first impressions where important.

Very important.

"Is this a friend of yours?" Kana asked her short companion.

Miu seated herself opposite what was likely to be the closest thing to a challenge this war would offer--and even conceding to label Asami as a challenge was a stretch at that. She was good, which was inarguable, but she wasn't awe-inspiring. Her ability was an interesting one to look out for, however, and not something that could be copied and thrown back at her. A pity, then; simply showing her the full extent of real fire might be the appropriate way to demonstrate the vast gulf between 'good' and 'worthy of the Origin'.

"No, she is not. Though we are familiar with each other through the institute she recently attended, today is the first time we have met in person," the white-haired mage said after a moment's pause to weigh up the correct (and unnecessary) way to avoid saying 'we're both involved with the same Circle'.