Ayame High. To some, especially mere weeks into the start of the school year, it represented a dull duty. To others, it symbolised hope for a promising future. To many more, it was an endless source of stress.

Especially to Watanabe Taro as he headed into the grounds. He kept his head high, shoulders back, as any good class representative should do. Still, his responsibilities weighed on him. Class rep. He'd just stepped into shoes that could prove far too big for him. His classmates had backed him up, but the slightest of mistakes would let them down. Thoughts of organising club activities, reporting any and all problems to staff, being an ideal role model with stellar grades, all clamored for attention in his head - and over them, his father's words echoed.

"You'd better damn well hold on to the title. And keep it next year. I'd expect nothing less, so don't you dare disappoint me."

His stomach flipped over and over. His breathing sped up. No, no, he couldn't have a panic attack here, now, he chided himself. Curling his hands into fists, trying to stop their shaking, he rushed inside and leaned against the lockers. Forcing several deep breaths into his lungs, he willed himself to calm down. If just the thought of being class rep freaked him out so much, how on earth was he supposed to actually be one?

It was no use. The walls seemed to close in on him. He gasped as he realised there was no "seemed" about it - something actually was closing in on him, his surroundings blurring and falling away as shadows wrapped around him. He opened his mouth to cry out, but his throat wouldn't cooperate, his body turning slack, his consciousness fogging over...

Where he'd stood a few seconds ago, now there was only empty space.

---

Flitting by the shrubbery, a small, winged figure froze in horror. Her antennae perked up as she stared with a shiver in the building's direction. She hadn't seen the occurrence within its walls, but that aura of bleakness emanating from it could only mean one thing. The Shroud had claimed a victim.

Lux darted around, nearly letting the glamour that prevented humans from noticing her slip as she scanned the schoolyard. She needed recruits, and fast - but with so many people in one space, appearing to anyone and explaining the situation would cause a massive stir. And the Shroud would surely take advantage of the mass panic. She sped through the air, eyes flicking this way and that for a suitable group, until one in particular caught her attention.

Through a partially open window, she spotted the gathering of women. Several of them, reasonably close-knit judging by the way they conversed. The perfect candidates for Caelia's blessing - or so they looked. A feeling nagged in the back of her mind that she'd gotten something wrong, but there was no time to think, or be picky. She zoomed towards the window - only to miss the gap in her haste, and crash right into it.

"Oww!" Her glamour dissipated as she slid down the glass and dropped onto the ledge. Shaking off the dizziness and rubbing her head, she crawled through the gap and fluttered into the room. "Heyyyy, you've gotta help!" Her squeaky voice cut throuh the stunned silence. "Someone's in trouble!"

---

It was going to be another of those days, Kohaku thought as she trudged into the school grounds. Or, more likely, another of those weeks. The ones that seemed to replay themselves, as predictable as if time were stuck on loop.

Her skirt dripped brackish water. Just her luck that as she'd tried to take a moment to enjoy nature after parking outside the school, photographing the cherry blossoms lining the street, someone had driven through a puddle and splattered her. Ah well, it was what she got for trying to be anything other than a cog in a machine, repeating the same daily tasks like clockwork. Her shoes squelched against the paving as she hurried to the building, past the crowds of students. Once, she'd taken solace in the thought that she was giving them bright futures, but she knew from experience that such wasn't guaranteed. For all their dreams, and for all her encouragements to pursue them, most of them would end up overworked and underpaid slaves of the system.

After cleaning herself up the best she could in the staff bathroom, she headed into the room where several of her colleagues already sat, preparing for the day ahead. Grunting a quick "Morning" and hoping nobody would comment on her less than presentable state, she shuffled to the coffee machine, took a cup, and pressed the button for a white Americano. The machine whirred and clunked, pouring her half a cup before the rest leaked out of its side, all over the counter.

Kohaku grimaced. "Wouldn't be a Monday without everything going wrong," she mumbled, grabbing several napkins to mop up the mess, while wondering if Andrew knew how to fix coffee machines. She plodded over to the others and slumped into a chair, sipping what little beverage she had.

A thud and a squeal caught her attention. Looking up, she spluttered her mouthful of coffee everywhere. Ok, either this was an exhaustion-fuelled hallucination, or she'd finally lost it. "What...?" she managed to gasp in between coughs, eyes wide as she took in the sight. A six inch tall, winged, childlike being flying in, pleading for their help.

Well, this really was shaping up to be an eventful day, albeit far from the kind that Kohaku was used to.

---

Though she was paid to offer her counsel to students, rather than the school faculty, Shinobu often ended up providing her services to the latter, more often than not. She'd made a habit, then—without making a big deal out of it—to always be the first to arrive on Mondays, when she was needed most. It was a hidden gesture of kindness to her coworkers... but this time it would result in a crisis. If only she had arrived on time like everyone else, perhaps she may have passed poor Taro in the hall, seen him leaning on the lockers for want of someone to be a rock for him, recognized what was happening, and could have aided the overwhelmed youth—or perhaps she'd have been taken along with him.

Unaware of the boy's impending doom, Shinobu waited for her coworkers in the faculty break room, a styrofoam cup of local coffee from a favorite cozy cafe held securely in her hand. Nothing perked her up quite like the familiar sight of Kohaku, though. She offered a familiar sight in return, a friendly and gentle smile from the brunette as she held up her free hand and wiggled her dainty fingers in greeting. She did notice the mess that had been made of her skirt, and had begun to walk towards her when the coffee machine decided to have a fit. "Oh dear. You alright?" Putting her coffee aside on the counter, she helped Kohaku clean up the mess before interrupting her clockwork routine, politely but firmly grabbing her shoulders and giving them a friendly rub. "Hold still a minute, Koko. Relax," she insisted. "Here, use my sweater," she said kindly, removing it and tying it around Kohaku's waist, covering the stains on her skirt.

Satisfied, she returned to her coffee, only to have her moment of peace disturbed by a half-foot lightning bug fairy thing, telling her that someone was in trouble. "Um, girls? Do I look and sound okay to you? Am I in trouble?" she questioned, popping the top off of her coffee and looking inside, sniffing its contents cautiously, as if expecting that she'd been drugged. That had to be it, right? There was no other explanation for the sighting of this creature that made sense. In the spirit of science, however, she would look back up at the fantastical fairy girl, then hold her eyes closed for a few seconds, then open them again, then look down at her coffee, then back up at the girl. No matter what she did, she wasn't going away. Defeated, she poured the rest of her coffee down the drain of the nearby sink. Then, she had an epiphany. Pulling out her cell phone, she opened the camera app. If the fairy was a hallucination, according to what Shinobu knew, she shouldn't appear on the cell phone's screen!

---

Unlike a lot of people, Aiko enjoyed getting up early. She enjoyed being able to hear the birdsong that greeted the sun’s first rays. She enjoyed being her favorite little tea shop’s first customer of the day. She enjoyed drinking her favorite soothing blend as she leisurely strolled along the path leading to Ayame High, the idea of arriving late never entering her mind. “Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise,” someone had once said, and while Aiko wasn’t too sure about the last one, her early morning walks had certainly helped to diminish her stress, while also gifting her with a rich array of sights and sounds as the world slowly woke from its slumber. Tranquil, gentle, unhurried, and approachable, this was how that waking world would perceive Misugi Aiko, much to the young woman’s contentment. After all, she had worked very hard to ensure that such was the case. The brash rebel who played in a rock band until well-past midnight and drank alcohol purchased with a fake ID was gone forever, and the world was better off for it. At least, that’s what Aiko kept trying to convince herself. Besides, there were people in considerably worse shape than she was…

Oh, the poor thing… Aiko thought to herself as she watched the perennially unlucky, and perennially miserable, Kohaku stagger into the teacher’s lounge, roughly half of her skirt soaked with water. The history teacher then went on to experience a messy coffee machine mishap, causing Aiko to once again reassess her belief in curses. Thankfully, Shinobu, Ayame High’s ever-helpful student counselor, was quick to provide assistance, although it would soon become apparent that Kohaku wasn’t the only person in need of help…

Slightly startled by the sound of a loud thump, Aiko turned to face the window, wondering if a bird might have crashed into it. What she saw instead had her blinking her eyes to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating. It looked like a small, golden-haired… fairy…? Well, whatever it was, the others obviously saw it too, at least if Kohaku’s spray of coffee was anything to go by. Not only that, but it was talking to them in a rapid, high-pitched voice, pleading for their help.

“S-Someone’s in trouble…?” Aiko found herself asking, still in a bit of a daze, but concerned for this supposedly endangered person nonetheless. “W-What kind of trouble?”

Amber sat in her own corner of the lounge. Before her was an open laptop, her phone, and a tablet. Looking at this many screens would make a man’s head spin, and even most women. But girls were born to multitask. Even after forty years, that was something Amber never lost.

Her phone displayed a series of text messages between herself and her two sons. She had just finished paying off her child support a few years ago, but the boys weren’t ready for the real world. They grew up without their mother. Weekly visitation wasn’t something that happened often in Japan. When the child support money stopped coming in, their father lost interest in them. Now they were living with her. But they were practically strangers. Just two young adults that weren’t ready for an adult life. They needed support and would need to go to college too. Unlike American colleges, Japanese colleges taught generalized skills that would make finding work anywhere easier. Just like American colleges, Japanese colleges were very expensive, and Amber was already trying to support three adults on a teacher’s salary in a one person apartment. Despite the difficulties, her Italian blood compelled her give something back to her children.

The tablet was her lesson planner and schedule. Monday had been finalized, but Amber liked to plan out the entire week. She liked to see when she could sneak in her lunch breaks or take on extra work. It might be worthwhile to take a shift as the Janitor, but that might cut into her soup kitchen duty in town.

The computer screen displayed all of Amber’s finance information. Now that the boys were living under her roof, it was less expensive to support them. But she really shouldn’t have had to support them at this point. But their father was useless, and they had been without their mother for almost twenty years. If she knew what she knew now, she would have never followed him back to Japan.

If only a dry set of clothes could have solved Amber’s problems.

The commotion spreading through the room didn’t get to Amber. Her eyes flicked up to look over the rims of her glasses before returning to her work. It was easy to get derailed by distractions. Shifting your attention threw your mind off balance, and it could take as much as fifteen minutes to get back on track. This was even more difficult when you were multitasking.

Amber wished she could have a vacation from this. Maybe go on an adventure. Just grab the boys and go to Akihabara. She had no strong love for otaku culture, but her boys did. Moreover, it had to be more exciting than showing students how to cook stew or sew their clothes. But it was too expensive. Maybe once she got enough to send them to college, they could have that adventure. Just once.

For his part, Andrew Brown slowly looked down at the can of coke in his hand with a slightly... thoughtful look on his face at the sight of what appeared to be some kind of fairy creature at the window.

He had never been much of a morning person, but once you got into the routine of something it was somewhat easier to be up and ready in the morning. That being said, it still required the presence of caffeine in order to get a proper start to the day and personally he disliked the taste of the coffee that the school generally provided. He could have followed the example of Shinobu and stopped somewhere on the way to work to pick something up, but that would require getting up earlier then he generally wanted to be. So instead he had a can of coke and despite the fact that he didn't really enjoy the taste of it, it helped get his brain in working order.

And it needed to be in working order, because this week the first years of his class were going to be working on knives. Blood being spilled was a certainty, but the difference between someone accidentally nicking themselves because they weren't used to handling sharp objects and more serious injuries depended on if the students were screwing around.

And right now he seemed to be able to hear and see a freaking fey creature that had flown in through the window. He considered the possiblity of being drugged, but since some of his fellow teachers had also noticed and seemed to be interacting with the strange sight (with the exception of Amber) it seemed like he wasn't the only one seeing or hearing things. "Could be some students pulling a prank." He offered as a devil's advocate of sorts. "Through if it is, I'm sure they'll do well in drama."

The fact that the message this 'fey' was saying seemed to be warning that someone was in danger was what stopped Andrew from dismissing it completely. Even if it was a prank... "What kind of trouble?"

Emiko had always been a morning person. She liked being able to get things done while everyone else was still sleeping. She arrived at work early to get some sketching done before the rest of her coworkers showed up. From the privacy of her car, she sketched the cherry blossoms lining the street. She quickly stopped when she saw her coworker, and drove off to her parking spot.

Upon arriving in school, she said good morning to some students she passed by in the hall on the way to the teacher’s lounge. Some said good morning back, some didn’t, and some rather angrily muttered something rude. How was anybody supposed to get through the day with an attitude like that.

“Good morning everyone!” Emiko cheerfully announced to her colleagues upon arrival to the teacher’s lounge. “It’s the start of another great week!” At least, that’s what she told herself. She noticed the disheveled appearance of one of her colleagues, and frowned. “Oh, Kohaku-chan! What happened to you?”

Then, a small winged girl flew in begging for help. It was like something out of one the anime’s her students (and quite frankly Emiko herself) watched. She joined a few of her other colleagues in questioning the fairy. “Oh, what’s the matter? What kind of help do you need?” Emiko asked. She readily accepted the absurdity of the situation.

---

Izumi sat on the sofa in the center of the teacher's lounge, using the coffee table as a desk for her laptop as she planned her lessons. She only stopped typing to take sips of the open can of energy drink beside her but her eyes never left the screen. The teaching part of this job itself was no problem to her. After dealing with corporate HR, the admin team, middle management and her old bosses, dealing with teenagers was easy. The challenge in her job came to lesson prep. She didn't want to put too much responsibility on the students to effectively teach themselves as this would only encourage shortcut finding and bad habits. But neither did she want them to only absorb what she told them without any critical thinking or understanding of the reasoning. It was her job to teach, not to shout out commands to a bunch of robots.

She greeted Kohaku with a 'morning' in return when she walked in, without looking up. It was only after the coffee machine spilled that Izumi's attention was snapped away from her lesson plans and back to reality, as she got up and helped Kohaku and Shinobu clean up the mess. Once the counter was clean, she returned to her seat and left Kohaku in Shinobu's care. She wuld be in good hands. Izumi knew from experience that Shinobu was very good at caring for the other teachers, and was always there for Izumi herself when she was having a bad week. Emiko arrived shortly after, who was another welcome ray of sunshine among the faculty. Though Izumi wouldn't call herself as grumpy as Amber or as cynical as Kohaku, she wasn't exactly the most exciting person either. Before Emiko arrived, most mornings in the faculty room passed with few if any spoken words. It was only during lunch break where they may have come alive and warmed up enough to have actual conversations. Yup, monday mornings especially were usually quiet and uneventful.

Izumi jumped when she heard the bang, and shut the laptop as she stood up to investigate. Her first thought was that make it was a bird, but the truth was far stranger. A little winged fairy! The sight right in front of her refused to sink in as reality and she stood and stared and watched as it spoke. She heard her colleagues react in various ways. Like her, most of them seemed more concerned about the message than about the fairy's existance, and Izumi got swept up in that. There would be time to think about a fairy existing later.

"Who's in trouble?" Izumi demanded. "And where are they?"

Sakura rolled herself into the teacher's lounge. Whoever had built the school had been a little sloppy in their construction techniques, and there was just enough of a lip that she had to put in some extra effort to get in. She reached out for the coffee pot, glancing over to Kohaku. "Morning, folks," she called out to nobody in particular. "Ready for another day of trying to beat knowledge into the most stubborn minds in all of Japan?" And then she saw it.

A tiny little blonde... person... fairy... thing? Whatever it was, it was small enough to fit in her hand with room to spare. Sakura rubbed her eyes, but the creature was still there. There are only two possibilities right now. Either I'm too drunk, or I'm not drunk enough. And quite frankly, I have no idea which is more disturbing. The wheelchair bound brunette checked her surroundings. Everybody was looking at the little thing. She might have been having a hallucination, but the whole damn faculty having the same one? No, whatever was going on was very real. And she wasn't one to refuse to help others, not after so many people assisted her after her accident. "Alright, what do we need to do?"

Aya was late to the gathering in the teacher's lounge. The Ayame High School gym teacher had been preoccupied working at the front gate that morning. Naturally though, she'd managed to be up early enough to get a full workout in at her apartment AND jog to the school. A side effect of her grandfather's brutal training regimen when she was younger. Despite no longer being the heir to her family's dojo and legacy, Aya could never totally give up the practices she'd had drilled into her head at a very young age.

Upon arriving at Ayame High it was Aya's job to greet all the students at the school gate. The rules required all students to be in class before 8:30 and then the gate would be shut. Given Ayame High's prestigious reputation, it was very rare for any student to be late. The few stragglers who showed up even picked up their pace once they caught sight of Aya. Her cheerful smile and shouts of "Pick up your feet! You won't succeed if you're slow!" perked up even the slowest of children. Despite not being a mother herself, Aya found a certain degree of satisfaction being tasked with the well-being of the kids at Ayame. Being entrusted with the next generation of Japan felt like a natural extension of her old life and she relished the idea that she was contributing to the future of her country.

Eventually, the last of the students worked their way through the gate and Aya - seeing she still had some time before classes started - decided to check in with her colleagues in the teacher's lounge. No doubt some of them would be in a sour mood this Monday morning, but that just meant Aya could pester them with a martial arts session after school to help their mood. Nothing was better than getting your adrenaline fix to turn your day around after all! Stretching her arms as she walked, Aya made her way into the building and opened the door to the teacher's lounge.

You could imagine her shock upon opening the door just in time to see a strange little bug-girl-thing crash into the window and begin shouting at the gathering of women. "Heyyyy, you've gotta help! Someone's in trouble!" Almost immediately, there occurred a shift in Aya's body language. Stiffening up, she locked eyes with the little creature and her grip on the lounge door tightened, "Someone's in trouble?! Who? It's not one of the children is it??"

Ahh... not again!

The lazy sunrays of an early morning crept into the small apartment under the sounds of breakfast being cooked as a petite Yui shuffled across the floor of her home, desperately looking for something. Through drawers, through the couch, the shelves and everything in between all while her partner - a plain looking man named Touma, with kindness and patience matching her own - smiled at what became a usual sight for him. He kept on preparing the breakfast, used to Yui being 'late' in the morning. In truth, although she was like that every other morning, Yui rarely actually arrived late at work. The fear of it happening was a testament to the importance and care she had for her work. Exactly the reason why Touma was smiling.

"Found them!"

A victorious Yui claimed out loud, holding her keys up high as she walked up to him, a look of satisfaction on her face. He gave her a kiss on the head before handing her a plate of a delicious looking breakfast complete with eggs, veggie, fruits and bread. "As you do every morning, honey. There you go."

"Ahh... you really are the best! Thanks." answered an embarrassed yet thankful Yui. Scenes like this had become the norm in Yui's life now and everyday she was thankful for this and everything else.

The breakfast was perfect. The commute to work happened without a hitch. She'd waved and said 'Good Morning!' to any colleagues and students she had met on her way to and in school - indeed arriving more than on time, as usual. As the botanical teacher entered the staff bathroom, she saw Kohaku come out of it and greeted her with her usual warm smile and polite bow of the head.

Meanwhile, in the staff room, a commotion unknown to Yui was happening. Caused by an unusual visitor in the form of a small, fairy-like looking flying humanoid.

"Heyyyy, you've gotta help!" Her squeaky voice cut through the stunned silence. "Someone's in trouble!"

Some of her colleagues reacted with befuddlement, such as Kohaku. Most of the others surprisingly kept a level head and worried about the possible kid in trouble - which was totally commendable. Amber - being Amber - did not even seem to notice the annoying dragonfly agitating her tiny arms. As for Yui?

She came out of the bathroom to this whole scene just as everyone waited for the little fairy to answer. She held her cup of coffee, the satisfied smile of a perfect morning still on her lips, eyes semi-closed in contentment. Her head slowly shifted from her colleagues to the small levitating fairy knowing exactly what this was about. Just as slowly and silently as she entered the room, she slowly shifted back into the bathroom, the expression on her face not moving an inch.

No. Not again.

Kohaku wasn't the only one seeing the fairy. That much was clear from everyone else's reactions, save for Amber, who remained immersed in her work. Catching her breath enough to speak more than the odd spluttered word, Kohaku put her coffee cup down, particularly grateful for Shinobu's emotional support right now - if things got much weirder, she'd probably pass out. "What happened?" she asked, voice scratchy from coughing. "Who's in trouble?"

The fairy flew around the room in circles. "I don't know but whoever it is, this force, the Shroud got them and they're trapped in a pocket dimension and it's draining them and making a wraith outta the worst of their thoughts and feelings and if we don't act fast, it's gonna unleash it on everyone!" She waved her arms, the tips of her antennae glowing brighter and blinking like Christmas lights. "I sensed it in this very building! And you're the exact kinds of people who can save them!"

As the words poured out in a rush, Kohaku gave a bemused stare, thoughts whirling in her head faster than the fairy around the lounge. It was all rather much to take in, to say the least. She cast a glance at Shinobu, hoping the school counsellor would know how to calm the frantic fairy. "Ok, ok, first things first," she said, turning her attention back towards the tiny girl. "One, who are you? And two, how can we help?"

Alighting on the desk, the fairy took a deep breath. "My name's Lux, and I'm looking for people who can fight back against the Shroud! It's this entity of pure despair and malice, it got sealed away a long time ago, but it wakes up every once in a while. It kidnaps people into these dimensions, Cocoons, and brings out the literal worst in them in the form of monsters! Wraiths! I can't do much against them on my own, but you can, if you become magical girls!"

Kohaku sat there in silence. Magical girls. Had she heard that right? Was this even happening, or just some elaborate prank like Andrew suspected, involving a tiny, winged, ultra-lifelike robot the more tech oriented students had put together? According to Izumi, some of the students had a particular gift for programming. She could imagine them having a major laugh at the expense of everyone gathered here.

Tick-tock, went the wall clock behind her. Kohaku clenched her fists on the table. No matter how mind-bendingly bizarre the situation, if someone really was in danger, they couldn't just all sit here until it was too late. "Magical girls? You mean... Like in those children's shows?"

Yep, things certainly were getting weirder.

---

Kohaku glanced at Shinobu. Shinobu glanced at Kohaku. Shinobu shrugged. Most of the fairy girl's outburst went over her head, and she kind of stopped paying attention after the pocket dimension bit. "I'm not sure what kinda girl deals in pocket dimensions, but thoughts and feelings, I can maybe do something about," Shinobu offered, putting away her phone uselessly. The creature moved way too fast to properly focus on it. She continued to listen to the girl's plight, figuring that if she was on a drug trip, the best thing she could do, in the interest of everyone's safety (and the safety of her career) was to stay put and wait it out until one of her coworkers, who were hopefully sober and only playing along with this scenario in her mind, would pick her slobbering face off the floor, call 119, and keep her breathing until the paramedics arrived. Hopefully, she couldn't go anywhere, but if she could, it'd be better if she didn't.

She kept listening, and eventually Lux mentioned the possibility of turning her into a magical girl, and at that, Shinobu couldn't help but laugh. "Bwahahahaha! A thirty-year-old magical..!" she burst out laughing, quickly losing her breath. "Sure why not?! Let me be a beacon of justice!" she volunteered immediately, still wheezing. Shinobu didn't see a point in staying in her work-mode counselor persona if she was tripping out. A few of her coworkers had already seen the party animal behind the curtain, and at least one of them had probably blabbed to the others about it by now. If she was going to have a day off in the hospital anyway, she might as well let herself get swept away in this fun little "pocket dimension" the fairy had planned.

The Fairy, called Lux explained that someone was in danger, but didn’t know who. That wasn’t very helpful… Anyway, she went on to explain that there was a force called the shroud that was making wraiths out of the worst of someone’s thoughts. It was both confusing and intriguing to Emiko. According to Lux they were able to help them by becoming Magical Girls.

First she had to reprimand Kohaku. “Hey! Those shows are not just for children! Anybody can enjoy a series about magic, adventure, and the power of friendship!” But even if she did like this premise, even she had to giggle. “Although, even I have to agree. I’ve been told I act youthful, I’m a bit older than your usual magical girl.” She smirked and winked. Still, she didn’t give it too much thought. She was on board the second Lux said Magical Girl. “But, if it will help the students, I’m in!” Maybe this magical adventure could be fun. And even better, maybe Andrew would take an interest in her… She glanced at him for a second, then shook off those thought. Ok… probably not… But at least she could help the students. Isn’t that what a teacher was supposed to do?

---

Yes, Aiko reflected, the morning’s customarily placid, if admittedly somewhat somber, melody had well and truly been shattered, their fae visitor’s cacophonous cries serving as just as much of a wake up call from normality as the ringing of any alarm clock. Lux, as the small creature had introduced herself, spoke of wraiths, pocket dimensions, and something called the Shroud, in a high-pitched and highly frantic voice that was rather hard for Aiko to follow. She should really learn to pace herself and employ proper cadence, the music teacher couldn’t help but think. Such important information needs to be conveyed calmly and clearly. However, all Aiko really needed to know was that a student was in trouble, and that, apparently, she and her fellow teachers would be able to save them, if only they became…

“Magical girls…?” Aiko echoed aloud, her tone filled with confusion. “W-What do you mean by that?” she inquired, adjusting her glasses with a trembling hand. Having never watched a single magical girl show growing up, the poor young woman was completely at a loss as to what Lux was talking about. Kohaku mentioned something about children’s shows, which really didn’t help much, but before her question could be answered more comprehensively, both Shinobu and Emiko volunteered to become said magical girls, seemingly without a shred of hesitation. More than slightly startled by their enthusiasm, Akio resolved to watch and see exactly what the small fairy had in mind…

Sakura buried her head in her hands. She'd grown up watching Sailor Moon, pretending to transform and fight evil. And then... and then she grew up. But now, her girlhood was coming back with a vengeance, and she smiled. "Hey, Ko. Don't knock it. How many people just go through life being ordinary? If I get a chance to be special, I'm going to take it! And if this ends up putting me in a straitjacket and a rubber room- well, there are certainly worse delusions to have."

The brunette rolled herself over to the fairy, bowing as much as she could in her wheelchair. Which... wasn't much, honestly, but it was the thought that counted, as the saying went. "Lux, is it? I'm Sakura. Cliche name, I know. My parents had absolutely no imagination whatsoever. Now, how does this all work? Bolt of magical energy? Make a wish and sign a contract? I've got to admit- you've got me rather curious as to what's going to happen, and I can't wait to find out!" Sakura's voice started to rise in pitch, and she was talking a mile a minute; clearly, the physics teacher was jumping up and down with excitement. Metaphorically, of course.

After a fairly short panic and anxiety attack hidden in the confines of the staff bathroom, Yui resigned herself to finally come out, silently, and slide in softly onto one of the free seat by the window where one or two plants took a sun bath. The fairy went on to explain her deal and what all this was about, but a majority of the others did not believe it. Of course. It was already surprising enough that they even spoke to the flying little person, considering most adults wouldn't even entertain this type of practical joke.

Of course, this was no practical joke.

"I..." Yui began with a much too low tone, actually being spoken over by Shinobu's laughter and following speech.

"Actually, I think..." she began again, raising a finger forward this time but instantly retreating on herself when Emiko took over to chastise Kohaku on both the nature of the shows and also the need to actually help anyone in need. She was right, of course.

"Hummm!" Yui finally mustered to make a sound audible enough for people to actually notice her, hand closed into fists to give her the courage to do so. She softly walked forward towards the floating fairy and sat closer to her. "She's speaking the truth. You are, right?" Yui brought her index finger to the fairy to softly poke at her cheek, just to make suuuure she was really physical.

"So, hum.... let's say we were to accept your offer, right? If, hypothetically speaking, one of us had already been in a similar kind of boat, could - hypothetically , of course - but could that person have week ends... off...? she said with both fingers pointed against one another, thumbs up and lips pinched.

---

The more the conversation went on, the more Izumi's head was hurting trying to make logical sense of what was happening. The was far too realistic to be a hoax of any kind. The fairy before them was real. That was getting harder and harder to deny. She barely understood what it was saying enough to even make a verdict on whether it was telling the truth. It was in a panic and spewing everything out at once, making little sense. But from what Izumi could gather, there was a dark force that was going to make monsters out of students?

The creature introduced itself as Lux, and went on to explain more about the shroud, and...Magical Girls? Did Izumi hear that right? Izumi was a seasoned otaku, and had naturally watched many Magical Girl shows in her childhood and teen years. If Lux really was looking for Magical Girls, why was it here? The inner otaku flared up even stronger when Kohaku referred to Magical Girl shows as 'children's shows'. Izumi was about to snap back at that remark but several of her fellow teacher's came to the genre's defense first, and more eloquently that she would have, so she let it go.

Shinobu was getting slightly delirious, and Izumi couldn't blame her, but she brought Izumi back to the point she had wanted to make. She approached Lux.

"Shinobu makes a good point. Teachers in their 30's not exactly classic Magical Girl stock. What d-"

Izumi cut herself off when she heard Yui speak up, just now noticing the botany teacher. Izumi could see it in Yui's eyes. this wasn't strange to her as much as it was unwelcome. Coupled with the 'hypothetical' scenario of somebody having done all this before. Izumi stared at Yui incredulously and her voice went a lot quieter.

"...Yui, were you a Magical Girl before?"

There was no longer any doubt this was all real. Izumi turned back to Lux, a newfound steely determination in her eyes.

"I'm in. If our students are getting subjected to this 'Shroud', and it's as you described, I have to help."

Amber stashed her phone in her case and closed down her laptop. All things considered, her morning routine was going a lot more smoothly than it normally did. Usually by this point everyone started exchanging greetings or talking about "the agenda for the day." but it was nice that everyone was being so-

What the hell was everyone doing?

She looked up from her tablet again, this time looking a bit harder. She couldn't see anything with all the teachers gathered around the window, but they were talking about "magical girls" and something about being for "all ages," while accompanying a squeaky voice. They had better not be watching some anime on their phones. They had to be at class before long, and there would be plenty of time to catch up with their childish hobbies over lunch. Though it started to sound like they were thinking about getting back to work. Emiko said something about helping the kids, Yui wanted to know if she was getting weekends off, and it started to sound like they might be getting their head back in the game.

”Sure, I don't mind extra work.” Amber didn't bother looking up from her tablet, which she was still finalizing the schedule on. ”If Yui can't be bothered, I'll take her hours too. I can work weekends.”

For his own part, Andrew was... quiet.

All this was a lot to take in after all. Either some of their students were truly destined for greatness if they ever left detention again, or there really was some hidden shadow war between the fey and the 'forces of darkness' that seemed to be called 'The Shroud'... or at least 'Lux' called it that.

However, the fact that one of the students might be in serious danger caused him to resist the urge to see if he could find a glass jar. Maybe later.

Stocktaking his resources, he had a knife on his person; It was one that he had crafted himself and it was surprising how many situations popped up in a day where being able to use a sharp object was handy. It wasn't really designed for combat, but in a pinch it would still serve as a weapon... but he didn't want to resort to that unless he had to. Instead, as Yui, Izumi, Sakura, Emiko,Shinobu and surprisingly Amber more or less signed themselves up to a magical girl career Andrew instead walked over to a little used cabinet on the wall.

Once upon a time, fire axes were kept in a glass case with a 'In case of emergency, break glass' sign. Such things had largely disappeared from the public domain; Too many people were getting cut by broken glass. Instead, the more modern versions tended to have fire hatchets in a case that could be opened alongside the fire extinguisher. Said hatchet was now in Andrew's hand as he turned around to look at his fellow teachers and the fairy. "I likely don't qualify for the whole 'magical girl' thing... but Lux was it?" He asked, more out of politeness then anything "...Show me where we're going and we'll take care of this. Just be aware that when there isn't a student in danger, we're all going to sit down and have a productive chat about what kind of benefits and payment plan these wonderful ladies are going to get for risking their lives to fight your war."

The shock of the discovery that a popular sub category of anime was less 'power fantasy' and more 'based on real events' was still clearly on Andrew's face, but in his eyes was a steely determination; He had a hatchet, a willingness to use it and a student to possibly rescue from otherworldly horrors that would drive a man insane.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 15, and Mathematics 2. A woman walked between the rows of shelving looking to home the three remaining books in her hands. This ritual wasn't the norm, but from time to time the librarian found herself in need of assistance to get things in order for the students. Hata Harper would often volunteer for the task. Most of the time it wasn't too much of an inconvenience to her morning schedule. As it would turn out, when you've done enough class prep over the years, you don't always have to reinvent the wheel.

Arriving late to the teacher's lounge, she expected them to be close to wrapping up. A number of them were huddled up near the window, presumably sharing some image or video on a phone. The squeaky voice implied as such, so she didn't commit much thought to the whole magical girl conversation. "Good morning, Amber." She would greet her peer as she passed by on her way to the coffee pot. Hata wasn't one to bother with mixing in cream or sugar, she'd gown up in a household of straight black coffee. So after getting her brew, she turned her attention to the conversation at hand.

Now, Hata wouldn't consider herself particularly superstitious, but her mother always told her stories about spirits, demons, and magical creatures that inhabited nature and beyond. So when she finally stepped around and lay eyes on Lux, her eyes widened. For a brief moment, it was like she was six again, sitting in her mother's lap with an open story book. Where the others saw an oddity or perhaps a fairy, Hata saw... "Yosei."She would say under her breath. Stunned for a second, she eventually bowed deeply out of respect. Having such a being in their presence was an honor and practically unheard of in this day and age. Thinking back, she tried to piece together what was said just moments ago. If she understood correctly, Lux wanted them to become something in order to combat some force known as the Shroud that was threatening the students.

Izumi pointed out that Yui's hypothetical sounded rather close to home. It added credence to what Lux was saying, but Hata still had her reservations about the whole thing. Maybe it had something to do with Andrew grabbing an ax. Glancing at her coworkers, it was clear that a number of them were already on board. Alarm bells were still ringing in her ears, though. They were all adults, but Hata was old enough to be their mother. Did any of them actually know what they were getting themselves into? She didn't. "Now hold on." The others would recognize the tone of when grandma, a term Hata gladly accepts, was potentially about to ruin the fun. She would hold out a hand and allow Lux to land in her palm. "Yosei, Lux. I am... a little at a loss for words to be honest. I believe you, but I feel I would be negligent as the eldest to let everyone agree to something without some assurance." She would look back over to the others, and specifically those who already agreed. "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but I'd rather be sure it's safe before anyone else gets themselves into trouble. Would any of you mind if I went first? Yui?" She would ask those standing by and Yui in particular, since she may have a better understanding of the situation. It was one of those "you have more to live for" sort of offers.