There were five, there were four, there were seven, and there were nine.
At the moment, the nine were in their session.
"They've formed a group. Dedicated to studying myths, urban legends, and that sort of thing, in the Dimensional Zone."
"So? It sounds innocuous enough."
"No, he's right. Don't you see? We're an urban legend."
"What, do you fear for our safety? The DZ hasn't been able to find us in almost a millennium. Do you think a few high school girls playing games will succeed where millions have failed?"
"The odds are small, but they are not zero. Even a one in ten million chance, we have to watch out for, or one day we'll get unlucky."
"It's more immediate than even that. Who's to say the girls will be the only ones looking? The open Zone is a fashionable place. It might just become – what's the word? Trendy? – to research legends. Soon enough, we might have half the Zone looking for us."
"Well – well, admittedly, you make a fair point. Then, what do we do?"
"Who can say now? As always, we'll have to find the most careful solution to what is, as always, the most delicate situation."
After a few lines were exchanged that were nothing more than formality, the Council was adjourned.
Two weeks earlier
Boooooring.
Some students loved school – Miki was at least 100% sure they were crazy. School was, in her view, nothing but concentrated boring with boring on top.
Which is why she used every class as an opportunity to daydream all she could!
Daydreaming was what she loved best. She would get lost in all kinds of amazing worlds, which had recently been involving lots of robots and supercomputers and magic races of all kinds. She would imagine being part of one of these worlds, and she would feel so-
"Emiko-san, can you answer this question?"
Oh, reality.
She sat bolt-upright and answered in an instant with complete honesty.
"Nope!"
The teacher's scowl said he didn't appreciate honesty.
Didn't matter, Miki thought. He'd get used to it, wouldn't he? It worked in middle school!
Miki Emiko, was her name. 160 centimeters sharp, born April 2nd, year 2000 – 15 years old! Her hair was – well, some people said it was pink, some people said it was red (she herself liked pink better) – it was chest-length and she tied it to either side in twin tails, with the same red ribbons she always used. Her orange eyes sparkled with a childlike light, and she had a roundish face that had become accustomed to smiling.
She stood out from the regular crowds with her appearance – which she was proud of! – and was sometimes warned by snobbish school officials that she should dress like this or that – snobbish school officials she never listened to, of course.
She was who she was, after all!
What would they do, kick her out of the school?
With that thought in mind, she went back to daydreaming, trying to pick up where she had left off. Something about ghosts…
Class ended – as it always does, eventually – without her really noticing, until the girl next to her bumped her with her bag. She stretched, looking out the window, before gathering her things (which meant sweeping them off the desk into a bag) and standing up.
She made a mental note of where she was in her daydream, so she could pick up in the next class (hunting for a spirit! It was very exciting), and headed out.
There would be no need for daydreams to entertain her, though. The next class would be very interesting – and, as a result, so would the rest of her life.
vvv
"Everyone, I would like you to meet Eterno-kun."
The teacher, as he spoke, suddenly became the least interesting thing ever, as all the students looked over at the figure sitting next to the teacher.
He wore a hoodie, the hood pulled up over his head and his hands in the pockets. Burnt red hair poked out from under the hood in choppy spikes, and he had rich brown eyes and a rather disinterested expression.
What was more, he didn't look any older than anyone there, and – and he was actually pretty cute, somehow.
(Not that she was interested in dating, or anything… unless it was a cute demon boy or something. Of course, there was the small problem of them not existing outside her daydreams.)
"He comes from the prestigious Central Academy – quite a ways away, or so I hear." The teacher said, and the students listened only because he was talking about Eterno. "With the principal's permission, he's going to sit in on classes and observe – he promises to let one student in this school into Central Academy!"
Eterno, Central Academy – something inside of Miki leapt at the names.
- It was obvious why, right! There had never been anything more exciting in her life!
"Show him your best, everyone!"
And at the suddenly so real dream of being taken away to a faraway land to live a new and super exciting life, she resolved to actually, finally pay attention and do something in class.
That's right! She would definitely, definitely, definitely definitely definitely do her best!
…
It was totally impossible to understand the material if you only start paying attention after a week of ignoring classes!
It took her about two minutes to realize this and give up with a sigh, dropping her pencil and going back to her daydreams.
They were more exciting than anything Eterno could give her, anyway! She didn't mind! She didn't mind at all!
(She minded, but she didn't want to admit that.)
And so she tuned out the class and returned to her daydreaming, as the other students scribbled furiously, occasionally looking up to try meeting Eterno's eye when he looked at them.
He didn't look at them, though. He spent the whole class looking at the one person who didn't look back – Miki Emiko.
A/N: Well, here it is, nya~ DZ!, the piece that suits me the very best, nya~ xP I'm really proud of this one, nya~ I'm positive I can maintain my schedule with this one, nya - one chapter, 1,000 words, every week, nya~ x3 Nya, all I can really say is, I think the piece is amazing, nya~ So good, I don't really need to tell everyone how good it is, because hopefully it speaks for itself, nya~ xD Guess that's all for now, nya~ See you next Saturday with another 1,000 words, nya~ Until then, Kisho, out~! *salute*