Community [March 2025 ComEvent] Isekh High - Group 1: After Hours

[Spoiled Bread]

Principal Eeriel
​

---

A black cat let out a big yawn as she sat in a loaf on the school's rooftop. As the principal of Isekai High, she also practically lives there, one of the few reason to why he was able to know so much about what's happening in the school.

"Tonight the kids are quite rowdy, huh..." She murmured to herself. Her keen ears diligently listened to everything that happening in the school. This was already way past the schools hours so the students weren't supposed to be here, but she's not going to make a fuss about it and let the students interact with the denizens of the night. Maybe they can learn one or two lessons while they're at it. Freedom with consequences~

She's just going to stay here and make sure none of the students were in too much danger. Students can't learn if they're dead after all.​

 

[Irihi]

Something Sinister

Mentions: M Metty Revi

Cowering in the room would change nothing. Darkness still persisted outside. The sense of something dreadful still lurked in the hallway.

Spoiler: Investigate the noisy hallway

Something very large was in the hallway. Whatever it was, it filled the entire passageway--floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall. It was a looming dark shape that blotted out the pale green light of the exit signs.

The huge darkness was moving away down the hall. Anyone observing must have felt some measure of relief mixed with fear. The thing was large enough to spark a primordial sense of dread in almost anyone, and give them the impression that they [/i] really did not [/i] want to make any sound that would attract the looming thing’s attention..

Spoiler: Examine the floor for tracks

Sure enough, the blood trail continues into the hallway, begging the question; how did this huge thing --and the bleeding victim that must be dangling from its jaws or suspended by the phantom’s ghostly powers-- manage to sneak past Lona and Stormbreaker?

There is a disturbingly large amount of blood in the hall. The trail of dark spatters runs in both directions--toward the retreating dark shape, and also in the opposite direction.

Now a decision must be made.

Spoiler: Follow the retreating darkness

The dark mass seemed to sense the approach of pursuers. It increased its pace to stay ahead of them. Thumps and bangs could be heard and the glimmers of a distant exit sign showed through the darkness, indicating that it did not have infinite thickness.

The dark mass reached the stairway at the end of the hall. Difficult to see in the low-light, the mass seemed to boil and convulse violently, accompanied by a high-pitched shriek, before it disappeared down the stairwell. It must have been consuming its victim, or perhaps pulling them down through the floor on its descent to gehenna.

Spoiler: Wisely sneak away in the opposite direction.

The blood spatters continued to the stairway which led to the roof. When the trackers emerged into the starless night, they saw no sign of anything beyond the dark void enveloping the school; no city lights, no vehicles, not even noises of nocturnal creatures or insects. Whatever the thing surrounding Isekhigh with nothingness was, it did not want those within the school to leave or feel like they could signal for help. Really, the only choice at this point would be to follow the huge thing, or perhaps just go find some narrow space in which to make yourself quiet and small to hide from it.

 

[Faynorae]

[School Diva]

Spoiler: Image

---

Ophánia was the kind of person who would [focus] far too intensely on something, to the point where it was hard to notice other things. It became more difficult when music was blaring straight into your ears beside you. Which was no wonder why the sylph had been so startled when her CD-player collided with floor, the lid clattering off from the device as the plain white CD—labelled 'Tunes that played on radios when they were not obsolete' written in a black sharpie and terrible penmanship—Ophánia stopped and it seemed as though her whole body shook, her long hair lifting at the ends as if she were diving into water. That same shrill, wind-chime like noise left her mouth.

She looked beside her as Echoette apologised, but she quickly composed herself and smiled, waving it off as her all fell in place with gravity again, "Worry not for all is right. In truth, I wanted—" an excuse to visit the [Artisans Club] was what Ophánia wanted to say until she felt herself airborne as everything on her desk, her chair and her bag and the entire clubroom piled all over eachother in the grandest mess that she had ever bore witness to. In stark contrast to Echoette who plummetted with the clubroom itself, Ophánia would float.

It gave Ophánia enough time to think, as she positioned herself in a manner to land elegantly on her feet with her hair falling all around her in a cascade of pale pink. With both her hands, she brushed back two locks of her hair accompanied by the flounce of a brief hairflip. It could be seen as innappropriate display of vanity when accounting for the current situation, in truth, it was merely a habit for Ophánia. She looked around, surveying the area. Then that rancid smell hit her.

Ophánia's head turned to the sound of Echoette calling out to her, "I am fine, you concern me more—" she replied, since not many at Isekh High could disperse into air and then recoalesce into a firm form. "By the winds—" She rushed from where she stood to Echoette who called out someone elses name. "Yes, yes, I can, I should, I must, I need to," The sylph stood still, holding her hand over her lips and another to her chest. She was tapping her foot against the floor, trying to think of something. A song.

She looked at Aiko, "How do you mean nevermind?! H- humans; creatures with bone and flesh are more fragile—she can die!" Her eyes were wide and lacked the usual sparkling enthusiasm she normally bombarded others with. She looked away from Aiko, circling around to the middle of the room as she mumbled, "Do not panic. Do not panic. Come wind and storm, the breeze will always rustle through the leaves tomorrow. Do not panic. Focus. Stand still. Stand fair. Do not panic..." Ophánia exhaled, she wasn't paying attention to what came out of the microwave and she couldn't focus on the rancid smell assault her senses and her mind wandered far from the fact that they may be set back a few days at best for the school's play. Someone was gravely injured.

STAY BY ME ♫

Idols were supposed to be able to perform under harsh conditions in order to bring a smile to the face of millions—that's what Ophánia had been training to do at the [Agency] she belonged to. So far, Ophánia had a few advantages as fae who's body composition was mainly made up of magic and as a mage specialising in manipulating sound and the environment. The area around everyone silenced, the air was filled with music—something familiar but it wasn't something modern. Then there was Ophánia's voice, which echoed throughout the entire room in utter clarity. It was a bit hesitant and a bit shaky.

Spoiler: Lyrics, Rough Translation (Chorus)

♪"I love you, stay by me
No matter what you say
I know just about everything
I beg you, stay by me.
Please just be by my side
Until, this night comes to an end"♫

Hoping earnestly that her song would fix everything, Ophánia clasped her hands to her chest and sang as best as she could. It was a song she had already sung before, so by filling the air with her magic, hence the music, she hoped it would be more than enough to heal broken bones and any other major injuries that Yui, and anyone else, may have sustained as a result of the Clubroom collapsing all of a sudden. (※At your own discretion) Those who heard the song would also be filled with a sense of calm; a warmth that washed over them like soft blanket, melting their worrisome thoughts like butter on freshly-cooked waffles.

---

Interactions – Echoette ( SilverFeathers ); Marcus ( Maverick Six ); Aiko ( Skyswimsky )
Mentions – ...​

 

[Cutiefly]

Stormbreaker​

Commissioned Art by Feerocomics. Art is credited here.

Real Name: Arashi Sato
Age:
36 (at the time of death in previous world)
6 (currently)
15 (physically)
42 (chronologically)
Height: 6"3
Titles: Human, Draconian

Spoiler: Titles

Racial:
Human - Normal human, plain and featureless. A blank slate full of potential.
Draconian - Humans with dragon heritage descended from the dragonborn. The bloodline is heavily diluted, leaving their appearance mostly human, but it grants them superior physical abilities, superhuman healing, magical aptitude, and, more rarely, partial draconic transformation.

Skill Related:
Pro Hero - Character is a former pro hero in their pre-isekai'd life. They protected innocents and kept the peace.

Stats:
Strength | C Grade
Precision | H Grade
Intelligence | D Grade
Vitality | C Grade
Speed | D Grade
Abilities Active: N/A - will be spoilered if ability
Abilities Used: Passives:
Regeneration | F Grade | 6 Posts
Resilient [Fatigue, Pain, Fear] | D Grade | She still feels them but won't suffer from these three effects.
Resistance [Physical] | F Grade | Stormbreaker is resistant to slashing, bludgeoning and piercing damage.
Color: #824ca3 | Link to Sheet
Equipment:

Spoiler

• Magic Catalyst [Organ] | D Grade | 42 Points
  • Fire today, who knows tomorrow? Good thing it’s fireproof. Probably.
• Armored Dragon's Armor | D Grade | 21 Points
  • Perfect for any vigilante trying to look menacing and mysterious on a budget. Although the paint on it isn't the best. Caution: may come with the side effect of looking dark and brooding.
• Natural Weapon [Body] | E Grade | 28 Points
  • Knock, knock! Who’s there? Justice!​
• Hero's Claymore | E Grade | 14 Points
  • It’s a sword. Big, heavy, and... not much else to say. If you need to slice through a bunch of stuff, this'll do the job. Though it’s not very good at making small talk.​
• Dragon Scale [Natural Heavy Armor] | D Grade | 42 Points​
  • Natural scaled dragon armor. It's heavy.​

Stormbreaker had enough. She had dealt with the darkness of shady areas, but it was nothing compared to this. This just felt like a horror story. One she wanted no part of. She freaked out slightly when the darkness fully hit and all the power went out. It felt like that blackout scene in Luigi’s Mansion. She was not waiting till the phone rang and somebody called them, not like somebody could call them because the power was indeed out.

The draconian had different thoughts. She didn’t like this, she would be rather be elsewhere in the entertainment district. The sudden crying freaked her out, and she grew more and more freaked out by the minute.

“I-I’m.. not dealing with ghosts teach. No hecking way. I’m o-outta here.” The draconian said as she climbed out the open window and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Irihi Revi

 

[Irihi]

Miiya Aether
​

Mentions: Cutiefly Revi

Slowly, the thing at the bottom of the stairs changed shape. Feathers rustled as the huge presence began to collapse. After a moment, it resolved itself into the hunchbacked form of Miiya, the Aerial girl. She had pulled her tented wings in tight, and stopped hiding herself away from Miss Morgan. The girl’s tear-streaked face was pale and sickly in the glow of the exit sign at the second floor stairwell landing.

What a relief! It was only Miiya. That explained everything; from the impossible crying heard out a third-floor window (flight), the huge dark thing blotting out the lights in the halls (wingspan), and Miiya's peculiar Aerial sinuses--evolved to allow her to breathe in a high-speed dive--that made a terrifying whistling noise when she blew her nose.

Especially when she cried--as she was doing now.

“Please help!” The girl whispered in a thin, weak voice.

Spoiler: Warning: Very Dark

“M…miss Morgan… Help!” the birdgirl hiccupped through stifled sobs. “Kur… Kuroda-sensei s-said she would h-help me… but I…I-I think I cut t-too deep this time.” The girl’s voice was a ghost of a whisper as she turned her forearms toward Lona. Blood dripped down from a fresh cut at the bottom of a series of thin horizontal scars. It was a lot of blood--though it seemed to be flowing slower now. “Help me…”

When Lona tried to take Miiya’s arm, she’d feel nothing; no warm resistance of flesh, no slickness of vitae-smeared skin--nothing but a brief chill air of a despairing whisper in her ear. “Please help me!” a cry that came too late, as the apparition vanished.

Oh, that’s right…

Lona might finally recall, just why she had never replaced that scalpel.

...Miiya died last year.


Lona remembered now; the midterm that had led to the individual tutoring sessions with the winged girl. Miiya had been so lost during the group lessons, that Lona really had no choice but to take pity on her and spend all those late afternoons in individual practice. It had seemed like such a burden at first--her analytical mind trying to reconcile how she could justify spending hours on one student, just to bring her up to par--but Miiya had proved to be a driven and diligent learner, even if Chemistry was her weakest subject. Lona--with the help of that delinquent friend of Miiya’s, Stormbreaker the misguided vigilante--had gotten Miiya on the right track fairly quickly.

Afterward, Lona had found that she no longer felt the need to justify extracurricular lessons with Miiya. Even when the Aerial had caught up to the rest of the class, the tutoring continued. Despite herself, Lona found that she was charmed by the sprightly upbeat girl. She’d accepted Miiya’s offer to “pay her back” for all the extra time spent; having the birdgirl take care of the odds and ends of chemistry cleanup that the students missed in their rush to leave. Lona would find herself smiling as she graded papers and Miiya chattered away while she sorted chemicals, wiped goggles, cleaned test tubes, and performed all the minutiae that kept the classes and labs running smoothly during the day.

The Aerial was a bit of a talker when not being instructed, and would go on and on with amusing anecdotes about her and Stormbreaker’s misadventures, upcoming school events, how excited she was about this festival, or that dance. Yes, being a High School teacher entailed more than its fair share of teenage ennui, angst, fights, nasty gossip, and misbehavior. Yet, Lona found that her afternoons with the birdgirl were a little bit of an antidote to each day’s load of “bullshu” as Miiya would put it.

…

After the accident--as she told the administration, and the police investigators--Lona had realized how that bright chatter, how the shy admissions about the boy she liked or the nervousness over upcoming exams, had wallpapered over the hurt and helplessness in Miiya’s life; the helplessness she’d tried to alleviate with the cutting.

The signs had all been there, but they’d been faint; like the pencil-thin lines of old scars on her arms, Miiya kept hidden under her perpetually-present, long sleeves, draped jackets, or arm-warmers. Ms Aether--Miiya’s mother--was a rare presence, eschewing all but the absolutely essential parent conferences--and arriving to those with the frazzled look of someone who’d just spent the night on a long-distance bus. Miiya didn’t seem to want to go home--or leave school at all--unless it was in the presence of her draconic best friend.

No one knew--but someone should have guessed--that she and Stormbreaker were living alone together. They could have understood, then, that despite SB’s best efforts, Miiya was feeling scared, lonely, and adrift in this uncaring city, so far from her family. They could have recognized how she’d been terrified by the health problems she only sometimes hinted at to teachers and coaches. They could have discovered her destructive way of getting those negative emotions out,

so she could be the Miiya she thought she needed to be.

Those who knew her agreed that it must have been an accident. Used to the effort and pain associated with dull kitchen knives, Miiya hadn’t been prepared for the surgical sharpness of the scalpel. The blade had slipped so painlessly and so deep that it had nicked an artery, and there had been no one around the school, that late evening, to help her put pressure on the cut, to call emergency services and keep her calm--to keep her panicked and powerful aviator’s heart from pushing her blood in thinner and thinner racetrack circuits.

Miiya had wanted to live. She’d worked hard and brought her grades up going into finals--she wanted to make her mother proud of this opportunity she’d seized; to attend the vaunted Isekhigh. The birdgirl had made friends (and rivals) and broken school records in track. She’d been looking forward to asking or getting asked out to the dance. She’d dreamed about her first time holding hands with a boy, her first time wearing a pretty gown;

times that were now suspended

frozen in the glacier of a life lost

times that would never come for her.

“Please help.” The ghostly plea--an echo of what Miiya must have whispered to the empty halls on that fateful night--might cause Lona’s heart to seize with dread and remorse.

Why had no one
seen,
said,
or done
something,

anything,

before it was too late?

 

[Maverick Six]

Marcus Banecroft
Interaction: Skyswimsky Faynorae SilverFeathers
Titles: Human (Mundane), Hospitaller, Eastern Empire Military D, Abomination Fighter, Rico's Roughneck, Peacekeeper, Expert Spearman, Swiss Army Knife
Language Key:Common | [Terran] |
​

Teacher's Lounge

---

He could feel it as they were making progress. Unfortunately, Aiko's awkward greeting was not returned as Marcus focused merely on the task. However, in the midst of his pulling, he felt something of a shiver run down his spine. As though something was near them in the room.

Apparitions

There a moment's pause. It was just that. It felt like an eternity as he looked at it.

It was as Marcus had said. He was not fearless per say. His eyes beneath the armor was wide. Blood was pumping rapidly through his body, as his heart pounded through his ears. Fist clenched. He instinctively began to take a defensive stance without even realizing it, his body becoming bladed towards the malshapen creature which had once been human. It moved to him in a cockroach-like gate as its body broke and reformed in an endless cacophony of warped.

"To die here as a distraction" Yet Marcus would grip his sword and swing his spear into his hands. "Would not be so bad."

In his mind, fighting a ghost was futile. But he wasn't even focused on winning. Merely, his best hope was to attempt to distract it so that Aiko to get away. And then maybe through sheer luck and the grace of the god's guiding him through this ordeal.

"Oh goddess Minerva, please guide me, through this ordeal." He said, reciting a short prayer before --

As if an answer to prayers a light shined through the top. Something from above began to intermingle with the putrid scent of the room. And just like that, the ceiling above began to gave way.

CRACK

Two, no, three figures came falling from above. And with them came a large amount of debris. As quickly as Marcus had picked up his weapons, he dropped them to the floor as one such piece of debris was headed for him.

He raised his hand above himself to simply catch it.

[Herculean Task]

Above his head was a giant piece of debris that one could estimate weighed hundreds of pounds. It resembled a boulder and was large enough that even with the light flooding the room, a great shadow was cast over Marcus' body. His elbows had bent upon catching it...before he slowly raises the giant piece of debris clear above his head in an overhead press.

Looking at the creature, he wounded his arms back. Echoette and Ophenia practically didn't exist -- as there was nothing on Marcus' mind except to crush the phantom with more debris then what was already on it. His arms wound up as he prepared to chuck the debris before --

STAY BY ME ♫

Singing.

♪"I love you, stay by me
No matter what you say
I know just about everything
I beg you, stay by me.
Please just be by my side
Until, this night comes to an end"♫

It was a familiar voice before. But for whatever reason, he lost all motivation for violence. As he watched, the creature instead seemed to almost flee. And the previously sinister tone that had been playing was no more as it was simply replaced by Ophenia's voice. There he stood for a moment before with great discipline and control, he put down a piece of debris. What once was going to potentially smash another hole in the ground was simply rest upon the ground. The tremor of rebar and material being placed down with a slight rumble. The same kind one feels in a gym hearing heavy weight put down.

Marcus looked vaguely down the path that the creature had scampered down, wondering as to why it had run. Something didn't feel right in more ways than one. Just what was that phantom's intentions? He wasn't sure and might not ever find out. Why did the monster not attack immediately?

Such mysteries might be left unresolved.

He remembered soon that Aiko existed and turned to confirm if she was alright. Only to bump into her. Marucs' knowledge of medicine and human anatomy [Asclepius' Gaze] "Your welcome." He comments, turning his gaze to everyone else. "I'm...glad to see you're alright. I'd have failed you otherwise." He said, looking down her arm.

"Wait moment....You are that girl from earlier who barged into our game." His eyes narrowed. "I would say I'd been tricked, but somehow I should have seen this earlier. Particularly given how you gassed yourself up as "Gutsy" earlier." Marcus placed his palm over his helmet, almost out of shame more than anything else. Sighing, he continues. "Next, I suppose you'll tell me your name isn't Aiko." As he scanned over her face, his fell upon the paper.

"Yume. Why is that name familiar to me.,,?" Taking a moment to kneel, Marcus picks his sword that he'd previously dropped. A sword of Fae make and that he vaguely remembers the description of as something "offensive." As he inspected the sword.

Turning to Echoette and Ophenia, Marcus would walk over to the pair and offer a sleight bow. He expected the song to begin healing. Thus it was that he'd give them thanks.

"I offer you both my thanks." He bowed before the pair. "You may not have meant it. But I believe you have assisted us in a matter most unknown. I believe you two to be an instrument of the three fates. I....hope you're friend Yui is alright..."

 

[SilverFeathers]

Echoette (#d6c6ff)​

Faynorae Skyswimsky Maverick Six​

"I-I'm sorry!! I m-must have put on too much weight!!" Echoette yelled back to Aiko in her panicking distress, her eyes spinning from trying to process everything going on. She had no time to even process the trapped in the basement comment as her senses were overwhelmed.

There was... too much. Where were they?! What was that egregious smell?! And why is there an armoured knight down here?? And why he did look like he was moments away from throwing a part of the floor at them? She had flinched severely, her heart almost stopping at the sight. Admist it all, Echoette could briefly feel the sting of pain and broken bones too, as the adrenaline began to wear off.

But she had to focus, there was someone on death's door! Then there was the microwave. Dead overcooked rabbit parts...? Why was the knight thanking them?? And what instrument of the three fates??

If she hadn't just recovered from passing out, perhaps she would have passed out again. Her health was truly not built for all these revelations. And she wondered if she could even ever eat again after that sight, her eyes avoiding that disturbing ramen as much as possible.

What in the actual frick was going on. It was absolute insanity. To the extent that she wondered if she was still just dreaming, unable to take all of these events occuring seriously.

As much as Ophánia's singing was always beautiful and amazing, perhaps listening to it on the daily had somewhat worn down its effects on her. Though her wounds were nothing but phantom pains now, her panic almost seemed to relentlessly fight against the song's calming effects, and win.

Maybe she should have just gone home after all. At least that way, she wouldn't have to deal with the realization that she had ruined weeks worth of work for the stageplay just now.

Although her face silently scrunched up with ceaseless tears running down her face, the cervitaur remained hyper-focused on what mattered, Yui's life. Finding it hard to breathe, she continued to just cradle Yui against her, although at this point she wasn't sure if she was comforting her more or herself, squeezing her a little too tightly inadvertently.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Aiko
Maverick Six SilverFeathers Faynorae

"That is not the nevermind I neverminded!" Being accused of not 'caring' that Yui could die, the young delinquent tried to correct herself. Surely there was a possibility of that, but Aiko simply refused to accept it. A reality her entire being refused to acknowledge. Yet, facts didn't matter for the time being, and Aiko didn't elaborate further, as instead she found herself moved to tears.

"Huh?" Was it the pain? Relief? Maybe she was simply overburdened, and the sudden everything was too much? Whatever it was, these tears weren't born out of negative emotions. Instead, Aiko found herself reminded of a warm and comfortable place. Happy, in a way. Though, she quickly shook her head to focus on things at hand. Who were those two people anyway? For specific reasons, Aiko did not know of the School Diva's appearance.

"Who are you two anyway? I am Aiko. And thanks for your help!" A short introduction as Yui seemed to stabilize in the embrace of the Space Princess, though any more pressure, and she'd die from suffocation instead. "And this girl is, was, supposed to be trapped in the basement." With everything having settled down, now was a good time to clue the two girls, and Marcus, in more.

"You see. There's this group chat, investigating the school's Vice President." All of them probably knew that her name was 'Yume', yet attaching a face to such a prestigious position was somehow quite difficult. Maybe Aiko was a liar? "Because it's a real mystery! And a villain too! Like swapping the brains of a rabbit and Yui here. And you see, we were investigating that. Operation Rabbit Hole? Ring a bell? Not like you remember the Vice President's face from memory, yes?" Sure, Aiko didn't seem quite right in her head for anyone that knew her for longer, but maybe what she said did not seem too far-fetched?

"I've tricked nobody! And I was trying out for the basketball team, too." Finally addressing Marcus, the young heroine took the slip of paper/letter back that he had taken from her to read herself. "Yes! Yume, the chat has that info too. Correct. So the villain's name is Yume. But I do not know this Sayuri Ito."

Aiko did not know indeed... yet for anyone in school that was somewhat connected and privy to 'actual' news that weren't all just rumors, the name rang a bell: Sayuri Ito, a plain girl with a beautiful voice, was a student of the school that died quite a few months back. An odd and tragic tale. The kind that one saw occasionally in the news. The type of event that usually happened to nobody around oneself.

Peanuts. Sayuri Ito had a horrible peanut allergy and just so happened to eat something she was supposed not to. How? An accident, of course...

Aiko did know, however, that Echoette's fur seemed quite inviting. And using the shining hour of all four of them seemingly being safe, the delinquent's hand found herself petting the girl's back. "Nothing seems broken." She nodded in self-agreement.

Yui was still unconscious... or was she Yui, really, and not a rabbit?

 

[Revi]

Interactions: Cutiefly | Irihi

---

Miss Lona Morgan - Chemistry Teacher

In the wake of everything unfolding, after the adrenaline rush of facing down Stormbreaker, who then -understandably- ran, and the bizarre supernatural dread saturating the hallways, Lona Morgan was left staring into the dim emergency glow of the stairwell… at the impossibility of the figure huddled there.

Miiya.

Lona didn't think. She moved. The reflexive instinct to help took hold before logic could catch up.

She saw the blood first, too much of it. Her eyes registered the way the long sleeves had ridden up, the red lines and fresh cut across her forearms.

Her mind rebelled, shutting out what she knew must be true, what she had buried. "Miiya?" she breathed, voice cracking as her flashlight's beam trembled in her now shaking hand. The girl's posture, the ghostly glow on her skin, the terrified, fragile plea, "Please help...". She felt it in her bones, a chain reaction that had begun years ago now reaching critical mass, releasing grief atom by atom in a slow, unstoppable, unravelling decay.

No. No, no, no...

She reached out, fingers grazing the air where warm skin should be. But instead of flesh, she felt only a sudden chill. Her heart jolted in her chest. Her breath caught. "Miiya, I .." Gone. The silence that followed was oppressive, deafening in a way that made her ears ring. And just like that… the memory fell back into place, unwelcome and terrible in its clarity.

She had tutored Miiya. Reluctantly, at first, frustrated by yet another student left behind by a system that treated struggling kids like broken machines. But Miiya wasn't broken. She was bright. She was spirited. She would animatedly babble on about upcoming school dances and track meets. Lona was proud of improving her grades. She'd been catching up. Making plans. Trying so hard...

Lona's hands continued to tremble from the memories bitterly mixed with the adrenaline of the moment. She remembered the blood on the floor. The open cabinet. The missing scalpel. The cold, lonely silence of the lab when she had found her. Lona staggered back, her spine hitting the hallway wall as her knees threatened to give out. She dragged a shaky hand through her hair, jaw clenched to keep the sob from escaping. Her breath came fast and shallow, eyes unfocused as she stared back into memory.

She had failed her. Not in the classroom. Not in the tutoring. In seeing her. Really seeing her. The signs had been there, so small, so easy to overlook. The arm warmers. The nervous smiles. The unspoken desperation for connection. She thought… she thought Stormbreaker had it covered. That if the girl had a friend, she'd be okay. But teenagers didn’t always tell their friends the whole truth, either. And by the time Lona saw it, it was too late.

“Gods damn it," she whispered, voice hoarse, not knowing if it was grief or fury that made her say it. She dropped her flashlight to the crook of her elbow and pressed her palms over her face, trying to breathe through the weight in her chest. A fiery and prickling ache bloomed behind her eyes as heavy tears gathered with a stubborn gravity in her eyes, trembling at the brink, then falling like weighted glass to the floor.

It hadn't been a haunting. It had been a scream she was a year too late to answer. And yet… it still came. "Please help." The words rang in her ears like a bell tolling in reverse, pulling her backwards, not forward. She stood alone, haunted not by a ghost but by her failure to see a child crying for help when it could have made a difference.

She didn't move for a long time. Not because she was frozen in fear but because she was somewhere else. Somewhere distant, old, and echoing. Somewhere she hadn't allowed herself to return to in years. It wasn't just Miiya's face. It was the way her voice trembled when she'd said "help." That word… it reached into the marrow. Lona had once needed help. But no one had come. And by the time she made them listen, it had been far too late for kindness. She finished her fight alone. And the world had gone very, very quiet after that. Manslaughter tends to do that, even if it was in self-defense. So she'd built a life around quiet strength. Around control. Around protecting others because no one had protected her. Then Miiya had happened.

Lona's knees met the floor like the buckling of a folding chair. An awkward sliding descent with her back against the wall. She sat in the dim glow of the emergency light and unbuckled the front flap of her satchel. The materials inside were strictly professional; lesson plans, a half-eaten granola bar, and pens. But beneath the folders, tucked in the inner pocket behind everything else, was a folded sheet of thin white paper. Lona hesitated before drawing it out. It was creased into quarters, soft at the folds from being taken in and out so many times. One corner had a small rip where it had once caught on one of her rings. She unfolded it like one might unfold a fragile letter from a loved one, familiar and terrible.. and sacred.

The last attendance sheet from the day after Miiya Aether died. Lona had filled it out with a numb hand, but she'd done it. Her pen strokes were smaller than usual. Tighter. As if afraid that making them too bold would shout the truth into permanence. Everyone else was marked present that day. They had come in quiet, the school already echoing with mourning. By noon, they were sent home.

Everyone accounted for. Except Miiya. Lona had left that line blank. But she hadn't thrown the sheet away.

She had folded it, with mechanical precision, slipped it into her back pocket that morning without understanding why—and it had followed her to work every day since. Today, it came back out. She stared at the blank line next to 'Aether, Miiya.' The name glared up at her like a sore wound that refused to scab over. She could still hear the girl's voice in her memory, bright and high, tripping over apologies and jokes and oddly charming over-explanations. The sound of her wings rustling when she was nervous. The nervous laugh.

Lona blinked long and hard, willing her eyes to clear. She reached into her satchel again and pulled out a pen. She placed the tip on the line but didn’t mark it. Not yet. First, she whispered. Softly. Clearly. If anyone was listening - anyone still lingering in the dark - they'd hear her.

"Miiya Aether."

She closed her eyes, and for one impossible second, she could feel her there. That warm presence. The ridiculous hope she always carried. Lona exhaled slowly.

“Present."

The pen marked a line across Miiya's name in black.


Aether, Miiya

 

[Irihi]

Miiya Aether ​

Mentions: Revi

Upon Waking
“Um… unless yew want to nap some more; sorry!” Miiya was standing before Miss Morgan, in front of the teacher’s desk, in her room, with all the lights on, and the darkness of night outside the windows. She looked half-contrite for waking the chemistry teacher and half-amused by the fact that Morgan-sensei had totally just passed out for, like, an hour; just snoozing at her desk. Teachers have a rough life. “I mean, I got most of it, but if you could please help with this covalent shell balance equation bit?” Miiya held her paper out to Miss Morgan--between fingers of a hand of an arm covered by Miiya’s signature cyan arm-warmers.

Those Haunting Morgan-Sensei
Kuroda-sensei took up a position that was an approximation of how she’d look if she were a corporeal living being leaning against the rooftop railing. Even-more-ephemeral smoke effervesced from her transparent cigarette.

“I think you enjoy terrorizing the teachers at least as much as you like watching over the students,” opined her fellow haunt.

“That’s the only thing I enjoy, the apparition responded. “Otherwise she comes up here and hangs out in my spot.” She blew out a thin stream of ethereal smoke that was carried away by an unfelt night wind. “You know how annoying it is to be walked through,” she said. “As for the rest; the last thing you and I need are a bunch of frustrated hormonal little spooks running around this place wailing about how they never got to kiss their dipshit boyfriend or girlfriend. The best thing about being dead is the peace and quiet.”

“Then why don’t you just move on?” A sly smile.

“Don’t tell me what to do, you bossy c*nt.” The Black Teacher, The Ghost of Ayumi Kuroda retorted before she took another drag as she gazed out over the city.