Author's Note

Please don't kill me. Extremely sorry and hope this 5.5k chunk gets me pardoned? Thanks so much to everyone that has supported me in the past and up till now, really.

Eli woke up to the persistent banging on her door, but continued to stay in bed and sleep. She wasn't an incredibly heavy sleeper; she just could ignore things really well. (It was how she escaped from most of her thoughts and problems, anyway.) However, when she heard Umi's shouts for her to get up, she remembered the reason as to why she was being awoken so early in the morning.

I should have just given them the directions last night... She grumbled internally as she called out to Umi, letting her know that she was up.

Eli entered her personal washroom and started washing up. The sting of the cold water on her face and the mint taste of her toothpaste freshened her up.

Speaking of last night, Eli was actually really grateful that they had arrived there before her. Although how they had managed to get the location and end up there faster than her and Umi's tracking of the location was a mystery to her. The Errand was very new and she had acted as fast as she could, knowing that time was tight. Thankfully, they had stalled for time and had also removed the device that took the girl's energy away. They had barely made it in time for the girl to survive, almost at the expense of their lives, though. The red haired one had looked exceptionally beat up, probably from the previous day too.

She exited her bedroom and was greeted by Umi and Kotori, both getting ready to head out.

"Wait, Kotori, you're coming?" She asked, surprised.

"Yup! Mama said I could since it's only a short trip. Besides, THE Eli is coming along with me so I have nothing to worry about," Kotori explained excitedly.

She was hardly ever allowed out of the school ever since she had been born so even a short trip to pick the new students up was an adventure to her.

"Plus, I'll be your transport!"

At this point, Eli and Umi stared at her in shock.

"You're going to use your powers AND go outside?" Umi asked worriedly.

"...Did you really ask your mother about this?" Eli asked sceptically.

Kotori simply gave them a seemingly innocent smile and rushed them out. Eli was too tired to convince her to stay and Umi knew she wouldn't be able to say no to Kotori. They shared a look and sighed, both silently reminding themselves to consciously be alert for Kotori's sake.

The sun was barely up but the morning brightness still made Eli cringe a little. The three of them walked the short distance from their dorm entrance to the road, passing by the front yard. They got to the road and Kotori thought of what they should ride.

Well, sports cars are cool.

In a flash, Kotori disappeared and in her place on the road was a white convertible with the hood down. It was sleek and gorgeous with its pristine white coat and short distance from the ground. The velvet leather seats only added to the exquisite look. It was definitely a car anyone would want. Not Eli nor Umi, though.

"Kotori, that's a little too flashy, don't you think?" Umi shuffled uncomfortably.

She didn't appreciate unwanted attention, after all.

"Ehh, I thought it would be cool to drive around in this," Kotori's voice rang out from the car's perfect sound system.

"I agree with Umi. Can't we get something a little more... humble?"

The car tires deflated slightly to show Kotori's disappointment and a puff of engine represented Kotori's sigh. Then, in a split second, the car disappeared and what took its place was...

...An alpaca. One large enough to carry both Eli and Umi if they squeezed a little. Eli literally smacked her palm against her forehead and Umi gave an unbelieving laugh.

"This isn't flashy and I can still carry the both of you," the alpaca countered in Kotori's voice. "Hop on, let's go pick up the new students!"

The alpaca raised one of her legs as if thrusting her arm towards the air like how cartoon characters do so when they were off on a journey. Eli simply shot her a look and took out her phone, threatening to call the principal.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Kotori said as she changed to a typical black matted BMW.

Eli took the driver seat while Umi entered the passenger seat beside her. Once they closed the doors and buckled up, the car (Kotori) drove off. Eli put her hands on the wheel, pretending to drive just in case any nosy parkers peeked in. Umi gave Kotori the directions to the Nishikino Residence and she sped down the road, enjoying her rare taste of freedom. Even as a car on the road, Kotori revelled in the sights around her. As it was still somewhat early, the air was still cool, damp and fresh. The roads were clear with little traffic and she took a deep breath, enjoying the air outside the tall iron cast gates she had lived behind her whole life. She looked at all the shops lining the streets, noticing a few with cute signs or merchandise from what she could see as she sped past them. Even in the morning when activities were at a minimum, the streets looked lively to her. There was a rush of excitement through her blood (or fuel in this case?) and it was translated to the speed at which she drove down the streets. Eli noted that they were gradually creeping past the speed limit but decided not to comment on it. It was a rare moment for her childhood friend and she knew how much Kotori was enjoying this trip. Besides, if they did get pulled over, she knew Umi wouldn't hesitate to just change the polices' memories to make them forget they had even seen them.

They spotted the three girls by the sidewalk as they approached the huge residence. The three of them were seated on a bench with the red head and black haired one leaning on each other, sleeping. Eli glanced at her watch, noting that it was 8 on the dot.

At least we don't have to worry about punctuality.

Kotori pulled up just in front of the three new students as they awoke from their naps. Eli and Umi exited the car and introduced themselves.

"Good morning. I'm Eli Ayase, President of Nova Private Academy's Student Council."

"Umi Sonoda, Vice-President," Umi gave a polite bow.

"Kotori Minami here! I'm the Secretary."

The trio stared at the car as a voice came out of it.

"Did the car... just talk?" Maki asked, befuddled.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Kotori's voice was heard as she transformed back to herself. "I'm also a shape shifter and your ticket to school today."

"I see... Well I'm Nozomi Toujou. Thank you once again for saving us," Nozomi bowed politely as well.

"Maki Nishikino," Maki introduced, twirling her hair.

"Hmph! I'm Nico Yazawa. Don't get too cocky because of yesterday."

Eli simply made a sound of acknowledgement and signalled for Kotori to change to something bigger. A grey SUV appeared in Kotori's place on the road and Nico started loading their belongings in the boot. If anyone had walked past (not that they would since it was a prime residence), they would probably have been shocked at the sight of a tiny twin tailed girl carrying two large suitcases barely smaller than her on her own. It wasn't a problem at all for Nico, though. They boarded the car and Kotori drove off, heading back to the school.

"So, Kotori, you can change to anything you want?" Nozomi asked in awe as she examined the interior of the car.

"Yup! I just need to know how it looks like. It doesn't even have to be an existing item, sort of."

"That's amazing, I didn't even know this wasn't a real car..." Maki gave a rare compliment.

"Then, what are your powers?" Nico directed the question to the two in the front.

"Memory Control. I can get any sort of information I want as long as I have the face of the person or image of the item in my mind," Umi replied. "But don't worry, I don't use it unnecessarily."

The three grew slightly wary of Umi. Being naturally guarded since young, they didn't feel very at ease near someone who could know of their whole background in an instant. Kotori seemed to sense it and tried to reassure them.

"Umi won't check up on you guys unless she has to. When she first knew of her power, she didn't even want to use it at all! She still feels bad about using it."

"K-Kotori! Jeez..."

They relaxed slightly at that. Nozomi understood her position, though. She shared the same sentiments with regards to her Mind Reading powers, although in her case she couldn't choose to hear them but rather not to hear them.

"Then, what about you, Eli?" Nozomi asked.

She had been really curious about it. Something told her that their blonde saviour didn't just have ice powers like she had demonstrated yesterday.

"It's not important," Eli curtly replied.

Her harsh response generated an awkward silence in the car. Nozomi was slightly stunned at her cold behaviour which surpassed all their previous interactions. To think that it was just last night when she was deciding that Eli may not be that bad after all.

"You'll find out soon enough anyway. Eli is somewhat of a celebrity in NPA, but we'll get to that later," Kotori attempted at diffusing the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Anyway, why don't the three of you rest up for now? There's still a while till we reach NPA and it's really early in the morning."

Nozomi glanced towards Nico who was already fast asleep and Maki who was desperately forcing her eyes open.

"Thanks for the offer then. I apologise for our rudeness," Nozomi smiled slightly, feeling bad for not staying awake but nevertheless grateful for the chance to rest.

In less than a minute, the three of them were fast asleep, slumped against each other.

The cool surface on her cheek was the first thing that registered in Nozomi's mind. She stirred awake slowly, wondering if they had reached NPA yet. As she looked around groggily, her confusion grew. Then her alertness. With the dim light in the enclosed area, she could barely make out the grey walls and shelves full of cubical objects that she could not identify from afar. A low humming sound was the only thing she could hear, indicating that a power source was running somewhere. As far as she could tell now, she was alone in a foreign place that was definitely not NPA.

Okay, think this through slowly, Nozomi. There's no point in panicking.

She first checked for any thoughts that she could hear. Once it was confirmed that she was the only one present, she started slowly moving towards the wall, deciding that it would be easier to find an exit by tracing the walls. Gingerly, she traced her hand along the smooth wall, treading quietly towards what she hoped would be a way out. There was a certain stillness to the room that made her uneasy, yet she did not feel as though she was in mortal danger.

Sooner than she had expected, Nozomi reached the corner of the room and turned. Not long later, she felt a difference in surface under the tips of her fingers. A cool metal surface represented the barrier between her and the other side. Unfortunately, there was no indication as to whether it was a door or not. It seemed as though it was just a metal wall that filled up a rectangular hole in the wall. But Nozomi knew behind it lay the outside. She just had a feeling and as most people have come to realise, the instincts of psychics should usually be trusted.

With no doorknob or any other mortally possible method to open the "door", she channelled her energy towards the door, raising her hands and imagining as though the giant slab of metal were now attached to her hands, just like it would be to a huge magnet. Once she felt that the connection was secure, she yanked her hands back hard. Low and behold, the metal door was now completely unhinged and beyond it lay a seemingly never -ending corridor with an oriental carpeted floor, exquisite wallpaper and dozens of wooden furnished doors. She dropped the metal by the side and cautiously stepped into the corridor.

The moment she did, though, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She didn't even need to turn behind to know that somehow, it was a dead end behind her and her only exit seemed to be through one of the ominously regal, polished wooden doors.

Strange, this is as weird as a dream, but somehow it feels so real...

Deciding that it was better to check every door to eliminate the possibility of her missing the exit, she did her usual check for any thoughts behind the first door before opening it. As expected, there wasn't a soul inside, but what did surprise her was that it was just a completely empty room. There wasn't even wallpaper, floor tiles or any lights. The whole room, or container as it sounded more befitting of the barren state of the room, was just concrete walls, floor and ceiling. Feeling slightly weirded out by that fact, she hastily closed the door and went to the one opposite it. After checking, she opened the door but this time was met with a garden. The sun was shining brightly, the grass was vibrant and green, the air was warm and crisp; everything was perfect. Except the huge iron cast gates that stood possibly about 10 metres tall that completely cut her chances of getting out there from this garden to zero. Sighing, Nozomi closed the door and ventured on to the next one.

She continued doing the routine, checking for any thoughts before opening the door, only to find yet another strange room. Every room was different but similar in one aspect: there was no way out other than the way she came in. She was starting to get tired of this. The corridor was never-ending and she couldn't even see the dead end behind her now. She continued to trudge down the corridor, checking through every room and not even bothering to get her hopes up now.

All of a sudden, she had an abrupt glimpse of a black shadow pouncing on her. From what she could see, the shadow had pinned her onto the ground and raised up an arm where she could see it glinting under the corridors' chandeliers' light. Then her vision returned to the sight of the endless corridor ahead of her. Slightly confused by her unexpected out of body experience, she took a hesitant step forward. Then she realised.

Nozomi swivelled around and braced herself before getting tackled by a shadowed figure. She fell to the ground but agilely used the momentum of the push to create some distance between the perpetrator and herself. How did it manage to sneak up on her? Even animals have thoughts; Nozomi should have sensed it the moment it was 200 metres away from her. The checking of the rooms were just to really eliminate any mistakes. Luckily, she had just experienced her future reading powers by accident. They always only happened at random times since she tried to suppress it. Ignorance was bliss at most times, but she was thankful for it now.

The figure that lay in front of her was actually a feral wolf, with a shimmering silver coat of fur and striking purple eyes. It's muscles were tense and looked ready to pounce; with slobber dripping from its jaw slightly and a low, ominous growl, the wolf was definitely ready to ravage her.

Nozomi knew she was in trouble. She didn't actually have much combat skills apart from her telekinesis, but with her surroundings only being bizarre yet empty rooms, she had no weapons to use to defend herself. Her only other option was to escape, but for some reason, it was as though an external force was preventing her from teleporting out, like it actually wanted her to die by the hands (or claws) of the wolf.

She stood rooted to the ground, muscles as tense as the animal opposite her. They seemed to both be waiting for the other to make a move. The air around them was charged and tense, as though a single twitch of a muscle would cause everything to snap. Whilst her body was completely immobile, her mind was running at the speed of light.

Focus, Nozomi. You've gotten out of many sticky situations before, albeit not as life threatening as this. Still, you can do it. Just find a weakness somehow...

Then she noticed something strange. A miniscule object was protruding out from the left hind leg of the wolf and when she focused her eyes on it, she could see it slightly glowing. That was definitely suspicious. However, just as she had decided on trying to remove it swiftly with her telekinesis, the wolf ran out of patience and sprung to the air. With it moving, Nozomi couldn't focus on the object and thus couldn't remove it.

The wolf collided into her, effectively pinning her down. Nozomi desperately used her hands to push the underside of the wolf's jaw and it's neck, avoiding getting bitten at all costs. She could feel the blade-like claws digging into her shoulders and thighs where the wolf stood on and her eyes were tearing not only from the pain but also the rancid breath of the wolf. In the midst of deflecting the wolf's teeth, she trained her eyes on the object that she could now see clearly. It looked like a chip of some sort and Nozomi sincerely prayed to all the gods up above that it was the thing making the wolf so vicious. She then yanked it out with her powers and flickered her eyes back to the wolf.

Thankfully, she was right. The wolf stopped moving and calmly stepped off of her, then sat down beside her as she caught her breath. Dusting herself off, she looked down and noticed that even though she was absolutely certain that those claws had dug into her, she bore no wounds. The strangeness didn't stop there. As she turned towards where the endless corridor should have been, she was met with a huge golden double door, with jewels encrusted along the sides and twin crystal door handles. The whole door just screamed money and oddly fit really well with the ornate and posh surroundings. If it weren't for the fact that it just appeared out of nowhere. She turned back to the wolf, only to find that it had now disappeared.

Did it turn into the door or something...

Nozomi scoffed at the absurdity of everything and reached for the handles. Looks like she just had to play along. She yanked the doors open, not forgetting to check before she did, but the moment she saw what lay before her, she wondered why she even bothered.

She was surrounded by a long, busy street filled with people milling around, going about with their own respective things. It appeared as though she had just stepped back into the past, with the medieval buildings, antique displays and people dressed in garbs from the past. She wandered around, trying to find a way to exit this strange land. There must definitely be a way to return to where she was.

Come to think of it, where was she last? Nozomi tried to jog her memory, digging out her most recent memory before all the bizarreness appeared, when she heard a shout.

"Hey! Stop that thief!"

She turned around to face the source of the voice when a figure just beside her dashed off. Putting two and two together, she chased after the figure, who had a red cloak draped over them. They continued running, with the crowd somehow parting perfectly for them and no one joining in to help. Figures, she was in a strange situation after all. Nozomi was starting to feel more tired. Physical endurance might have been a strength of hers, but even this much was starting to take a toll on her. She wanted to use her powers so bad but she couldn't risk using it in front of all these people. Even if they did seem weird, backward and not caring about her current predicament at all.

By a stroke of good luck, though, the thief ran into a dead end that was deserted and Nozomi acted immediately. She lifted them up and effectively made them stop running. She bent over and rested her hands on her thighs, catching her breath. When she got back to NPA, she definitely needed to work out a little more.

Wait, that's it! I was on the way to NPA! How on earth did I get here...

At her realisation, she unknowingly released some of her hold on the thief which caused them to start running again. Nozomi noticed this quickly, thankfully, and stopped them again. She brought them closer to her and took of their hood, revealing a young girl that couldn't have been more than 10 years old underneath the cloak. With her dark hair, azure eyes and tanned skin, she didn't look like she was capable of hurting anyone. Yet there she was, caught with a suspicious bundle in her arms. The young girl didn't dare to move (not that she could under Nozomi's influence) and just stared at Nozomi with fearful eyes.

"So, what's in that little bundle of yours?" Nozomi interrogated the girl, wanting to affirm that the girl was actually a thief before she did anything.

The girl remained silent, not daring to utter anything yet. She appeared to be afraid of Nozomi's powers, making her unable to say anything. Nozomi sighed, and loosened her hold on the girl, though she remained watchful of her just in case the girl tried to escape once again. The moment Nozomi released the girl, she dropped down to her knees and clasped her hands together.

"Please, just let me go this once!" The girl begged.

Stunned by the sudden outburst, Nozomi just stood there without reacting. The girl took her immobility as an opportunity and scrambled to her feet, attempting to run away, only to be caught by Nozomi's telekinesis once more.

"Your repeated attempts at escaping isn't really helping me grant your request, you know," Nozomi chided. "What's in the bundle and why do you have to resort to stealing?"

She let the girl move freely with the exception of her feet being held still, to lessen her fear. The girl seemed to finally understand that telling the truth was her only option and her shoulders slumped, fighting spirit drained from her.

"It's my family heirloom. Also known as the Royal Family's newest treasure. They send bandits to pillage and steal from everyone in the country, abusing their status and power. No one can do anything against them. But I couldn't just let our heirloom get taken away by those thugs," she revealed, close to tears.

"Don't listen to a word from that filthy liar's mouth, young miss. Streets are full of rats like them, creating sob stories to trick kind maidens like yourself," a third voice boomed from behind.

Nozomi turned behind, only to see the only entrance to the alley they were in blocked by a horde of armed soldiers with a man at the front. The general, she supposed. Judging from the situation, they were probably the royal army and were out to get the heirloom that the girl had stolen. If she did believe the girl, that is.

Said girl cowered further towards the dead end in fear at the presence of the army. Nozomi stood her ground, on guard. For some reason, she felt compelled to trust the young girl instead of the army. Sure, she knew nothing of this world she had been thrown into, but a psychic's gut was always to be believed in. Nevertheless, she had always been cautious with her actions.

"What are you planning to do if you caught her?" Nozomi questioned.

"Of course, every criminal must face their punishment. Age has nothing to do with the severity of the crime. She will receive the justified amount of lashes and be locked up till the time of her release is right, just like any other thief," the general smirked, eyes completely devoid of compassion.

And Nozomi knew she couldn't trust the army. No one should deserve such a harsh punishment. Furthermore, the general seemed almost happy to be announcing it, as though he derived much joy from others' suffering. Thief or not, this girl should not be caught by the heartless men. But regardless, they were 20 armed soldiers to just 1 of her and the only path out was also blocked. She needed a plan.

The years spent planning their pranks and having to devise impromptu ones to cover Maki and Nico's hasty asses definitely hadn't gone to waste, though. She quickly scanned her surroundings and within seconds, she had a plan. Risky, but their best shot nonetheless. She tried to convey it to the young girl, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to find the girl's thought. In fact, she couldn't find anyone's at all.

Not the main focus now, Nozomi. You can fix this later.

She walked backwards closer to the girl, still on high alert.

"I won't ask you to trust me, since I don't completely trust you too. But if you want to get out of this mess, you're going to have to believe in me when I say that I absolutely do not want them to harm you, or anyone else for that matter, like that. If you can do that, just follow my lead," she whispered quickly.

She gave the girl a few seconds to think before putting her plan into action.

"Fair statement. Well, now that I've caught her, you can get her. But I should get some reward, right? After all, I did help you catch the elusive thief," Nozomi bartered.

A twitch of his eyebrow and a purse of his lips. The general was obviously unwilling, but Nozomi needed to make sure she could follow the troops.

"Not willing to? How can a leader be so selfish in front of his people? Does this behaviour reflect well on the king? My, what would the other continents say if they knew about this? I am a traveling writer, after all," she subtly threatened, hoping that they wouldn't call their bluff.

But years of being able to read people's minds had the effect of her being able to know how to deceive those minds too. She could see the general's annoyance and begrudging acceptance to her conditions.

"Fine, just follow us to the castle. Men, grab that rat."

With that command, the front few men grabbed the girl uncouthly, dragging her along despite her pained protests. They headed out of the alley and back onto the main street, citizens all making a clear path for them to walk. Nozomi walked beside the girl, waiting for her chance. After a few moments with her heart pounding in her chest, she saw the stall she needed.

She abruptly stopped, making the general and his men look at her strangely.

"You know, there's a popular saying that when life gives you lemons..."

She lifted some cut lemons from the fruit stall up ahead and silently hovered them above everyone. Then, she swiftly brought them to the faces of the general and the men holding the girl and squeezed the lemons hard.

"...don't be too sour about it!" Nozomi shouted as she grabbed the girl's hand and ran.

With the citizens having parted the way for them, it was easy to escape. They ran along the clear path and abruptly joined in with the crowd, blending in. Nozomi felt an adrenaline rush similar to when Nico, Maki and her had used to have their close shaves while doing pranks.

Right, where are they? Why aren't they here now?

And as though her thoughts had been granted, she felt a jolt through her and found herself sitting bolt upright on a bed. She gasped for air, still panting from the adrenaline, very bewildered. Her head whipped from left to right, frantically taking in her surroundings. Eggshell coloured walls, bare room with nothing but the bed she was lying on and an unknown machine with wires connected to it. Wires that were also connected to her. Was that the reason for her strange series of dreams? Then again, it was unlikely for them to simply just be dreams. They were too real, too... plotted. Nozomi thought back to the series of events that had led up to her lying here. Before her strange dreams, they had been in a car, on the way to NPA. She had been with Nico and Maki at the back, the car was Kotori and Eli and Umi had been in the front. Because it had been so early, the three of them had fallen asleep within a few minutes. What had happened after that was a blur. Nozomi could vaguely remember something like the three of them immediately being ushered into a building, but it had been safe. Her head pounded at her attempts on clearing the blur. It was as though her memories had always been viewed through a screen and now, the screen was covered by fog.

"Oh, you're awake," a voice startled Nozomi out from her thoughts.

She whipped her head towards the door and there stood Umi, wearing what might be a slightly sympathetic smile on her face.

"You're probably really confused now, but rest assured that you're all safe. All three of you. I think Nico has awoken too and it won't be long before Maki joins you both," Umi reassured as she held the door open, a signal for Nozomi to follow. "I'll be bringing you to where the others will be too."

As per usual, Nozomi kept her guard on. Regardless of how much Eli and Umi had helped them in the past 2 days, trusting people still was not part of her nature, unfortunately. But she really didn't have any other option this time. Also, she had a strong feeling that Umi was the reason for her fogged memories. But eyes don't lie and Umi's were a clear amber.

So she gingerly followed the other girl.

"Welcome to my office. I'm Principal Minami, your new principal," an elegant lady who bore a striking resemblance to Kotori (or was it the other way round) greeted them.

Nozomi had entered through the majestic wooden polished double doors to be met with the sight of the lady behind the desk. Before she had the chance to ask any questions, Nico and Kotori had entered, followed shortly by Maki and Eli. The three of them had immediately rushed to each other, seeking much comfort from being together.

"What you have all just experienced was NPA's aptitude test. It is necessary for every incoming student as it will place you into your appropriate houses according to power types. Also, it assigns a rank to your power. After all, this is a school and one of the school's goals is to guide students to have full control of their powers," Principal Minami explained.

"Sorry for fogging your memories prior to the test. It's a necessary step in order to achieve the most accurate and unbiased results," Umi apologized.

Nozomi supposed she did understand the rationale. By not letting them know that it had been a test, they would truly act naturally. It would eliminate any chances of false preparations beforehand. Still, the experience had made her realise that Umi's power could actually be more terrifying than it seemed. She made a mental note on that.

"Don't worry though, I've mentioned this when we were arriving. Umi will never use her powers unnecessarily!" Kotori chirped from the side.

Umi flashed Kotori a quick grateful smile, slightly flustered. Nozomi caught the exchange and thought that maybe, there was less to worry about than she had thought of.

"In any case, I will now announce your results," Principal Minami announced as she opened up a file.

"Nozomi Toujou, Internal House, the house of students whose powers are channelled from within and affect either themselves or others within. Rank S."

"Nico Yazawa, Physical House, the house of students whose powers affect their external or physical appearance or being. Rank A."

"Maki Nishikino, Added House, the house of students with either one or more powers or powers that cannot be classified. Fire Rank A, Singing Manipulation Rank C."

Principal Minami looked at the three new students who were still taking in the new knowledge. Her lips showed a small hint of a widening smile.

"Welcome to Nova Private Academy."

A/N

Imagine my fics are like a volcano. They were dormant and now NPA is active again. Hopefully till it ends...

Hope you enjoyed this :)