He floated in the ether, confused. He had somehow become detached from his host without awakening. This was not supposed to happen...unless his host had died. But that should not happen before awakening. The powers he and his rival carried warped fate around their wielders, ensuring they would bring great effect upon the world. By that warping, events would shape so they would not die without awakening, and after the power was always enough that only one could kill the other. For him to be detached without awakening...curious.

He sensed for his host...and could not find him. Instead, all he found was a web of...threads? Fibers? They glowed with energy unfamiliar to him, and still Sleeping as he was he lacked the cognitive capability to analyze. All he could do was follow the fibers, seeking his host.

As he floated along the web, he encountered other artifacts. They lacked his awareness, but had the same type of power. They did not flow, but remained stationary. Apparently, they were remaining by their hosts, and by moving he'd lost track of his. ...irrelevant. If his host fell prey to this, then he wasn't a worthy host. He would find a host that was worthy-

There it was. A shock through the web, the entire network flinching back from the force. He raced for the source. That power was the one that would be worthy-

"People are people and clothing is clothing!"

...he had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but the sheer power behind it told him this was exactly who he was looking for. Through her connection to the web as it unraveled, he dove into her aura. Her power...it wasn't entirely human, and yet it drew him in, designed to take new power into itself and incorporate it.

It would take time to adapt and adjust, time before he awakened...but when it happened, then his rival would be in for a surprise...

"What do you mean, we have no records?"

Ryuko groaned and rubbed her eyes as she heard that high pitched shriek. She had not gotten back until quite late the night before, and despite her life no longer being anywhere near as intense as it had been, she didn't fall asleep very easily. In point of fact, she actually had a harder time getting asleep - and staying asleep - now that the only thing she had to worry about was what she would do with her life instead of hunting down her father's killer...and all the rest of the craziness that had gone along with it.

An adorable mewling drew her attention down to a particular source of craziness. From her present angle, all she could see of her girlfriend - as odd as it felt to think of her best friend that way even if they were dating now - was a brown ball of hair burrowing into her chest as arms wrapped tighter around her. "Make Jaku-shempai be quite, Ryuko-chan..." she mumbled sleepily, burrowing in deeper in the sleepy cuddle.

Sighing and rolling her eyes with a smile, Ryuko lowered her arm back around Mako to relax. The scream had hopefully been from further away in the residence than it sounded, and if it concerned her it would be brought to her attention gently-

The door quickly slammed open as a heeled boot struck the floor with an echoing clack. Ryuko didn't need the blaze of light that filled the room to know who that was. "Nee-san, it's too early..." she complained in a grumble as she burrowed under the pillow and blankets. "Cut the light show at least..."

"You need to get up now, Ryuko," Satsuki responded calmly, not bothering to wait for Ryuko to roll over since she knew she wouldn't. As the 'light show' of her entrance faded, she knelt down beside the bed. "Even if it weren't past noon, you would need to get up now."

"Past noon?" Ryuko grumbled under her breath. "...whatever..." She tried to burrow deeper into the covers.

Satsuki sighed softly. "...Mankanshoku-san is making her Mystery Croquettes-"

"Croquettes!" Ryuko and Mako shouted together as they leapt out of the covers, both still in their pajamas as they rushed for the dining room.

Satsuki furrowed her brow in irritation.

"You really shouldn't be surprised," Inumuta Hoka told her as he stepped in behind her, the top of his jacket snapping shut over his mouth once his words finished, only to snap back open as he spoke again. "Neither of them have ever been the sort to respond to new developments enthusiastically unless it involved food or a fight."

"Or both," Satsuki allowed, remembering what had happened at the first meal at this new residence she'd acquired for the entire group that was there: herself, her sister, the former Elite Four of Honnouji Academy, Shiro Iori, and the Mankanshoku family. It was meant to be a fresh start for the group as they moved on with their lives beyond the Life Fiber conflict. It had taken Gamagori an hour to clean up the mess. "Are you sure about what you found?"

"I'm afraid so," Inumuta admitted. "For some reason, there are no records of anyone's schooling at Honnouji Academy, nor of its connections to the other schools of Japan. On top of that, due to the lingering after effects of the neutralized Nativity, there are no official records - or memories - of that event either...or even of the Kiryuin family, somehow." He straightened his glasses nervously. "So if we want to pursue our goals for our future, most of us...will need to re-enroll in high school."

"Most of us?" Satsuki inquired incisively.

"Ira Gamagori is too old to enroll in high school at this point, and will have to make due as is," Inumuta admitted ruefully. "As for the rest of us..."

"Finding a school that we'll be able to be comfortable at will be difficult," Satsuki observed idly. "Even if they won't remember us because of the long term effects of the Life Fibers, we will remember what we did there..."

"Actually," Inumuta began carefully, "I have found one school that...is not one we conquered during our endeavors. It somehow was...overlooked."

Satsuki's eyes narrowed as she turned to face Inumuta. "Really now?" she asked coldly. "That alone bears...investigation."

Inumuta nodded firmly. "I shall enroll us immediately," he confirmed as he pulled out his laptop.