Chapter One: Heart Attack

The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silencer lay over the houses of Jingumae. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay patched and yellowing; the summer heat had been particularly brutal to Japan this year. The inhabitants of Jingumae had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, blasting air conditioners at full power or throwing up their windows in hope of tempting a nonexistent breeze. The only person left outdoors was a teenage girl who was lying flat on her back in a flower bed outside 1-10-4.

She was a skinny, chestnut-haired, red-eyed girl who had the pinched, slightly unhealthy look of someone who had grown a lot in a short space of time. Her jeans were torn and dirty, her the decal on her T-shirt was fading, and her hair was a tangled mess due to a lack of effort to tame it. But Atsuko "Akko" Kagari cared very little about how she appeared at the moment as she hid herself behind a large Tsubaki bush, making her quite invisible to anyone who may pass by. In fact, the only way she would be spotted was if her mother and father stuck their heads out the living room window and looked straight down into the flower bed below.

On the whole, Akko thought she was to be congratulated on her idea of hiding here. She was not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard Earth, but on the other hand, nobody was giving her pitiable looks when they thought Akko didn't notice, or making some excuse why they should watch anything except the news whenever Akko walked into the living room with her parents.

Almost as though this thought fluttered through the open window, Mr. Kagari suddenly spoke. "Akko hasn't come to check the news again. Think she's finally given up?"

"Have you met Akko?" said Mrs. Kagari; Akko could practically hear her frown. "She'll probably come up with something clever or stupid to listen in."

"Or both," Mr. Kagari said with a humorless chuckle. "It's not that I don't understand why she's so insistent, but shouldn't need to be so obsessed about matters better left for adults. She's just a child, for Kami's sake. She doesn't need to spend her days looking over her shoulder for – "

"Shuichi, shh!" said Mrs. Kagari. "The window's open!"

"Oh – yes – sorry, dear…"

The Kagari's fell silent. Akko frowned at her parents even though they couldn't see. She knew they were just trying to protect her, and Akko is grateful that they care so much for her safety, but keeping her in the dark will only hurt her in the long run, just as it always did. Akko would have hoped that at least Blair, her familiar and guardian, would keep her in the loop on current events, but barely a week after they came home from summer vacation, Blair suddenly up and left.

"Ursula and granny need my help getting everything sorted out," she told Akko vaguely. "We'll talk soon, Akko-nyan."

That had been weeks ago and she still hadn't received a single letter from Blair.

Akko listened to a jingle about some new Ichiraku Ramen flavor ("Now with more orange!") while she watched a black cat amble slowly across the Kagari's low garden wall. The cat was scanning the house like it was looking for something. This was not the first time Akko had seen that same black cat roaming the streets of Jingumae, but she had no idea where it had come from. She had never seen it until the start of summer and she likely would have heard from Mrs. Kagari if one of the neighbors got a new cat. It was probably a stray, but that didn't explain why it was always hanging around her house. The black cat jumped off the wall and vanished from view before Mr. Kagari's voice floated out of the window again.

"Have you seen Akko at all today?"

"She left earlier in the afternoon, but she hasn't come back yet," said Mrs. Kagari with a worrying edge. "I hope she hasn't gotten herself into trouble…."

"She's probably just hanging out with her friends," said Mr. Kagari. "She's got so many. She's surprisingly popular."

Akko repressed a snort with difficulty. She hardly considered herself popular; the groups of friends she hanged out with were usually an extension of her friendship with Hikari, a popular vampire Demi-Human that has been best friends with since they were in hoikuen. Akko hadn't spent much time with her friends since coming back for the summer, preferring to spend most of her holidays wandering the streets, lost in her thoughts while scavenging newspapers along the way.

The opening notes of the music that heralded the evening news reached Akko's ears and her stomach turned over. Perhaps tonight – after a month of waiting – would be the night –

"Princess of Hell engaged in a fistfight with demon news anchor on live television after being publicly humiliated for her idea of a hotel to rehabilitate demons – "

"When did it get to the point where demon princesses from hell become the norm?" said Mr. Kagari exasperatedly over the end of the newsreader's sentence, but no matter: Outside in the flower bed, Akko's stomach seemed to unclench. If anything had happened, it would surely have been the first item on the news; death and destruction were more important than punching news anchors.

She let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again…and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet….

She kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not recognized for what it really was – an unexplained disappearance, perhaps, or some strange accident…but the demon princess fist fight was followed by news on the drought in the southeast; then a helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Oyama, then a famous actress's divorce from her famous husband.

Akko closed her eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the newsreader said, "And finally, in the wake of his recent retirement, former #1 hero All Might has opened his own chain of fast food restaurants in the Tokyo Prefecture called All Meats. Shinya Hanazuki went to find out more…."

Akko opened her eyes again. If they had reached retired superheroes opening fast food restaurants, there was nothing else worth hearing. She rolled cautiously onto her front and raised herself onto her knees and elbows, preparing to crawl out from under the window.

She had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession.

A loud, echoing bang broke the sleepy silence like a gunshot; the black cat from before streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a furious curse, and the sound of breaking glass came from the Kagari's living room, and as though Akko had been waiting for this signal, she jumped to her feet, at the same time pulling the Shiny Rod from her belt as if unsheathing a sword. But before she could draw herself to full height, the top of her head collided with the open window, and the resultant crash made Mr. Kagari scream even louder.

Akko felt as if her head had been split in two; eyes streaming, she swayed, trying to focus on the street and spot the source of the noise, but she had barely staggered upright again when a pair of unbelievably strong hands reached through the open window and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What – are – you – doing?" Mrs. Kagari hissed into Akko's ear. "Put that away before someone sees!"

But Akko ignored her mother and stared around, maintaining a firm grip on the Shiny Rod. There was no sign of what had caused the loud banging noise, but there were several faces peering through various nearby windows. Akko stuffed the Shiny Rod hastily back into her belt and tried to look innocent as Mrs. Kagari pulled her hands back.

"Lovely evening!" shouted Mrs. Kagari, waving at Mrs. Otone, who was glaring from behind her net curtains. "Did you hear that noise just now? Sounds like the Professor Shinonome blew up another one of her gadgets again! Gave Shuichi and me quite a start!"

She continued to grin in a maniac way until all the curious neighbors had disappeared from their various windows, then she lurched forward against the windowsill with an exhausted sigh and gave Akko a piercing stare.

"What the hell were you thinking, Akko?" asked Mrs. Kagari is a tired sort of voice that came from years of dealing with Akko's antics.

"Whaddya mean?" said Akko distractedly. She kept looking up and down the street, still hoping to see the person who had made the banging sound.

"Making a racket like you're setting off a bomb outside our – "

"I didn't make that noise," said Akko firmly.

Mr. Kagari now appeared beside his wife; his glasses slightly askew.

"What were you doing hiding under the window?"

"Yes, that is a good question, Shuichi. What were you doing under the window, Akko?"

"Listening to the news," said Akko in a resigned voice.

Her mother and father exchanged looks of concern, which irritated Akko.

"Listening to the news? Again?"

"Well, it changes every day," Akko said with a bit of venom in her tone.

"Don't you get smart with me, young lady! Look, I understand that you're a little…concerned after everything that happened last month, but you shouldn't need to worry about that. You should just leave this Jennifer business – "

"Careful, Kaori!" breathed Mr. Kagari, and Mrs. Kagari lowered her voice so that Akko could barely hear her, "…just leave it to the adults."

"Leaving it to them is what started this whole mess in the first place!" Akko snapped.

The Kagaris goggled at her for a few seconds, taken aback, then Mr. Kagari said, "Akko, please calm down. It's okay that your frustrated about all this, but we're just trying – "

"If you say you're just trying to protect me, then don't!" said Akko, her temper rising. "In case you haven't noticed, keeping me in the dark hasn't worked out so well in the last four years!"

"No one is trying to keep you in the dark, Akko," said Mr. Kagari, sounding almost desperate. "We just don't want you getting hurt – "

"Cause that worked out sooo well with Kirai-obasan, didn't it?" Akko spat viciously.

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari drew back like they had been slapped across the face. Akko knew she should have felt guilty about bringing up the incident two years ago that caused Akko to run away from hope, but instead she felt a savage sense of vindication when she saw the hurt looks in their eyes. Before either of them could come up with a response, Akko wheeled about, crossed the lawn, stepped over the low garden wall, and was striding off up the street.

She was in trouble now and she knew it. She would have to return home and face her parents eventually, but she did not care very much at the moment; she had more pressing matters on her mind.

Akko needed to find the source of the banging noise, but she couldn't find anything that gave any indication of what it was. A thought crossed her mind as she remembered Marianna, her junior from school, had snuck into her home almost three years ago. Was it possible that Marianna had caused that noise? Was she somewhere herein Jingumae? Did that mean her master, Andrew Hanbridge, had sent her? Could Marianna be following her right at this very moment? As this thought occurred, she wheeled around and stared back down the road, but it appeared to be completely deserted again. Well, Marianna was a ninja. Akko wouldn't know if she was there unless she revealed herself.

She walked on, hardly aware of the route she was taking, for she had pounded these streets so often lately that her feet carried her to her favorite haunts automatically. Every few steps she glanced back over her shoulder. Someone magical had been near her as she lay among Mrs. Kagari's dying Tsubaki, she was sure of it. Why hadn't they spoken to her, why hadn't they made contact, why were they hiding now?

And then, as her feelings of frustration peaked, her certainty leaked away.

Perhaps it hadn't been a magical sound after all. Perhaps she was so desperate for the tiniest sign from the world to which she belonged that she was simply overreacting to perfectly ordinary noises. Could she be sure it hadn't been the sound of something breaking inside a neighbor's house?

Akko felt a dull, sinking sensation in her stomach and, before she knew it, the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued her all summer rolled over her once again….

Tomorrow morning, she would be awoken by the alarm at five o'clock so that she could pay the messenger hawk that delivered the daily news – but was there any point in continuing to take it? Akko merely glanced at the front page before throwing it aside these days; when the idiots who ran the paper finally realized that Jennifer was back it would be headline news, and that was the only kind Akko cared about.

If she was lucky, she would also get e-mails from her best friends, Lotte and Sucy, and sometimes, to her excitement, from her girlfriend, Diana Cavendish. A feeling of giddiness welled up in Akko's chest when she said that word out loud: girlfriend. After hopelessly pining over the beautiful aristocrat for the better part of four years, they finally started a real relationship at the end of last year…. Although there was still the complication of everyone expecting Diana and Andrew to get married by the time Diana graduated from school, but that's a mess Akko didn't want to think about right now.

Every day, Akko hoped that her friends would deliver some news about what was going on in the rest of the world. Lotte's grandmother was the headmistress at Akko's school, Luna Nova Magical Academy; Sucy's family ran the Alchemilla Hospital, the top medical facility for Demi-Humans; The Cavendish family was the oldest and most important magical family in the world and had considerable influence over the Demi-Human government, the Magic Council; and Amanda's mother had a seat on the Council itself. With all of her friend coming from important backgrounds, she would have expected they would deliver something of importance to her, but her expectations have long since been dashed.

"We can't say much about you-know-what, obviously…." "We've been told not to say anything important in case our e-mails get intercepted…." "We're very busy but I can't give you details here…." "There's a lot of stuff going on here, we'll tell you everything when we see you…."

But when were they going to see her? Nobody seemed too bothered with a precise date. Diana had scribbled, "I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon" inside her birthday card, but how soon was soon? As far as Akko could tell from the vague hints in their e-mails, all her friends were in the same place, presumably at Amanda or Sucy's home. She could hardly bear to think of them having fun at Amanda's ritzy hotel when she was stuck in Jingumae. In fact, she was so angry at them she had thrown their presents of sweets from Ama Usa An and specialty coffee from the Rabbit House away unopened, though she had regretted this after eating the wilting salad Mrs. Kagari had made for dinner that night.

And what were her friends so busy with? Why wasn't she, Akko, busy? Hadn't she proved herself capable of handling much more than they? Had they all forgotten what she had done? Hadn't it been her who had landed in that grassy hillside outside of Annecy and watched Jennifer return and had been nearly killed…?

Don't think about that, Akko told herself sternly for the hundredth time that summer. It was bad enough she kept revisiting that grassy hillside in her nightmares, without dwelling on it in her waking moments too.

She turned a corner down the street that lead to Nabeshima Shoto Park, the place where she first locked eyes with her maternal aunt. Izetta, at least, seemed to understand how Akko was feeling; admittedly, the letters she sent with Haruka-San, Lotte's Puchi Familiar, were just as empty of proper news as the others, at least they contained words of caution and consolation instead of tantalizing hints:

"I know this must be frustrating for you…." "Keep your nose clean and everything will be okay…." "Be careful and don't do anything rash…."

Well, thought Akko, as she approached the entrance to the darkening Nabeshima Shoto Park, she had (by and large) done as Izetta advised; she had at least resisted the temptation to tie her luggage to the Shiny Balai and set off for New York by herself. In fact, Akko thought her behavior had been very good considering how frustrated and angry she felt at being stuck in Japan this long, reduced to hiding in flower beds in hope of hearing something that might point to what Jennifer or the Purifiers were doing. Nevertheless, it was quite galling to be told not to be rash by a woman who had served thirteen years in the Demi-Human prison, Dol Guldur, escaped, attempted to commit another murder for which she is already accused of over a hundred, then gone on the run with a stolen Qilin….

Akko set off across the patched grass. The park was as empty as the surrounding streets. She sank onto a par bench thankfully under the shade of a Sakura tree and stared moodily at the ground. She would not be able to hiding in her mother's flower bed again. Tomorrow she would have to think of some fresh way of listening to the news. In the meantime, she had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when she escaped nightmares about Jennifer, she had unsettling dreams about long, dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which she supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling she had when she was awake. Often the old scars on her back prickled uncomfortably, but she did not fool herself that anyone would find that interesting anymore…. In the past, her scars hurting had been a warning that the Severn Stars – the seven gemstones of ultimate magic – werein danger, but now that Jennifer was back, they would probably remind her that their regular irritation was only to be expected…. Nothing to worry about…old news…

The injustice of it all well ed up inside her so that she wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for her, nobody would even know Jennifer was back! And her reward was to be stuck in Jingumae for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the rest of the world, reduced to squatting among dying Tsubaki so that she could hear superhero fast food chains! How could Professor Ursula have forgotten her so easily? Why had all her friends got together without inviting her along too? How much longer was she supposed to endure Izetta telling her to sit tight and be a good girl; or resist the temptation to write to the stupid news and point out that Jennifer had returned? These furious thoughts whirled around in Akko's head, and her insides writhed with anger as a sultry, velvety night fell around her, the air full of the smell of warm, dry grass and the only sound was that of the low grumble of traffic on the road beyond the park.

She did not know how long she had sat on that bench before the sound of voices interrupted her musings and she looked up. The street lamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way across the park. One of them was dancing in circles, singing a loud, obnoxious song. The others were laughing.

Akko knew who these people were. The figure in the middle of the gaggle of girls was unmistakably Umaru Doma wending her way home, accompanied by her faithful friends.

Akko didn't know Umaru personally; they hanged out a few times over the last couple of summers and she came to Akko's twelfth birthday, but they only knew each other because she and Hikari were in the same class. Based the stories she heard secondhand from Hikari, Umaru was super smart, super beautiful, and the number one mosty popular girl in school – it made Akko wonder how a total airhead like Hikari ever became friends with her. But Hakiri also said that Umaru wasn't 'always as she appeared' and 'looks different at home than at school'. Akko couldn't decrypt the vampire's vague hints, but Umaru made her think of Diana in a way. Though, if she were being honest with herself, a lot of things made her think about Diana these days.

Akko watched the dark figures crossing the grass and found herself wondering what they thought was so funny. Why were they so happy right now when her, Akko's, world was spinning on its head? How could they be so carefree when Jennifer was lurking somewhere, possibly close by.

They did not see her as they crossed the pathway, they were almost at the park entrance. Akko mastered the impulse to run over and start something…. It wasn't their fault Akko was miserable…. They didn't deserve Akko's anger…. They were innocent….

Umaru's gang's voices died; they were out of sight, heading along the road.

There you go, Izetta-obasan, Akko thought dully. Nothing rash. Kept my nose clean. exactly the opposite of what you would have done…

She got to her feet and stretched. It was getting dark and Akko knew she couldn't avoid her parents forever. There was going to be a lot to talk about Akko's rudeness earlier this evening, and it was better to face the music than to drag it out. So, stifling a yawn, Akko set off toward the park entrance.

Akko had taken a recent liking to Jingumae at night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colors and she didn't run into anyone that wanted to strike up a conversation when all Akko wanted to do was be alone. It wasn't that she was trying to be rude, but unless the conversation concerned Jennifer or where her friends were hiding, Akko honestly didn't care for anything they had to say. She turned the corner at the end of the road when she heard someone hailing her from behind.

"Hey, Kagari, wait up!"

Akko turned. It was Umaru, all alone, running to catch up with her.

"Doma," said Akko, surprised. "What're you doing here?"

"I saw you sitting all alone in the park a while ago," said Umaru, slowly down to walk beside her.

"Oh…I didn't think anyone noticed," said Akko, blinking.

"You looked kind of lonely," said Umaru. "So I thought maybe we could spend some time together. We don't really hang out much without Takanashi dragging us somewhere."

"Oh, well, I was just heading home…," Akko mumbled.

"Then I'll walk with you," Umaru said cheerfully.

"What about your friends?" asked Akko.

"I told them to head on ahead without me so I could come with you," Umaru answered.

"Sorry 'bout that," Akko apologized.

"Don't be," said Umaru, shaking her head. "I'm glad to get a chance to talk to you, Kagari. Takanashi always talks about you, and you seem like a fun person."

For the umpteenth time today, Akko felt a fresh wave of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She had been so distracted with everything that happened with Jennifer that she had completely neglected her friends all summer, even canceling on the birthday surprise they had worked so hard to make for her. She needed to make it up to them somehow….

They turned right down a narrow alleyway that served as a shortcut to Akko's street. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps. Their footsteps were muffled between the stone wall on one side and a high fence on the other.

"Are you…all right, Kagari?" Umaru asked after a few seconds.

"What?" said Akko, blinking again. "Er, yeah, I feel fine. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…," Umaru said, humming to herself, trying to think of the right words. "It's Takanashi. She's worried about you."

"Oh…"

"She says you've been acting differently lately," Umaru continued, staring ahead with a frown. "Normally you're excited and energetic, but ever since you've come back from school, you've been…subdued as of late. And it's not just Takanashi that's noticed. All of your friends have."

"I've just…had a lot on my mind, that's all," Akko muttered, looking away from Umaru.

"I can understand that, but if there's anything you'd like to talk about, your friends would surely listen."

"Thy wouldn't understand," Akko grumbled.

"That's because you don't say anything to them," Umaru pointed out. "You've been shutting them out all summer and don't give them a chance to help you."

"What could they do to help me?" said Akko quietly, scowling.

"A lot if you just let them in," said Umaru insistently. "Talking to people can help more than you think. Instead of keeping your feelings bottled in like this, maybe you should – "

"Maybe you should mind your own goddamn business!" Akko snapped furiously.

Akko didn't realize she had pushed Umaru into the alley wall until the blonde Human hit the concrete with a surprised gasp and dropped her bag on the ground. She didn't even remember pulling out the Shiny Rod and pressing the head against Umaru's chest. All Akko could feel was an entire month's worth of angry and frustration pounding in her veins, wanting to burst out and strike the unsuspecting girl.

"What could you know?" Akko snarled. "What could you know about anything I'm feeling?! What could any of you possibly know?! You people and your carefree everyday lives, never having to worry about anything!"

"Kagari, please, calm down," gasped Umaru, eyes staring wide at the Shiny Rod. "I was only trying – "

"Trying to help the charity case, am I right?!" Akko sneered. "Poor lonely little Kagari. Maybe I'll help her out to make myself feel better, right?"

"No, that's not it at all – "

"Here's an idea!" Akko snapped. "Why don't you go bother someone that actually gives a damn and leave – me – alone!"

Umaru gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though she had ben doused in icy water.

Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch-black and lightless – the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant grumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercing, bitingly cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, incy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them.

For a split second, Akko thought she had done magic without meaning to, despite the fact that she had been resisting as hard as she could – then her reason caught up with her senses – she didn't have the power to turn off the stars. She turned her head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on her eyes like a weightless veil.

Umaru's terrified voice broke in Akko's ear.

"W-what are you d-doing? P-please, stop…"

"I'm not doing anything! Stay quiet and don't move!"

"I c-can't see! I'm blind! I – "

"Stop talking!"

Akko stood stock-still, turning her sightless eyes left and right. The cold was so intense that she was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted up her arms, and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up – she opened her eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing….

It was impossible…. They couldn't be here…. Not in Jingumae…. She strained her eyes…. She would hear them before she saw them.

"P-please…stop this," Umaru whimpered. "W-where are you? What are you d-do – "

"Will you shut up!" Akko hissed, "I'm trying to lis – "

But she fell silent. She had heard just the thing she had been dreading.

There was something in the alleyway apart from themselves, something that was drawing long, slow, rattling breaths. Akko felt a horrible jolt of dread as she stood trembling in the freezing air.

"C-cut it out! Stop doing this! T-this isn't funny, Kagari!"

"Doma, shut – "

WHAM!

A fist made contact with the side of Akko's head, lifting Akko off her feet. Small white lights popped in front of Akko's eyes; for the second time in an hour, she felt as though her head had been cleaved in two; next moment she had landed hard on the ground, and the Shiny Rod had flown from her hand, clattering on the street.

Akko's eyes watered in pain, watered with pain, as she scrambled to her hands and feet, now feeling around frantically in the blackness. She heard Umaru stumbling away, hitting the alley fence.

"DOMA, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"

There was a horrible squealing yell, and Umaru's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, Akko felt a creeping chill behind her that could only mean one thing. There was more than one.

"DOMA, GET BACK HERE! IT'S NOT SAFE! COME BACK! Damn it!" Akko muttered frantically, her hands flying over the ground like spiders. "Where is it – come on – wait – my wand!"

Akko was so used to using the Shiny Rod as her first line of defense that she completely forgot she had another wand. She jammed her hand in her jean pocket until her fingers gripped the handle and whipped it out. She muttered an incantation under her breath and, to her immense relief, a tiny ball of light formed at the head. The Shiny Rod gleamed just a foot away from Akko's right hand. She snatched it up immediately, scrambled to her feet, and turned around.

Her stomach turned over.

Someone wearing a long black coat was towering over her, their face completely obscured by the shadow of their hood.

Before Akko had the chance to raise her wand, the hooded figure wrapped a gloved hand around her throat, shoving her back into the stone wall. Akko let out a choked gasp; the hooded figure's fingers were closing around her windpipe like an iron vice. Her vision was starting to fade in and out. Akko gritted her teeth, forcing herself to focus on the Shiny Rod in her hand.

"Phaidoari Afairynghor!"

But nothing happened. To Akko's immense fear and concern, she couldn't feel the magical energy flowing through her fingers like she usually did when wielding the Shiny Rod. She only felt this sensation of emptiness on two occasions: both when Izetta and Jennifer used the deactivation codes for the Shiny Rod. But Akko didn't hear this hooded strange utter a word. If they did used the deactivation Word, did that mean they worked with Jennifer? Had she finally sent someone to kill her? No, not kill her. Jennifer wanted Akko alive, to join her, but this person in the black coat was choking Akko so fiercely it didn't seem like they had any intention of letting her live….

The figure in the black coat reaffirmed their grip, shaking Akko out of her thoughts – a feeling of static surged in the back of her brain, and a voice spoke inside her head – "It's all your fault…. You were not good enough…. You bring suffering to others…. You are a curse…. A burden on your friends…."

Her friends – she was never going to see her friends again –

Their faces suddenly burst clearly into her mind as she fought for breath and raised her wand to the hooded figure's chest –

"MUWORA!"

An explosion of green light illuminated the dark alleyway. The hooded figure was blasted off the feet and shunted backward into the fence. Akko dropped to her hands and knees, gasping for breath, then quickly looked up at her attacker. But they were gone – vanished the moment she looked away.

"DOMA!" Akko shouted, scrambling to her feet. Wheeling around, she sprinted down the alleyway, holding her lit wand aloft. "DOMA! DOMA, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She had run barely a dozen steps when she reached them; Umaru was curled on the ground, her arms clamped around her chest as a pair of lanky Neo Shadow Heartless loomed over her. One of them was crouching low, gripping her wrists with its veiny claws, prizing them slowly, almost lovingly apart, bringing its other claw over her area where her heart would be….

"LUMAN MUROWA!" Akko bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound, a great ball of pure-white light blasted from the tip of Akko's want. The Heartless was barely inches away from seizing Umaru's heart before Akko's spell exploded against its head, decapitating it completely. The Neo Shadow's headless body slumped over before it evaporated into nothingness. The second Neo Shadow turned on her, but Akko had already cast another Light Spell that punched a hole in the Heartless's chest and dissolved it into a cloud of black mist.

Moon, stars, and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighboring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Jingumae filled the air again. Akko stood quite still, all her senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, she became aware that her T-shirt was sticking to her; she was drenched in sweat.

She could not believe what had just happened. Heartless in Japan, that strange hooded figure, the Shiny Rod lifeless in her right hand….

Umaru lay curled on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Akko bent down to see whether she was in a fit state to stand, but then heard soft, pattering footsteps behind her; instinctively raising her wand again, she spun on her heel to face the newcomer.

The black cat Akko had seen around the neighborhood came to a stop at her feet. Its hair was rising as its golden eyes cast around the dark alleyway, a deep rumbling noise reverberating in its throat. Akko let out a relieved sigh, thankful it wasn't another Heartless, and made to stow her wand back in her pocket, but –

"Don't put it away, foolish girl!" the cat suddenly hissed. "What if there are more of them around? Oh, I am going to kill Urahara!"

This honestly took longer than it should have. I was originally going to have the first chapter be an original one featuring Jennifer during her time before arriving in the future, but then I realized halfway that it gave away a lot of spoilers for the future of this book and it technically had already been explained in the last book. So three weeks of work down the drain. *Takes long swig*

Next Chapter: Mixed Messages