Ash’s alarm blared loudly, rudely dragging the young man from formless dreams. His eyes cracked open and peered at the ceiling of his room, lucidity slowly creeping into his mind. Yet his thoughts were blank, save one overwhelming urge that he lacked the will to resist. With all the strength he could muster, Ash stretched one arm out toward his alarm and pressed the snooze button. Though the weather wasn’t chilly this morning, he still reached for his blankets and wrapped them tightly around himself. His eyelids slid closed once more as he let himself wander back to dreamland.

This was far from Ash’s regular morning routine. Unlike Kyouko, whose sleep schedule varied by about three hours every week, the Vintrkind had always been an early riser. He had never experienced any problems getting himself out of bed in the morning. Every day was faced head on. This time however, Ash was more than happy to discard all conscious thought and pretend that the morning would never come. What was awaiting him today was simply too much for him to bear. He could already feel his mind beginning to wander off, the devilish temptation of Morpheus beckoning him.

A loud knocking sound reverberated through his room. Ash ignored it.

“Is he seriously-?” A girl’s voice, which most definitely did not belong to a certain Asgardian traitor, came in muffled through the doors. She let out an exasperated sigh before knocking again. “Come on Ash. It’s not going to be that bad.”

Ash knew that was a lie the moment he heard who else was at the door. “Yeah. It’s going to be fucking hilarious,” Kyouko chimed in with an ominous chuckle.

An unintelligible noise escaped Ash, not that the girls could hear it outside his protective cocoon of blankets. The ice that had begun to crawl through his veins only made him sleepier. What remained of his conscious mind idly reminded him that sleepiness induced by cold temperatures was a sign of hypothermia. Quite frankly, he couldn’t care less. Awake or asleep, Ash Whitelund was a dead man either way.

“I did not want to have to do this,” Magnolia sighed before something jingled. The worrying sound of a door unlocking was all he had time to register before the entrance to his room slammed wide open. Ash hissed at the light, wrapping himself even tighter in his cocoon. His manager stormed up to him, giving him a serious stare Ash could feel even within the bounds of his fabric prison. “Breakfast is almost ready. If you don’t get up we’re going to eat it all.”

While yes, he could smell Miss Ingen’s cooking from here, it still wasn’t enough to make the Vintrkind face reality.

“Alright, when Vargr’s like this there’s only one thing that’ll work.” Despite already knowing what Breaker was about to do, Ash could make no effort to stop her. He felt the sudden grip on his blanket before, in one heaving tug, the girl ripped his sheets right off of him. The motion sent him rolling right off the side of his bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. With absolutely no regard to his personal well being, Kyouko proceeded to lightly prod him with her foot. The girl’s voice came out like a mantra as she forcefully dragged him back to consciousness. “Get up get up get up get up get up get up-”

“Fine. I’m awake,” Ash groaned, though it came out more as a whine. Sluggishly, he batted his friend’s foot away before pulling himself off the ground and shooting a quick glance downward. Did his weight crack the floor? No? Good. Ash didn’t want to spend the points to fix it. Magnolia wouldn’t cover it, that much she had made clear. But speaking of his handler, his teal eyes flickered towards her as he struggled to think of what to say. “...Morning?”

“It is currently morning, yes.” The words were the final nail in the coffin for his faint hope that today wasn’t happening. As Ash wallowed in despair, the blonde stretched her hand out to offer him a folded outfit, still wrapped in plastic. Having been in Valhalla for the past month, the trainee could recognize VEA’s female school uniform instantly. “Ms. Zima came by to drop this off a few minutes ago. I trust you remember what I taught you about how to wear it?”

The Vintrkind let out a grunt as he cautiously took the clothing from Magnolia. “I don’t need help putting on clothes.”

“Ash, you still have trouble wearing a tie regularly,” Kyouko snickered. “Just tell us if you need any, heh, assistance.”

With a wave of his hands, he sent a wave of frosty air her way. Kyouko let out a surprisingly high pitched squeal before dashing out of the room laughing her ass off. “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure we get it all on camera!”

A sigh escaped Ash’s lips as he hung his head. Well, the saving grace there was that whatever camera she was using was likely to break before the day was over. Not that that would stop her from coming up with something else to make the next week hell. Ash would just have to power through it. Although he didn’t even know how the Midgardian girl had learned of his oncoming ordeal. The truth naturally had to come out eventually, but Ash had gone out of his way last night to make sure that no news reached Kyouko’s ears. Though, maybe this was for the best. There was no telling what she would think if he suddenly started attending class as a girl without telling her why.

“Go ahead and transform.” Magnolia interrupted the boy’s thoughts before turning to leave the room, closing the door shut behind her. “I’ll be making sure you don’t try to cheat your way out of this, so once you step downstairs you won’t be leaving my sight.”

And like that, Ash was alone. With a sigh, he walked over to his desk where he had left his Valkyrie Gear. To get there he was forced to skirt around the mountain of bags that the girls had bought for him yesterday.

That had been a long and mortifying shopping trip, as Ash was dragged between what had to have been a dozen different stores. At the stores, they would constantly ask him what he wanted to wear, or even make him transform to try things on. Not to mention, Ms. Zima would constantly cancel out his attempts to keep cool. Eventually however, it had ended, leaving him with so many bags that Ash was sure he now owned more female clothes than male ones. Though, considering that his closet for the last week had consisted of his school uniforms and one suit, that wasn’t exactly saying much. Still, he hadn’t had the energy to put the bags away, leaving them piled on the ground.

“I can do this,” he whispered to himself as he put on the stark white device. Ash could do this. All he had to do was keep himself calm. It wasn’t like he was that bad when he transformed. As long as the Vintrkind didn’t say anything that would kill his reputation in an instant, he would be good to go. With determined resolve, he pulled out the Loptr Einherjar card and pressed it to the snowflake engraved upon the Valkyrie Gear. “Record Open!”

At his command, the machine got to work. Spectral energy swirled through Ash’s body. It was a process they were used to, but the sensation of their changing body still felt weird. Seconds later, the light vanished to reveal her to the world as Ash cancelled the armor deployment, leaving only her body transformed into her Valkyrie form.

Turning her eyes to the mirror, the gaze of a beautiful white haired girl stared back at her. Ash couldn’t deny that she looked good while transformed, but the look was ruined by the now oversized clothing that loosely hung on her body. If one were to see her right now, they would assume Ash was wearing her boyfriend’s clothing. And taking a sniff- Yuck! Is that how she smelt?! The clothing was drenched in a thick layer of undeniably manly musk. She had never considered how she smelt before, mostly because Ash never sweat that much. It was a perk of having an in-built AC. Still,she quickly threw off her male clothing and gazed at her form in the mirror.

Warm heat rushed towards her cheeks before she smiled and shook her head. “Well, we’d better get ready, shouldn't we?”

She took a deep breath. A regular one, not filled with the permafrost that had frozen her untransformed self. With a hum and a skip in her step, Ash threw open her curtains and let the sun’s morning rays warm her bare skin. It was an action that served to ease the anxiety in her heart. The feelings of her male self hadn’t gone away, it was merely that Ash now needed a different way to release it now that her usual avenue had been closed off. Taking action instead of simply letting the emotions freeze. Her body moved before she could even think, strolling over to where her new uniform lay and beginning to dress herself.

The process was less embarrassing then she would’ve thought. Partly because of her practice from yesterday, but mostly because any shame she had towards female undergarments had long since been worn away by years of doing Kyouko’s laundry. It was only the fact that they were hers that caused her hands to stumble. In no time at all, the girl was fully dressed and striking poses at herself in the mirror.

“Like this?” She murmured to herself, hip cocked as she brushed a hand through her now waist-length hair. “No, that doesn’t work at all. This is that scenario right? I need something much more dazzling.”

The bags from yesterday now sat arrayed around the room. Ash considered them speculatively, her memories of the shopping trip a blur. “Did Maggie and Liesa buy any accessories for me?”

A loud pounding at the door interrupted her thoughts, Kyouko’s irate voice echoing through the badly soundproofed dorm walls. “Seriously Vargr, hurry up! What’s taking so lo-”

“Door’s unlocked! Come on in!” Ash interrupted, not even glancing back as she began her hunt. Seriously would it have killed her to have at least organized these last night? Hm, yeah these would do. With a loud creak, the door slowly opened up and the Vintrkind girl quickly turned to face the newcomer as she held up two different colored ribbons. “You’re good with outfits right, Kyo? Which one of these do you think goes best with my hair? Be as honest as you can please. In fact, imagine that I’m dressing up just for you.”

Red eyes stared at her, the girl’s mouth slightly agape as she took a step back. “Did you just call me ‘Kyo’?”

“I’ve been trying to think of something cute. Breaker is special, but it doesn’t exactly fit the mood.” Shit no wait! Ash had just been thinking that in the back of her mind. She didn’t mean to actually say that outloud! Kyouko was going to kill her! Or she would once she stopped staring at her like she was an alien. “Hm. Sorry, but I think this ribbon suits me best.”

“You need any help tying that- No wait, what the hell are you doing?!”

“A High School Debut, obviously?” When Ash got a blank look in response, she shook her head. “Didn’t you watch those dramas with me?”

“Did you really think I was paying attention?” Kyouko replied bluntly. The answer was honestly ‘no’, but it was still disappointing to hear out loud. “Look, can you hurry up? The old bat is getting on my case and we’re actually going to be late if you take any longer. You do want to eat before school, right?”

“Food, yes!” Ash cheered as she finished her preparations and dashed out of the room. “A healthy diet is key to a healthy body, and I need to look as alluring as possible!”

“As alluring as-” Kyouko muttered, her voice growing fainter as Ash dashed down the stairs. “I thought this would be funny, but I think we just unleashed a monster instead.”

Ignoring her friend, Ash followed her nose into the kitchen. Today was already shaping up to be an exciting day, she could feel it! Even if there was a part inside of her that was curled into a ball of embarrassment, it wasn’t enough to stop her from taking action anymore. Regardless of what anyone was saying or thinking, Ash would move according to her desires.

If she was going to do this girl week thing, then she was going to do it right!

---

There was a rather common plot beat in the romance stories that Ash liked called the ‘glow up’. It was the scene when a previously plain and ordinary girl suddenly changed into a fashionable pretty girl after a time skip. This could be the focus of the story itself, or maybe the author just wanted to revamp a boring side character off screen. Regardless of who received it, the premise was still pure fantasy, though the kind of flavor differed between realms. Midgardian glow ups usually had the girl come with a domineering ‘takes no nonsense’ attitude. Meanwhile, the Asgardian comics Ash had read focused more on the fashion aspects of it, suddenly becoming the star of everyone’s attention. At their core however, what really sold it was one thing: the reaction.

The looks, the whispers, the sudden attention. All of it was important to sell the change and today Ash could finally say that she had received her own time in the spotlight. Things seemed to start like any other day, meeting up with Liesa and walking to school with her friends. As they got close to VEA’s campus however, more and more students began to notice her. Of course as the (previously) only male student, she was no stranger to being the center of attention. This time however, she held her head high, feeling every stare upon her and welcoming them instead of trying to futilely ignore them.

“Wow, who is that?” Yep, that’s right student she didn’t know the name of. Keep talking! “Is she walking with Magnolia…”

“No way!” another gasped right on cue. “That hair! Is that Whitelund?!”

Of course, Ash had heard the entire exchange, so the minute the girls figured it out the Vintrkind turned to give them a wink. Putting on her best charming smile, she waved at them lightly. Instantly they froze up, jaws dropping as Ash kept on walking.

“You’re getting this all on video right, Liesa?” Kyouko asked the Alfheim girl as she gave Ash a flat stare. “I need to show this to Vargr after this week is over. His reaction should make up for… Whatever this is.”

‘Please don’t,’ the remaining part of her dignity whimpered.

“I have been recording my observation records since we first met up,” Liesa replied before fidgeting. “Though, do I have permission to delete the first few moments? Ash’s greeting was much more enthusiastic than usual.”

“You mean she was practically draped all over you,” Magnolia commented dryly. Which Ash didn’t think was entirely fair, considering that she had many memories of Liesa stepping too close into her own comfort zone. Before she had any chance to protest though, Magnolia glanced over towards Kyouko. “I’m surprised you changed your attitude so swiftly. Do you dislike Ash freely displaying her emotions?”

“It’s just a bit weird, is all,” Kyouko said. She bit her lip as she clearly struggled to put her feelings into words. “When it comes to teasing Vargr, the best part is prying a reaction out of that cold exterior. Their valkyrie form however is a bit… Too easy.”

Ash whirled around and pointed dramatically towards her longtime friend. “I am not easy!”

That was evidently the wrong thing to say, as Kyouko’s lips twitched upwards into a predator’s grin. “Are you sure about that?”

Before anyone could react, the Midgardian sashayed over to Ash, grabbing the Vintrkind’s hand and tugging her closer. A hand looped around Ash’s wait, pressing her body tightly against Kyouko’s. The soft sensation sent a jolt of electricity down Ash’s spine, heat rushing to her cheeks as she stared up into her friend’s gorgeous red eyes. Whatever image Ash has wanted to present as her ‘glow up’ came crashing down as her jaw dropped and a soft whine escaped her. The Vintrkind girl’s mind went blank, her world fading away until it was just the two of them. Kyouko chuckled. “See? You’re all bark and no bite. I just need to apply a little pressure and you break so easily.”

While Kyouko had often teased Ash, it was never in such a blatant manner as pressing herself against him. Well okay, she had been used as the girl’s personal AC on occasion, but this time it was like- Ash needed to say something, but most of her brain was running in circles screaming ‘oh no she’s hot’. Quick, what would one of the protagonists from her novels say here? “W-well I’m sure you know all about that, Breaker, but if you wanted my attention then you could’ve just said so. There’s no need to be jealous.”

The crimson eyes of the tantalizing demon narrowed. “And you don’t need to be blatantly ogling every girl we pass by. You’d have the same reaction if it was Liesa here instead of me.”

“I-I am not going to do that! Let alone in public!” The face of the girl in question was dyed a hot red. Liesa shook her so fast it seemed her glasses might fly off at any moment. “I do believe that you’ve proven your point now, Miss Kyouko!”

Both of the Midgardian girls paused, turning to share a look. Something passed between them, but rather than the hot spark of burning passion, it was the kind of unspoken communication only longtime friendships could create. Each knew exactly what the other was thinking, and in unison they split off from each-other in order to attach themselves to the Alfheim girl’s side. Liesa came to a screeching halt, eyes wide as Kyouko leaned in. “Just relax a little, Liesa. You’re always so wound up, why don’t you have a little fun?”

“Is it because everyone’s watching?” Ash purred, clasping Liesa’s hand to her chest. “You don’t need to worry about them. As long as it’s with us you can have all the fun you- Ow!”

“That’s enough,” Magnolia growled, dragging ash away from the frozen girl by her ear. An irritated sigh escaped the blonde’s lips as she narrowed her eyes at her charge. Even in Ash’s transformed state, Magnolia’s gaze caused her cheeks to flush with shame as she looked away like a scolded child. “While your understanding of the concept is a little… warped, this kind of loose behavior will ruin any debut.”

“There’s someone here who actually knows what Ash is talking about?” There was a brief moment of pause before Kyouko had to push her handler to continue walking. “Come on Liesa, fun’s over. We gotta actually get to school sometime today.”

“S-School! Yes!” Everyone winced as Liesa’s agreement came out a bit too loud. She wilted before gazing around like she had just been snapped out of a daze. “Pardon me but… What just happened?”

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Ash pointed towards Liesa’s glasses before smiling. “You’re the one who’s recording all of our memories. When this week is over, we’ll all be able to have fun watching this together!”

“...Wait a minute! Is this Mutually Assured Destruction?!” A horrified gasp left Kyouko’s mouth as she took a step back in mock shock. “Are you trying to make sure no one watches the footage by making it embarrassing for all of us?!”

Somehow, though it took all the effort she could muster, Ash avoided confirming her suspicions.

“That’s evil, Vargr! I didn’t raise you to be like that!”

Ash was already suffering emotionally from her impulsive foot in the mouth syndrome. She was going to drag the people intentionally making it worse all the way down with her, if it was the last thing she’d do!

By the time that they had actually reached campus, a crowd had formed around them. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Ash was no longer a different gender and more than a head taller than all of them, but it almost began to feel like the Vintrkind was more approachable now.

Or maybe it had something to do with the honest impressions that Ash couldn’t stop herself from spitting out to every girl who caught her eye. “Have you done something with your hair? It suits you.”

“Thank you…?” The student in question said at the sudden compliment. She and her friends glanced at each other and tried to take a step closer, only to blink as Magnolia suddenly began to walk faster.

“Can you please go one minute without complimenting every girl you see?” The Asgardian Wing Candidate spoke through their Valkyrie Gears, her voice resonating inside Ash’s head. “I’d rather not have to deal with you mucking your way through the VEA social hierarchy.”

“Am I on the top or bottom of that?”

“You’re outside of it and I advise you to stay out of it.” With a slight nudge of her shoulder, Magnolia gestured towards the girls who were giving Ash a dirty look. “Some are already beginning to see you as a threat to the established dynamics. If you aren’t careful, someone like Anemone will show up again and try to pull something.”

Ash thought that Magnolia might’ve been over-exaggerating. She made relationships sound so clinical and complicated sometimes. Then again, Ash had spent the past month in Valhalla and could only see an outline of what typical Asgardian social life was. The glimpses Ash had seen of the culture didn’t exactly paint the shining picture that every billboard in Midgard was so willing to advertise.

“Hey! Don’t ignore us!” Kyouko cried, waving her hand in front of Ash’s eyes. “Some of us don’t have a personal Valkyrie Gear they can carry everywhere!”

“And thank Odin for that,” Ash replied aloud. “Kyo, you’d break it in a month, tops.”

“That would be quite the feat,” Liesa helpfully supplied. “Due to the potentially harmful nature of an unstable Bifrost link, Valkyrie Gears are built so that their core components are as sturdy as possible. To break it requires-”

Before the Alfheim girl could continue with whatever lecture she had ready to go, she was interrupted by a shrill voice ringing through the hall. “What is going on here?!”

And right now they had more pressing problems to deal with.

Xiao Bai cut her way through the crowd, the girls stepping out of the pale woman’s way as she stalked towards them. The teacher’s eyes darted from Ash’s hair to Magnolia and back. Realization dawning on her, Xiao Bai grit her teeth and spoke with a barely disguised growl. “Whitelund. What kind of sick joke is this?”

“I thought you would’ve been happy about it. After all, was your issue not due to my gender?” Of course there was more to it than that, but Ash didn’t mention it as she flaunted her body in a way that she was going to regret in a few minutes. “Well that issue has been solved. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Far from it!” the teacher snapped back. “There is no way I’ll allow you to attend classes in this deceitful state!”

“I’m afraid that’s not something you can control.” A triumphant smile blossomed on Magnolia’s spoke. One that spoke to just how frustrated she had been having to deal with Xiao Bai’s obstructionism for the past weeks. “This is a school sanctioned order. As part of his Vintrkind training, Ash isn’t allowed to exit her Valkyrie state for the next week. Someone like you, who is so thoroughly invested in the safety of the school, could not possibly find fault with that, right?”

The tyrannical woman was silenced at that, though frustration was clearly evident on her face. Students began to whisper, their attention drawn to one of their own clearly fighting back against an instructor. Considering that said instructor was Xiao Bai, whose classes were both thorough and thoroughly unpleasant, it was only natural that they would be drawn to the spectacle. With everyone’s attention on them, their professor didn’t blow up for once and instead tried to maintain her authority. “...I was not informed of any such order.”

“That’s because it was just decided yesterday!” Said Amelia Peach from directly behind Ash. The Vintrkind let out a noise that definitely did not sound like a terrified shriek. Despite having known the teacher for a month, the pink haired woman’s ability to show up out of nowhere still managed to freak Ash out. She didn’t even know how Ms. Peach kept managing to pull it off, considering the way she bulldozed her way around once she’d been noticed. Magnolia subtly elbowed Ash in the stomach, dragging the girl back to reality. “It was going to be announced at the meeting this morning since you don’t have Whitelund today. Well, I could’ve told you earlier, but you’re always so busy with that study group of yours that I couldn’t find you!”

“Don’t patronize me for choosing to help my students instead of wasting my time drinking!” Xiao Bai snapped back. “Amelia, you can’t be serious!”

“Relax. It won’t affect anyone, Ash just needs to attend class like normal. You don’t even have to think about it!” Amelia turned back towards the group before gesturing towards… Liesa. “Isn’t that right?”

“I’m over here, Ms. Peach,” Ash said, and the blind teacher repeated the gesture, this time towards the right person. “And don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behavior. I wouldn’t want to let a pretty woman like yourself down.”

“Shut it, Rowe-” Xiao Bai cut herself off before she could finish, jaw closing with an audible click. There was a moment of silence before she shot a glare towards Ms. Peach. “You said there was a meeting later today? Fine. We’ll be having words about this there. And you, Whitelund!”

The professor sent a dirty look Ash’s way. “Try anything funny and there will be consequences.”

With that, she stormed off. No-one dared even breathe, lest they become the target of the professor’s wrath. No-one for the other teacher in the halls, that is. Ms. Peach clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention, once Xiao Bai was out of sight. “Alright everyone! You should start heading to your classes! School’s about to start!”

The crowd buzzed with excitement as all the students realized just what time it was. Kyouko let out a groan as she placed a hand on her hip. “Jeez, what’s with this school and the teachers being such hardasses? Ms. Rivers is already threatening enough as it is.”

“Ahaha! Well, Ray and Xiao Bai do take things to the extreme, yes,” Ms. Peach laughed lightly. “They’re on different ends of the spectrum though. Ray does as she pleases regardless of the trouble it brings. Meanwhile, Xiao Bai is very peculiar about order and authority, it’s a cultural thing from her home realm. Sorry Ash, but since you naturally throw a wrench in VEA she wasn’t ever going to like your presence.”

“Figures it was something like that.” Shaking her head, Ash sighed. “Not that she ever made any effort to hide it. How Professor Xiao Bai keeps her skin so smooth despite her constant stress is a miracle.”

Magnolia glanced at her. “Were you seriously paying attention to that?”

“What? You can’t deny that physically she’s quite eye-catching.”

“Anyways! Thank you for the intervention, Professor Peach!” Their Alfheim colleague thanked the woman seriously. “And I do believe that we should hurry on our way. That really wasn’t good for my heart.”

“Hey you’re a Wing Candidate!” Kyouko lightly teased, poking Liesa’s cheeks. “Show a little spine!”

“This and that are two different things!” The girl objected. “One only engages in an argument with a professor when they have thought all of their points out fully and have a paper prepared to demonstrate the flaws in their teaching!”

That sounded like way too complicated of a process to Ash, but some of the students around them nodded along at Liesa’s words.

“I sure hope you can put that mind of yours to good use then! There’s something fun waiting for you in today’s lesson!” With a wink and wave, the Data Analysis teacher began to walk off. “I’ll see you then, mesdemoiselles!”

“...I do wonder what language it is that Madam Peach occasionally slips into,” Magnolia hummed, tapping her cheek.

“If I am not mistaken, that should be French. One of the languages of the Old World,” Liesa explained. “While there are still some influences in our current unified tongue, fluency is something that is quite rare to find now. However the same could be said of most other Old World languages, though the ones from the east have it the worst. Most Bilingual speakers are historians or other academics. Did you know that there used to be-”

“I think that’s enough sweetie.” Ash reached over to pat the bespectacled girl’s head, silencing her. “Let’s leave the teaching to the teachers for now. We’ve got to get to class as well.”

And the truth was, the girl was already worn out by this morning already. Considering how the rest of the day might go, let alone the rest of the week, was already tiring her out. Ash could only hope that nothing else happened. And of course, that she wouldn't end up being the cause of it.