Noel lost track of time as she stood on the roof, staring out at Tokyo. Darris had left her with a lot to think about. And as she mulled over the future he was designing for her; questions began to creep into her mind.

Namely, about Darris. Who was he, really? And why was he so invested in her? He claimed she possessed a warrior's soul, whatever that meant, but there had to be more to it. There was something that Darris wasn't telling her.

To be honest, Noel wasn't sure if she wanted to know. But if she let him lead her down an unknown path, she felt she had to understand all the angles.

Darris was right about one thing. Noel needed to be the one to take control of her life. For too long, she had whined and allowed people to drag her by the hand. No more.

She had to admit, though, that her future looked bleak. But there had to be a way to triumph beyond what Darris had set for her. It wasn't just about beating Darris in a fight. It was about going beyond what anyone else wanted for her to find what she wanted.

And what is it I want? Noel didn't know. She thought she did, but that was before the events of that night. Her world was expanding daily.

It was all difficult to grasp. Noel was just a fourteen-year-old girl from small-town Iowa. Her biggest ambition was to win state track. She had no aspirations beyond finishing high school. And yet, she was now having to grapple with so much. But she needed to. As much as she missed it, Noel could no longer be that innocent girl again.

Before she could think any further, her musings were interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

Noel looked back to the block she had initially entered to see a familiar head poking out and looking around. Mr. Tamayoshi. Were classes over already?

Mr. Tamayoshi's eyes met hers. A look of terror passed over his face as the door crashed open. He ran towards her, arm outstretched.

"Wait, Ms. Mira! Don't do it! Everything's okay now."

Noel just stared at him blankly. "Huh?" was all she managed before Mr. Tamayoshi seized her by the shoulders and dragged her away from the fence.

Noel let him, more out of shock than compliance. It took her a moment to realize why Mr. Tamayoshi was acting so worried.

"Oh! No, Mr. Tamayoshi. It's not what you think! I was just—"

"Miss Kusinawa explained everything to me. I understand why you might feel overwhelmed, but that's no reason to give up!"

He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back to the door, but at the sound of Ushio's name, Noel yanked herself free. She used her annoyance at the misunderstanding as an excuse to put her hands in the pockets of her vest and stuff the ID and sword pieces into them.

Noel gave him a hard stare, which quickly softened as he sheepishly adjusted his glasses. He tried to cover it up with his hard stare and folding his arms. However, it was clear to Noel that he was far more concerned than angry.

"Forgive me," he said, "I feared the worst. I guess I was too hasty."

"That's alright," said Noel. She wasn't about to tell Mr. Tamayoshi that he'd been right to worry. At least, he would've been right a few minutes ago. I really thought about killing myself. That reality was enough to make her shiver. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Tamayoshi.

"It's cold up here," he said as he turned back toward the door, "C'mon, let's get back inside."

She nodded and followed him. He held the door open for her and paused as he shut it and locked it behind him.

"I'm not sure how she even opened it in the first place," she heard him mutter.

"It wasn't locked."

He turned to look back at her. "Really? It was when I opened it."

That took Noel by surprise.

Mr. Tamayoshi mirrored her expression, "Wait, you didn't lock it behind you?"

Noel shook her head. He blinked and regained his composure with another adjustment to his glasses. "Strange," he said, "very strange…."

It was strange. Did Darris have anything to do with it? Or was it the curse again? It was hard to tell, but Noel began to worry that Mr. Tamayoshi would think her strange, so she changed the subject as they descended the stairs to the third floor.

"If the door was locked, how did you know I was up there?"

"Miss Kusinawa said she saw you go up the stairs. So, after class, I searched the third floor and figured you might be on the roof. It used to be a popular hang-out before it became restricted. And I'm glad I was right."

He smiled at her. But Noel did not return it. And not because she wasn't glad for her teacher's concern. She was fixated on something Mr. Tamayoshi had said.

"Earlier, you said that Ushi—I mean, Miss Kusinawa had ‘explained everything' to you?"

"That's right. After you ran out, Miss Kusinawa returned to the classroom with the papers I asked her to print and saw your friends upset. She told us why you had been absent for the last few days." He paused with a somber expression. "I apologize for not trying to understand what you were going through. I've failed you as a teacher." He tilted forward as he bowed deeply to her.

"Uh…" Noel found herself extremely flummoxed. It was surreal to have anyone bow to her, let alone her teacher. Her eyes darted back and forth for help. But in the end, she just had to accept it. "Thanks, I guess." Then she caught herself. "I mean, thank you for your apology."

Mr. Tamayoshi stood straight, glasses low on his nose. He pushed them up and smiled. "You should thank Miss Kusinawa as well. She's served well as the class representative. She's the one who took the time to bring you your homework every day you were absent."

Noel blinked. "Ushio did?" She had no idea. Aunt Jillian had only said a friend had come to deliver it. Noel had assumed it had—well, been an actual friend. No wonder the others were so confused. It must have been Ushio who overheard the police talking about the mugging.

 "I don't know if anyone's told you this, Miss Mira, but I admire you."

That comment was so out of nowhere that it barely registered in her brain. She stared blankly at her teacher, who just smiled at her.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, I admire you."

He was being serious. No, he had to be joking. Or was he? What would anyone besides a lunatic like Darris have to admire about her?

"No, you don't. Nobody admires me."

"Yes, they do. I most certainly do." His eyebrows furrowed, "What? Is your self-image so low that you can't see your good traits?"

Noel scoffed. What had brought this on? Because he thought that she would kill herself? Well, she didn't need to be coddled.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss yourself. You certainly deserve praise for your adaptability. I thought you'd be far behind in school, but—" Mr. Tamayoshi glanced around the empty hall, "don't tell anyone I told you, but you're well on your way to being top of the class."

Oh, was that all. "Is that a good thing?" Noel asked.

"Is that a good thing?" he said with exasperation, "Miss Mira, do you not understand how demanding our curriculum is?"

She shrugged. "It's just school. You don't need to be smart to get good grades."

Mr. Tamayoshi smirked at her. "Just school. Right. Well, I hope you know that you'll be the envy of many of your classmates, including Miss Kusinawa."

Great. Another target on her back.

Stop it.

Doing well in school would just bring unwanted attention. More eyes on her meant more chances for everyone to see her for what she truly was.

Stop it right now.

They would all know that she was a freak to be mocked—someone who lashed out at anyone who tried to get close.

Stop it, Noel. You are not a victim.

It was like a whisper. And yet, a quiet voice broke through Noel's self-deprecating thoughts as if it were shouting.

Of all the things Darris had told her, the truth was that she had to shed the mindset that the world was out to get her. Maybe it was, but not everyone in it. Aunt Jillian, Granny, Azrath, Mr. Tamayoshi, and perhaps even Darris, in his own twisted way, only wanted what was best for her. If she wanted to become strong, she had to start by acknowledging her weakness.

She didn't realize she had been shaking until Mr. Tamayoshi put a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Noel. If you ever need anything from me. Just let me know. I'm always willing to help, not just as a teacher but also as your ally."

Her ally? For the first time, Noel looked at the man behind the glasses. He was pretty young for a teacher, only in his early twenties.

"My goal is to become an ally to all my students. Someone who can be relied upon when they're in trouble. It's why I became a teacher in the first place. Students are often so caught up in their schooling that they don't realize that they are in the clutches of despair. And then it's too late." He looked at the floor, his lips tightening. "I've seen it before, back in my high school days. Once is too much."

"Mr. Tamayoshi…" Now it made sense to Noel. His overreaction to just seeing her on the roof. His desperation.

He looked back up at her. "That's the real reason why I admire you, Miss Mira. It must have been terrifying to be so powerless. Those men—" he cut himself off, "And yet, here you are, doing your best to be strong. But, please, don't pretend that nothing happened. Just let me know how I might help you if I can." He let go of her shoulder. Then seemed to realize something. "Oh! I'm sorry for imposing my thoughts on you! I think I might have said too much!" He bowed again.

Noel embarrassedly waved his apology away. Pleeeeease stop with the bowing! But that was too rude to say aloud, so she said, "No, no, I'm feeling better now, thanks to you." And she really meant it. It gave her a chance to think outside of herself for once. And that seemed to clear her head.

"Good, I'm glad. Now, let's get you to class."

She nodded and followed him down the stairs. They were silent as they walked through the second-floor hall. After a bit, Noel decided to break it.

"Mr. Tamayoshi?"

"Yes?" He glanced back at her as he continued to head toward his classroom.

"You said I was trying my best to be strong. But what does it mean to actually be strong?"

Noel wasn't sure why she decided to ask her teacher about this. But she felt she could trust him with an honest response. Noel had been chasing after her father's strength for most of her life. But as much as Noel wanted it, it was something she could not obtain for herself. She needed to find her own strength. Though from where Noel had no idea.

"Hmm… That's a good question." He looked forward as he walked. After a moment, he said, "I guess it's different for everyone. Some people think it's all about physical strength; others think it's about resolve. But I think it's more than that. Anyone can exercise, and people who don't give up might just be stubborn at the end of the day. True strength comes when someone has enormous power but chooses when and why they use it."

"Chooses when they use it? What does that mean?"

"There's a sword technique that Samurai used called Iaido. The principle of this technique is that the sword is at its most powerful while still in its sheath. A true master knows when to draw the sword and must differentiate between response and attack. It's a technique that dates back to the 16th century, but it's been—" Mr. Tamayoshi fell silent as he glanced back at Noel's confused expression. "S-sorry. I suppose I should save the history lecture for class." He turned back to hide his burning cheeks. "I guess my point was that people are just as strong when they choose not to act as much as when they do, even if they can."

Noel contemplated his words, even as they parted ways as she walked to her last class of the day, English. It was all too confusing—not English class. That was the easiest class in the world—Darris's definition of strength clashed wildly with Mr. Tamayoshi's and Granny's. How can someone seize their dreams if they choose not to act? If she wanted to get stronger, there had to be a clear path for her to follow. But the more she learned, the muddier her path became. She had already chosen her destination: to play Darris's game to the end no matter what, and yet she could not see how to get there. She had no desire to follow Darris. His way led to senseless killing. And how did it all factor into her new battle with fate?

Her headache returned in waves as all these thoughts swirled in her head. So, she decided to stop until she could properly sort them out. As she entered her classroom, Noel spotted her friends concentrating on writing their notes. Same with Ushio, who didn't spare her so much as a glance as Noel walked past her to take her seat.

Mrs. Suzuki only waved her in as she read a passage aloud from The Great Gatsby with a pretty good accent. The students, not so much. They tended to fumble their pronunciations of the most basic words. Ushio, though, spoke with such precision it was barely different than the translated voice Noel heard in her head. She had to admit, Ushio was impressive.

If anyone in her class had come to America and spoken as badly as they did in class, Noel would probably have laughed at their silly accents—and, she had to admit, she almost did her first day. However, she was in their country where they were learning her language. Not everyone had magic language power as she did.

As the class continued, Noel kept glancing at her friends, hoping to catch one of their eyes, but no such luck. So, when class ended, she knew she had to do the difficult thing and apologize for her outburst. Noel crossed the room to the corner where the girls were gathering.

They looked at her. Their black eyes seemed cold to her, just like Ushio's. Noel swallowed. Then she stood and bowed just like Mr. Tamayoshi had. Her head lowered so that she stared at the ground.

"I-I'm sorry for my behavior. I lashed out at you unfairly. I would still like to be friends, if that's alright?"

Straight, to the point, and formal. Just like Aunt Jillian taught.

She waited what seemed like forever for her friends to respond.

Then Yui said, "That's alright, Haru. If anything, we should apologize to you."

In her peripheral vision, Noel saw three curtains of black hair lower. She looked up to see her friends bowing back at her. Noel stiffly straightened. It was embarrassing enough to bow so unnaturally. It was even more embarrassing to be bowed at by so many people. Mr. Tamayoshi was one thing, but these girls were her age. Japan was so weird.

"W-what for?" she asked.

"We should have realized something was wrong," said Ai as the three girls stood straight, "We had thought you were sick with a cold, but Kusinawa told us you were attacked. We felt so awful for pestering you."

That's right. Ushio had gone out of her way to help her, whether it was delivering her homework to her house or telling Mr. Tamayoshi where she had gone. But why? It had been clear from day one that Ushio couldn't stand her. Or was that just Noel projecting her own dislike onto her? She had to find out. Noel looked at Ushio's desk. However, she wasn't there anymore.

"Sure, thanks for the apology," said Noel, craning her neck to see if she could spot Ushio's red bow among the crowd of students leaving the classroom. She looked at her friends, "Do you know where Ushio went?"

Her friends shook their heads.

"I don't think she goes to a club or anything," said Yui curiously.

"Great! Then I might be able to catch her at the shoe lockers. Talk to you guys later." And with that, Noel joined the crowd, managing to push her way out to the hall, where she jogged down to the first floor to find more students were gathered, collecting their outdoor shoes.

It was an odd thing to have a separate pair of shoes just for school, but she had already gotten used to it. She scanned the lockers for Ushio and immediately spotted Ushio pulling out her shoes.

"Ushio! Hey, Ushio!" Noel waved to catch the girl's attention. But Ushio appeared not to hear her over the chatter. Then Noel realized, as other students turned their heads with surprise and whispers, that she had made a mistake.

She rolled her eyes and corrected herself, "Miss Kusinawa!" Ushio finally acknowledged her with a glance behind her black fringe bangs. Noel ran up to her, panting slightly. "I wanted to thank you. For your help with homework and all that."

Ushio's icy expression didn't change. "Think nothing of it. You're causing a disturbance."

Noel ignored that last comment. "No, really. Thank you. I appreciate it."

"And like I said, don't think anything of it. I wasn't doing it because I wanted to be your friend."

She slipped on her outdoor shoes, placed her school shoes into the locker, and closed the door. If anyone could close a locker with quiet dignity, it was Ushio. And without another word, she turned and walked away. But Noel wouldn't let her leave with a half-assed answer like that, so she followed her. Much to Ushio's disdain.

"I don't want to walk home with you."

"Neither do I," said Noel, suppressing the urge to snort. Bitch. "I just want to know why. You had to have some reason to do what you did. You really went out of your way for me. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did. It's my job as class representative. My duty is to ensure every student in my class has the material they need to succeed. No more, no less."

As they exited the school through the main entrance, Noel could feel her annoyance growing.

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe not to a common foreigner, but here in Japan, performing our duties reflects on not just ourselves but our family name. As long as you are a member of my class, I will perform my duty to the best of my ability."

"And that includes making things right with my friends?"

Ushio was silent for a bit, her expression unchanging. Noel noticed that she adjusted her school bag on her shoulder just a bit. Then she said, "If it means that you will perform at your best, then yes, I'm willing to explain any external circumstances to those who may cause… disruptions."

Noel smirked as she remembered what Mr. Tamayoshi had told her, "I see. You're a competitive type, aren't you? If I'm distracted, then I can't perform at my best. You want to make sure I stay at the top of the class so that you can beat me."

Ushio's eyes darted just a little too fast as she looked at Noel. Gotcha.

She closed her eyes and gave a slight cough. When she opened them, her eyes were on the sidewalk ahead of her. "I wouldn't know anything about that. People who embarrass themselves with unnecessary outbursts are trouble."

Noel put her hands behind her back and leaned forward, grinning smugly. She had managed to crack that ice of hers, even if it was just a hair. "That's so cute. Miss Rich is worried that a ‘common foreigner' might take her throne."

"As if." Ushio glanced at her again, this time looking down at Noel's feet. "There's no way a member of the Kusianwa family would ever feel threatened by anyone who forgot to switch out their shoes. How embarrassing."

Noel looked down at her feet to see that Ushio was correct. Noel was wearing her ugly white and red school shoes.

"And I think you've forgotten something else." Ushio lifted her hand, holding her bag up to emphasize.

"My bag!" Heat crept into Noel's cheeks, "I-I was going to go back to get them. You didn't want me to follow you home, so I left them there." Ushio just looked back at her with that same icy expression. Though Noel saw a hint of a satisfied smile on the corners of her mouth as she let the awkward silence linger.

Noel had no idea to save face, so she just said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Ushio."

"That's Kusinawa-Senpai to you."

"Yeah, I'm not calling you that. Bye, Ushio." Noel waved as she turned from Ushio's cold glower and ran back to school, where her real friends stood waiting. Mugi was holding Noel's bag.

A few minutes later, Noel found herself walking home with her friends, who she knew were going out of their way to keep her company as none of them lived in her direction.

Having them there allowed Noel to put her stress and worry on hold as she enjoyed their company. But as she said goodbye to her friends and entered her house, the dark thoughts and feelings began to creep into her mind again.

Being alone was the worst. Yet Noel wasn't sure if Azrath's company would help alleviate her fears, only increase them as he was a reminder of what she had endured and had yet to endure.

"I'm home," she muttered, taking off her shoes and walking up the stairs. As she did so, she thought of the path before her, cold and murky. It was a path she had to walk, and it would be better if she walked alone. That way, everyone would be safe.

The reality was, though, that she couldn't walk it alone. She needed help. And unfortunately, there was only one person who could help her. By the time she entered her room, she had decided where to start.

"Welcome back, Noel!" said Azrath in a forced, cheery voice. "How was school?"

"Fine." Her face gave away the truth.

Azrath's smile faded. "That bad, huh?" He paused. "That's it. I've decided I'm hiding in your bag to keep an eye on you from now on. No ifs, ands, or buts. I will do everything in my power to make things right."

"You will?" That had been exactly what Noel wanted to hear. "Listen, Azrath. I know this is sudden, but I need you to hear me out."

Azrath looked surprised for a moment, then nodded.

"You told me you were some kind of warrior back where you came from. Right?"

"I did. I was a frontline Peacekeeper for Urzuran's army." He was looking at her with a mix of concern and curiosity. 

"How well do you remember your training?"

Azrath's face brightened, "Like it was yesterday."

Noel smiled, "Perfect. Tell me everything you know about how to fight."