"Hello!" excimed a youthful voice with a distinct American accent coming from the other end of the hallway.

  Akeno and every other student present turned toward the source of the voice, and there stood a beautiful girl with long golden hair styled into twin tails ending in drills and tied with blue ribbons, and rge blue eyes. Even the pattern of her translucent veil used white stars on a blue field and a red bottom.

  "Hello." smiled Akeno. "I assume from your veil and accent that you are the new transfer student?"

  "Yes. I am Angelina Kudou Shields. I wanted to ask, do you know where css 1-A is?"

  "Yes. I am Akeno Himejima. It is nice to meet you. Miyuki here is part of css 1-A." said Akeno as she gestured to Mizuki, who introduced herself with a smile.

  "Nice to meet you, Angelina-san. Are you perhaps reted to his Excellency Kudou-san? I seem to recall that his younger brother settled in America and raised a family there." asked Tatsuya.

  "Ara, you're well informed. That was a long time ago. And please call me Lina, everyone. Part of the reason I volunteered to study in Japan was to learn more about the country my ancestors come from." said Lina with a bright smile.

  "Part of the reason, you say? Are you perhaps interested in Japan's culture?" asked Akeno. She already knew the answer, as Noah had mentioned it.

  "Yes! There are many things in Japan I find interesting, from clothing to food!"

  "I have a hobby of learning and mastering cooking of traditional Japanese dishes, like onigiris, mochis, or even performing a tea ceremony. And I have an idea. How about I provide lunch to everyone tomorrow? It's been a while since I have an opportunity to have others taste my cooking, and I miss it. Lina, you're invited as well."

  "That sounds great." nodded Erika.

  "I would be happy to taste your cooking." smiled Honoka.

  "Yes. And I would like to hear your honest opinion about it, so I can improve further. Does anyone have any allergy or food intolerance I should take into account?"

  Everyone shook their heads.

  "It is very nice for you to already invite me when we just met, Akeno." smiled Lina.

  Akeno simply shrugged. "I have a good sense for people, and I think you are a good person. I am also putting myself in your shoes, coming to a new school where I would not know anyone. I would appreciate if someone helped me make friends, and this is what I am trying to do for you."

  "…I see. I am grateful for that." replied Lina, feeling slightly moved.

  "Besides, I am curious about the USNA." grinned Akeno. "I would like to know more about how things are across the ocean."

  "Sure, I won't mind answering your questions." nodded Lina. "And I notice that not everyone has the same uniform emblem. Is there a significance to it?"

  "Has no one told you about Course 1 and Course 2 students?" wondered Miyuki.

  "Well…" said Lina as she fidgeted a little. "After I volunteered to join First High for six months, I was a lot more interested in gathering information on the various pces I wanted to visit in Japan than in the documentation I received. I may have skimmed some papers a little too much…"

  Erika giggled.

  "I'm Erika. It's nice to meet you, Lina. To answer your question, students are divided into Course 1 and Course 2 students according to their ranking during the admission test. You are a Course 1 student. As such, you get greater access to teachers and education materials. Course 2 students also have the option to follow the magic engineering course, like Akeno is doing."

  "I see. Thank you, Erika. But this is strange, not giving every student equal access." frowned Lina.

  "Tell me about it. This has led to discrimination between students as well, with some stuck-up fools calling themselves Blooms and course 2 students like me as Weeds."

  "In the USNA, people are treated equally, and magic engineering students have their own schools. You certainly won't hear that kind of nonsense from me." nodded Lina.

  She was about to add something when the bell rang. Css was about to starting.

  After seeing farewell, Lina followed Miyuki, Honoka and Shizuru to her new css. She thought her infiltration mission was going well. She was already making acquaintances, and she would be able to pump them for information.

  …

  Three days ter, Lina finally found an opportunity to meet Akeno alone, as she was coming back from a restroom break.

  "Hey, Akeno." called out Lina, smiling, as she walked leisurely toward her.

  "Yes, Lina?"

  "Remember when Leo was bragging about how you humiliated that Morisaki guy?"

  "I remember, yes."

  "That's got me very curious. How did a Course 2 student, who didn't succeed all that well in the admission test, defeat a Course 1 student in the blink of an eye?"

  Akeno shrugged.

  "Aside from exhibition matches, fights involving magic are typically very short. Morisaki didn't have a counter to the magic I used, and I didn't give him a chance to adapt. it's as simple as that."

  "Yes, it does seem simple when you say it like this." smiled Lina.

  She still smiled as she suddenly jumped forward and aimed her right fist at Akeno's face.

  Akeno's training kicked in immediately, and she evaded the fist, seized Lina's right wrist, and moved to punch Lina in the sor plexus. She stopped her hand just before making contact.

  "What is the meaning of this, Lina?" asked Akeno, looking at her with cold eyes.

  "I just wanted to confirm something. You are fast as expected. And stronger than I imagined. How about you release me?"

  Akeno slowly nodded and released her, stepping back.

  "Are you satisfied?"

  "Very satisfied. I wondered why some of the other Course 1 students called you a monster and stayed well away from you. They said you might be the strongest person in First High, despite being a freshman."

  "I make no such cim. Although I do agree that the number of people able to compete with me in a no-holds-barred duel can probably be counted on one hand's fingers. Next time you want to test me, Lina, you can ask for a spar."

  "Maybe I will." grinned Lina.

  "When you do, I will take up your challenge. But do not attack me out of the blue again, or you will get a spanking." smiled Akeno.

  "A spanking?" asked Lina with a raised eyebrow.

  "I am somewhat old-fashioned, when it comes to punishment. But it is effective." shrugged Akeno.

  Lina nodded, and Akeno went past her, heading toward the pce where their friends were gathered. She followed two steps behind Akeno, wondering if a surprise attack would work with her back turned to her. But she had a feeling that Akeno was still watching her somehow and was ready to counterattack.

  But there was something abnormal about Akeno's reaction speed, and Lina wondered if maybe, she had been augmented with combat impnts. She was definitely suspicious.

  …

  "Welcome back, Lieutenant-Colonel." smiled Rachel when Angelina closed the door of her house, her hands carrying many bags. She had just returned from a trip at Akihabara, the Tokyo area that still specialized in vintage electronics and cultural goods.

  Video games, Mangas and Animes had almost completely disappeared with the end of the Age of Immorality, and no more were produced, but a minority of hardcore fans still maintained what they could. Buying those relics of the past was expensive, but Angelina was very well paid, and she was willing to indulge for one of her few hobbies.

  "Thank you, Rachel. But I told you already, call me Lina. That will help me stay into the role."

  "Understood, Lina." nodded Rachel.

  Before coming to Japan, she was used to be called Angelina or Angie, but almost never Lina. She couldn't afford for people outside to thing of her as Angie, as it would be too close to Angie Sirius for comfort, so she went by Lina as her nickname.

  After removing her white leather boots and carefully setting her bags on the floor, she moved to the kitchen, served herself a drink of orange juice, and moved to the living room.

  "Hey, Cra." smiled Lina as she sat on the sofa facing her.

  Cra lifted her eyes from the computer she was working on and smiled back.

  "Hi, Lina. Was your trip profitable?"

  "Yes, I've got a lot of loot. how about you? Any progress?"

  "Not at this point." sighed Cra, running a hand through her short brown hair in frustration. "The government's security is no joke, and I have to be very careful. Frankly, I do not think I'll be able to penetrate their core infrastructure. I won't stop trying, though."

  "I see…" nodded Lina, not really disappointed, as she hadn't expected quick progress. Cra was one of Stardust's best hackers and a competent Hunter, but the Japanese government took security very seriously. Their firewalls were among the best of the world, and their core employees reminded every month about the dangers of social engineering and careless passwords.

  "I do have something to report." smiled Rachel as she sat by Cra. "There is definitely something going on at First High. I managed to spot two people who were covertly guarding the campus during the weekend, and a number of students have gathered inside for most of Saturday and today, including several wearing the uniforms of Third High. I took pictures as they left."

  Cra gave her smartphone to Lina, who started looking through the photos. They had been taken from a long distance, but it wasn't hard for her to recognize her new friends, as well as the Student Council President, and four people in red and dark gray school uniform.

  "Can you think of any reason why they would go to school during the week-end, Lina?"

  "Not any legitimate one. And you say there is a security perimeter in addition to the school's arm and normal guards?

  Cra nodded. "Yes, unless said school guards dress in civilian clothes and spend their time outside of the campus. After the students left, the guards I spotted dispersed."

  Lina leaned back and sipped her juice as she pondered, trying to remember every single one of her interactions with Akeno, Rin, Honoka, Shizuku, Erika and Leo. She had talked a bit with Eimi as well.

  "…I am already on friendly terms with six or seven of the people in those photos. I wonder if I'm just lucky, or..."

  Lina wondered for a moment if they knew about her true identity but discarded the idea after an instant. She was the one who had initiated contact with that group.

  "Should we try infiltrating one night?" suggested Rachel.

  "…No." said Lina as she shook her head. "This risk of being spotted is too great… I'll ask the Colonel for satellite surveilnce of the campus. That will tell us where they go next week-end, and for how long. Once I have a more accurate location, I will pnt a few surveilnce devices, and we'll learn what they are up to."

  "Understood." nodded Rachel and Cra.

  …

  "Your suggestion is denied. If any surveilnce device is found, you will be the first suspect." said the Colonel as he shook his head.

  "Major, I am aware of this, but I do not see another way to proceed with my investigation."

  "This investigation is only half of your mission. And we do not want the Japanese to risk learning anything about you… So, we will use another method... We will target the Third High students using more of our agents, and then interrogate them. And you will have an ironcd alibi when it happens."

  Lina mentally winced when she heard the Colonel's orders. She had little doubts that the interrogation would be vigorous, and the students subjected to it would, in the best case, be brought over to the mainnd to squeeze still more out of them. And likely disposed off at the end. At worst, they would be killed after the initial interrogation, and the Colonel wouldn't bother smuggling them out of Japan.

  "Is there anything else?"

  "No, Colonel." sighed Lina as she shook her head.

  "Very well. Proceed as usual. We will contact you ter."

  "Yes, Colonel." saluted Lina, and the call ended.

  She informed her colleagues and returned to her room to y on the bed, feeling down. Even the sight of all the packages she had brought from Akihabara weren't enough to make her stop thinking about what was about to happen. Killing enemy spies or terrorists was one thing. Kidnapping, torturing and killing innocent civilians for information was another matter entirely. It didn't sit well with her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

  …

  For most of the following week, Lina acted normally. She came to the campus as usual, socialized with her new friends during breaks and ate her lunches with them, and returned home after the club activities were over. Until Friday came, the day of the pnned kidnapping. The Colonel had given her the details of the operation, even if she wasn't going to participate in the first phase.

  Two of the four Third High students were targeted, as they conveniently lived close to each other and had to walk a fairly quiet street to return home. And satellite reconnaissance showed them walking together every day.

  No one would be able to accuse Lina of the crime, as she would be practicing tennis with Erika and the other members of the tennis club at the time, and the campus's video surveilnce would prove it.

  …

  "Seventeen days left to prepare for the Nine School Competition." smiled Touko, her long blue hairs waving in the wind as she and Aira walked back home.

  "Yes." nodded Airi. "I'm still trying to optimize the sequences I intend to use a little more, but honestly, there's not much left to do. They are just about perfect already."

  "Yes. But you only had to work on a jump sequence for Mirage Bat, right? You already have Lightning to guarantee a victory in Crowd Ball."

  "Yes. And you don't have that issue."

  "Hehe, being a spirit user specializing in water magic has its advantages." grinned Touko.

  Airi smiled as she nodded. She knew that for Touko, using her ancient magic to manipute water was as easy as moving a muscle.

  The Nine School Competition comprised of six events where students from the nine magic schools would compete against each other, in a cssic tournament format.

  Speed Shooting, also known as Quick Draw, was a solo game where two competitors stood side by side on a podium, in front of a rge empty space where a rge gray square, twenty meters to the side, indicated the shooting area. From the sides, automated unchers would randomly throw a hundred white and red cy targets, often two at a time, over a five minutes period. The competitor's role was to use magic to destroy their targets before they left the shooting area, and they were forbidden from interfering with each other.

  And the unchers would unch another target as soon as one was destroyed, ensuring a hectic pace for competent shooters. Speed Shooting games rarely sted more than three or four minutes.

  Ice Pilr Break was one of the public's favorites. Two single competitors on opposite podiums faced each other. Between them stood twenty-four rge ice pilrs, twelve on each side. To win, the competitor would have to be the first to destroy all twelve of the opponent's pilrs. They weren't allowed to attack each other directly but could disrupt the opponent's magic.

  Crowd Ball was essentially tennis, with the possibility to move the ball with both a racket and magic. Airi was going to represent Third High's freshmen in that event, with her Lightning personal magic giving her a great advantage. With it, she could let her personalized CAD command her body using a complex set of instructions generating small electrical impulses, bypassing her brain and effectively giving her the reaction time of a machine.

  The fourth Event would be Battle Board, where pyers would stand on surfing boards and race on a three-kilometer-long artificial channel full of curves and sharp turns, using magic to propel themselves. Directly interfering with each other was forbidden, but Touko would be in her element, maniputing the channel's water to create whirlpools or waves in her rivals' way to almost guarantee her victory.

  The test two events were separated by gender.

  Mirage Bat, also nicknamed Fairy Dance, would see the girls repeatedly jump from one stone pilr to another, swatting lights appearing in the sky. Some lights were easily twenty meters above the tallest pilr, and pyers would have to carefully calcute their trajectories, or risk falling into the water surrounding the pilrs. Airi would also participate to this event.

  As for Monolith Code, the male students would compete in teams of three to defend a pilr while attacking the opponent's base. If the pilr was hit by any magic, it would open, revealing a complex code of 512 characters. In order to win, one pyer had to go within ten meters of the opponent's pilr and enter the code in the portable computer fixed on their left arm. The code would take some time to be entered, giving the defenders ample opportunity to stop the attacker.

  "Hey, Airi. Do you think Rin and Akeno will participate?" asked Touko suddenly.

  "That's very possible. I know Honoka will take part in Battle Board and Amy in Pilr Break. But I'm not sure about the others." shrugged Airi.

  "Well, I hope they won't. If they start using mana to cheat, it will be hard to spot."

  "I don't think they would bother. I mentioned the competition to Akeno st week while we were doing individual training, and she said that she would be present, but that she wasn't really interested in participating."

  They had now walked most of the way home and would soon separate, and Airi's gaze turned to a small group of men moving furniture from a van. The van seemed a little small for one being used by a moving company, but she assumed that maybe the person moving in didn't have too much furniture to bring with them.

  "Anyway, I'm eager for the next lesson with them. I want to beat Honoka this time" grinned Touko.

  "Me too." smiled Airi. "Next week is about using mana to make objects harder. I already imagine myself slicing rocks with my rapier."

  "That is take you some work to reach that level, I think, but that would look great!" nodded Touko.

  They were two meters from the moving van when Touko suddenly stopped, and she grabbed Airi's arm to stop her as well. There was something odd with the movers, and it took her a second to understand what had spooked her.

  She and Airi were both very attractive, and it was natural for people, especially males, to watch them. But not of the movers had even spared them a gnce.

  Airi had stopped and watched the movers as well, trying to understand her friend's reaction. But she didn't have time to find out, as the four movers suddenly dropped the furniture and boxes they were carrying and put their hands in their pockets. The hands came out, holding tasers.

  Airi's first response was to raise her left hand to her CAD and press the button to unch an Acceleration sequence that would propel backward anything in front of them, while Touko circuted her mana, causing her magic circuits to appear on her arms and legs.

  She was about to ask Touko to not use that, as it was supposed to be a secret, but her expression turned to consternation as her Acceleration sequence was disrupted. The attackers must be using some kind of Counter-Magic.

  She decided to circute her mana after all. But it was already too te. Two more attackers appeared from behind the corner of the van on her right fnk, and one of them shot her before she could react. The prongs buried themselves in her fnk, and the electric shots made her colpse on the ground.

  She tried to fight the pain, but couldn't, and her assaints were on her in seconds. She only had time to see Touko bring down two of the men and being hit by a taser before a bck hood was pulled over her head, and steel handcuffs were fastened in her wrists. She felt a needle jabbing her neck, and seconds ter, she bcked out.