"She really does throw out a lot of stuff, huh?" I couldn't help but snort as Avi held up a couple of new packages.
Specifically, a couple of packages featuring a particular magical girl.
"Mhmm!" Avi nodded, "I'm not gonna complain though!"
My eyes slowly moved, gliding over to a now-open door leading down into the dojo's storeroom, where several more stacks of similar-looking packages sat in the darkness.
Sona. Girl. Seriously. Where the hell do you keep getting all this stuff? I don't think even Serafall would be quite this extra!
"Ah, well." I decided to let it go, "As long as it's edible?"
Avi nodded once more, vigorously, "Very much so! Alright, everyone!" She turned and began walking. "We have some sweets today!"
Some.
The image of the mountain of sweet packages downstairs flashed through my mind for a moment.
Right. Some.
Avi quickly made her way over to the center of the dojo, where Zekka and the newest arrival, Lilibette, had already sat.
True to the blonde's word, even though she had just joined, she helped out almost as soon as the confusion caused by Lilibette's botched Japanese was cleared up.
All she did was misuse a word, by the way. She was trying to see that she 'exchanged promises' with Zekka, whatever that was about. Poor Zekka was a bit too embarrassed about the whole ordeal to elaborate further.
I'm going to use it to bully her, though. It's too funny, not too.
In any event, yes, Lilibette jumped straight into helping clean up the dojo, even though it wasn't used all that much today. She and Avi dragged out a bunch of floor mats and set them in the center of the room, something about taking the opportunity to show the new girl around a little?
Not like there's much downstairs, but fair enough.
Without further ado, I follow the pinky, reaching the center of the dojo where four mats are spread out, each one spaced so that stuff could fit in the middle, as though they're around a table.
Avi sets the packages down, standing on her mat with a grin, her fists on her hips, "Alright, let's have a snack or two, think of it like a welcome for our new member! And then, well, there's not much time left for actual activities, so we'll have a quick meeting!"
As I took a seat on my mat, I could see Zekka look over the packages with a bit of intrigue before getting to them.
Avi and Lilibette, though? Those girls didn't hesitate at all.
"Hmm, thank you for the food."
"Ah, right, thank you for the food!"
Lilibette and Zekka state. Zekka looks like she almost forgot, hilariously enough, if not for Lilibette.
Avi already had half a dozen dango in her mouth.
"Hugh? Mnmh!" Unable to talk, Avi gives them a thumbs up instead.
I had half a mind to chastise the pinky for trying to talk with her mouth stuffed like that, but to be honest, I'm kind of taken by this stupid dango at the moment.
I'll say this, even though I never watch Serafall's show, her merch and other products aren't bad at all, and this dango? Probably the best I've ever had, straight up.
"These are quite good," Lilibette speaks up, somehow while eating dango off a stick like a refined noble lady, "to the point it makes me want to launch a Levia-beam at a heinous monster."
That joke was terrible, and she should feel terrible.
Zekka nodded when Lilibette started, but grimaced so hard at her attempt at a joke, you'd think the girl got stabbed.
Needless to say, the dango didn't last long after that.
And with the sweets gone, now came the boring part. Business.
"Now then," Avi began, clapping her hands together to draw all attention to her, "I'm loath to admit it, but the student council has sort of had eyes on me, and now us, for a while now…" Avi trails off with a sigh, "Ever since I set up here, really.
"Now that we've got an advisor and more members coming in, we're likely going to start running into issues if things continue this way."
I raise an eyebrow, "What kind of issues?"
"Ah, well, sensei," Avi chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of her head, "for one, because we're not an official club, if the student council conducts an investigation and finds clear evidence of us operating out here like this, it's more than likely we'd all, uh, expelled?"
Zekka nearly face vaulted at that, but Lilibette didn't look the slightest bit concerned.
"How has the club, even lasted this long to begin with?" Zekka almost cried out.
To which Avi and I shrugged at her, causing Zekka to slump on her mat a whole lot more.
You'd think half the kids at this school could sense for shit, but I guess not.
"Also," Avi started up again, apparently not yet done, "we may start facing financial issues soon, what with the lack of a school budget to fund anything."
I blinked at that. A budget? Wait, where does this club even get money from? Has Avi been paying for everything herself?
"Eh." I waved Avi off there, "No need to worry about money. I can take care of it, shrimp."
Avi twitched at that, a frown crossing her face, "Mmm, no! I can't ask you to do that, sensei!"
"You're not asking, though?" I point out, raising a finger, "I'm telling you I can handle any monetary issues."
Seriously. Even after Kuroka discovered gacha games, I'm still loaded. I've started to think maybe I just actually have infinite money?
Despite my words, Avi didn't look reassured, crossing her arms and almost glaring down at the floor.
Now this is new for her, and I'm not entirely sure what she's trying to get at here. Whether she doesn't want to take advantage of me, or doesn't want handouts, or what exactly.
I sigh and decide fairly quickly to drop it, "Fine, fine. I won't be your girls' sugar daddy. Go on, shrimp."
Abruptly, Avi's face flips to a triumphant smile, while Zekka squeaks, prompting Lilibette to give Zekka a raised eyebrow.
"So, considering all of that, I have devised a goal for Cult Sword!" Avi excitedly exclaims, her gaze sweeping across everyone, before declaring, "We get Cult Sword recognized as an official club!"
Well, yeah, that would fix everything, wouldn't it?
Why is she saying it like it's some groundbreaking revolutionary idea, though?
"Sure?" I responded, It shouldn't be too hard after all.
"I, I think it is a nice goal." Zekka timidly followed.
"As a newcomer, I have no objections." Lilibette spoke out, "I'll comply with orders."
Damn girl, you a robot or something?
Avi preened at all the affirmation like a resplendent bright pink axolotl, "Heehee~! And I'm still a third-year student, your onee-san!" Her gaze fell onto me, who was just staring at her, making her quickly add, "Er, besides you, sensei, eheh!"
Seriously, pinky pie. This isn't that revolutionary an idea.
"So then," Avi quickly moves on to add, excitement mounting for some reason, "When we do get the budget, let's go all out with it! How about a trip somewhere!?"
Across from me, I could see the very moment something clicked in Zekka's head, and a realization dawned on her face.
It took me significantly less time, because it was my first thought the moment I heard the school would give us money.
Swindling the school for road trip money?
Let's fucking go!
I take it back, shrimp, you preen, you majestic genius axolotl you!
"I aspire to go to Osaka!" Avi animatedly goes on, drooling ever so slightly, "I want to eat lots of delicious food to the point of bursting!"
Somehow, I'm not surprised.
Lilibette took the question far more seriously, as she put a finger to her chin in thought for a moment, "If it's Japan we are talking about, then I have an interest in Tohoku. As for abroad, South America would be good."
South America? Holy. Okay, this world, South American deities, how many of them do blood and human sacrifice in myth again?
I could probably destroy them all, but I'd really rather not deal with that shit, thank you very much.
Well, since we're throwing out suggestions now.
"Olympus." I throw mine out there.
Everybody turns and looks at me, befuddled.
"Uh, sensei, I don't think…" Avi starts, but I wave her off with a little grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." I shrug, "I can go pretty anywhere on Earth whenever I want, in no time at all. But mythological places? Those I can't just fly into, you know? And out of all of those, definitely Olympus."
Greek Mythology was my favorite mythology. Always a shame how dirty Hades gets done out of myth.
"Huh." Avi considered that for a moment before conceding to my words with a nod, "That's fair, sensei!" She then turned to Zekka, "Are there any places you want to go visit, Zekka-chan?"
Zekka immediately perks up and starts looking between everyone as though she had been abruptly thrust under some kind of spotlight.
"Uh, to, um…"
"To?" Avi and Lilibette lean forward as Zekka sputters.
"...Tokyo Disneyland." Zekka finally answers.
Heh. Based.
The other girls didn't look too impressed for some reason, both Avi and Lilibette now sporting bland looks.
"Ah, Zekka-chan, I'll remind you just in case, this is a trip for club activities, alright?" Avi stated gently.
"This is a time you should give a proper answer." Lilibette was far harsher in her rebuke, almost scoldingly so.
"E-Eh…" Zekka shriveled in on herself, looking about ready to cry, not in a legitimately sad way, but in a dramatic anime way.
I sent the poor girl a wink and a thumbs up while the other two weren't looking; however, Zekka noticed and gave a small smile back.
Seriously, I wasn't even aware Tokyo had a Disneyland!
…I wasn't even aware Disney was a thing in this world! Without it being a parody of itself!
How many contracts with demons do the Disney overlords have here, I wonder?
Turning back to the room in general, Avi takes back hold of the conversation, "Well, let's set aside Zekka's case."
I mouth 'for now' under my breath after she's done. See, now I'm far too curious for my own good!
"The primary issue at hand to becoming an officially recognized club right now is members." Avi continued, slightly pained, "Thankfully, due to only being a junior high club, the other requirements aren't so strict, but members are the real key here."
"What's the minimum required?" I ask with a hum.
"...Four." Avi sighs, causing the other girls to groan almost in sync.
One down, huh? It could be way worse, I suppose.
Well. Actually. This could be extremely easy. Barely an inconvenience.
"...It will be challenging, won't it?" Zekka brings up, dully.
Avi nodded profusely, yet seriously, "Yes, but of course it will be, Cult Sword's goal is to become the strongest swordsmen together after all!"
For now, I decided to stay quiet as they began to talk animatedly amongst themselves.
This right here is more so Avi's domain as the club's president. If they need advice, I'm right here.
My mind drifted off as they started going on about the obvious, that recruiting ordinary students as members just wouldn't work due to their supernatural abilities.
"We'll have to search for them directly!" Avi clenched her fist as she resolutely declared.
She means to search for other supernatural students.
I swear, it's like she already forgot that a certain gal exists, but alright?
"I would prefer those with enthusiasm, rather than those with talent or sense," Avi continued, "after all, I want people who aspire to grow stronger with us to join."
Ah, okay, now that's far fairer.
With that criterion in mind, I'm not sure if the girl I was thinking of would be a good fit.
Hmm, only one way to find out!
The conversation then quickly devolved into how exactly they should go about catching people's attention to catch new members.
By this point, I damn near completely lulled off, especially once the new girl started talking about cultivating roses.
Yeah, I'm not sure what that's going to accomplish, but it was certainly something to hear!
~ A New Sun ~
It had quickly become apparent that nothing was working.
Why would I say that?
Well, quite literally the very next day, I sat there in the dojo, waiting for people to arrive as usual.
No one showed up.
On time, anyway. Which is weird, because I could sense that everyone was on campus.
The first one to make it in was Avi, who burst through the door before quickly whirling around and nearly slamming the door shut, but she purposely stopped it before the door struck the side and held close to it, looking out through the small crack left open.
I stared at her back, plainly, wondering if she even noticed I was here.
After a moment, she sighed in relief, then shut the door all the way.
She turned and, "AH!" Immediately drew her knife from her thigh, and flung it at me in one single swoop.
My hand came up, casually, catching the blade between two fingers, going almost cross-eyed as I looked at the short black dagger inches away from the middle of my forehead.
Slowly, my gaze slid back to Avi herself, whose eyes were still wide and adrenaline pumping on overdrive.
I flipped the knife around in my hand and flicked it back across the room at her.
"Watch where you throw that thing, brat."
"Ahah, right!" She catches it cleanly with a nervous smile, her free hand rubbing the back of her head, "Sorry, sensei!"
"Where ya been?" I ask, unbothered.
"Um," Her smile becomes slightly more strained, "being chased by the student council?"
"For trying to recruit more members?"
"For trying to recruit more members, yeah…" Avi slumped, "They caught us trying to do our stuff during lunch break, and, even after that, they tried to catch us between classes, and after classes…" Avi trailed off, as if remembering personally fighting in the Devil Civil War.
Yeah, that tracks. What doesn't help any of this is the fact that they couldn't decide on one sole thing to do to try and draw in members.
This resulted in them deciding to try everything. All at once. Each idea the girls proposed.
Now it looks like none of them even got off the ground.
"Relentless, aren't they?" I eventually amusedly ask, perking Avi up.
"I know, right!?"
The pinkette didn't hesitate to grab her practice sword after that. "Anyway, the others will arrive in due time, so I should have a little bit of time for a few practice swings while we wait!"
"Of course," I chuckle, "go ahead then."
"Hai, sensei, HAH!"
It takes a few minutes, but eventually, the others do walk in.
Lilibette is next to come in, walking with a small frown on her face, huffing as she brushes her cape.
"That student council, they can be quite aggravatingly unrelenting."
That's all she said before she stood off to the side and continued watching Avi alongside me.
Ah, that reminds me, I'm going to have to fight the new girl to figure out how exactly I should tailor the training and activities for her, probably won't get that done today the way things are going, but just making a mental note of that.
Not too long after Lilibette walks in, Zekka follows, though the girl is far more winded than either Lilibette or Avi, staggering into the dojo whilst breathing heavily.
"Ugh," she groaned, before sitting down just inside the door, "that was terrible…"
"Ah," Avi lowered her sword, "you were being chased by Mina-senpai again, weren't you? Good job evading her, Zekka-chan!"
Lilibette tilted her head, considering Avi's words, before nodding in agreement, "It is of no surprise Zekka would be able to handle this person."
Zekka chuckled shyly at the praise, her head drooping lower as she did so.
Now that everyone's here, however, Avi put down her sword.
"So, that was all a bust, huh?" She sighed, prompting a shake of the head from both girls, "This isn't going to go smoothly, is it?" Avi contemplated dimly.
Until Zekka looked up, and toward me.
"Uh, Nori-sensei? Do you have any advice?"
Finally!
Avi perked up at that, and Lilibette tilted her head my way.
"Oh, yeah, I guess we never did ask you, huh, sensei!" Avi exclaimed.
I simply rolled my eyes and looked at Zekka.
"Yeah, sure, give me a second." I responded before standing up.
Before promptly vanishing in a flash of light.
She was still on campus, so it didn't exactly take long to kidnap her.
I reappear, mere moment later, with a silver-haired gal right next to me. Schwertleite, the Voyalkyrie herself!
All three girls were in the process of figuring out what the hell I was up to, and now they just looked completely bewildered.
Befitting a girl I just outright yoinked without any explanation, Schwertleite looks completely caught off guard.
I promptly sat back down, waving to Schwertleite causally, "You can try asking her."
Schwert's eyes eventually found the other girls, specifically Zekka and Avi, especially the latter, and looked about ready to teleport away right this instant.
"Oh! Right! Schwe-chan!" But Avi bound right up to her, far too fast to react to.
"Please don't call me that." Said Schwe-chan tried to interrupt, stepping back slightly.
"You're supernatural too!" But it didn't work, as Avi continued without stopping, "I completely and utterly forgot!"
Yeah, that tracks.
Also, new bully material, nice.
Zekka tilted her head, "I didn't, she used magic, so I assumed she was a magician, not a swordsman…?" She muses aloud, likely trying to figure out why I brought her here.
"Oh." Avi blinked, "Oh yeah. Wait, sensei, why did you bring her here!?"
"Yeah," Schwe turned and glared back at me, "why did you bring me here?"
Well, she asked, so she shall receive an explanation.
"They want to make this little club here official," I began, "but to do that, they need four members; they only need one more."
What? I didn't say I was going to give a complete explanation. Besides, that's not my job at the moment.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Schwe continued, brow furrowing.
"Well. You do have yet to join a club, right?" I smirked.
Schwe twitched at that.
Yeah, can't forget, clubs and stuff are usually mandatory at Japanese schools!
"Perfect!" Avi called out, only to frown, "Wait, Schwe-chan, are you a swordsman? Because if Sensei brought you here just because…"
Schwe looked back at her and sighed, giving me one final glare, which I returned with a smile and a wave before she turned back toward Avi in full.
"I'm not a swordman. I'm a magic swordsman." Schwe declared, before snapping her fingers, causing her four magic circles and thus four flying swords to appear behind her.
Now, at that, everyone looked either awed or intrigued, especially Avi with the former.
"Oh, that's fire!" Avi exclaimed, grabbing Schwe by her hands and holding them, her enthusiasm so radiant it even took Schwe back a little, "It would be an honor if you would join our club! We're Cult Sword! A ground trying to become the greatest swordsmen together!"
"H-Huh? I, this is all a bit…" Schwe nearly stumbled back, but Avi held her firm, albeit unintentionally. After a moment of regaining her bearings, Schwe sighed, looking around.
"I…guess I have no reason not to consider it, necessarily?" She answered noncommittally.
"That's not a no! I'll take it! Woo!" Avi then proceeded to let Schwe go so she could pump her fists in the air.
"...Why didn't we just, ask Nori-sensei yesterday?" Zekka mused aloud, perplexed.
Meanwhile, Schwe backed up, coming over to my side, letting out something akin to a groan.
Under her breath, she muttered to me, "...I'm only really considering this because you talked with teacher, okay?"
I smiled and nodded, sort of figured that much.
"It'd be good for you, ya know?" I replied in kind, "Training is a whole lot better with friends after all."
Schwe only grumbled at that.
"Oh, lighten up a bit, won't you Schwe-chan?"
My smile never faltered, even as I felt four magical swords point toward my back.