Ichiiro woke up early, as usual. He brushed his teeth, changed into his school uniform, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. He was halfway through when *she* walked in the door. He groaned to himself. She was still here. He avoided her gaze. He failed to avoid thinking about what she had said yesterday. He didn't know what to think of the possibility that she might love him (as if he didn't already have enough problems with Aiko and Makoto) Plus, he still hadn't figured out how to repay her for her healing the other day. Hurting herself to heal him; it had taken him aback. He gulped down the rest of his meal and hurried out the door. She wasn't very happy about the situation either. She still couldn't believe she had told him she might love him. Heck, she hadn't even realized it was true until the words were already out of her mouth. She trailed him, scowling, as he fled out the door. Stupid human boy wouldn't even wait for her. She couldn't call after him either; that would make her look pathetic. Admit that she needed him? That she wasn't even sure of the way to school yet? Never! She ought to crush him utterly! She was a Dark Fiend - well, technically she was a puny human at the moment, but still! She would kill those fools Kary and Tiamat. And make sure Lich *stayed* in his hole, permanently. Right after she figured out how to conquer these ridiculously overpowered humans. Nearby, Makoto's female half and Megumi were also on their way to West Eastwood High. Makoto watched the newcomer following Ichiiro with a green glint in her eyes. Megumi, following her gaze, furrowed her brows in puzzlement. "There's something strange about her..." she murmured. "Did you say something, Megumi?" "Nothing important." She shook her head slightly, still considering the odd feeling she had. It was almost like a warning, which didn't make any sense. The green-haired girl was too human to be a yoma, and not powerful enough to be a higher-class dark being. Plus, there had been none of the usual warning signs of a dark kingdom attack. She would have to speak to Tweety later and see if her magical advisor could actually be useful for a change. Makoto left it at that, as she was paying more attention to the conversation her male half (who had already reached the classroom) was having with Kyoto. "So, what do you have on Kraken?" She closed her eyes for a moment, pulling up the file from the school's database. "Exchange student from Lefein (a country which doesn't exist anywhere else in my databanks), 212 years old, previous areas of study include transdimensional theory, demonic biology, and solid-phase soul manifestations. Parents: no data. Medical history: no data. Race: no data. Powers: no data. Wow, there's a lot that's been kept hidden about her. I wonder how she managed to get in at all? The principal likes to have complete records on everyone." "Why's she here at all if she's studied all those weird subjects? I've never heard of any of them, but they don't sound like high school classes." Kyoto shrugged. She set a small portion of her brain to the mystery of Kraken, going through all the possibilities based on the various data. If she could figure out the mystery of Kraken before that gossip-monger Azami did, it would be quite a scoop for her. Azami was a mere sorceress; how could she be faster than Kyoto's rumor-gathering machine? The rest of Kyoto's brain noticed Natsume sneaking around in the hallway. She was wearing a strange, tight black uniform, which made her skin look even more blue than usual, and her hair was pulled into a tight bun. Three more Raqae followed her. At least, Kyoto gave them a 97% chance of being Raqae, since they were with Natsume, wearing a variant of her uniform, and all had the same blue skin and pointed ears. "This way!" she ordered, drawing a sleek, shiny gun, unlike anything Kyoto had ever seen. "Did you see that?" she asked Makoto, wide-eyed. "It looked like Natsume!" They peered out the doorway, in time to see the group enter Takozushi's classroom. "That can't be good," Hisashi said from behind them. They turned to him and he nodded. "I could sense them the minute I entered the school. They're extremely angry, and determined. I doubt they'd think twice about doing something violent." "Disgusting Saneti propagandist! Surrender or suffer the consequences!!" Natsume's voice rang through the hallway. An unintelligible stream of alien cursing grated on their ears, then several high-pitched zapping noises. Both Hisashi and Kyoto were already in motion, but the action was over. A subdued Takuzushi-sensei (you could tell by the way his tentacles drooped) stumbled along in the wake of the quartet of Raqae. Makoto stood in their way. "Natsume, what are you doing? I know you and Takuzushi-sensei disagree, but you can't take your teacher prisoner!" Her eyes were downcast. "It's not my idea. These are my orders; there's nothing I can do about it." She looked up, her eyes boring into him. "I have a duty to my people. It's not a human thing; you wouldn't understand." "We understand that you're breaking school policy, Miss Hidaka," a bass voice rumbled from behind the cluster of students. "You will come with us now; it is time to see the principal." The second vice-principal stepped around the corner behind Natsume's group. "I don't think so," one of the Raqaean soldiers said. "We won't allow you to harm Lady Hidaka." "Do you think we'd be so foolish as to come here without backup? A full squadron of infantry has this building surrounded." "The only reason for this is that we did not wish to disrupt the school; we are simply here for Lady Hidaka and the infidel Saneti." The vice-principals, having been outmatched, faded into the shadows with twin glares. Natsume's group marched out the doors. Ichiiro and Kraken chose that moment to arrive, with Makoto's female half and Megumi right on their heels. "What's going on?" Ichiiro asked. Makoto's female half and Megumi came in right after them, out of breath from running. The Makoto in the doorway panted, "Natsume. Soldiers." The Makoto in the hallway expanded, "They took Takozushi- sensei." Kyoto chose that moment to interrupt. "I've been searching the net and I came up with this," she said, pausing for a moment. Then she starting speaking, in a voice somewhat like hers, but flat and monotone. "At 5:00 this morning, an alien fleet numbering in the thousands surrounded the Earth. Large ships, each about the size of an aircraft carrier, appeared over the capitals cities of all industrialized nations." "There's a video of the one over the capital; it's a traditional flying saucer," Kyoto said in her normal voice. "A statement was released from the invaders to our government officials at 5:14, demanding unconditional surrender by midnight. The missive said, quote, 'Bow before the emperor of the mighty Raqae, or learn the fate of those who harbor Saneti criminals. All worlds tainted by the Saneti filth will be brought to civilization under the benevolent fist of...' hell, I can't pronounce that. Their emperor. There is as yet no official word on the government's response, but an unidentified source within the Department of Defense said, 'How many times has Japan been invaded by aliens? I doubt these ones will be any more successful than the last batch'. This is Toshiro Endo, signing off." The students looked at each other. "So what should we do?" someone said. "Go to class," Saotome-sensei replied. "Then defeat them. Same as every other invasion we've had." "This is weird." Ichiiro said. ********** Author's notes: No pre-reading. Nope, none at all. Sorry if Natsume already had a last name; I couldn't find one so I made one up. I wrote most of this half asleep, although I did come up with the idea when half- sensible, at least. Please excuse any errors, and enjoy!! erica