… not gonna lie, I completely forgot that Present Mic was also fearful of insects.

Chapter 6: Interlude – Calm Before the Festival

Hatsume Mei wasn't someone easily impressed by inventions other than her own babies, but she was seriously considering marrying whoever created this work of divine perfection.

For five days, she had toiled away at studying the invention that Power Loader had brought with him. She had been told that under no circumstances was she to destroy or disassemble it, and he'd said that with such finality that she had reluctantly agreed.

The design of it was simply breath-taking. With other devices, the inventor in her could tell apart the work of other inventors through the small nuances and habits each person had; the subtlest changes in the fraying of wires, the way the joints were welded together, the smallest of imperfections just barely discernible with her quirk.

With this flight pack, there was the clear signs pointing toward it being a cooperative effort, but it was done so smoothly it appeared more like a single person had worked at it. Someone had worked to make the antigravity technology, then made more efficient by someone else, and finally the device pieced together by yet another person. It was something far out of the scope of her abilities, and it was amazing.

It had taken two days to theorise a possible way of recharging the device. It took three more to actually find a method that worked. It was clear enough that it ran on electricity, but the sheer efficiency of it blew her away. She couldn't recreate any of it, only find a way to adapt a possible way to connect a power source to the power bank within it, if it could even be called a 'power bank'. It was fascinating.

It was while she was still carefully scrutinising the device that a chime went off, signifying a visitor to Power Loader's workshop. Not that she particularly cared, Power Loader-sensei could talk to their guest. All she wanted to do was study this device further.

She heard her name being mentioned by Power Loader. Her concentration broke for the barest of moments, listening to what was being said.

"…my student, Hatsume Mei. She's been studying your flight pack –"

THE OWNER OF THE WORK OF THE GODS WAS HERE?!

Immediately, she rushed out to the front, coming face to face with a girl wearing a blue-themed costume.

The flight pack was also blue.

"…can I please have your baby?" She squeaked out.

The girl blinked, then turned to face Power Loader.

"That's Hatsume Mei." He sighed. Then, turning toward Mei, he introduced the girl. "This is Taylor Hebert, a teaching assistant also studying in class 1-B. I told her that she could come over to collect her flight pack."

"Do you know who made it?" Mei asked desperately. "I need to know. Those antigravity panels! Those propulsion systems! That efficiency! That elegance! That baby is divine!"

She heard 'Taylor' sigh. "Is she always like that?"

"Unfortunately."

Mei heard her muttering under her breath. "Tinkers."

Then, she addressed Mei. "I don't think you can replicate it exactly, anyway. It's kind of part of their quirk."

"Can I meet them?" she asked excitedly. She could already imagine it. The babies they could make together…

"That's… going to be kind of difficult. They're gone."

That put a damper on things. No matter! "Do you have more of their babies?"

"No," she said. "Do you make inventions?"

Did she make inventions? Was that meant to be an insult? "Inventions? My babies are the future!"

"Taylor-san, please don't get her in the mood –"

"Did you want something made? Did the brilliant mind that make your baby create other babies?" Hurriedly, she snatched up a nearby notepad and pen. She wouldn't miss any of this for the world.

"Um," Taylor turned to look at Power Loader. "Is this safe?"

"You might as well entertain her," he sighed. "She won't leave you alone otherwise."

"Okay…" her face scrunched up into concentration. Mei gripped her pen harder. "He made a multifunctional halberd with grappling hooks, a welding device, a flail, some way to teleport it into his hand, an EMP projector, a plasma blade and some things I have no idea how to describe."

Hurriedly, she wrote down everything . This was an opportunity that couldn't be missed.

"His helmet had a lie detector and a combat prediction software. Someone he worked with could make armoured suits with a bunch of different functions, advanced robots and more."

Ideas were coming quickly. How could he have done that? How could she copy him?

She barely noticed Power Loader walking past her, grabbing the flight pack and returning it to the girl.

"Hey, Mei?" Taylor interrupted her concentration. She snapped to look at her. "By any chance, do you do commissions?"

Commissions? Her eyes grew wide, and she flipped a page on the notepad. She could feel a smile growing on her face. "Tell me more."

"You see, I need to do something for the upcoming Sports Festival…"

The smile grew wider. She could tell this was going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.

"Oh, my God. Kill the zombies! KILL THE ZOMBIES!"

"I'm trying!" Shoji shouted, his six arms punching at three different targets. They were 'Brute' class villains, one of those that were difficult to put down. It was only after a few consecutive punches that Taylor relented and counted them as being defeated, dispersing the butterflies back to the sides.

"Mineta-san! More balls!" Kirishima shouted.

The boy in question sniffed as he plucked another of his grapes from his head, that was now releasing a slow trickle of blood. On the training field there were already balls scattered all around, bodies made of butterflies stuck to them as they advanced no further. He'd been pronounced as the sole functional 'Shaker' of the team, one that could alter the battlefield. Jirou could technically be counted as one, but her quirk was a lot more direct.

"Come on guys! You can do it!" Izuku shouted from the side-lines. He had initially been considered for the exercise, but upon learning just how the state of his quirk was currently, Taylor had instead set him up for simple combat exercises against a butterfly clone. Under no circumstances was he to use his quirk until he could come up with a method that didn't end with broken bones.

This was the first time that Taylor had allowed class 1-A to participate in her training exercise, on the second week since she'd joined up as one of their coursemates. She'd set up some strict restrictions on who could participate, namely those who wouldn't immediately lay waste to her bugs. That meant that Mina, Kaminari, Bakugou and Todoroki were immediately disallowed from the exercise.

Mina had complained, even tried to convince Taylor that her acid was harmless with a demonstration, but the bugs had died moments after using even her most dilute acid. Currently, she was watching sulkily while Kirishima and the rest were fighting a life-or-death battle against the endless horde.

Taylor had said that there was a huge imbalance of 'Brutes' in their class, and it certainly showed in the exercise. Kirishima, Shoji and Tsuyu were picking off bodies that came close to the square they'd been designated to defend, while Jirou and Yaoyorozu struck at targets from afar. Mineta was using his sticky balls to slow down their advance. He wasn't even really a Shaker, just using his quirk like one.

"WHAT'S THE TIME NOW?" Kirishima shouted, panting as he hardened his body yet again to fend off another Brute.

"You have another four minutes before I start adding giants into the mix," Taylor said calmly.

…they'd only been at it for sixteen minutes? "That's such bullshit!" he shouted.

"You're the one who wanted to, I quote, 'play Endless Horde Mode'," she replied.

Needless to say, he was beginning to regret that decision.

He'd heard that class 1-B had already moved on to other versions of this exercise. Videos had been circulating of them making their way through buildings, getting ambushed by butterflies that came out of walls to form bodies, being trapped by webs shot from spiders in blind corners and an actual honest to God fifty-feet tall boss monster composed entirely of butterflies.

"SHAKER!" Izuku shouted from where he was sitting. He had wanted to tag along even if he couldn't physically participate, probably coming up with optimal ways of carrying out the exercise.

Kirishima turned. Sure enough, one of those annoying enemy types was placing his hands just in the periphery. Shoji's movements were becoming slowed down by a hand slowly reaching at his foot. Kirishima knew that it was nowhere near what Taylor was capable of when she'd actually tried, having been able to use that power to restrain the villain at USJ by repeatedly making new hands.

"Yaoyorozu-san!" Kirishima ordered, then crossed the square to cut off one of the variants Taylor had called a 'Mover' while it was approaching Mineta.

"On it!" the girl replied. She aimed her cannon, created yet another cannonball, and fired.

It struck home. The butterflies dispersed, and the actively moving hand around Shoji's foot retreated back into the ground.

She was being more lenient with them than 1-B, but Taylor had assured them that it was because working with physical fighters like them was harder. The training wasn't as effective since the butterfly villains weren't really physically tough, just simulating villain movements. All it did was try to encourage them to come up with a plan and to work with each other's quirks.

That didn't mean it wasn't fun, though. Kirishima was having the time of his life.

"Breaker approaching!" Jirou called out, already swinging her earphones in a particular direction. With her quirk, she had easily become the most versatile member of their current team, able to use it to call out movements and to scatter enemies.

She fired a burst of sonic waves, and the butterflies crawling around the ground stopped moving. Tsuyu leapt onto the butterflies, and Taylor counted that as a successful kill, sending them back to the start.

Kirishima looked around for new targets. Jirou was keeping them at bay by diverting her quirk into the ground, destroying most of the common quirkless variants. Yaoyorozu was on priority target duty, using her limited fat stockpiles to destroy the more dangerous Shakers. She needed to preserve her energy; once the giants arrived she was the only one who could realistically stop them.

"Mineta-san! MORE BALLS!" he ordered again.

"I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE!" he shouted. Kirishima turned. True enough, his head was completely barren, streaks of blood falling down the sides of his face. It was kind of manly.

Maybe Kirishima had been too hard on Mineta. There were a lot of his sticky grapes already placed on the field. The targets that were captured were considered immobilised, and wouldn't be sent back to the start to make new bodies. It saved the rest of them some energy.

"Okay. Take a break, Mineta-san. Good job!" he encouraged. Sniffling, the boy sat down within the square, catching his breath and applying pressure to his head.

"Come on, guys! Just a while longer and you'll hit the giants!" Izuku cheered.

"Yaoyorozu-san, how are you doing?" Kirishima questioned while punching at another body that slipped past Jirou and Mineta's quirks.

"I've got some energy supplies left, but I'm going to be running out within a few minutes at this rate," she huffed.

"Do your best. Tsuyu-chan, how're you faring?"

She croaked, using her tongue to sweep across several weaker butterfly zombies. "I can keep going, but they're breaching our defences faster and faster. At this rate, we're going to be overrun."

At that point, Taylor rang a bell. Finally! Twenty minutes! That, of course, meant that giants were coming.

Sure enough, a few bodies at the edge converged together, forming two of the giants, moving quickly toward them. Yaoyorozu reacted instantly, firing a cannon at one. When Taylor didn't make it disperse, she fired a second time, and a third.

It was only then that she counted that as a kill, sending them back to the start.

It soaked up a lot of their team's energy, though. Already, Shoji was forced to retreat slightly in order to avoid being caught by three of the Brutes at once that would otherwise signify a defeat. Kirishima found himself backing away from a Mover carrying a Brute on his 'back', when he found himself held in place.

"SHAKER!" Izuku called out helpfully.

It was too little, too late. Yaoyorozu aimed her cannon, sending a projectile flying toward it, but Kirishima had already been descended upon by five zombies while immobilised.

"Kirishima has been defeated," Taylor said. "Please exit the training square."

The hand grabbing at his leg sunk back into the ground, and he limped his way over to where Taylor was still watching the rest get pushed in.

"You did pretty well, all things considered," she said.

"We still lost to 1-B. That's not very manly," he replied glumly. He'd seen them in action just last week when Taylor had first increased the difficulty of the exercise. They had performed remarkably, only falling once she went into what the other students were beginning to call the 'berserk phase'.

She shrugged. "They've got Shakers and Masters, you've got Brutes. You can't really compare the exercises. In one of the other environments, you could probably beat them handily."

"What do you mean?" he asked, as Mineta got taken out while desperately trying to crawl away from a mock-villain.

"Inside buildings you get to fight in close quarters. You Brutes could probably react better to ambushes, seeing as you don't really need to set up your quirks beforehand. You should see how Kinoko reacted when I had a bunch of spiders fall on her head when the group crossed the door. Just a second," she called for a pause. Then she said more loudly, "Mineta has been defeated. Please exit the training square."

Things were looking bleak for them. Shoji was standing back to back with Jirou, while Tsuyu was protecting Yaoyorozu. The bodies were already inside the square.

Kirishima counted down. Five, four, three, two, one –

"Time's up," Taylor declared, scattering the butterflies. Bodies were strewn across the floor, those that were trampled by attacks or otherwise destroyed by cannonballs. A very small number compared to how many there were in Taylor's stockpile, but it was still kind of disturbing.

"Mina, if you would please help?" she asked. The still-sulking girl walked over, then released a stream of acid that dissolved the bodies. "Thank you."

"You better find an exercise that I can take part in," she said.

"I'll try my best, but no promises," Taylor replied.

The other students were making their way over now, Izuku joining alongside them.

"That was amazing, guys! You worked so well together!" Izuku cheered for them.

"Thanks, Midoriya-san." Kirishima smiled at the boy. He was simply way too nice. It was a pity that his quirk had such destructive tendencies.

"Okay, team. What did you all learn today?"

"…I hate my life?" Mineta suggested, a single ball having returned since the end of the exercise.

"Excellent answer. Anyone else?"

Was that sarcasm ? Since when did Taylor engage in sarcasm? Time for him to return it in equal measure.

"We're not manly enough?"

"Also an excellent answer. More?"

It was official, Kirishima mentally declared. Taylor liked them.

He had been watching her as they passed each other around school. She was mostly aloof, hiding away from other schoolmates, but Tokage from class 1-B had stuck to her and dragged along the six that she'd chosen as pioneers of the training exercise. It was only with those six that Kirishima had ever seen Taylor joke and laugh.

"I need to preserve energy for my quirk," Yaoyorozu considered.

"True, but given the circumstances your team didn't really have any other ranged option. Maybe next time I'll waive Tsuyu's defeat conditions and let her freely move and hit targets."

"How would you have done the exercise in their shoes, Taylor-san?" Izuku asked politely.

"I don't really know. The exercise isn't exactly fair for them. Maybe make use of Tsuyu's speed a bit more to pick off Shakers and high-value targets, if she's able to avoid getting swarmed. Then again, I'm not a Brute, so I can't really speak about good tactics for your team composition. Given my request for Yaoyorozu to avoid anything that could kill my bugs en masse, I think you guys did really well. You adapted, came up with a plan and cooperated. That's all that I could ask for, really."

"Thanks, Taylor-san," Mineta smiled. For some reason, Taylor was the only girl that Mineta's lecherous side didn't act on. Whether it was respect, fear, a lack of curves on her part or something else, Kirishima didn't know.

"Alright, guys. You should get going. It's the last lesson for the day, right?"

"Yup!" he nodded. Then, curiosity struck him. "What about you, Taylor-san? Don't you need to go home too?"

"I live in the school," she said. "Nezu's got some guest rooms set up for me."

Ah, that explained things. He had wondered how someone who travelled from another dimension would settle down on their Earth.

"Hey, Taylor-chan? Would you want to go out with us sometime?" Tsuyu asked.

She froze for a moment. "Maybe. Not right now, though. I'm supposed to meet with the others from 1-B. Up till now, I haven't actually been out of the school yet."

"What?" Kirishima burst out. "You mean you've been stuck in school for two weeks? "

"I've been busy," she said. "The teachers want me to plan some stuff out for the Sports Festival. No, I can't tell you guys what I'm doing."

Izuku had been about to ask about what the Festival entailed. The question died on his lips before it even formed.

"Anyway, you all should go home and get prepared. The Festival is coming on Monday, and you need to rest for it."

"Couldn't we join you and those from 1-B?" Kirishima asked.

She hesitated again. "Sorry, but I'd rather just go with them, for now. I promise I'll find some time for you guys soon."

Ah. So she didn't like them that much yet, then. Kirishima felt just a little jealous. No matter, they had much more time ahead of them.

"Okay, ribbit. Enjoy your time with your classmates!" Tsuyu smiled at her.

"Thanks. Anyway, get a move on already. See you guys on Monday."

With that, she broke away from the group, heading back toward the school. Kirishima turned to look at the others.

"Are you guys jealous too?"

"Just a little bit," Tsuyu confessed. "She's a lot closer with those from 1-B. She's such a nice person, but sometimes I don't understand why she can be so cold, you know?"

"I- I'm sure Taylor-san will find the time to meet up with us sometime, guys!" Izuku said.

"Maybe. Anyway, we should make a move too. See you on Monday, guys!"

Kirishima waved at them, then set off toward the school entrance. With that, the group dispersed, some walking toward the entrance while others made their way to the lockers and classrooms to retrieve their bags.

Tokage Setsuna spotted Taylor walking along the street. She waved enthusiastically. "Over here, Taylor-chan!"

The girl moved over, joining the other six students by the table in the restaurant. "I know. I felt your presence with my bugs."

"You mean I still have bugs on my body?" Kinoko's face twisted into a scowl.

"Just two. Almost everyone has bugs, you know."

"I really didn't need to know that, thank you very much. Mushrooms are much cuter." Kinoko had opened up a lot with them. Turns out, the girl really wasn't shy at all. Now that they'd worked together for Taylor's exercises, the girl just wouldn't shut up about mushrooms.

"Anyway, Taylor-chan! How was teaching with 1-A?" Setsuna questioned.

She shrugged. "Different. The exercise doesn't work well with their quirks. I might have to move them straight to what you guys are doing right now, search and rescue, urban operations and similar types of missions."

Ah, those exercises. In the two weeks of classes since Taylor arrived, they've managed to carry out five training sessions under her, including the initial one that started it all. Infiltration, rescue and holdout exercises were some of her favourites.

She doubted Kinoko appreciated the fact that Taylor began adding in more types of bugs, though. The first time that she'd been webbed, she had screamed and instinctively grew mushrooms all around her, trapping herself in a doorway.

With the support of the other teachers, Taylor's exercises had taken on a more structured approach. There were now cameras and recording devices, voice-communication systems and other equipment used in actual hero work.

It did, of course, mean that their reactions were captured and preserved for posterity.

"We're doing better than 1-A, then?" Monoma asked smugly. He still hadn't completely gotten over his rivalry with 1-A. There was an improvement, but now he was proudly proclaiming to them that Taylor liked her class more than theirs.

"Like I said, your classes are different. What's with you and 1-A, anyway?"

"Just ignore him, Taylor-san. Monoma-san is just being foolish," Itsuka told her, shooting a warning look at Monoma. Setsuna smiled. Itsuka had taken on the responsibility of curbing some of Monoma's more questionable attitudes.

"Alright. How are you guys feeling about the Festival?" Taylor asked.

Oh, hoho. Straight to the point then?

"You still can't tell us what they're going to do for the events?" Setsuna probed. "Just a tiny little hint?"

"Sorry, but no. It wouldn't be fair, and the other teachers want to keep it a complete surprise, anyway. All I can say is expect something different from previous years." She didn't look apologetic at all. Then again, Setsuna didn't really expect anything different.

"Do you have any advise for us, Taylor? I know you think we're doing fine in the exercises, but this is going to be different, right?" Pony asked.

Taylor gave them all a look of consideration. Setsuna sat up straighter. When she was in this mood, it usually meant that she was about to say something incredibly useful, not that Taylor actually knew just how much it helped them.

"Play to your strengths. I've seen you all work together in classes, and you're progressing along really nicely. You can't beat the likes of Todoroki or Bakugou from 1-A in a direct fight, but you don't need to. Exploit how the events work. Cheat, if you have to. Fight smart. Abuse the system and your enemies' weaknesses. Don't play fair, because I can assure you no one does."

"…were you really supposed to tell us all that?" Setsuna asked.

She snorted. "Probably not. I'm sure the other senseis would want me to extol the virtues of fair play, chivalry, and the merits of an open fight. Unless you have a straight up ridiculously imbalanced power, I can assure you no one thinks like that."

"That sounds quite unjust," Ibara frowned.

"Welcome to the real world."

"You're corrupting Ibara-chan, Taylor-chan!" Setsuna whined.

"What do you mean by our strengths, Taylor-san?" Monoma brought the conversation back on topic.

"You tell me," she said, sitting back into her seat. This was just like one of their post-exercise reflections and after-action reports, something that was becoming increasingly familiar to Setsuna.

"Umm…" Monoma thought about the issue. "You said we have a lot more Masters and Shakers than 1-A, and we're better at fighting from afar."

"That's one part of it, yes. But what is it that's unique to the six of you?"

"We fight really well together!" Kinoko chirped.

"Anything else?"

"Taylor-chan likes us more!" Setsuna couldn't resist poking fun at her.

"You're making me reconsider that. Itsuka?"

"We've done more of your training exercises?" she suggested hesitantly. It was true; out of everyone in 1-B, they had been the focus group for testing of Taylor's training methods, mostly because their quirks fit well with Taylor's experiences.

"Close. Think about your team composition. Why did I specifically pick the six of you?"

They looked at each other. What was Taylor driving at? She said they'd been picked because she and Pony worked a little like her bug control, Kinoko and Ibara could modify the battlefield, Itsuka could protect them when it came to it, and Monoma could pick up the slack…

It hit her. "We can adapt to scenarios."

"Very good," she nodded, giving a small smile. "You guys don't hit hard, don't have flashy quirks, don't really shine in any particular scenario. But you've all excelled at my exercises, even things as different as rescue work and target elimination. Your quirks are extremely versatile. Think about the events on Monday, come up with a plan and work together. Just remember, the ability to work as a team is in itself something Pro Heroes look for."

Pony was looking at Taylor with awe, rapidly nodding her head.

It was, of course, at that moment that the food arrived. Rather unfortunate timing.

The group fell silent as they dug in. Setsuna was still considering her words while gobbling up mouthfuls of food.

"Say, Taylor-chan, what are you going to be doing at the Festival anyway?" Setsuna asked what had been bothering her for the week. It didn't seem fair that she wouldn't be allowed to participate in the Sports Festival.

She sighed, temporarily putting a halt to eating. "I was going to ask you guys later, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. It took some time to confirm it, but I'll be doing a small showcase of a training exercise after the main events. I'd like for you guys to be the ones taking part in it."

Kinoko choked. On a mushroom, funnily enough. She coughed several times, before managing to find words. "You want us to do one of your crazy missions in front of everyone else?"

"If you guys don't mind, yeah. I've been running through some ideas with the other teachers and seeing if they approve, but if you don't feel up to it –"

"We'll do it," Setsuna cut her off. A chance to take part in one of Taylor's insane training exercises in front of everyone else? And from the looks of it, one that she'd been planning a long time for?

Setsuna wouldn't miss it for anything in the world. Looking around, it seemed like the rest were thinking along the same lines.

"What kind of exercise is it?" Ibara asked warily. "Nothing… devious , I hope?"

"It's a secret for now, but it'll be similar to what you've been doing. A little longer, maybe, with some additional equipment, but it shouldn't be too different at all. You'll do fine, I think."

"So you do love us more than 1-A!" Monoma declared. "I knew it!"

Taylor ignored him. Smart girl, she was learning.

Once again, they continued eating. In no time, the food was gone.

Subtly, she looked at her other classmates, exchanging a very small nod. Plan 'Make Taylor Open Up' was a go. Setsuna was going to begin.

"You do know my bugs can feel you doing that, right?"

She didn't know that, but the plan was still going ahead.

"So Taylor-chan, tell us a bit about yourself!" Setsuna said cheerfully.

There was a very slight flicker of emotion that she'd almost missed, but it was there. "What do you mean?"

"It's been two weeks, but you haven't told us anything! Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, family! Do you have a boyfriend? I bet you do, you sly girl! Tell us all about him!"

In their short time together, Setsuna had noted that the best way of catching Taylor off-guard was to stick to her and bombard her with questions. In the beginning, it was the only way that she would actually respond to conversation.

"Why does this even matter?" she asked irritably. "Shouldn't you be thinking about the Festival?"

"You're our friend, Taylor-chan, and friends know everything about each other!" she grinned.

"I'm quite sure they don't."

"Well, in this world, they do!" Setsuna protested indignantly. "What about your old friends? You had a team before, right? You mentioned that during a training exercise."

For a moment, Setsuna feared she pushed too far. Her eyes had turned cold and calculating, looking directly at her, studying her face. She remembered belatedly that Taylor was a stranger to their world, stranded from her own. Stupid, she shouldn't have brought up her friends!

She was about to apologise, but Taylor's expression shifted. She looked down, giving a small smile.

"The Undersiders."

Again, Setsuna looked at her classmates. They looked equally bewildered and unsure.

"The Undersiders," she repeated, now looking at Setsuna. There were no tears, but Setsuna thought she could perhaps just see the slightest glistening of her eyes. Or was that a trick of the light?

"My old team, from when I was a villain, and the best friends I ever had."

"Tell us about them?" Pony asked softly.

Taylor let out a sigh, looking at something far away for a long moment. "I won't tell you guys everything, but we were all screw-ups, in a sense. Tattletale, Bitch, Grue, Regent, Imp and myself. Skitter."

"What do you mean?" Monoma questioned.

She shook her head. "A story for another time."

Monoma was going to press on, but Setsuna shot him a look, shaking her head. Then, she turned to Taylor. "Right then! This means we're officially friends now, Taylor-chan!"

She sighed deeply in exasperation. "I'm guessing you'll never leave me alone if I refuse to acknowledge that fact?"

"Yup!" Taylor sure learned fast. Setsuna could be very persistent.

Taylor closed her eyes, rubbing at her temple. "Fine then, if that makes you happy. Sure. Just please respect me enough to keep my secrets."

"Of course!" Ibara affirmed, offended. "We're all virtuous and righteous spirits who will never betray the trust of our friends!"

"What Ibara-chan means it that we won't divulge anything you don't want us to, Taylor-chan!" Setsuna said. Then, she tried her luck. "Any chance that you'd be willing to go for a hug?"

"No."

"Meh. Was worth a try." Setsuna shrugged.

Taylor buried her face into her remaining hand, propped up on the table. "You're just like Imp, except less creepy but more annoying."

That was a good thing, right? Imp was one of her 'Undersiders'?

"Alright, Taylor-chan! I've decided! We're going to be your new favourite team in the world!"

"Whatever floats your boat. Just please stop bugging me."

"Was that a pun? I bet it was! Who knew you'd have such a humourous side to you, Taylor-chan?" Setsuna continued pestering her, not letting up a bit. In time, she knew that Taylor would open up.

The rest of the dinner passed by quickly. With that, they parted, Taylor returning to the school.

The weekend came and went. Soon, Monday arrived, and with it the Sports Festival.

Very short chapter. Hopefully Taylor doesn't seem to be too out of character in this.

Next chapter will be the Sports Festival. I'm not sure if it's going to be a huge flop, but hopefully it won't be too bad.