Chapter 1: The Shadow in the Dorm

After a long day, the girls finally can reach their dorm and rest.

The night was a pleasant one, with the cold breeze of winter still present in the air. The clear starry night-sky twinkling above.

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But, as night reach its peak, the lull is broken, muffled noises of furniture moving annoy any girl with a lighter sleepy, some can hear whispers drifting through the halls, noises coming from below, those with heavier sleep have strange and cryptic dreams about a cold and dark old room, at its center, in a pedestal, lies a large and old book, in it's leather cover, strange symbols are presented.

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But then, as the sun dawns, a girlish scream is heard in the dorms!

Anyone who wishes to investigate sees this:

A girl with a long-time friend, with whom she decided to share a room, was in shock, apparently her friend vanished in the night without a trace, and above her bed remains only a dark fumy shadow of her!

Oh, and class will start in an hour!

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Both Hanami and Ling Jing don't notice anything unusual on the room, they're pretty sure there aren't any clues to be found in there.

At the questioning, the girl says, "I'm Naoko... Naoko Ueda... My friend is called Izumi... I heard a weird shuffling sound, and next thing I'm hear is her scared scream, getting further and further away, like she was sinking!"

Despite the commotion, at the ringing of the school's bells, the crowd disperses, going to class.

Of course it was to be Ruby! Who else would she call??

"Yuh-hoh!! もしもし！Aww, Calling so early! Anything you'd need? Or just chitchat?" Sumeryu hears through the phone.

Presuming Sumeryu would relay the incident to her:

The line goes quiet, Ruby hmms on the other side, and then, inhales vigorously before continuing:

"Oh, ok! I'm delegating you guys with the task of solving this! Think of it like a, uh... extracurricular activity!! Good luck you guys!!! Oh, and a little tip: try checking the super-confidential school archives that can be casually found on the library... Or, Uh... I remember hearing something about a leaking on the dorm's basement, that's why the shower pressure is currently lackluster, if you wanna know... Well, I'm waiting for my plumber costume to arrive, so I can deal with it... Who knows, maybe the girl was kidnapped by a crocodile from the sewers? That's a thing right??"

"Well, anyway, call me if you need any assistance and, heh~ Send Hanami my regards!" She adds, cutting the line, leaving Sumeryu there, dumbfounded... Or not, maybe she's already used to that.

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Indeed, the basement was quite hidden, its entrance being a small hatch on the back of the dorm building, where the forest advanced to. The hat was taken over by pushes and grass, making it hard to see.

A more perceptive student wouldn't let pass the detail of a makeshift ladder strapped to a large tree, close to the door, and the binoculars hanging on a high branch by the strap...

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Inside, it was clear the basement was way older than the building, with worn out bricks making it's walls, it was more of the dorm's foundations than a basement per se, but loots of antique furniture and household utensils lied there, covered by dust.

What capture most of the attention, was a circle drawn in chalk in the center of the basement. For a witch like Hanami, the symbols in there would appear almost unrecognizable, but which resembled some really ancient stuff from her people. In the center of the circle, lied a brass candlewick, still releasing soft fumes.