The Journey Begins

                                    

                                          
Prologue
                          
Two months passed since the decisive battle in the boardroom of the Occidental College came to a close. Ame and Ina won their compromise and were able to finish the rest of the Spring semester without too much incident. Now, as the first day of Summer break was dawning, the once frantic battlefield of the campus was still fast asleep.
                          
A well-dressed young lady, clad in a fashionable orange-brown traveling coat and a hat adorned with a pretty green feather, was sitting on the ledge of the flat, poured-concrete rooftop of the main Occidental College dormitory. From where she sat, the lady had the full view of the quadrangle garden and the willow tree at the heart of it. Then, beside her, a murder of a dozen or so crows cawed and pecked peacefully at breadcrumbs that the young lady was scattering from time to time.
                          
From that comfortable perch, the young lady thumbed leisurely through the morning newspaper. Her eyes were fixed on the front page and its headline printed in large, bold font:
                          
' Great Phoenix Expedition Begins To-Day! '
                          
There was a send-off message from Queen Victoria under the headline, as well as photographs of the two expeditions: O. Lowry versus A. Watson. The lady regarded the Watson expedition which showed the proud Amelia and the timid Ina'nis standing shoulder to shoulder. Seeing those two girls brought a smile to the odd lady's lips. 
                          
All of the sudden, the murder of crows that had flocked around her on the rooftop dispersed in a panic. Black feathers floated down around the young lady, but she kept her eyes on the newspaper in her hands.
                          
Then, the sound of unnaturally light footsteps coming from behind her reached her ears.
                          
The young lady didn't need to turn around to make her assessment. Instead, she just ran a hand through her long locks of orange hair and green accents and called out the presence behind her.
                          
"You reapers never learn, huh?"
                          
There was no response, but the shadow of the 'reaper' loomed over the orange-haired lady. Then, the shadow drew closer.
                          
The lady scoffed and threw her newspaper behind her as she turned around. She then watched as the blade of a scythe tore the newspaper cleanly in half, missing Amelia's arm in the picture by a millimeter. The torn papers fell down to the ground and revealed the black-hooded figure that wielded the scythe.
                          
The reaper followed through its attack and charged at the lady once more. However, the lady clenched her left fist and summoned a shield with a flash of orange light. The shield easily blocked the blade of the scythe, robbing the reaper of its momentum. Then, the lady reached for the belt of her jacket and pulled on it.
                          
Her belt turned into an orange-colored broadsword that sang as it swung through the air. With broadsword in hand, the lady closed the gap between them and slashed at the reaper.
                          
Threatened, the reaper hopped back to dodge the attack but the slash cast a gust of wind that blew off its black hood. Long locks of straight, pink hair adorned with a black tiara of obsidian flowed out from where the hood once was.
                          
"I had a feeling it was you, Calli!" The orange-haired warrior exclaimed as she and the reaper squared off, "That speed... that tenacity! Ist wunderbar !"
                          
"My name's Calliope Mori, you dumb bird!" The reaper named 'Calli' growled. She adjusted her grip on her scythe and warned, "Now then, Kiara Takanashi... excuse my rudeness, but could you please DIE!?"
                          
Despite Calli's harsh words, the lady named 'Kiara' didn't flinch at all. Kiara simply rested the flat of her blade on her shoulder and mused,
                          
"It's just you today, Calli? Your master isn't with you? Your classmates?"