[b][i]Three years ago...[/i][/b]

It was a beautiful summer day.

On a day like this, with the sun shining down, the air filled with sounds of children playing, birds calling, there was no shortage to the number of people out and about. Indeed, it seemed as if it was a day where nothing could go wrong.

Of course, it was on an idyllic day like this that such a thing could hardly be further from the truth.

The incursion of the Phase in the middle of a densely-packed residential area was sudden and without warning. It was no normal attack, as thousands of the Phase suddenly materialized without warning. Even incursions of this size had been detected before. Never before had it been without warning.

So many died that day.

And yet...

The survivors, in some cases, remember what they thought was a girl. Someone who was defending them... no, someone who was not simply protecting them, someone who was destroying the Phase.

But in all that chaos, it was hard to say what did or didn't happen.

To this day, not a single person has discovered how so many Phase had appeared in an instant.

Or if it could ever happen again.

[hr]

[b][i]Present Day...[/i][/b]

The school bell rang.

The students of the Kondo School for Girls were being released from their classes. Naturally, there was a bustle of activity at the school as girls began to tidy up and then steadily filter out of their rooms, chatting with one another and making plans for how to go about the rest of their day. Some were the studious type, others were slackers, many fell somewhere inbetween with a great deal of variation. And yet, no matter how different they all were from one another, all of these girls shared one very specific trait.

Something incredibly important.

But regardless, today seemed like any other school day.

And in a certain classroom, a short girl with black pigtails quietly packed up her books. Today's final lesson had been history, and today's subject had related to the Phase. It wasn't exactly a subject anyone with an education would be completely clueless about.

Her pigtails bobbing as she finished packing up her books, the short girl paused for a moment. The other students were already flooding out in rather large numbers, the girl made her way to the exit as well. At the moment, her thoughts were centered on what she'd be doing for the rest of the day. She had some homework to do today, and the fact that her roommate would likely need help was essentially an everpresent factor in her mind.

Her roommate [i]always[/i] needed help with her homework. The black-haired girl couldn't really recall a time since they knew one another that it hadn't been the case where there was at least something she needed help with, to be perfectly honest with herself.

At times she wished that her roommate would work harder on studying, and yet...

... And yet...

Midorikawa Nana's pigtails bobbed as she looked back, waiting for her roommate. The teacher had reprimanded her earlier, which was another common occurrence.

It seemed like today would be just like any other day.

And yet...

Deep down, Midorikawa Nana knew that fact could change at any moment.

[@Raineh Daze][@Noodles][@Crusader Lord][@TheFake]