"Okay! For our next mission, we will be commencing in.. Operation Tornado!"

"Operation Tornado?" Saiko's brow raised curiously, and she clapped her hands together. "Saiko's excited for her very first mission! Yay!"

"Well, we're going to have you near the bridge," Akinari smiled at Saiko's enthusiasm. "You'll be somewhat isolated... but you should be fine. Akuma should not even approach you."

"Okay!"

"Alright! So, Operation Tornado... the poms team, the Afterlife Academy Angels, will be-"

"That name is still extremely stupid," Cana muttered, and Akinari shot her a dirty look.

"They'll be performing. While everyone is getting interested, we'll start up the fan that will take everyone's lunch tickets and get them flying outside. Once that's done, grab a ticket and leave! Akuma will try and stop us, most likely, so we have to be prepared."

"Afterlife Academy Angels?" Saiko repeated the name in confusion. "What is that?"

"The poms squad," Phoenix spoke, crossing her arms. "Us. Me, Celeste, Lydia, Viola, and Allegra. We dance as a distraction so that the operation can continue."

"Wow! That's so cool. Saiko always wanted to dance!" Saiko grinned, and the others watched her in sympathy. "Saiko's family couldn't afford for her to go to school or to a dance academy, but Saiko always loved watching..."

"Well, I like the sound of that," Phoenix smiled warmly, her orange eyes kindly staring at the blue haired female. "After all, I couldn't even move my whole real life... I only knew I could dance when I came here. Of course, though, it took a lot of work... lots of extra stretching, had to be taught the basics.."

"Phoenix was paralyzed from birth," Celeste explained. "...I dedicated my whole life to dance, and... I dropped out of school for it. Unfortunately, I never got to finish my delightful career, but I'm making use of it now."

"You're Celeste, right-"

"Celeste Lavoie, member of the Afterlife Academy Angels as well as the Anti-Demon Militia, my name was known across the world for being a renown dancer!" Celeste interrupted Saiko sharply, but then paused and smiled as if nothing strange had happened. "Do treat my name with respect every time, thank you!"

"Sure..." Saiko shrugged, confused by Celeste's uprightness but ignoring it as she figured it was just another character trait people had. After all, she was finally meeting new people, and that excited her to no end. "Celeste Lavoie... that is a pretty name!"

Luckily, Saiko's momentary brown-nosing got her places as Celeste visibly relaxed, her smile coming off as more natural instead of vicious.

"Thank you."

"Moving on, since these idiots take forever to say anything," Allegra rolled her yellow eyes as she popped another bubble in her gum. "We are the distraction while Akinari pulls off the fans to steal the meal tickets. You all have to protect us since performances aren't technically allowed. Since she is student council president, Akuma will come after us."

"What's Akuma's goal in all this?" Saiko tilted her head in confusion. So far, it seemed that the redhead gained nothing from killing. After all, no one stayed dead. The war between the two just continued, on, and on. "Saiko doesn't quite understand..."

"No one does," Phoenix shrugged, laying back on the couch casually. Her fiery hair slid into her face, and she blew it out of the way, annoyed. "But we keep fighting, because if we don't, she'll murder us. Again, and again. We have no idea why."

"That's so... messed up," Saiko frowned. "Why can't we all be friends?"

"Your naivety is amusing, and discerning," Celeste scoffed. "Yet it is also refreshing to see someone with such innocence. Akuma attempts to kill us because she deems it as fun. Our only option is to fight. She does not wish to be friendly, so we do not wish to be friendly. Are we clear?"

"Yes, but Saiko wished that it didn't have to be this way," Saiko sighed sadly. "Saiko just wanted to be friends. But if Akuma is going to try and kill us, Saiko will fight. Saiko already saw Cana die..."

"Yeah, it hurt," Cana rubbed over the area where she had been stabbed. Like Akinari had said, no one could die in the Afterlife. But it hurt extremely. So if you can avoid death, please do. Although I don't think I need to explain that to you, that's pretty self explanatory."

"Saiko died once, Saiko doesn't want to die again," The blue haired female frowned. She nodded, and clasped her hands together. "So, how do we fight against Akuma?"

"With this!" Phoenix grinned, and pulled out a small gun that had been tucked into her skirt. Saiko's eyes went wide as Akinari and Cana did the same. The other members of the pom squad did not, however.

"Oh..."

"Don't worry, I only have it for emergency occasions, which is why my gun is so...dinky," Phoenix explained as she examined her gun closely, her fiery eyes searching for any blemishes. "Akinari and Cana are much better shots than I am."

"That's not true, Phoenix," Akinari frowned, staring at his larger gun as well as Cana's. "It's just like you said. Yours is only for emergency. You can shoot just as well as we can, probably better."

"Yes, you're a good shot!" Cana nodded earnestly, and Celeste rolled her eyes. "We just need you to do other things that don't include fighting."

"I guess."

"Everyone's cheerfulness is idiotic sometimes," Celeste started, staring at the newcomer who glanced at the guns excitedly. "But it is refreshing, I suppose. Being surrounded by idiots keeps me on my toes."

"As if you're one to talk," Allegra muttered under her breath, her catlike gaze glaring at the green haired girl. She placed her hands on her small hips, staring defiantly. "We're not idiots."

"On the contrary, I quite think-"

"Both of you, cut it out," Phoenix threatened, asserting herself. Both of them glared at her for a moment before standing down.  "Thank you. We don't need to argue."

"Right," Lydia scoffed, and Saiko turned. She had totally forgotten that the purple haired girl was there. She hadn't talked in quite a while. "Nix, can we just go practice now? Please?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Phoenix smiled, glad that she had someone who agreed with her. "Come on, everyone. Let's go."

Phoenix stood from the couch and walked out, and uptight Celeste, quiet Viola, sarcastic Lydia, and the defensive Allegra left, leaving Akinari, Cana, and Saiko.

"I hope this isn't too overwhelming for you," Cana told the blue haired girl, who's eyes were still glued to the brown door. "It was for me when I first joined, so it's completely understandable if it is too overwhelming... but you'll get over it eventually."

"Saiko thinks it is overwhelming," The blue eyed girl nodded, smoothing out her blue skirt of her own uniform. She blinked her ocean blue eyes before looking back at Cana and Akinari. "But it's also exciting, so it's okay!"

"I'm glad to hear that. You fit right in."

hey everyone! sorry for the lack of updates... there's a HUGE cast so this was obviously the highlight on the poms squad members.

the surprise i have is 1/3 done !!!

thanks for reading!