Chapter Text
The rain hammered against the windows of Hope’s Peak Academy like a thousand impatient fingers, turning the outside world into a blurred watercolor of gray and silver. Inside the empty classroom, three very different students had somehow ended up occupying the same space at the same time - each for their own very different reasons.
Sonia Nevermind sat gracefully at a desk near the window, a book open in front of her but clearly forgotten. She was watching the rain with bright, fascinated eyes. “In Novoselic,” she said thoughtfully, “rain is often considered a romantic omen. It is quite lovely, is it not?”
“Romantic?!” Kazuichi Souda nearly toppled out of his chair. “T-That’s exactly the kind of thing that makes everything awkward! Rain is just water! Falling from the sky! Like- like defective plumbing!”
Across the room, Gundham Tanaka stood near the chalkboard, arms crossed as his four dark hamsters peeked out from his scarf. “Foolish mortal,” he intoned, “you dare reduce the heavens’ sorrowful tears to mere mechanical failure? The skies weep because reality itself is burdened by entropy.”
Souda groaned. “Why does everything you say sound like it was written in a villain manual?!”
Sonia, meanwhile, looked between them with genuine delight. “Oh my! This is wonderful. It is like being surrounded by two competing philosophies of existence. One grounded in engineering, the other in… poetic darkness!”
“That’s not a philosophy!” Souda insisted. “That’s just Gundham being Gundham!”
Gundham’s eyes gleamed. “Behold, the mortal jealousy in his voice. The green aura of envy is most pungent.”
“I AM NOT JEALOUS!” Souda shouted, though his face turned a shade that suggested otherwise.
Sonia tilted her head. “Kazuichi, Gundham… I find both of your perspectives rather charming. Though I must admit, Gundham’s phrasing is… quite captivating.”
Souda froze mid-rant. “W-Wait, what?!”
Gundham smirked slightly, adjusting his scarf as one of his Devas chirped. “It appears the Princess of the Outer Realms recognizes the superiority of the dark arts of speech.”
Sonia clasped her hands together. “It feels as though I am witnessing two loyal knights competing for honor in a most entertaining courtly duel!”
“I am NOT a knight!” Souda protested, but his voice cracked slightly. “And I’m not competing for anything!”
A pause settled over the room, broken only by the steady rhythm of rain. Sonia smiled softly, as if she’d already decided something important but wasn’t going to say it aloud just yet.
“I think,” she said at last, “that I would like to continue observing both of you. It is… educational. And very entertaining.”
Gundham gave a dramatic bow. “Then I shall ensure my dark radiance remains ever-present for your enlightenment.”
Souda sighed, slumping back in his chair. “Great. I’m stuck between a goth wizard and a literal princess who thinks this is all some kind of play.”
Sonia giggled, and for a moment, even Souda couldn’t help but notice how warm the room felt despite the storm outside.