Mei waves, and sits down across from her. "Ayako-han! How did talking with Shanghai go? Things looked... messy."

"There's... good news, bad news, and very strange news.

The good news is that I have negotiated a deal with one of the best healers in the school and the favorite of the head of the Shanghai enclave to get both of us healing, and me spellwriting tutoring, from her."

"Whoa, awesome. ...What's our end of the deal?"

"We are protecting her little brother, who is monolingual in Mandarin and doesn't like to hurt things even in practice combat and generally has less spine than I've seen in jellyfish."

Mei grimaces. "Why did they even send him here? Someone like that doesn't have a chance."

"Is that the bad news or the strange news."

"That is the bad news. The strange news is that apparently the first death of the year is one of the Shanghai freshmen, and not one of the two useless ones that they sent for some reason." 

"What? How? There were people here in their pajamas."

"I don't know. Nobody else seems to either. But apparently he was at induction, and he isn't here."

Mei looks puzzled and upset. "It would be near-impossible for someone even the least bit competent to get killed on the safest day of school when there are plenty of easier targets around. Unless someone did it on purpose. Did they mention any suspects?"

Ayako is busy being confused right now but she's sure the upset will come in time.

"Not that I heard, but that's the point at which I came back here, there wasn't much else for me to do and it seemed likely they wouldn't want outsiders involved in that particular discussion."

"If we're going to be responsible for keeping their easily-hurt little brother alive, and someone is targeting Shanghai, then it's relevant to us!", Mei decides not to say.

Instead, she asks, "Did you at least get his room number?"

"I did, he's in 64A. --there's an independent from Hong Kong who also got drafted into this, same deal, his name is Julian Chan, and they're in the same hall; the plan insofar as there is one is for us to handle classes and Julian to handle hall-related things."

Did she consult with Julian about this plan? No. Would she have if he'd stuck around instead of leaving as soon as Nie Huaisang started crying again? ...admittedly also probably not but it seems like the obvious way for the logistics to work.

"That's good; my room is nowhere near there. I guess we'll see after we get our class schedules how to divvy that up."

"Guess we will!"