Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My ears won't stop ringing. Once more, I must take the fall for my own pride. Next time, I'll be wary of taking the word of bloody girls sitting across from me in otherwise empty trains. And was it wrong of me to lead the charge into battle like the soldier I've trained within me would do? Sure, my ears were working when I heard about the tank. Even when my ears aren't working, my eyes tell me there's a tank. Even someone like me has a working brain to process all of that, but what I can't process is… why is the tank on some random city street? Moreover, the students that ran with me (that the Rin girl was clearly fed up with) charged into battle like this was a normal occurrence. That pigtailed girl complained about hollow-point rounds hitting her like they were mosquito bites. What kind of place is this?

That train girl that called herself president chose me, some unimportant rogue soldier, to be the "Sensei" of a city of students that have the means to kill me as easily as crossing the street. If I could give myself a thousand chances to make sense of it, I'd have given up on the first attempt.

Now… could that ringing stop already?!

"...oi! If you're going to recklessly run onto the field with us, you need to be able to stand on it! Get up, Sensei!" I recognize the voice of the pigtail girl shouting through the debris that has me trapped. If that ringing wasn't clouding my mind, I could have pushed it off me by now, but I haven't had much experience with head-on tank blasts. Miss Pigtails pushes the debris off my chest and pulls me up, one hand on my arm and the other on my vest. "Stick behind this wall. We can hold off with your orders for now, but if you're intent on helping, you better be up and ready to dodge another hit from that tank." Miss Pigtails grabs her two firearms and charges back in. I've gotten too used to the back and forth of bullets; it's almost white noise to me. Still, as the noise continues, I'm reminded that I'm the most vulnerable person on this field. Normally, I'd consider myself a wild card that can change any fight I walk into, but when the enemy survives a hundred hits while I can't even take one…

It's going to take a miracle to get through this.

I counted four students that went with me. Miss Pigtails, the flashbang girl, the syringe girl, and the black-clad sniper. It's difficult to be good with names when you're rogue, but nicknames do their job fine. My main concern, having brought that up, is what the five of us are supposed to do against a tank. Thankfully, the ground units on the enemy side appeared to be easy to handle, but the difference between infantry and a tank… and that chips girl called it a Crusader tank, which Miss Pigtails kindly clarified is "a tank but harder to fight." Works for me.

I would never call myself unarmed, either. I have enough reserve ammo to last me two or three fights with my one and only super SMG, but I never asked for anti-tank rounds to be manufactured. If only I had a rocket launcher… wishful thinking, huh? By now, I've somewhat caught my breath, but I still can't solve my firearm being ineffective. If getting rid of the tank was our only objective, I wouldn't be so worried, but then the Rin girl dumped some dysfunctional tablet on me and asked me to activate it. I don't know anything about technology to begin with. None of the students knew anything about it, and to their knowledge, it appeared to be a regular tablet. Hell, to my knowledge, it's just some electronic device.

I hate to complain, but what am I supposed to do? Fight back against a tank? Turn on a tablet with no instructions? I'll be honest, I went along with the bleeding train president girl's word because she talked me into the idea of having city-wide authority. I don't understand why I was offered such a power, but she convinced me that I alone had the capability to lead Kivotos. That was before. Now that tank shots are being fired toward me, I'm regretting that decision. I want to go home…

"Gah!" I turn toward the sound, but Miss Pigtails answers that question, flying into my vision and out of it within a second. My eyes track her up to the dust cloud made from her graceful slam into the concrete. "This damn tank! We can't break through!"

The sniper girl shakes her head as she reloads. "We're doing all we can to halt its advance, but damaging it is out of the question. Without an actual effective weapon, we'll be stuck here until either side sends reinforcements. Our side won't be the one to do that." Even that's wishful thinking. We shouldn't be affecting the tank in any way, let alone stopping it from moving. "Are we out of options?!" Miss Pigtails picks herself back up and runs behind my piece of cover. "I hope you're feeling better. We're at our wits' end."

I shake my head, but not because I'm out of ideas. It's just… it hasn't even been a day, and I'm forced onto the back foot already? A last resort shouldn't be the first card you play, but I've never played this card game before. This is how this city operates, huh? I'll have to learn the rules next time, but for now, I'll have to break them. I reach for my vest and grab the pistol holstered on it. The one weapon I trust more than my SMG, the super pistol. I know Miss Pigtails feels the same way. "A pistol? Really, Sensei?"

I jump out of cover, aiming the pistol toward the tank. If I have to make a statement, it'll be a loud one. And… wait. The tank is farther away than I remember it being. A straight shot won't work, and I've lost all my momentum. The barrel spares no time; it was already pointed at me, so a few adjustments are all it needs before it's ready to shoot. I could run. No, I should run. At the very least, get back to cover. If I hadn't put all my energy into aiming my shot, it would be possible. My eyes lock onto the barrel. Am I facing death?

What happened to me? Why did I choose to act confident? Competent? I could've done so by staying concealed, but my failed showing is about to turn to a corpse viewing. Well… maybe I can live with this… for however long I'll be alive. The girls will probably retreat, and they'll be safe, able to regroup and challenge the tank with actual preparation. It's not how I would've preferred to be the sacrifice, but the end result is all I'm thinking of. My mind turns back to the president on the train. There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways I could've saved myself. All of them tell me that I should have either not stepped onto that train or not talked to that girl. Not being on the train wasn't an option, but something about her words caught my attention. Maybe it was because she was bleeding. Maybe it was because we were the only ones there. However, I can't mistake how I felt when she first spoke.

What did you say?

Heehee, do you understand? It's okay if you don't. Even Rinny struggles to wrap her head around it.

I'm sorry?

Ah, but don't get me wrong. I don't really get it myself.

Huh?

Say, I have something to request of you.

Will you protect the students?

In hindsight, our conversation was nonsensical, but whatever loose screws I've got must have resonated with her. I'm still staring down the barrel of the tank about to give me a good-night kiss, but my mind's not looking. I finally understand the ringing. I understand why my ears won't stop ringing.

Those words… won't leave my head. I don't know why, but it doesn't matter.

"…Sensei!"

"Look out!"

I close my eyes.

We thirst for the seven wailings.

The blast from the tank drowned out every other noise. Or so I was told. I wasn't exactly listening.

"We bear the koan of Jericho." As the last syllable leaves my breath, I feel the bullet, inches from me, ready for impact. I couldn't hear the bullet. All I could hear was the soft humming coming from the tablet strapped onto my hip. I don't understand how. Sound doesn't work that way, but reality has nothing to with this anymore.

"Welcome, Sensei. Arona is ready to help you." Is it from the tablet? The more pressing question is, where's the bullet gone? The smoke cloud around me says it's made contact, but I never felt it. "Now, please lead your students to victory. I will ensure your safety."

After her last word, my senses come back to me. The smoke begins clearing, and I start coughing on impulse. The gunfire around me has stopped, and once the smoke clears, I see why: the students have stopped firing, eight eyes locked onto my position to witness the aftermath. Everyone has their own reaction when they see me standing. As for my reaction, my legs take off and I jump back to cover next to Miss Pigtails. "Sensei! How did you survive that?!"

I don't answer. Instead, I look up at the sky, my super pistol held up to my shoulder. The standing equivalent would be around my hip, but standing isn't really an option. Miss Pigtails adjusts immediately to this pace. "Are you launching some sort of flare?"

"Not quite. I'm essentially lobbing a grenade, but I can't quite measure the tank's distance with quick glances."

"The base of the tank is roughly 147 meters from this position. Wind speed—"

"That's enough. Thank you." I raise the angle. I've dealt with worse distances, but only if I raise the pistol up from standing position. I lose about a meter like this, and the damage will be minimal without a direct hit. I'm assuming my predicament is on my face. "Are you worried about something?"

"Normally I need to hold it like this if the pistol was a meter higher, but I don't know how much higher I need to aim from down here."

"Is a single meter that influential?"

"I don't want to find out."

"Let me think." Miss Pigtails closes her eyes. I look over to the others. The sniper girl is still firing back while the others are behind cover, on standby. When I turn back around, Miss Pigtails is hovering her hands over mine, looking around my pistol like a prized artifact before placing her hands down. "Are you sure this is the exact angle you need if you were standing?"

"It would be more like… this?"

"Understood. Making the adjustment now." I can't feel her shifting anything, but she lifts her hands after half a minute anyway. "Hold that, and if our measurements align, this will strike whatever position you were aiming at."

"Excellent." With this aim, I just need to hold, and…

Fire. When the trigger is pulled, my arm flies down with the pistol. A burst of smoke erupts from the chamber as a small, dotted black ball soars toward the tank. The sniper girl sees this shot and disengages, falling behind cover as the syringe girl pulls out her kit. I unscrew the barrel of the super pistol and push it out, reloading the empty container with one of the dotted balls from my vest before screwing the barrel back. "I've never seen that type of pistol mechanism. Is it spring-loaded?"

"I don't know. I never asked." I didn't make these weapons, so I'll undergo an awakening when one of them malfunctions. "I don't need to know the physics behind it. If it works, I'll use it."

"But will it—"

"There it is, Pigtails." An explosive whoosh erupts from the tank's position. Everyone peeks from out of cover to see the result, and as I'd expected, the tank burst into flames as the students manning it quickly pushed their way out to escape the fire. "Any other questions?" I don't turn to see her reaction, but where I expect awe, I get a sense of instant dread. Like a hawk glaring at its prey. "…What is it?"

"Who are you calling Pigtails?"

"You—"

"Hayase. Yuuka." She won't stop staring at me, and even though I never confirmed it, I know it to be true. Instead, I turn my attention to the others across the street. They're still watching the tank burn, and unlike Yuuka, my stare doesn't get their attention. Not that I've given Yuuka any attention since she started staring at me either. "Whatever. We'll have time to discuss later. Shouldn't we hurry to Schale?" She clears her throat. "Hey! Trinity! Gehenna! We have to move!" The others snap out of their marveling and move out of cover. Yuuka and I do the same, and the five of us make a break for the building.

Along our path, multiple fights, explosions, and fires continue breaking out on the streets. It's looking like more of a warzone than a city, much less one you can call the Academy City. Was it Rin who told me about that name? Or was it the train president? Either way, whoever told me was clearly wrong. At every turn, the flashbang girl stops, like she wants to join the fight, but Yuuka continues pushing everyone to move forward. "We've dealt with the tank, all we need to do is clear the rest of the building!"

We push through for a bit longer, and finally, the base of the building is in view. "There it is!" Yuuka calls out. As she says this, my earpiece buzzes, and I assume the same for the other four. Rin greets us on the other end. "Excellent work, you five. Sensei, let us meet in the basement of the club room. It'll take a bit more time to catch up to you, so wait there." I look up. This is a club room? I'd call it a club complex if anything. In what universe can this place be classified as a room? As I continue pondering the differences between rooms and complexes, Yuuka's palm hits my back. "Sensei, are you listening?"

"I wasn't. Carry on."

"The rest of us will clear out the rest of the attackers. On Rin's command, you should enter the building. We don't have any tanks to worry about."

"Wouldn't it be better for me to help you with the rest of the fighting?"

Yuuka shook her head. "I still don't know how that tank shot missed you, but you shouldn't count yourself so lucky in future fights. We can take care of some ground units." Ah, that's right. I had almost forgotten about the miracle that occurred not too long ago. I must've simply accepted the fact I hadn't died without questioning it. After all, why bother? I'd love to test that invincibility again, but if there's some sort of limit, I shouldn't waste it on ground units. I nod and run toward the building entrance.

I wanted to ignore this issue, even if I knew it would come up. I raise my hand up to my earpiece. "Rin, I entered the main building, the one with the large tower. How do I get to the basement?"

"There should be a directory at the entrance." I look down. Surely enough, in front of me is a standing panel showcasing a miniature map of the first floor of the building. It's not too different from a terrain map, and actually, this one seems easier to navigate. I poke my head in the panel's face, looking for an indication of where to get to the basement. An icon showing a set of stairs shows me the basement entrance. I move my head away and get to walking. Even though I know where the basement stairs are, it doesn't mean the place isn't large. The windows bring in the morning light, but the indoor lights are all off, leaving dark corners that make it difficult to see what's around the place. Eventually, I find the basement stairs and start descending.

The stairs lead down to a single entrance, barely illuminated by some dim, bluish light. I continue walking until I can see what's on the other side. My feet find a raised platform, but my eyes and mind are focused on the strange, floating rock down below. It really is floating… what is that? A light rustle brings my attention away, even though my mind won't stop thinking about it. Is it some prank? It was moving up and down like it really was floating, though. As my eyes look to the left, I see both the stairs leading down and a figure that the stairs lead down to. I walk down, getting a clearer picture of the masked person in front of me. At a glance, I see a halo and a bayonet. The dim lighting doesn't really help my case, and even if I care to make out the rest, there's a lot going on. For starters… "Hi. Do you work here?"

"Huh?" It's like she just now noticed I was right in front of her. She has a mask, but when her head is pointed in my direction, there are only so many other places she could be looking. "What…?"

"Were you one of the students that walked into the GSC building? Sorry, I may have missed you."

"What's going on…?"

"If you weren't fighting the tank with us, were you clearing out the commotion over here? That would explain why there wasn't as much resistance." This conversation isn't going anywhere… "Are you alright?"

"I'm… I'm leaving now!" She darts past me, rushing up the stairs and out of the basement in a second. It sounded like she was in heels, but I don't think those speeds are possible in heels. With her gone, my mind returns to worrying about other things. I take a seat at the desk and turn the chair around to continue looking at the floating rock. I don't really know what about it amazes me so much. First I survive a head-on tank blast, and now there's a floating rock in front of me? Is this type of thing normal in Kivotos?

After a while, I hear heels coming back down the stairs. I turn and see Rin making her way down. "I've made it… what are you doing?"

"Looking at this rock. It's floating."

"Yes, it's floating." Rin cleared her throat. "Now that we're here, could you take out the tablet?" I unlatch the tablet from my hip and hold it up. "To tell you the truth, I was caught up with the rush of how many reports we were drowning under. I wanted to meet you here to give you the tablet, but I forgot I had already grabbed it the last time I was here."

"It's okay. I got to see this floating rock because of you."

"You'll be seeing more of it with time. Now, please activate the Shittim Chest and regain control of Sanctum Tower. I'll leave it in your hands." Rin walks back up the stairs and through the door frame. I look down at the tablet and turn it on. What looks like a video greets me next: a visual of a partially-submerged, barely-intact classroom with only a few desks is shown, but most importantly, there is a lone girl sitting at one of them. She raises her head and turns her head toward the screen. She teleports away, and as I'm looking for her, an enlarged version of her appears right in front of my screen, and that alone nearly made me jump back. "Sorry to startle you, Sensei! Arona is here and ready to serve!"

"You saved me from that tank blast, didn't you? I heard your voice back then, too." Now that I have a clearer head to process it, I can hear the subtle, robotic undertone of Arona's voice. "How did you do that?"

"I just protected you, as part of my job. You don't need to ask about the details. Because then I'd have to explain them…"

"Anyway, Arona girl. First things first, can you access Sanctum Tower? We need to re-activate all its functions."

"Yes, but we need to do your fingerprint scan first!"

"What? Why?"

"It's… it's part of the protocol! Come on."

"You sound so uncertain."

"…Fine! It's not that important. Give me one second… or more… just a little more… and… there! Admin permissions to the Sanctum Tower have been acquired. You now control all of Kivotos, Sensei!" At her word, the basement lights flicker on and stay on. Now, the floating lock doesn't look mystically illuminated by the single light above it, but it's nice to be able to see around the room. That said, there's one other thing on my mind. "All of it, you say…?"

"Yes! Well, most of it!" This must be what the train president was telling me about. Control over all of Kivotos… who would say no? If I ever ran into any issues, I could always hand it off to the GSC, and…

Wait. What am I talking about? Is it that easy to sway me with the notion of power? The train president sounded so earnest when she offered me that power, and I let myself forget why I went rogue. It's always the ones in power making the worst decisions, and then they throw away their soldiers' lives to set those decisions in stone. Did I think I could be different? Who decided I had that level of self-awareness? No… it isn't worth it.

"What's your move, Sensei?"

"Transfer the Sanctum Tower to the GSC." After all, Schale was created under the president of the GSC, but it won't be me who makes the decisions at the top. If I had to describe what those executives I resented were like, old would be a good place to start. These are all students, so there aren't any old people making decisions… and maybe it's not the best idea to give power to students either, but Rin doesn't really seem like the student type… not that I'd ever say that to her.

Arona seems like she might agree with me. "Huh?! Are you sure? That's a lot of power you'd be handing over."

"Go ahead. Rin asked me to… and I don't really want to deal with all of that." I'll stay in my lane and remain a soldier. I may not be rogue if I'm working under the GSC, but something feels different this time. As influential as the GSC seems to be, why do I feel like there's a different powerful institution I have to worry about?

Oh, well. I'll have time to worry about it later. "Understood. Transferring permissions… complete." Soon, Rin's footsteps come back down. "Sensei, I've confirmed with those stationed within the Sanctum Tower. We've regained complete access to its functionality."

"That's wonderful news."

"Thank you for your help. Now that we've settled these issues, you can begin official operations as the Sensei of Schale. This will be your headquarters and primary residence when you aren't occupied with long-term objectives. Do you have any more questions for me?"

"Not right now. I'll see you around, Rin."

"I will ask Treasurer Aoi to organize our financial situation as quickly as possible. Once we sort out the rest of our situation, we will be able to have a helicopter ready to transport you across Schale and Sanctum Tower at a moment's notice."

"That's convenient."

"Rather, it was an inconvenience that we didn't have a helicopter ready this time. Well then, have a good day, Sensei." Rin walks up the stairs and leaves. I lay the tablet on my lap and look up to continue gazing at the floating rock. I can't take my eyes off it.

Fate doesn't always play nice, though. Arona clears her throat and I look down. "Sensei, you have a visitor." I sigh and re-attach the tablet to my hip before leaving the floating rock room. Now that I'm moving away from the floating rock, these stairs seem much longer than before. Eventually, my head pokes out and I see the first floor again. I already heard her voice on my way up, but I can now clearly see the person it came from. "Sensei! Ah, there you are!" I step off the stairs and we meet each other in the middle. "I'm here to report that we successfully drove off the rest of the intruders. The other three are on their way back to Sanctum Tower with Rin."

"Aw. I would've liked to say goodbye first."

"Unfortunately, we were only here to begin with for pressing concerns. I'm not unlike the others, but while I'm here, I figured I had the opportunity to clear some things up with you." I had forgotten about it, even though it wasn't very long ago, but it seems Miss Pigtails doesn't let anything go. "May I have a moment of your time, Sensei?"

Yuuka and I find the lobby and take our seats on one of the couches. She clears her throat and turns to me. "First of all…" What is going on? We haven't even started our discussion, and she already looks mad at me. "You remember my name, right, Sensei?"

"Yuuka. Yuuka something."

"Hayase. You better remember next time I ask you." Is this really the conversation she had to pull me over for? "Next question. How did you survive that tank shot? I've been thinking about it ever since it happened. We've understood that those without halos are incredibly vulnerable to projectiles like bullets, and yet you brushed off the tank blast without any dust on your uniform. Even a student would've been hurt after that direct hit, so why are you completely uninjured?" I'm still unsure of that myself. Arona told me she did her job, and as it would follow, that explanation doesn't help one bit. Does she have a stronger version of the resilience the students have? All I know is that I no longer have to worry about being the weakest on the field. Before I open my mouth to answer, I feel a smile creeping onto it. No, not only that… it's a grin. I can't exaggerate the dread I felt from feeling so vulnerable. I realize now, I jumped out to fire my super pistol out of desperation. I wanted to think I could influence the fight… and in hindsight, I'm glad, but in the moment, I felt my identity being stripped away. Now that I have Arona to protect me, I feel… how do I say it? Powerful. Forget staying in my lane as a soldier. No… my lane has expanded. I've already had to sharpen my abilities to fight against entire armies, even if those withering executives were only throwing barely-trained kids together and calling them armies. I saw how quickly those ground units fell to our gunfire. If I can withstand a tank blast… oh, I can already see what's possible. "It must have been a miracle."

"A miracle…? Sensei, do you believe in miracles?"

What else should I call it? It doesn't matter what it is. All I believe is what's happened, and what's happened is that I've miraculously discovered strength. A miracle it'll be. "Perhaps I do."

"…One more question. What was that ball you shot out of that pistol? You called the pistol a grenade launcher, but no ordinary explosion contained in such a small barrel could get rid of an entire Crusader."

"The super pistol? It's my last resort. Don't tell anyone, alright?"

"Could you tell me about the ammunition, though? What exactly was that?"

I flash her an innocent smile. "It's a secret." The truth is, I don't know either. My only weaknesses used to be my fragility, and my lack of understanding of what my weapons were. Now, that lack of understanding is my only weakness, but I suppose my strengths will be enough to overshadow it. "You can't tell anyone, remember?"

"Alright… that was all I had to ask you. I'll be on my way now—"

"Hold it." I take a deep breath. I don't know who Miss Pigtails thinks she is, trying to stand on even ground with me. I have to affirm myself as her teacher. "I get to ask you a question in return, don't I?"

"Oh… sure. What is it?"

Even before we encountered the tank, there was something I couldn't fathom about her. I thought it was strange enough that they could withstand bullets so easily, but no, what perplexed me most was something simpler. "Yuuka… how do you manage two firearms at once? Your accuracy isn't the worst I've seen, what with SMGs, no less. How do you do it?"

"What… no, I don't use them simultaneously. I have one as backup for critical moments."

"Huh?! Then why even bother with two? You can reload in less time than exchanging one firearm for another."

"It's simpler to swap to a loaded firearm than to attempt a reload in a heated moment. It doesn't get in the way, so it's a pure benefit to carry around."

"Yuuka, honestly…"

"Don't give me that! I don't use the second one often anyway."

"Then why bother?!"

"I already told you why!" Yuuka begins storming off, but right before she walks out of view, she leans back and waves before leaving. "I'll see you later. Goodbye, Sensei."

"Ah. See you, Yuuka." Yuuka walks away, signifying the end of our operation. I sigh, my breath mixed with relief from the tank fight and the smallest bit of contempt from seeing Yuuka carry around an essentially defunct firearm. I stand up and walk back to the panel. I locate the elevator and make my way toward it. I remember Rin telling me that my office is halfway up the tower, so up I go.

I get off on the thirteenth floor and look around. A single hallway leads to a door at the end, and the walls are lined with glass, revealing a lot of the city to me. I can see clear borders separating parts of the city, especially the large, snowy area. I assume those are the primary school districts.

I make my way down the hallway and into the office. The back wall is lined with glass, but the other three aren't. My tablet buzzes and I unlatch it. I turn it on and see Arona staring straight at me. "…What is it?"

"You've finally made it to your main office! This is where you'll conduct most of your daily activities, including reading through mail and sorting through paperwork." Paperwork… "Additionally, students that are assigned to assist you for the evening are instructed to meet you here."

"Assistance?"

"Correct! Since the president only appointed you to run activities at Schale, you'll have an intense workload that your assistants will help you manage. You'll be able to connect with many students this way as well." I walk up to the desk and take a seat. I turn my chair around and look down at the city. "Since it's your first day, you shouldn't have any requests. You should check tomorrow. For now, you should familiarize yourself with the rest of Schale! There's a lot you haven't seen, and since you'll be living here, you should get to know the place."

I stand back up. It's a big city, but Arona's right; Schale is big too. I latch the tablet back onto my hip and turn around. "Okay. Let's explore."

Chapter Text

"Half of this place gives off the impression that it's more for amusement than work."

"Don't you think there should be a big difference between the office and the residence hall?" I had spent the afternoon walking around to familiarize myself with Schale. After my trip, I came to the conclusion that I was housed in the equivalent of one and a half large high schools. There's just a small problem with a place this massive… "If you were expecting to die of boredom, you'll be in good hands."

"That's great, but it doesn't look like anyone works here. The convenience store was in business hours, but it was locked."

"Workers and advisors should be flooding into Schale within the next day at most. Now that Sanctum Tower is back in control and GSC operations are resuming, that progress will spill over to Schale and you'll be able to access everything without worry. Including the convenience store."

"Got it. What should I do now?" The sun had set, yet Rin still hasn't updated me on that helicopter situation. It doesn't look like I'll be able to go anywhere for the remainder of the day. I've satisfied my exploration quota, and though Arona mentioned some sort of peach-shaped talking button on the tablet, I don't have anyone registered to contact. "You could always post your information for all of Kivotos to add you," Arona teased, but I would like to have my messages devoid of my tank's extended warranty. "It's early, but I could just call it a night. By tomorrow, I'm sure something will have changed. Rin will tell me the helicopter is ready, the convenience store will be open when it's supposed to, another fight will break out that I have to stop… I don't want to sleep for what might look like fifteen hours, though."

"It'll be one of the only times you get that much sleep, so it's up to you to take advantage of it."

The thought of paperwork returns to me… "I'll worry about everything in the morning, then."

…

Hm. I don't have a change of clothing. Come to think of it, I don't have anything. I have my plain soldier uniform, my tactical vest, my super pistol, my super SMG, and… oh, that really is all I brought. How did I get here again? After I got off the train? With all the rush that was trying to take control of Schale, I had selectively ignored everything else that matters regarding life in a new city. If only the convenience store was open… I'd at least be able to buy a toothbrush. "I'm used to sleeping without new clothes or a shower, but if I have a room waiting for me, I'd prefer not to dirty it up so soon."

"Even if you don't have any transportation, you can take a walk outside. There should be a retail store nearby of some sort, right?"

…Forget not having any supplies. I don't have money. Perhaps I was too optimistic about taking this role. I allow myself a defeated sigh and tap my earpiece. "Rin, can you hear me?"

A few seconds later, I hear a buzz. "Good evening, Sensei. Are things going well at Schale?"

"More or less. Not much can happen without workers."

"Right. I believe Schale's workers should be coming in by noon tomorrow."

That solves one problem. Now for the other. "I'm sure you've noticed, but I didn't come here with much else than my equipment. That goes for money as well."

"Ah…" For a while, Rin leaves me with this. "It hadn't crossed my mind. I apologize."

"What do I do?"

"We can't secure our finances quickly enough to have the helicopter ready until tomorrow, so it would be a major inconvenience to reach you in person. That said, leaving you without money is an emergency of sorts, so we'll do our best to help you. Do you have any bank account we can try to connect to and retrieve your previous finances?"

I didn't think that would be possible, but even still, I had abandoned my legal identity when going rogue. I'm still standing now because I'm used to living in the wild, but… I'd rather not. "None whatsoever."

"That doesn't help much. We'd be able to link your finances to a single credit card, but it didn't sound like you had one with you in the first place." Even if I did have one, I wouldn't think my money would be good here. What kind of currency does this place use? "Again, reaching you physically is rather difficult at this time, and the treasurer is still working to get our own finances in order. I hate to ask this of you, but do you think you can manage until tomorrow? The instant we can get a credit card to you via helicopter, we will, but it won't be for about ten hours at minimum."

I may as well trek to the nearest forest area and grab any berries or mushrooms I can find. "Thanks for your help, Rin. I'll be waiting."

"Sorry for imposing this upon you. Take care." I stretch my body and look for the exit. I'd like to have some amount of energy before the effects of this morning's battle sends me crashing toward the floor. Whether my efforts find fruit depends on whether the right trees were planted.

None of our efforts should have slowed the fights and riots happening around the city, but perhaps even rioters follow curfew. Though the occasional argument or scuffle pops up in one corner or another, most of the fighting has stopped and the city seems to be more or less at peace. Along the streets, occasional food stalls try to grab my attention, resisted only by my lack of funds. Through sheer willpower, I walk my way past all the food stalls as I continue my journey to a forest. Of course, my main goal is to get out of the urban area, but my ignorance of the city layout is starting to show. "I'd thought I could find the exit if I kept walking forward."

"You could have asked me to give you a layout of the city."

"Really?!" I unlatch the tablet and Arona grins at me before a map pops up on the screen. I see a flashing dot on the bottom left corner of the map, but corner is an exaggeration for how close to the center I still am. I glance at the star where Schale is and turn to my right. "I guess it's faster to go this way. Is there a forest in this direction, Arona?"

"There should be a park in that direction. That will lead directly into the forest."

"Great. Let's have a look." I put the tablet away and start walking. 

Dozens of food stalls later and about three small fights later, I find the park. "Welcome to Kousagi Park." The sign looks pretty roughed up, especially compared to the rest of the city. Forget that it's wooden and chipped, the text is fading and covered in graffiti. I look up at the park and see a colorful assortment of leaves, crushed up cans, and crumpled napkins scattered across the grass. "Beautiful…" The forest trees call for me in the distance, and my journey is about to meet its end. "I'll need to find some rocks and firewood later… and I may as well clean the place up while I'm here." To the forest I go.

It's always a wonderful idea to trek through a forest when the sun is down. It was already dark enough at the park, and I could barely see the pollution thanks to the streetlights, but no such help is here for me in this forest. The moonlight helps me avoid walking into trees, but if that was my goal, I wouldn't be walking so slowly. "I wonder if these leaves are edible." This forest is distressingly empty, but strangely, it doesn't feel like it's supposed to be. As if someone's been through and picked all the food in the area, I can see extended stems and traces of stalks where food is supposed to be. "Someone got here before I did."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"For the same reason I'm here, if I had to guess." In a city where food stalls and fights are cropping up everywhere, it would make sense that some would have to resort to foraging to get their dinner. Managing this area may be harder than I originally anticipated. "There's no use looking if the place was cleaned out. I'll just head back and clean the forest up."

"Won't you be starving for the rest of the night?"

"If you can protect me from a tank blast, you can stop me from hunger for a night, right?"

"Um…"

Would've been nice, but I wouldn't want Arona to waste her powers, whatever they are, on my stomach. At least the water dispensers at Schale still work, so I won't be dying anytime soon. My main concern is that I'm still living on some sort of adrenaline after the tank ordeal, but even if I do pass out, I'll surely be fine by morning. I turn around and try to retrace my steps, but the turn gets to my head and my hand finds the nearest tree to keep me from hitting the ground. Something about looking for the outskirts is much different from simply traveling as much as I can. My head starts flooding with a time-lapse of the path back to the park, and the imagined distance blocks out my efforts to keep myself standing. The hand on the tree curls into a rough grip, and if my fingers started to bleed, I wouldn't know it. The ringing I dreaded from this morning returns like a long lost bully from kindergarten who shows up as a new coworker, circling throughout my head and blurring the forest in front of me. With my hand clinging onto the trunk, I take one step forward, my other hand reaching for the next trunk but stopping just short. I close my eyes and let go of the tree behind me, pushing forward and wrapping my arm around the one in front of me. The bristles scratch through my uniform and press into my arm, but if I had the peace of mind to worry about a few scratches, I'd be out of here already. Slowly, I continue pressing my arms onto trees and pushing my way out of the forest. The light from what I imagine to be the streetlights by the park poke into the forest, but is it my imagination that the light flickers? I don't remember it reaching into the forest when I first entered, either.

As the light grows brighter, my steps fail to reach as far and my grip onto the trees around me start to slip. It's like reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, but ironically, there's no peace to be made after I leave the forest. I'm still without food, I'm one push away from falling six feet under, and the worst part is how frustrating it is to fall to something as simple as hunger after all I've built myself up to be after this morning. I couldn't forgive myself if it ended here, but I don't have the capacity to even think about forgiving anything. My hand slips from the tree behind me and I reach out, but there are no trees waiting in front of me. I raise my head and see a light flashing from under the park's main tree. Was that there before? I squint, but my vision blurs to the point where even the light blends in with everything around it. The scene turns into a blend of yellow and blue like an ancient painting, shortly before it turns into a mix of dark green and black as my face is smacked with the grass below me.

…

My eyes open to the moon shying behind the rustling leaves from the tree above me. Though the ringing slowly fades away, it drowns out the light crackling behind me. I push myself up and turn around. A fire lights up the campsite, lining the equipment beside it and the tents in the distance. Above the campfire rests a pot hanging from a stick. With a squint, I see trails of water trickling down into the fire, raising the flames up to the pot and hugging the pot. "Is that supposed to—"

"Moe! I told you to watch the pot!"

"Oh, be quiet! I don't know why Miss 'I love reading kids' books' wants to tell me anything!"

"Stop bickering, you two! I'll go watch the pot, alright?" A figure escapes from the tent as the unintelligible rambling continues. It perks as it looks at me and waves before the light illuminates the girl walking over. I glance up at the rabbit ears on her head as I get up. "Are you feeling well, sir?" She crouches by the campfire. "You looked terrible when you collapsed by the forest."

I breathe out and dust myself off. "I'm feeling better. Say, did any of you go foraging in that forest?"

The girl turns to me, eyes widened, and stands. "Oh, is that why you were there? Yes, we were scavenging for tonight's dinner and happened to find this forest, so we set up camp at this park. You did look rather famished, so we tried to feed you a mushroom soup since you wouldn't wake up. I hope it doesn't trouble you, but I… er, we didn't want to leave you like that."

I shake my head. "Thank you very much for the help. I'd be on my way, but I'd at least like to make it up to you."

The girl shakes her head in turn. "You don't have to. SRT is committed to helping the citizens of Kivotos. We're just doing our job."

Though I haven't heard of SRT, I can only imagine what type of community job involves setting up camp in such a distant park. It seems like mere coincidence that they had the opportunity to help someone like me, especially since their camp wasn't there when I first showed up at the park. Come to think of it, they set up rather quickly for how much equipment is here. "We should at least add one another as contacts on that peach thing. I'll still owe you a favor after this."

The girl frowns. "You don't have to go that far. Your recovery is enough for us." She clears her throat before I notice two other figures leaving the tents. "Oh, my squadmates have finally stopped arguing. We'll send you off with something so you can make it back home tonight." Before I can respond, she turns and jogs to the others. I walk over to the campfire and look into the pot. A simmer of mushrooms and leaves swim around. It's as much as I expected to find, though I don't know where they found water. Eventually, the girl jogs back to me while the others walk behind her. "Thanks for waiting, sir. We have some dried fruit rations we can give to you. We don't have any spare canteens to give you water, but hopefully the mushroom soup will be enough for your trip back. Do you live far from here?" I look over to the others, seeing the helmeted girl dangle rations in her hands while the one with glasses seems to be sticking along just because. "Oh, how rude of me. I forgot you were looking for food in the forest. Did I make an incorrect assumption…? I didn't really consider—"

"No, it's alright." I appreciate their help, but this girl likes to go on a bit much. It's getting late, and I'm getting tired. "I don't need your rations, thank you. I'll be fine getting home for the night."

"I insist…" What confuses me more is why she considers me an ordinary citizen when my vest is on and I seem to be the only person who looks like me. I never really thought about it, but why do the citizens look like walking animals? "Will you really be alright?"

"Don't worry about me. I don't want to forget this debt, so let me at least have a way to reach you."

"Really—"

"Miyako, what are you doing?" The helmeted girl shakes the rations at Miyako's side. "Why are you refusing his help?"

"As SRT, we—"

"Oh, shut up about that." The glasses girl walks up to Miyako's other side. "Just imagine all the things we could get out of someone after saving their life…"

"Moe!"

"Oh, loosen up. I'm just kidding." Moe groans. "Still, Saki's right. We may as well have the option; we can decide whether to get the help later."

Saki hmphs. "That's actually good reasoning, Moe. I'm impressed."

"Shut it."

Miyako sighs. "Fine." She pulls out her phone. "Then, sir, let's exchange contact information." I take out my tablet and open the peach app. I stare at the screen for a few seconds before clicking on the plus icon in the bottom corner. Miyako reveals her contact information and I copy it down. "If you send me a message, I should receive it."

I start tapping on my tablet. Hi miyako. I send the message and Miyako's phone dings. "I've received it." She taps on the message. "Um… your name is Sensei?"

"I put that as my name as clarification. Well, it would be weird just to call me SMG, so SMG Sensei or just Sensei are alright as well."

"You're… a teacher? I didn't think Kivotos had those anymore."

I shrug and put my tablet away. "I don't know anything about that. I just got here today, during the riots and the ordeal with the General Student Council. I think it was on the news, but I don't know for sure."

"The General Student Council… was there something about that, Saki?"

"You're asking me?! Uh… there was something about a new federal organization… Schale, right?"

"Oh, so you've heard of it." I reach into my vest and pull out a card. "Sensei, Schale, pleased to make your acquaintance."

Moe blinked. "Doesn't that make you, like… an important person?" She starts grinning. "All that stuff about demanding things from you…"

"We're not doing that, Moe."

"Buzzkill."

Miyako puts her phone away. "I wasn't aware. Sorry for undermining you."

"It's alright. Thanks for your help; I need to return to Schale, though. If you need anything, send me a message."

Miyako nods. "Thank you… Sensei. Good night."

I wave and turn around. It's not like whatever they fed me is a proper dinner, but compared to nothing, even a handful of dirt would have been a buffet from paradise. With a satisfactory energy supply out of the way, I make my way back to Schale.

The walk back is almost too easy, and I only realize in hindsight how far I walked to find Kousagi Park. Though walking back to Schale wasn't a problem, it's not like I have enough in me to think of anything. Autopilot brings me into the building and all the way back up to my office. "Sensei, you'll find a suitable bedroom in the residence hall. There's nothing over here…"

I ignore Arona's words and look at the couch across the office. My autopilot trudges over to the couch and falls onto it. I can worry about other stuff tomorrow…

…

…Wind?

"Sensei. Sensei! Do you read me?"

I push myself off the couch and hit the ground. I groan and tap my earpiece. "Rin…?"

"Ah, you're alright. I was prepared for the worst, but it's a relief to hear your voice."

I push myself off the floor and sit on the couch. "Thanks for your concern. What's going on?"

"Do you hear the helicopter outside? I have sent Chief of Staff Iwabitsu Ayumu to deliver your credit card, loaded with two weeks' advance of your salary. She should also have some food with her, so please greet her on the rooftop."

"Thank you for taking care of me, Rin. I'll let you know when I meet her." I stand up and stretch before turning around. "I just take the elevator to the top, Arona?"

"That's right—oh, and good morning."

"Good morning. Let's get started." I walk out of the room and down the hallway. To my right, I see a helicopter with the GSC logo flying up and above me. I start running down the rest of the hallway to reach the elevator.

I exit at the roof, seeing the helicopter blades slow to a stop as the passenger door slides open. A tall, blonde girl with black wings exits and waves to me while her other hand holds a plastic bag. "You're the newly appointed Sensei of Schale, right?"

"That I am. You must be Ayumu."

Ayumu nods. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I, um, heard you may need this as soon as possible." She raises the bag and hands it to me. "It's a sandwich and… a half-eaten bag of potato chips. It was a gift from the Chief of Transportation… I'm sorry." I take the bag and open it. Two neat wrappings of parchment sit next to a rolled up, crumpled bag of potato chips. "Also, here's your credit card. You're able to use it for any purchase in Kivotos. Your biweekly salary will be automatically added to your card, and the Chief Advisor said you could find your bank account information on your tablet." She clears her throat and turns around. "One more thing, um… would you come to Sanctum Tower with me? There's an emergency that requests your assistance."

I tie the bag closed and nod. "I'm available, but… I haven't had the chance to shower."

Ayumu shakes her head. "I don't mind. If you're worried about it, would you, um… like to use my perfume?" Ayumu reaches into her bag and holds a spray bottle. "If you're okay with it."

I frown at the idea, but if she's going to be considerate, it'd be on me to reject her offer. I take the bottle and spray myself up and down before handing it back to her. Ayumu puts the bottle away and turns around, leading me into the helicopter. "It won't take long for us to get there." The helicopter starts taking off. "Please feel free to eat while I brief you." I unwrap the bag and push the chip bag aside. "Normally, we wouldn't ask for your assistance, but all of our previous efforts have proven to be useless. Since I was on my way to Schale to deliver the bag and card to you, I proposed that I enlist your help. After all, you did well in leading those student representatives from yesterday, so I figured you would be able to help us in this matter."

The sandwich is made of lightly-toasted bread and scrambled eggs. It's the best thing I've had in twenty-four hours, though it is one of the only things I've had in that time frame. "What's the matter?"

"The GSC has spent the entire morning trying to suppress a protest in Kousagi Park by a group of four SRT students. The Chief Advisor requested the recall of all of SRT's equipment and the detainment of SRT students to be integrated with the Valkyrie Police Academy, but the students at the park seized the equipment and we're unable to stop their protest. If you could lead what's left of the Public Peace and Public Safety Bureaus to stop the protest, it would be a great help."

I finish one half of the sandwich and look into the chip bag. Though Ayumu called it half eaten, I can count how many chips are left on one hand. Four. More importantly, SRT students at Kousagi Park must be referring to the rabbit-eared girls I met last night, but I thought they were just camping. Then again, Miyako's statement about helping the community seemed misaligned with their decision to camp out at a park. I take out my tablet and open the peach app. "Give me a moment to think about it."

"Of course." I open Miyako's chatroom. Hi miyako, i heard about four students protesting at kousagi park. Whats going on?

I put my tablet away and push the chip bag down, grabbing the other sandwich half. "This sandwich is good. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, well… I saw the Chief Advisor wrapping the sandwich and placing it into the bag. I'm not sure where she got it from." She clears her throat and looks to the side. If Rin made the sandwich, well… I may thank her later. "Let me know if you'll help us, Sensei."

"I may have to let you know when we reach Sanctum Tower." I bite into the sandwich. With the knowledge that it could be homemade, I can tell how little butter and oil was put into the sandwich. Even with the eggs, it's still a light breakfast. "Are we almost there?"

"I think we're halfway there." Ayumu looks up toward the cabin. "It won't be much longer."

I take another bite. "How's your morning been?"

Ayumu sighs. "I've been occupied with the protest and… well, I don't mean to dump my stress onto you, but…"

"Keep going."

"Mm. Yes, it's been rough this morning. I woke up alright, though. What about you, Sensei?"

"Rin called me. Fell off the couch."

"That doesn't sound good… you look well, though."

I nod. "I've been worse. This is the first time we met, right? What were you up to yesterday?"

"I was helping the Chief of Finance manage the endless requests we were getting when we lost control of Sanctum Tower. We spent the entire day trying to sort them out, and thanks to your help with restoring access to the tower, we've been able to slowly manage everything. It'll still take some time, but we're sure to be finished within the week."

"It sounds like you've been working hard."

"It's our job to do so." Ayumu dips her head down. "Besides, my work isn't nearly as difficult as the Chief Advisor's work. She's had to adjust to all the duties and expectations of the president, and many are skeptical of her as well. Giving it my all is the only thing I can do to help her out."

Rin was very composed for what Ayumu claims she has to go through. These are really high school students? "I'll do my best to help you as well."

"It's good to have an adult's support." Ayumu looks toward the cabin. "I can see Sanctum Tower from here. We'll be landing soon."

I finish the sandwich and close the bag. Unfortunately, the last four chips won't see the light of day, but I don't think anyone will miss them. Except for whoever was so kind enough to gift them to me, maybe.

The helicopter lands and we exit. "Have you made your decision, Sensei?"

Miyako hasn't responded to my message. Perhaps I'll be able to talk to her at the park and get an answer. If Ayumu is so worried, it may not be a good idea to wait for a response, especially if she hasn't responded by now. "I'll go and help. Consider it thanks for the sandwich."

Ayumu smiles. "That's wonderful news." She bows and walks ahead of me. "Then, if you get back into the helicopter, the pilot will take you to Kousagi Park. I'll be sure to extend your thanks to the Chief Advisor as well."

I nod. "Thank you for accompanying me too, Ayumu. I had a nice chat."

"Oh, right, um… I enjoyed it too." Ayumu hurries off. "Thank you, and good luck, Sensei!" I wave and climb back into the helicopter. "Kousagi Park, please."

"Haha, I heard you already." I close the passenger door and the helicopter takes off.

Chapter Text

"Thank you, Yozora." I wave to the pilot before closing the door and climbing down the rope. As the helicopter takes off, I turn and see a group of shielded officers looking at me. "Hello," I begin. "Sensei, Schale, sent via request of the GSC." I walk up to the dog-eared girl scratching her head and flicking her clipboard. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

She looks me up and down and huffs. "Ogata Kanna. Director of the Public Peace Bureau." She shakes her head and waves her clipboard toward the shielded officers. "It's all a mess. There's a damn sniper stopping us from moving forward, not to mention all the booby traps that've disorganized our advances. It was so bad that they enlisted the Public Safety Bureau…" She stops, waving to two twintailed girls. "And we've made no further progress." She bares her teeth and points behind her. "And we can't get rid of the media either. I'm running out of options." She sighs and crosses her arms. "So? Won't refuse your help, but what do you think we can do at this point?"

I survey the remaining forces and frown. Disregarding the white-haired girl with a peashooter for a pistol and the blue-haired girl snacking on a donut, there's not much to look at. Faintly, I can hear the journalists in the distance talking about something, but it's not anything I'd want to care about. During the entire helicopter ride, I had waited for any sort of response from Miyako, even sending another message as a precaution, but nothing ever arrived. I'd only have to hope she was simply too occupied to notice, and with that we could wrap this situation up peacefully. "Actually, I ran into those girls at this park yesterday, but I didn't know they were staging a protest. We should be on good terms, so I may be able to go in and negotiate with them."

Kanna raises an eyebrow. "I won't ask… and I don't have any reason to object. The floor is yours." I nod and take out my tablet. I open the peach app and navigate to Miyako's chatroom. One more time, I suppose… Miyako i'm at the park. What are you doing?? I put my tablet away and take a deep breath. "I guess I'll try heading in there… they shouldn't—"

My eyes pop wide open and my body jerks backward. A silent shot zips past my nose and flies away from the park. I take a slow turn to find the source of the shot, but I can't sense a presence. Last night, I faintly recalled seeing each student with a firearm, but I never saw a sniper. Now that I think about it… were there four students? I don't remember a fourth student…

I shuffle back toward the others and start piecing my information together. My ignorance of a fourth student, my messages being ignored… and this whole operation is being initiated by Rin. I told the SRT girls that I was affiliated with the GSC… it all makes sense. I revealed the wrong information to them, and they kept enough information from me so I would be caught off guard. Is that why the four of them are holding down the park so effortlessly?

Backing far enough from everyone else, I crouch and whisper toward my tablet. "Did you save me there, Arona?"

"I didn't see it coming until it was just inches from you. If you hadn't dodged, I would've barely had time to direct the bullet away. I'm sorry…"

"I still haven't noticed the sniper, so don't worry about it." I close my eyes and stand. "Kanna. I'm going in there. Who can I take with me?"

"Er… the only ones up to fight now are this bunch and those two."

The white-haired girl salutes and grins. "Nakatsukasa Kirino, Public Safety Bureau, at your service!"

The blue-haired girl wipes her mouth and yawns. "Do we really have to do this?"

I look at their uniforms. If we're dealing with a sniper… "Peashooter."

The peashooter girl's body jumps for an instant. "Are you talking about me?"

"Your smoke grenades. Can I hold onto one of them?" She unlatches one of her grenades and hands it to me. "Donuts." The blue-haired girl turns with her eyebrows arched. "You're coming with." She groans and grabs onto her rifle. "Director Kanna, we'll be off. Suppose you can hold off the media for us?"

She grins. "I'm not coming with ya?"

"Doesn't seem like you want to. I'll leave those girls with you too; they seem like they're about to throw their shields at you at any moment."

"So you're leaving them with me? Contingency plan, eh?"

"I don't want them thrown at me." I smile. "We'll be off." Kanna nods and hands me two pairs of handcuffs. I grab them and wave at Peashooter and Donuts. "Come on. Let's go stop a few troublemakers."

Now, the sniper. Though I don't sense her presence, I have Arona to protect me for now, so advancing shouldn't be too difficult. Locating her is another challenge. I glance at the spot where I last stood before being fired at, raising my head toward the direction the shot came from. The forest… "I need you two to distract the sniper. Think you can run like a pair of fools out here while I flank?"

Donuts puts her rifle away and yawns. "As long as I don't have to fight… whatever."

Peashooter frowns but nods. "We'll do it."

"Use your smokes if you're in trouble. Connect your earpieces to this channel… and I'll tell you when we're clear." The two of them take off and I dash in the other direction. I don't have any idea of what I'm going to do, but if Arona is protecting me, it'll have to work out in its own way. No matter how close I get to entering the forest, I still have no view of the sniper. I slip through the first row of trees and look toward the dastardly duo running around and waving their weapons. Waiting for the sniper to fire at the two, I sit down and take constant glances back to the forest, looking for a shot to ring out. Does she sense our plan? I tap my earpiece and put a hand over my mouth. "She's not taking the bait. Go into the forest."

"Eh?! Don't wanna…"

"I'll take you to donuts after—"

"Let's go, Kirino!"

"Wha—gah!" I watch as Donuts yanks Peashooter's arm and starts rushing into the forest. Immediately, Donuts lurches back as a bullet bounces off her. She hits the floor on one knee and Peashooter stops in front of her. I turn my head and keep a side glance toward them. While Peashooter starts pulling Donuts up, she hits the ground and I flick my eyes based on the direction Peashooter fell. If I draw a triangle between myself, Peashooter, and the parallel at which she fell…

The sniper won't be able to reposition in time. I stand and turn my body, reaching for the smoke grenade at my hip and sprinting forward, narrowly grazing past any trees in my way to stay on track. I stop in front of a trunk and press my back against it as a bullet flies to my right. I duck and swing around, taking the same stops whenever I felt the next bullet coming. It wasn't like I could know when the next shot was coming, but something gave me a feeling. The forest? Some sort of spiritual awakening? Arona? It doesn't matter. I continue dashing forward, each shot a confirmation that the sniper is still waiting.

I stop. Something doesn't feel right. I look behind me, but I can't see anything. I look down. There's a large oval dip in the leaves below, but nothing fills the gap left behind.

Woosh— I duck, but my foot gets caught on a branch and I hit the ground. I turn my torso and see a small figure standing above me with a wrapped sniper hanging above me. It's weird… even when she stands in front of me, it's difficult to concentrate on her. "I'm sorry… please forgive me…" We stay in silence for ten seconds before she frowns. "Why is… my rifle… jammed?"

I press my hand onto the ground and push myself up, reaching for the rifle with my other hand. The girl maintains her hold even as I grip onto the barrel and pull down, and she crashes into me on her way toward the ground. We wrestle for the rifle, my hand glowing red against the rifle wrapping as I flex my arm to its limit, but the girl presses her palm downward, pinning the rifle firmly onto the ground. Why is she so strong?! "Sorry, sir… I have to… we can't… give up…"

I can't get the rifle. I haven't even pulled a centimeter of it away. Why can I survive a tank blast but can't beat such a small girl in a strength contest? It's the wrong time to use my super pistol, and my super SMG is stuck under my back, with the girl too strong to let me lift myself up. All I've got is the handcuffs at my side… fine. My free hand reaches for a pair of cuffs while the hand on the rifle lets go. The girl watches my hand release the rifle and starts to push herself up before my arm comes around and coils around her neck, pinning her further against me. "Wh—eh—?!" In the second her shock leaves her motionless, I swing the cuffs around her arm and press them into her wrist. "Hm?!" Her head jerks toward her arm and I push up with all my weight, grabbing onto her arms and pushing her over. I grab onto her free arm but she pulls it back, and even with our positions reversed, she still easily overpowers me. Only because I'm above her can I pretend that we're evenly matched, but without my knee on her legs and my hand desperately trying to pin down her cuffed arm, she's a second away from reversing our position once more and busting my neck with the stock of her rifle. I frown and look to my left. The rifle… I look back at her, watching her gaze fixed onto the arm pulling back from my grip. She needs one second… I can't even reach the rifle in half a second. I need a distraction…

Her gaze remains fixed on our arm-pulling battle, but it's on the other side from the rifle. Still, it doesn't look like she's worried about what I'm doing. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Less than one second… I lift my hand pinning her cuffed arm. Her gaze turns for an instant and my hand reaches toward her face. Her eyes trail my hand as it moves down and reaches for her neck. I slide my fingers across it and her body jumps. "—?!" My hand stops in place and I continue tickling her neck. The girl shuts her eyes as her cheeks flush red while she presses her lips together to stifle any noise. Her free arm pulls harder and I start to slip, but my hand doesn't stop. Her stomach continues pulsing as her stifling gets weaker. "Sto—please—aha!" The instant a laugh breaks out, my hand lets go of her neck, my other hand lets go of her arm, and both of them hit the floor as I push myself away and leap toward her rifle. I grab onto her rifle and turn around, watching her quickly recover her composure, but it's longer than one second. I push myself on my feet and stand above her, pointing the rifle at her face. "Sorry, Miss Invisible. Miyako wouldn't respond to my messages."

"Mi…miyako?"

I shrug. "I don't want to fire at you. Would you turn around and let me cuff you?" The girl frowns and turns her back to me, raising her arms backward. I drop her rifle and crouch down, fully cuffing her. I grab her rifle and pull her up. "Thank you for cooperating. I'm going to leave you with the others, so just hang tight."

"…"

We make our way out of the forest, slowly, but surely, finding Peashooter and Donuts standing around and waiting. They notice us and wave with surprise. "You got her!"

I pat the girl's shoulder and hand her off to the duo. "Bring her back to the others. I'll round up the other three."

"Will you be okay?"

…Probably not. If it took me all that effort to apprehend who seems to be the smallest of the four, I can't win another melee scuffle, but I have the girl's sniper and my own super SMG to work with. I look down at the girl and reach for the magazines at her hip. She turns to me with shock, but I assume it's just because I touched her. I reload her rifle and wave before dashing off.

Three more. Miyako and her two blabbering lackeys. I didn't reach this side of the park last night, so I don't know which corner I'll find first. I can only hope that, like the sniper, they've all separated to cover maximum ground, but if they aren't, I should have a range advantage with the sniper. Three and a half magazines… about twenty shots? If Peashooter and Donuts fell so easily to these bullets, this should be more than enough. As expansive as I remember the SRT camp being, I can barely see a trace of it in the distance. For how large this park is, why did it seem so old and ruined when I showed up last night? If a protest at this park is such a big deal, too… is this park important?

Oh, whatever. I'll worry about it later. As the camp comes into view, I turn left and move toward the forest. If I have Miss Invisible's sniper, I may as well play her game. I slip into the forest as the bickering best friends' voices greet my ears again. As expected, it's precisely what I thought I'd hear.

"…ALL our ammo?!"

"Hehe, wasn't it wonderful? I'm still drooling thinking about all those drone wires coming apart and flying away like confetti… You're right, Saki. If only we had some more ammo left. I'd love to see it again…"

"Moe, what is wrong with you?! How are we supposed to fend off against anything now?"

"Oh, please. All those books have you as stiff as one of them. Doesn't Miyu already have their advances taken care of? We're just waiting for them to leave so we can do stuff."

"I guess Miyu has it covered. I haven't heard from her in a while, so maybe I'll check in on her."

As their conversation goes on, I find a tree near the outskirts by the campsite and tap the trunk for any support points. With three good bumps located, I slip the rifle into my uniform and start ascending the tree. My hand finds a branch and I curl my arm around it, swinging up and pressing my feet against another branch. Suspended between them, I push one foot up and kick forward, lunging forward and curling my stomach against a singular branch. I shuffle around to reorient myself so I can face the campsite again. I pull the rifle out of my uniform and aim toward the camp.

"…No, let's stay here. Even if something's happened, they don't have many people left, so they won't get through us."

"Fine."

The one with the helmet has some sort of automatic firearm. An assault rifle? A machine gun? The glasses girl has a pistol… this shouldn't be difficult. I aim the rifle toward the helmet girl and shift the reticle onto her cheek. I fire, but the bullet bumps into her uniform and she looks down in confusion. The two of them look toward the forest and start moving away from it. I'm not exactly hidden, but they shouldn't be looking up into the leaves so soon. I'm definitely more noticeable than Miss Invisible, but I should be able to win if I keep my distance. I aimed too low, and they're walking away? I'm not used to it, but… just aim higher, right? I move the reticle up to the tip of the girl's helmet and fire. The bullet flies to her left and hits the ground.

I won't be able to hit them at this rate. I toss the rifle toward the ground and jump for the leaves, rolling off the impact and pushing myself up before grabbing the rifle and chasing the duo. I retrace their steps while pointing the rifle forward, waiting for them to get back into view, but there's a chance they're outrunning me. I drop the thought and push forward; even if they're gaining distance on me, how far do they have to go until they give up control of the park?

After a while, I see the road lining the park border, but those two are nowhere to be seen. They must've circled back without my knowing. I look around for more forest to hide in so I can sneak back to the main area, but I'm on the wrong side, and I'll be crossing over plain grass to get back to the camp. They'll see me, but… I'll still have the range advantage, so if I'm careful, it'll be okay.

I continue my way back toward the camp, slowing down just as I see moving heads popping up. One, two… three. They've regrouped, huh? I've got two people to worry about now, and I can see them all standing guard. I probably can't hit a good shot from here, but…

Hey, come to think of it, how much of Arona's power do I have to spare? If a tank blast can be stopped, surely a battle with two students is fine as well? I lay out my plan to Arona. "You can always count on me!" I take out my super SMG and shove the sniper into the holster. When inoperable, it appears to have a medium barrel and no stock, but I'll need some range for this fight. I press onto a switch on the back of the body and pull out the stock halfway, and it locks in place when I release the switch. Time to get to work.

I run toward the camp with my firearm in hand. The helmet girl notices me and starts shouting before pointing her weapon at me. "Wait, that's…!"

She keeps her aim on me but doesn't fire, so I continue sprinting toward her while holding my own fire. By the time we're in shouting distance, the others have grouped up with the helmet girl to greet me personally. "Sensei?!"

I stop within loud speaking distance and lower my weapon. "Good morning, you three. Miyako, I've been trying to reach you all morning, but you never responded to me."

Miyako frowns. "You… you did?"

The helmet girl groans. "This is what we get when you said we should turn off our phones."

"I didn't want them to track our locations…" Miyako shakes her head. "Sorry about that, Sensei. Though, why are you here, and why is your weapon out?"

"GSC's request. I have to apprehend you. Sorry."

"…Are you the reason why Miyu isn't responding?" I turn to my side and reveal the sniper at my back. "I understand." The three of them raise their weapons. "We can't let you do that."

"Yeah, Miyu was the weakest of us. Just give up while you still can."

I raise my weapon and the three of them dash off into separate directions; glasses going to the left, helmet going to the right, and Miyako running forward. Glasses can't be a threat, but going after Miyako will get me pinched. I take off to the right, aiming at every open area in anticipation of a rising helmet.

"Is my gun jammed?!" I turn to the voice and find a rock within the alley between two tents. I step onto it and look over, seeing a glare pointed at me before a stock comes flying. The instant of hesitation gives me the opportunity to lean back and dodge. I press my weight on my higher foot and lift myself up, kicking the firearm away and landing on top of the rock. I aim at the helmet and start firing, but the bullets bounce off with no further effect. The girl pushes herself up and slams her helmet against the barrel, knocking the firearm out of my hands. Without either of our weapons, it looks to be another melee fight, but I'm not doing that again. I drop down from the rock and retrieve my super SMG, but it gives the girl time to do the same. I've got to get rid of that helmet. Instead of my foot, I slam my palm onto the rock and push myself upward, letting go of the rock and landing onto it with my back. The girl turns to point her weapon at me, but her helmet remains on her head. I reach for the brim and push upward, and an ahoge pokes out from the helmet. The girl stops just before firing at me. "What are you—" In that instant, I bring my other arm around and press my barrel on her forehead. "Don't move."

"Are you kidding me?!" The girl drops her weapon and raises her hands. I get her to turn around and I cuff her to one of the tent poles. I grab her firearm and turn to where the glasses girl is supposed to be.

On the way there, a volley of bullets stops me and I turn to my right. Miyako's figure slips behind a shelf of equipment and I make the choice to chase after her. Going for glasses won't do much for me. Miyako continues firing backward, slowing her down while I remain unaffected. When we reach the campfire, she rounds the big tree, allowing me to close the distance. She comes out the other side with her weapon holstered and a drum magazine in her hand. She chucks it toward me and I duck to avoid it. She stops in front of me and swings with an uppercut. I hurl forward and grab onto her arm to steady myself, raising my firearm with my other hand. She raises her leg and kicks my firearm away. I pivot backward and pull her fist behind me, sending her body toward me. She stumbles forward, her raised leg dampening her balance, and I raise my knee into her stomach. I let go of her arm and she shifts backwards, but only slightly. I crouch to grab my firearm and take off running, but Miyako immediately takes off after me.

I don't have time to turn back to fire at her. A half second is all she needs to close the distance and tackle me. A hostage won't work; it's not like I can do any real damage to these students. I could make my way back to Kanna and the others, but I can tell her acceleration will beat me. If that's how it is, I'll have to face her directly. I reach for the slider on the body of my super SMG and unlock the hatch, sliding it all the way toward the barrel. A blade pokes out under the barrel, extending past the muzzle. I lock the slider hatch and turn around, pointing the blade toward her. She stops for a second at the sight of the blade, but she regains her composure and starts dashing toward me again. I meet her in the middle, keeping the blade forward. Miyako keeps her fists ready but doesn't throw any punches, her eyes glaring at the blade intensely. "Stand down, Miyako."

Miyako's glare shifts to my eyes, but she doesn't respond. She steps back and lowers her fists. "No matter what you try to do, we'll always be SRT." She raises her hands. "Get it over with."

I sheathe the blade on my firearm and gesture to Miyako, telling her to put her hands down. "I don't have any more handcuffs."

Miyako frowns. "Uh… okay."

"I still need to go after glasses." Miyako sighs.

Eventually, we find Moe, sitting in a tent and sucking on a lollipop. When she sees the two of us, she shakes her head and stands. "Great leadership, Miyako."

"…"

…

It takes a few minutes, but the other troops come in to round up the SRT students. As I stretch away the battle fatigue, I see Kanna walking up to me. "I'll be damned, Sensei. You're something to be feared. Care to be a part of Valkyrie?"

"I don't think that's possible."

"Just messing with ya." Kanna huffs and points to where the SRT students were brought. "Let's finish up this mission." The two of us return to the starting area, where the students and media are standing around. "Grr… I'm going to go drive off those cameras. I'll be a moment." Kanna storms toward the media. I turn toward Peashooter and Donuts, the two of them looking tired, but Donuts especially so. I suppose doing nothing but watching over Miss Invisible isn't the most exciting activity. I walk up to the SRT students complaining about getting caught. They stop when they notice me, looking at me with a mix of glares and neutral expressions. "You girls are strong. I didn't think it would be such a challenge."

Miyako breathes out. "I could say the same about you. How did you take us all out alone?"

Half of it is Arona's magic keeping me essentially invincible… "Experience." A perfectly believable, half-true answer. "Even then, I almost lost to Miss Invisible… where is she?"

"H-here…" I turn to my right, where Miss Invisible is standing a short distance away from me. I lift my hand a small bit and curl my fingers, and she winces at the sight of it. I grin and turn back to the other three. "Don't feel bad about it. Even if Miyako saw my messages, it doesn't seem like the GSC would want any equal negotiations."

The helmet girl adjusts her helmet and glares at me. "If not for you, we would have no trouble stopping anything from getting near us."

"Surely you would've run out of resources eventually?"

"Yeah? Surely you would've run out of public support eventually. We were doing fine."

It's quite the change of pace from when I met these girls last night… "Sorry. I was doing my job."

Miyako shakes her head. "You adults and your grandiose authority. Are you going to keep talking down on us?"

I turn around. "I still owe you a favor. See you, Bunny Ears." I leave the four alone and return to Kanna. "It seems like the media is gone."

"Not much to report on now, so they're leaving us alone. We're going to take the SRT students in for questioning."

"Then what will happen to them?"

"Valkyrie would decide their punishment, but I remember the Chief of Defense saying she wants to handle things. You should consult with her to find out what will happen."

"Understood. Thanks for the help, Kanna."

Kanna shakes her head. "Thank you, Sensei. It would've been impossible without you."

I press my fist against her arm. "Guess I'm the miracle you needed."

"Heh. Sure, sure. When we're done with this, I'll treat you to something. Nemugaki over there was complaining about getting her promised donuts."

"I promised her donuts if she tagged along."

"Hm. We'll do that, then." Kanna starts walking away. "We're heading to the Valkyrie interrogation rooms. Follow me."

Chapter Text

"Will you do the honor of interrogating their leader?"

"Honor, huh?" I watch as Peashooter and Donuts enter two rooms down the hall. Kanna points to the door behind me. "It'll give me a bit of time to catch up with her, I suppose."

"Do what you will, but…" Kanna sighs. "Remember that it's an interrogation."

"Sure." I reach for the door knob and push my way into the room. As I close the door, I see Kanna enter the room on the other side of the hall. Behind me, Miyako looks passively at me, sitting on the opposite side of the table with two chairs. I take my seat and clear my throat. "How are you, Bunny Ears?"

Miyako frowns. "I'm fine."

"I was told to interrogate you. I heard the GSC wanted to detain SRT students and seize their weapons, but I don't know much else about it. Have anything to share?"

"Our seniors reacted preemptively to a threat from the GSC, and we in the RABBIT Squad agree that the closure of SRT is unacceptable. By protecting our academy, we are protecting our ideals." Miyako closes her eyes. "I can't imagine a reality where we transfer to Valkyrie. It isn't our place."

"Ideals, huh. Tell me about them."

Miyako opens her eyes and glares into mine. "Justice. Determination. Bravado. SRT is home to the most elite students in Kivotos, and though I admit our group has a way to go before we are anything like our seniors, our hearts are guiding us in the right direction."

Big words from such a young girl. It reminds me of what I saw in myself when I went rogue. The freedom to act upon one's own values without the intervention of haughty withers that dare to act like they've seen the battlefield. "Do you act on your own?"

"…Now, yes. We normally act under the GSC president, but we haven't had such orders since her disappearance."

I want to believe the girl I spoke to on that train recognizes reality. Someone who has the strength to speak with such bloody wounds must understand how ugly the truth can be. Is that why she called upon me? "You sound sincere enough." I can't pretend I know anything about SRT. Who they are, what they stand for, why they felt threatened, I don't have that information. With all I have to work with, I'll believe that SRT… whatever it is, or what the acronym stands for, is something worth vouching for. "For Rin to order the recall of SRT when you served under the president… it's a strange story."

"I suppose she can't be blamed. SRT's equipment is very high-class, and without the president, the GSC may think our independent judgment can't be trusted." Miyako shakes her head. "Why would they think the president is the only thing keeping SRT loyal and dependable? What does that say about them, as opposed to us?"

I can't stop but crack a smile. I've heard those words before. Perhaps even in my own head, from my own thoughts. Miyako arches an eyebrow. "Is something funny?"

I breathe out. "Managing SRT would've been nice… Miss Invisible was rather strong for how small her voice was, and helmet girl would've gotten me under normal circumstances." I tap my stomach. "Your punches are strong as well. It's a terrible coincidence that I work with the GSC."

"If I had seen your messages…" Miyako sighs. "I apologize, Sensei. I want to resent you, but I can't help but believe it's my fault that you raised your weapon at us."

Thinking back on it, I don't see an outcome where I wouldn't have to fight SRT. If I shot down Ayumu's request, the situation would've probably escalated to a point where I'd be called in eventually. "Don't blame yourself. You can't account for everything." Miyako nods. "Well, I suppose that's all for now. Thank you for your time." Miyako closes her eyes and lowers her head. I get up and leave the room. Kanna huffs as I close the door. "How'd it go?"

I shrug. "No problems."

"What did the girl say about their motives?"

"Along the lines of refusing to give up on SRT because of their ideals."

Kanna nods. "I heard as much from the one who wears the helmet. Stubborn bunch."

Stubborn isn't a terrible way to label a group of ex-protestors, but I don't want to see it that way. "They're steadfast."

"Hm. Well…" Kanna sighs. "We've got to wait for the GSC to greenlight whatever punishment they have ready for these kids. Expulsion and expungement of student records, if I recall."

As if I know what expunging a student's records will do to that student. "That'd be unfortunate."

Kanna shakes her head. "One who commits a crime is a criminal. That's all it is."

"It doesn't have to be that way." The two of us turn to see the pink-haired girl pointing at us as she walks over. A GSC uniform? "These are changing times. We don't have to follow the book if the text is fading." She stops in front of us and grins. "Pleased to make your acquaintances. Shiranui Kaya, Chief of Defense." Kaya turns to me and extends her hand. "Sensei, correct? I heard you were integral in stopping the SRT protest. My gratitude to you."

"Don't worry about it." I shake her hand. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"I can't sit idly while this SRT ordeal is going on. When I saw the news about the protest, I decided to visit in hopes I'd be able to assess the situation for myself." Kaya dusts her hands and points to me. "You, Sensei. You don't seem thrilled about the fate of SRT at all, yet you were the one who stopped them."

I shrug. "I didn't see much of a choice. I'd like to see more of SRT, but not if they're causing a public disturbance." Or something along those lines…

Kaya nods. "Precisely. The outcome of their protest was necessary, but SRT shouldn't have to go. The president's influence on Kivotos' prosperity cannot be understated, so why aren't we giving care to what she left behind?" It does take someone who's seen what the president's done to make such a statement. "What do you say, Sensei? If I told you SRT has a future, would you follow me to see that future?"

Is this girl a fan of the president? Maybe she's just a fan of SRT. Either way, her enthusiasm is strange. "Suppose I was interested. Then what?"

Kaya smirks. "I'm not the Chief of Defense for nothing. The others on the administrator board may say what they want about SRT, but I'm the titular expert on the matter. It won't be easy to rein in the backlash from doing so, but I wouldn't be chief if I couldn't do this much." She breathes out and pats my shoulder. "For this situation, I can only handle the politics. Actually, you're the reason why I believe this is possible. I've mentioned changing times, yes? Schale is the pinnacle of that change I envision. You won't hear much about it after just a day, but just as few approve of Chief Administrator Rin's sudden rise to leader position, your authority isn't anything to laugh at either. You may be an adult, but that alone won't convince anyone."

"I hardly know what authority I hold. Is there a problem?"

She shakes her head. "I'm merely the messenger here, but some administrators think even less of you after they saw you in battle. They think someone who knows the battlefield can't possibly know the field of politics." Unfortunately, their suspicions aren't incorrect, but I keep silent. "Of course, you're only gaining my favor because of my position, so don't worry about it." Kaya claps her hands together. "Let me get to the point. The GSC will never be convinced that SRT alone will change into a trustworthy group. You, representing Schale, will change everything."

I frown. "I don't hate your plan, but I suspect the GSC will worry if two groups they disapprove of are working together."

"I've considered that. However! As I said, these are changing times. Whatever they think of you is simply speculation. I'll do my part. All I ask is that you guide those SRT girls as their teacher."

"It sounds like my reputation is at risk as well."

"That depends on your own performance. It could even be your first major accomplishment as Schale." Kaya extends her hand once more. "What do you say?"

It's a good proposal on paper. If Kaya can handle the high-class banter that I have no patience for, all I have to do is watch SRT make good on those ideals that Miyako spoke of. It aligns with what she said about helping citizens, so I don't see any issue with moving forward. That's what bothers me most… I grab her hand. "Good luck getting through to them."

"I appreciate your wishes. Good day to the… four of you." Kaya waves and turns to leave. Kanna and I turn to see Kirino and Fubuki standing idly behind us. Kanna sighs and looks in Kaya's direction. "I'm not qualified to worry about most of what was said, but it seems you'll be working hard in the future."

"Looking forward to it…"

Kanna taps her knuckle on her clipboard. "I told you I'd treat you to donuts. Of course, that comes with coffee, and you might need it for what comes next."

…

How much have I had to eat in the last two days?

The bunny-eared girls fed me some mushroom soup last night. This morning, Ayumu handed me a simple egg sandwich, likely courtesy of Rin. Finally, a cup of coffee and one and a half donuts, after Donuts took the other half of the second one. If I have the peace of mind to worry about what I've eaten, I'm clearly fine, but I didn't eat nearly this poorly during all my forest slogging from back then. I should be well off to have a proper meal tomorrow, but I'm in the same clothes and without a shower. I don't like the prospects of these habits…

"Do you believe in Chief Kaya's plan?" Kanna breaks my train of depressing thought. I figured she was going to ask something like this eventually. She never seemed enthusiastic about SRT. "Special or not, it's asking a lot to pardon all their crimes."

"I may be missing something, but a public disturbance can't be that grave."

"Ignoring the drone they blew up, it's not just them. The FOX Squad, made of the upperclassmen of SRT, is on the run for attacking board members. SRT has done dangerous things, and they are a dangerous group."

I'm not going to say what the FOX Squad did is virtuous, but… if those are the same board members that Kaya claimed distrust me, whose side am I to take? "I want to see what SRT is like for myself."

Kanna sighs. "I can't argue with that. Suit yourself, I'm not responsible for any of it. That said, if Valkyrie is ever called in, I have to do my job."

"You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm hoping." Kanna extends her hand. "It was a pleasure to work with you. Good luck."

"You as well, Kanna." Kanna walks away, leaving me with the eight bunny ears staring at me. "Seems you're all doing well."

"Spit it out. What'll happen to us?"

"Be patient, Saki—"

"Don't."

I sigh. When something's on the line, the timid and the aggressive only become more so. "SRT gets to stay. Isn't that wonderful?" Immediately, four gasps echo through the room. "A few conditions, of course. It's a miracle you got what you wanted, so you have to follow some rules."

Miyako nods. "Tell us."

"I'll be officially in charge of you, with the goal of keeping you in line."

"You think we need you to watch over us?"

"Making a real good case, glasses. Your main goal is convincing the GSC you're worth keeping around. Most of the board wants you expelled for your antics…" That's about half of what Kaya told me. "But apparently, they don't like me either. Looking forward to working with you." I gauge the room for their reactions, and the sentiment seems unanimous: doubt. I think I heard one of them mutter "Fishy…" but none of them have explicitly said anything about it. I suppose I'll give them a pass since I got them in this situation. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

The helmet girl glares at me. "We heard you the first time."

I narrow my eyes, glaring back. "Your response is, 'I'm looking forward to working with you as well.'" It seems like the helmet glares at me more than the girl wearing it. "Well then. To Kousagi Park we go."

"Why are we going there?" Miyako asks.

"All your stuff is there, isn't it? I was told you can make it your permanent base for as long as you need to." Despite all the fighting, I recall the camp looking in fairly good condition after it was all over. The technology of Kivotos, or perhaps SRT itself, huh? "The sun's falling; let's get moving before we have to fight the horizon."

"The horizon is nice, though."

"If you aren't looking at it, which we'll have to. Why are you all stalling? I thought you'd be jumping at the chance to live your day to day outside a prison cell." For a while, I watch them all shoot glances at one another, shaking their heads, doing the same with the other members, before turning back to me. All without taking a single step? I take a couple steps back, but none of them follow me. "I'm going on ahead." I turn and walk away, and with my focus behind me, I can tell that they still aren't moving. I don't understand it. Fine, they might still be wary of me, but I still can't understand why they're so hesitant. They don't think I was joking, do they? There's really no reason to do anything like dupe them, but then again, I'm still new here. I should try a different approach…

"Sensei?"

I turn and see what looks to be one of the Valkyrie guards walking up to me. I hate to admit this, but I'd have trouble recognizing one in a crowd of ten. Two, even… the same height, hair, and face, even… no, that must've been an illusion, right? "That's me. You are?"

"Oh, um… you can call me Suzume." Suzume lowers her shield and starts digging into her pocket. "We were looking around the area after you rounded up the SRT students. Did you drop this?" She pulls out a small drawstring from her pocket. "It was somewhere in the forest area. We did have to open it to check what was inside. Rocks? I don't really know." She places it on my palm. The bumps do feel like little pebbles; they don't seem rough enough to be rocks. "I don't think there was anything else."

"It's not mine, but it might belong to one of the SRT students. I'll bring it to them. Thanks, Suzume."

She tips her hat and pulls her shield up. Just under her glove, I can see a small, red marking. A tattoo of sorts? "Then, I'll be on my way. Good luck, Sensei." She leaves, and I turn around. Thanks to Suzume, I have my new approach.

If I'm simultaneously half-surprised and half-not, what does that become? What is the midway between yes and no? Sort of? Though I'd expected them to still be in the same place I'd left them, I thought they'd be exploring or, perhaps with a miniscule stroke of luck, actually looking for me. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Look who's come back to bother us," Glasses says.

Miyako sighs. "We're still discussing."

It would be nice if they could discuss while we're on our way to Kousagi Park. They don't have much of a choice, so we may as well save time. Either way… I raise the bag in my hand and give it a light shake. "Does this belong to—"

"M-my bag!" Miss Invisible leans forward, seemingly instinctively, but she turns to the others and stops immediately. "Um…"

I step forward and drop the bag into her hands. "One of the guards found the bag while looking around the forest. Did anyone else drop anything?" Light head shakes. "That's good. That said, I'm worried there may be some problems the longer we leave your equipment behind." Finally! That remark caught their attention. "Let's go check before people start snooping around."

"You make a good point…" They still take their sweet seconds stepping forward, but eventually, they all hurry past me and start to find their way out of the building. "Who's going to be snooping around Kousagi Park, though?" Helmet asks.

"That's true as well, Saki." Why are they still trying to make points against going to Kousagi Park?

"The media seemed to be making quite a deal out of it. You never know."

"Right. Let's get moving."

Chapter Text

That comment about potential snoopers in their camp equipment wasn't paranoia, it seems.

"Our tents…"

"We had stuff in them, too! How was it all taken away so quickly?"

"It must've been Valkyrie, those damn city guards thinking they have the right to go through our stuff?!"

While the girls are at it, I step aside and call attention to a lone guard walking around the outskirts of the forest. "Do you know what happened to the tents over here?"

She shakes her head. "I just got here. They were gone by then. It's definitely not Valkyrie's doing… I mean, why would we bother with doing that?"

I don't even think the girls actually believe it was Valkyrie, but I can understand why they're throwing around accusations. Without any knowledge of where their tents may be, all they have is what I assume to be their makeshift training ground, but nothing that would solve their sleeping arrangement. It's only been a few hours, yet it looks as though they were packing up to move.

"Permanent base, huh?" Helmet calls out to me, and I see the four of them looking in my direction. "So much for that."

"I wasn't the one refusing to leave the Valkyrie building for no apparent reason."

"Like a few extra minutes would've made a difference here!" Even if that's true, I didn't know this would happen. "It's still your fault for getting us into this mess!"

I narrow my gaze, but to be fair, in a literal sense, it's partially true. I sigh and wave my hand. "Fine. In that case, I have a proposal. The Schale building has a set of dorms you can use. It'll probably be better than camping out here would've been." Oh! The Schale workers must've started their shifts today. I'll have to look around again when I get another chance.

"We can't." Miyako steps forward and shakes her head. "Accepting that proposal would be admitting defeat. We can't compromise because of a setback like this."

"Setback? Miyako, our entire base is gone! What are you talking about?"

"That's what our outdoor training was for, Saki. We don't need pre-made tents to sleep in nature."

"The offer sounds pretty nice—"

"Moe."

Glasses sighs. "Yeah, yeah."

"We have to decline, Sensei."

As resilient as she is… no, I can understand it from another perspective as well. Again, I haven't known these girls for long, and the GSC doesn't like them, so it would be rather risky to move into Schale this soon. "In an emergency, Schale is available to you."

"Thank you for being open." Miyako turns around. "Let's get started on rebuilding. Our sleeping bags should still be tucked away with the rest of our equipment lying around over there."

"And if they're not?"

"We can always take to the forest. Miyu, you've slept under a bed of leaves before, right? It shouldn't be a problem to light a simple fire and sleep around it."

Helmet breathes out. "Do we really have to do all of this for SRT…?"

"You don't want to become Valkyrie, do you?"

"Ugh."

I wave at the others still turned to me. "Do you need my help with anything?"

"We don't need your help." Miyako turns back to me. "We will handle this on our own. Thank you for sticking around, but this task is for SRT alone."

If anything, it gives me a chance to see how Schale is operating now that the workers are there. I'm sure these SRT girls know what'll happen if they try anything. "Contact me if you need anything." Miyako nods and gestures to the others, and they start following her toward the remains of their campsite. I'm stunned by their determination. I can't say I know exactly how they're feeling, but I think the Schale dorms outweigh the benefits of whatever ego boost trudging through losing your tents gives.

I unlatch my tablet and turn it on. "Arona, are you there?"

The screen glows and Arona's face pops up, beaming as she waves at me. "Good evening, Sensei! What do you need from me?"

"Do you have any data on SRT? I don't know much about those girls, unfortunately."

"One second… SRT, or Special Response Team, is an academy created by the former GSC president, built to give students elite training to respond to situations across Kivotos and handle emergencies at the president's behest. Think of it like… like a personal strike team, always on standby when you need them! Sounds cool, doesn't it?"

A personal strike team does sound cool. The main issue is that I have a hard time believing students like those fully live up to the glamor that Arona's described them with. I'm not forgetting how I nearly lost a brawl with Miss Invisible, but compared to the others, the fact that I beat her at all is a testament against her. I could imagine how one-sided a fight against Kanna would be if it came to it; Arona's magic powers are also the only reason why they can't just pull the trigger and call it a day, so I'm not exactly qualified to make such a claim. Still, these girls are in high school, aren't they? Barely, at that. Something that sounds as grand as SRT doesn't really give off the impression that those girls were of that caliber. Maybe I'm considering the constant remarks and bickering from Helmet and Glasses as my basis? "It does."

"Also, Sensei, I heard from your conversation with Chief Kaya that you're already subject to distrust from some members of the GSC! Even after you helped retake Schale?"

Arona's listening in even when the tablet is off, huh? Do I even need to turn it on to talk to her? If her powers work when the tablet is secured at my hip, her being able to listen to everything going on isn't such a stretch, I suppose. "Schale is a new thing, so I can't blame them."

"At least you seem to have support from Chief Kaya and the others you've met, right?"

"Rin and Ayumu? Right. Rin's support doesn't really help when she may also be a contentious point, but Ayumu's support is good to have as well." Then there was the lovely housewarming gift from Miss Four Chips, but I'll take that over four death threats, or something like that. "I'll do my best to convince the rest otherwise."

"I'm rooting for you!"

"Thanks, Arona." Now, second order of business, back to Schale.

…

I forgot that the walk from Kousagi Park to Schale was a bit long. By the time I was at the front steps, the sun was long gone and the moon was boasting itself across the sky. Thanks to the dark sky, though, I can see very well what changed. The lights are all on, and there is actually movement within the building! Students are walking back and forth, having conversations, or just hanging around. I didn't forget about how large Schale was, but I didn't quite remember it being this extensive.

Stepping inside, a pair of students standing near the entrance turn to me. "You're Sensei, right?" one of them asks. I reply with a slight nod. "So that was you on the news, fighting those SRT girls at the park!"

Hold on, the news? I vaguely remember someone talking about a drone being destroyed, but I don't remember seeing a drone. I must've not been paying attention. "I suppose so—"

"You were so cool out there! I didn't think it was possible to climb a tree like that. Is that what adults are capable of?"

"Or how about when he was wrestling with that girl in the forest? How are you so strong without a halo?"

I stare blankly at them. I don't even know what to say. "Do you… two… work here?"

"Oh, yes. We have evening shifts at the cafeteria. Will you be visiting the cafeteria tomorrow?" 

"Maybe?"

"Look for us if you show up, okay?" The two of them wave to me and hurry off. I… don't understand.

I continue down the hall while looking around. It looks wonderfully lively here, even at this time of night, and while I notice a few passing glances at me, nobody else approaches me like the first two students did. That is…

"Sensei!"

I turn to the voice calling me, but I already know who it is. I see the girl with short, white hair waving her hand high and grinning at me. "Yozora!" Yozora lowers her hand, beckoning me to come over even as I'm already headed there. "What brings you here?"

"I was helping transport the night group of Schale workers from Sanctum Tower. I thought I'd hang around before I went back."

"Busy day, huh? Are you always in your helicopter?"

"More or less." Yozora takes a sip from her can and slides the other one to me. "Someone flaked on me. All yours."

I pick up the can and turn it around. A carbonated… grape drink? There isn't even a logo. It's a metal can with the text CARBONATED GRAPE DRINK in large, black letters. I set the can down. "This is why you were flaked on."

"Tch. You're like everyone else." Yozora slides the can back to herself and pats the part of the sofa to her right. "Come on. Let's chat."

As I sit down, she downs the rest of her drink and sighs. "Can't believe you took down an SRT squadron alone. To think Valkyrie's performance can't be used to accurately assess a threat…" She laughs. "What a crazy thought, right?"

"Is it?"

"Oh." Yozora looks directly at me. "You wouldn't know, huh? Valkyrie's an ineffective bunch. Useless, even. Looks like a group of volunteers when they're up against a real threat. SRT, with a fraction of the units, was exponentially better at dealing with problems in Kivotos." She groans. "The president hasn't even been gone for a week and the city is already turning south. Were we that dependent on a single person?"

"You like the old president, don't you?"

"As a person? I didn't really know much about her, but we weren't scrambling around worrying about the damn Seven Prisoners while trying to handle the thousands of demands and threats we have to filter through each day. Now that the Seven Prisoners' captors are against the GSC, we don't have a failsafe if those prisoners find a way to break out. And what do you know! Some of them are already on the loose."

My first minutes in Kivotos told me I was here to help with some sort of crisis, but Yozora's change in tone tells me that there's no room to be carefree. I haven't been here long enough to see the full effect of what's happened to Kivotos in such a short time, but if her praise for SRT is any indication that the rabbit girls' predicament is problematic for more than just themselves, am I already working too slowly by leaving those students to recuperate their lost tents alone? I'm sure they'll know what to do better than I ever could, but I'm here resting at Schale while the city could be rapidly falling apart. I have to do something… but what am I supposed to do? I can't even turn to the GSC if half of them want me under a magnifying glass, and what would me going to them do, anyway? Ayumu already went to me this morning to ask me to deal with the SRT group, so I have no business asking for work.

"Sensei." I turn and see Yozora moving an open can toward my face. "There you are. You would've had the best drink of your life if you hadn't zoned back in."

"A pity."

Yozora takes a sip from the can. "What were you thinking about?"

"I have to do something to help, don't I? That's my job at Schale, isn't it?"

She grins, setting the can down and stretching. "I thought it was along those lines. There's too much happening to ask you or anyone to try to contain it. We'll have to let the smoke clear before we can see where the rubble is." I don't have any idea of what's going on at all, so there isn't any other option. "But when that happens," she says, grabbing her can and standing, "we won't be completely screwed. That's the Schale guarantee, right?"

"Who are you to be making guarantees on my behalf?"

"Ours." Yozora stands in front of me and dangles her can in my face. "I'm assigned to be Schale's official head pilot. You'll need quick transport around the city, so I'll take care of it." I hadn't really considered it, but knowing I'll have Yozora in the cockpit is reassuring. "I'm looking forward to dropping you in to cause trouble throughout the city."

"Trouble?"

"Oh, come on." She groans. "Semantics. Am I even wrong, though? Even if they were first-years, you would never expect an unknown, haloless adult to round them up so easily."

There seems to be this recurring idea that my abilities alone rigged the fight against the RABBIT Squad in my favor. It definitely helped, but Arona is undoubtedly the star of this dynamic. I don't know what I would've done if they all had the option to spray their weapons at me without a second thought. I wouldn't be having this thought, for one. I feel like relying on Arona's power will become a problem for me at some point, but I won't see it coming even if I'm paranoid about it… "Okay, okay. Looking forward to working with you."

Yozora grins and shoves her can in my hands. "It's no celebration if you don't have at least one drink."

"Isn't this your can—"

"I offered it to you earlier. It's technically yours."

"I gave it back—"

"Drink it." I look up at Yozora, whose eyes have since turned into a calm yet intimidating pair of hawk's eyes. I hold up the can to my lips.

…

Never again.

"Sensei—"

"Here's to a wonderful partnership, Yozora. Good night."

"It couldn't have been that bad!"

Why would I ever trust a CARBONATED GRAPE DRINK to have any sort of appeal to the taste buds? If a bullet won't kill me, a can of that will. Does being a pilot require some sort of ritualistic training that unlocks the proper taste buds for consuming this sort of thing? Is Yozora even a being from this universe?

"By the way, Sensei!"

"What is it?" I stop and see Yozora running to catch up to me. She had been matching my pace from a distance before. "Schale is in full operation starting tomorrow. You'll get a huge influx of requests… and complaints… from students all across the city. I hope the last couple of days have given you a chance to get used to the air, because you'll be flying all around it from now on."

"Any idea of where we're going first?"

After catching up to me, Yozora stops and shakes her head. "Schale is new, and its inbox specifically won't be open until midnight tonight. Every request so far has flown through the GSC, but Schale will have an opportunity to sort out some of the issues while the GSC can focus on repairing the damage in the wake of the president's disappearance." She tilts her head to get a better look at me. "I hope Schale will be the patch that will make it seem like nothing ever went wrong. Kivotos could even be better off than it was before…"

"You're putting a lot of faith in me."

She laughs. "There aren't many other options. But," she says, poking my shoulder, "you'd be a pretty good pick even if there were." She finishes her second can (whereas I couldn't even get through a second sip of one) and breathes out. "I'll get some rest. Here's to tomorrow. Good night, Sensei."

"Good night, Yozora." Yozora dashes past me, dropping her can off in the nearest recycling bin before hiding around the corner. Around me, the place is still lively, but the night is getting ever darker beyond the entrance doors. Besides, this is only one small part of two main areas of Schale, so I'll have to take my time exploring the rest.

And now that I've planted that thought into my head, the impact of today has finally kicked in… it took all I had to not pass out where I was standing. I need to at least find a shower first…

…

Suspiciously, a fresh change of clothes sat neatly folded on my bed when I entered for the first time. It might've been there since last night, but I was too busy passed out on the office couches to notice. That itself isn't much of a problem, but…

What's suspicious is why they fit all too well. The only explanation I can think of is that someone calculated my approximate measurements one way or another. Maybe it isn't impossible to do if there's footage of me on some camera, but then, who took those measurements?

That, or… my measurements are average enough that these clothes work out well. Either way, I've washed up and changed out of my uniform for the first time in my entire two days in Kivotos. Hopefully this hermit behavior doesn't continue.

…

How are those SRT girls faring? I can't help but compare their situation to mine during my first day in Kivotos. Stuck in a combat uniform, nowhere to shower, no type of real comfort at all… and I had the office, for one. They had their tents, but even that's gone now.

I grab my tablet and send a text to Miyako.

How are you all doing?

After a few seconds, I get a reply.

We figured something out. It's not ideal, but we can sleep through the night this way.

I should check on them before doing anything else tomorrow.

…

And when tomorrow came, I was graciously woken by the lovely, comforting bellows of Yozora.

"You've slept through all your extra minutes! Get up before I drag you into the helicopter!"

I won't deny wanting to sleep in, but Yozora's voice jumped me out of bed and up on my feet. I'm too experienced, against my own wishes, with having to wake up to immediate action, but at least it isn't as urgent anymore. "What is it…"

"Two-hundred and eighty four. In seven hours, we have received nearly three hundred requests. We have to get moving early if we're going to get anything done."

Three hundred? With most of those seven hours being too early for most people to be awake? That number's going to climb into the thousands by night, isn't it? How am I supposed to handle that? "You won't be managing all of them, since the officer workers can handle the simpler, non-in-person stuff, but some of these requests seem to be from semi-important figures of some of the largest academies. You'll have to respond to as many of those as you can."

I yawn while hitting a light stretch before looking toward my wall. "Where's my uniform?"

"A couple of workers were tasked with getting it cleaned a few hours ago. I cleared it of anything you may have left behind, but it didn't seem like anything was left, so they should be cleaning just the armor."

"Alright… I'll go wash up real quick."

…

After I finish my morning routine, I return to my room to see Yozora sitting on my bed, inspecting my uniform without a glance at the sound of me entering. "Yozora."

"Oh." She turns to me. "Your uniform was returned a few minutes ago." She stands and lays the uniform on my bed before walking up to me. "Hey, standing near you isn't something you have to willingly tolerate anymore."

"I appreciate your insightful feedback."

"I'm not the problem here." She grabs my sleeve and rubs it between her fingers. "You're fortunate to have the buffer of 'cool person with fighting skills,' but you'll have to remain presentable as a teacher. You know that, right?"

"I didn't decide to be unkempt on purpose."

"I wouldn't think so, but the faint scent of perfume on someone who looks like how you looked yesterday gives off the impression that you're making a poor attempt to cover yourself up."

"This from the person who drinks unbranded cans of carbonated, grape-flavored liquid."

"Your blatant disrespect is intolerable. I'll convert you eventually."

…Sure she will. "So, what about the request? What are we dealing with today?"

"Right. Let me double-check." She pulls a slip of paper from her uniform pocket. "This one is from…" She pauses as she continues unfolding the slip. "A request from the Hyakkiyako Alliance Academy… asks if you will attend the Spring Cherry Blossom Festival."

"Yozora, did you read the request before choosing it?" I'm not fully against the idea of attending that festival, since it'd give me a chance to explore that academy. Besides, I'm sure that request wasn't just sent in to ask me to attend a festival to enjoy it, right? I don't think I've been here long enough to facilitate that kind of honor, but then again, the nature of Schale's position may be enough to attract some eyes. With all that said, I don't think I have the time to be attending festivals when there are other problems to be tending to.

"I skimmed it, but I thought there was something more urgent written here… I don't see anything, though. We'll have to ignore it for now, right?"

"Is there somebody to contact?"

She shakes her head. "As far as we know, this letter is anonymous." We have to make that a requirement if I want to get around to looking at those kinds of requests, but where this one is concerned, I don't think I can afford to look into it. "Yeah, we can hold it off for now." She folds the paper and places it on my desk. "I did bring a couple with me to look at." She takes out another slip of paper. "This one is from… the Shanhaijing Senior Secondary School. You've been… invited to have a meeting with Madame Ryuuge Kisaki from Genryumon, the student council. It has a professional-looking stamp on it too. I hope all of these aren't just invitations… I'm partially glad that we aren't being bombarded with problems, but do these academies understand we don't have time to just be visiting places when we have a city to look after?"

"Visiting a student council seems a bit more important than attending a festival, at least."

"I'm worried there's someone with a crisis buried in these letters." She places the second one on my desk and takes out another one. "From Gehenna Academy, a request to meet with Chairman Hanuma Makoto of the Pandemonium Society student council… are all of these meeting invitations?!" She tosses that paper onto my desk. "And this one… from Gehenna Academy… a letter from Amau Ako of the Prefect Team disciplinary committee to disregard letters sent by the Pandemonium Society… as well as a request to meet with herself, as Head Prefect Sorasaki Hina will likely be unavailable for a timely meeting. It's all meeting requests. I've got one more… this one is from the Filius host of the Tea Party, Kirifuji Nagisa, requesting that you… aid in urgently assisting a squad of failing students. It's not a meeting request, but this one doesn't exactly make much sense either…"

"Could I see?" She hands the letter to me and I scan the words. Urgently is italicized, and while it reads like a simple request to remediate a group of failing students, the language in this letter is weirdly awkward. It doesn't really sound like the students are the primary concern; rather, something that couldn't be said directly in this letter? Besides, I know I have the title of teacher, but I shouldn't look like I have the credentials to teach anything academically. I wouldn't be requested for that purpose, then. "It looks interesting. We should have a look."

"We're going to Trinity? I mean, it's the only one that asks for more than just a meeting… okay. I'll get ready. Roof in twenty." Yozora yawns before leaving my room. I take another look at the letter, my eyes glancing down at the fancy stamp at the bottom corner of the page. I don't know what's in store for accepting this request, but it seems Schale duty has officially begun.

Chapter Text

"This district is huge."

"Trinity's academy is one of the oldest in Kivotos. I think Gehenna's is a little older." As Yozora flies down toward the nearby helipad, I get a clearer view of the whole picture of the academy. It's very bright, to say the least. The buildings are very white, the grass is very green, and even the sky above us is a blinding baby blue. It's like the place needs me to know that it embodies peace, love, and harmony, but I remember flying over some eerily dark spots in the district earlier.

I had sent Miyako a message asking how they were doing, and I received a reply saying they were out gathering supplies and they were fine for the day. It gives me a chance to look at the request from this Tea Party girl too.

With no further thoughts, Yozora eventually lands on the helipad and drops me off. "I'll be a half hour's notice when you need me." She flies off, and I start walking in the direction of what I assume is the academy's main grounds. It's not immediately in view, but my sense of direction isn't terrible.

Eventually, I see a gate in my path, with a pair of shorter students wearing matching black uniforms, complete with a black beret and red highlights. This is oddly familiar to the ordeal with the Valkyrie guards… Is this common in Kivotos? Are there dedicated stylists for their outfit and even their hair? Had I given them ten seconds to shuffle around, discerning whether they had swapped positions would be no easier of a task than predicting a coin flip. They must've considered me a passerby until I walked up to them, at which point they looked up at me with curious confusion. "Hello, sir."

"Good morning." I pull out my identification. "Sensei, Schale. Someone named…" Oh. I forgot. "The Tea Party host requested a meeting with me."

"Schale…?" One of the girls turns to the other, who shakes her head and shrugs. The girl turns back to me. "Do you have an official letter with you? Something that is stamped?"

I left the envelope in my room! I hadn't considered that I would need to take it with me. "I don't."

"Sorry, sir, without proof of an official stamp, we can't let you proceed."

Yozora definitely left by now. It wouldn't be the worst inconvenience to call her back, but we aren't operating on a lenient schedule. Forgoing the visit to Kousagi Park to save time was just enough for her to be able to reach her next destination in time. I'd have a better shot at simply walking back or finding the nearest public transportation, but Schale doesn't get public transportation. In fact, I have no idea where the nearest bus or train stop from Schale is. Do they even move across districts? "I don't mind being escorted if I need to be monitored."

"That would work, but I don't know if anyone is available right now."

"You could escort him. I'll be fine on my own for a few minutes."

"I'm not taking that risk. You know what could happen to—" The two of them turn to the side, and I follow along, seeing a blonde girl sprinting toward the gate like she was on pace to set a world record for a dash. "Look who it is."

"How many times has it been?" The other shrugs, and they open the gate as the girl darts past all of us through the gate. The guards close the door back before continuing, "Which tardy is this?"

"The sixth I've seen, I think."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was expelled. I don't think that new club is going to help." The guard turns back to me. "Unless you'd like to wait out here, we aren't qualified to allow you in so easily." Normally, it wouldn't kill me to wait or do something else, but I don't think I have that luxury. I start to think of any excuse I can use to convince the guards otherwise, but my own mind writes them off before I can make any progress with any. I pace back and forth, stopping in front of either guard before turning around. I'm not making any progress, and I'm not ready to step out of line for something as simple as a meeting. Just as I pick one from my random excuse list, I see a taller figure walking toward the gate. I stop to get a better look, and the guards turn around as well. "V-vice President!"

"Good morning, you two. I noticed an interesting presence at the gate, so I thought I'd come to see what it is." The apparent vice president opens the gate and steps toward me. "Sensei, right? Do you have any business with Trinity?"

I explain the ordeal with meeting the Tea Party host… I still don't remember her name. "Ah, Miss Nagisa, yes? I recall her stating that she wished to meet with you. Shall I escort you to her?"

My ticket in. "I'd appreciate that." The guards step aside on cue, and I give them a slight nod before following the large-winged girl onto the school grounds. "Hanekawa Hasumi, vice executive of the Justice Task Force. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Pleasure is mine." I frown. "Haven't we met?"

Hasumi nods, flashing me a small smile. "I'm happy that you remember me. I was among the students that helped you take back Schale a few days ago."

"Ah, you were the sniper." She nods. "So, what kind of person is Nagisa?"

"She's very formal, and quite the traditionalist. Etiquette is essential to her."

"Sounds wonderful." Students are running, walking, chatting, and even arguing all across campus. Those dressed like the gate guards (and Hasumi, I suppose) had a more structured step, like they were patrolling the grounds, and among the waves of white and red, single-ring halos, I could make out a few unique designs like the ones I've been seeing with students like Yuuka, Miyako, and even Hasumi. I don't really pay attention to these halos often, huh? I don't even remember if Yozora's halo is a single ring or more elaborate like the others. In that case, it may be the former… "Sensei."

My attention snaps to Hasumi. "Yes?"

"I apologize if I startled you. You appeared to be looking elsewhere, and were about to walk into that pole. Let's move this way."

"Oh, thanks. By the way."

"Hm?"

"I haven't really seen anyone like myself. A human without a halo, and a grown adult, too. Is there anyone else like me in Kivotos?"

Hasumi shakes her head. "I don't quite know. You aren't the only adult; there are many older citizens across the city, but none of them resemble you as much as we do. You could compare them to walking dogs or cats by physical features alone. Then, there are the mechanical beings, such as most of Kaiser's personnel. Those are the only groups of people I know."

The only human, huh? It makes this situation a bit stranger, if it wasn't already incredibly so. "Is everyone else in Kivotos resistant to bullets and the like?"

Hasumi nods. "Even some elderly citizens can take a few bullet wounds without any major injuries. I'm not sure how mechanical beings do it; perhaps they just need repairs? It's not something I've really thought about." And I've yet to meet these mechanical beings. I've seen some of those animal citizens on the street while out on the streets, but to think nobody like me is here. Then again, since I came on a weird train, it makes sense why no one else is here. "Thank you, Hasumi."

"Of course." Our walk continues in a peaceful silence, and when we eventually enter a building, we immediately take to the stairs. "Miss Nagisa is on the third floor. We're just about there."

"There was some sort of balcony up there, right?"

"Correct. The Tea Party hosts are able to look upon the academy from there." But how much? Two floors of height isn't that substantial, and I'm not sure what's worth looking at after all the students have gone to class.

Hasumi takes me to the third floor and toward a large set of doors at the end of the hall. A pair of guards (lax place this academy is…) stands there, both of them dressed in white, as opposed to the JTF guards at the front gate. "Good morning, Miss Hasumi. Is this the Sensei we were told about?"

"That's him." Hasumi nods and steps back. "Then, my task is finished. I have business to handle with the Justice Task Force, so I will be making my leave. Until we meet again, Sensei."

"Thanks, Hasumi." Hasumi walks away, leaving me with the guards. "Miss Nagisa is inside," one of them says as they both push the door open. I see a girl sitting with a teacup in hand, her body turned slightly to look at the door. "Please, come in," she says, with a voice quiet enough to disregard but with an air I have no business to ignore. I step inside and the doors close behind me. "You may have a seat. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sensei. Would you like some tea? Some desserts?"

"No need." I sit down across from her. "You must be Nagisa." She nods, taking a sip from her teacup. "You talked about some failing students in your letter?"

"That's right. I'm glad you remember." Nagisa sets her teacup down. "It's an important matter, but I couldn't find the right person to handle this situation. It's a miracle you've come along, really. You may be the perfect person for this."

"I'm honored. What's the job, exactly?" Assisting a squad of failing students. I'm still unsure about it.

Nagisa sighs, closing her eyes and letting her breath escape slowly. "Trinity is a wonderful academy. I expect every student to excel regardless of their circumstance or capacity to learn. And yet, we've had trouble with four students, and no fewer. Your title is teacher, correct? Since Trinity couldn't support these students properly, my final hope was that you would have the ability to properly guide these students to success." Nagisa picks up her teacup. "I haven't had an opportunity to properly gauge your abilities as a teacher, but from what I've seen of your appearance in the media, you have an ability to find success where others run into failure. I would like to entrust you with this task, believing that you'll see something we've missed."

I watch Nagisa set her teacup down. She's a fast drinker. Er, sipper. "I'm not going to deny your request, Nagisa. I must say, though, the only thing I've done is fight. I don't have much experience with teaching. I'll do my best if you need me, but I can't promise the results you might be hoping for." I don't want to talk myself down, but it's better than working toward such expectations.

Nagisa frowns. "Be that as it may, I don't have any other option. Your willingness to cooperate tells me you may be more qualified than you say."

I don't know if I'm ready to manage another group while I've just taken command of Miyako's group, but at this rate, this may be how fast we have to work to fix Kivotos. "I'll do my best."

Nagisa's face lights up. She stands, extending her hand. "I'm glad to have your help. Thank you for your support. I'll contact you again in a couple of weeks."

I accept a quick handshake. "I'll be waiting." At least I have some time to focus on working with the RABBIT Squad. "If there's nothing else, I shall make my leave."

"Would you not like some tea or pastries?" I shake my head. "I understand. Yes, I have nothing else. Have a wonderful day." I turn to leave, but only then do I notice the doors… bulging? As if they want to open—

"Naaaaaaaaaaaaagiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!" With a cheerfulness that can rival Miss Invisible's timidness, a girl bursts through the doors, waving high and charging toward us. "I—woah, woah, who is this?" She stops, turning toward me and dropping her bright smile into a more blank expression, though it seems like her excitement hadn't been lost at all. "You must be… Sensei, right?" I nod. "Wow! So that's who—wait, did you two just finish a meeting?"

"Mika, let's not start this—"

"No fair! I thought you were gonna wait until I got here!"

Nagisa sips from her teacup. "It isn't upon me if you're late to the meeting—"

"Why did you even tell me about Sensei if you planned on having a secret meeting without me? You can be weird sometimes, you know that?"

Nagisa sighs. I hear her under a soft breath: "Read like a book." She clears her throat. "Mika—"

"Also!—"

"Mika!" Nagisa's teacup rattled as she slammed the saucer onto the table. "You're causing a scene in front of our guest."

Mika groans. "Fine. I'll escort Sensei out then, since I haven't gotten to talk with him."

Nagisa turns to me. "I'd be honored."

"Honored!" Mika laughs, running up to me and grabbing my arm. "Come on, I'll take you back." Before I can respond to her, she's already dragging me toward the door. I'm not putting in much resistance, but she doesn't look like she has as much force as she's using on me. Terrifying. "Bye, Nagi!"

Nagisa breathes out. "Farewell, you two." I wave to Nagisa as Mika gets me out of the room. She continues dragging me down the hall, pointing forward with her other hand. "Quickly!" she says, as if I have any other choice. "Let's go looking around Trinity."

"Mika, was it?"

"That's me!"

"Sorry, but I'm rather busy today." Partially true. I'd rather use the time to check on the RABBIT Squad than go sightseeing. That, or I could see some of those other meeting requests I was given. "Perhaps some other time—"

"Aw, but it'll only be for a little bit!" She's a very forward girl, isn't she? I don't know how long she'll carry it if I keep denying her. "It'll just be a quick trip around the school, alright?"

Besides… "I have half an hour."

"Yay! Come on, let's go!" As if I have any choice, with her pulling me with the force of a tow truck.

With haste unheard of to Hasumi or Nagisa, Mika drags me to the bottom floor of the building and rushes out of the building. Half an hour is no small timeframe, but she's running like we've got five minutes. "Nagi's so serious all the time, you know. She was a lot cuter when she was younger."

"Is that so…" Compared to Mika, I can see why she would call Nagisa serious, though I'd say the situation was entirely appropriate for it. As for the second part, I can't attest to that at all.

"I'm way cuter than Nagi, don't you think?"

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it." Nor do I have the desire to.

"You know, I think the cuter one should be the one dragged around. But, since you're new here, it wouldn't make sense the other way around, so this time is just an exception, okay?" What? "I've always wanted to be dragged around, you know?" I didn't. "I'd like to be in terrible danger one day, only to be taken to safety by a darling prince, hand in hand. That would be amazing!"

"Mika."

"That's me!"

"Do you talk about these things to everyone you meet?"

Mika stops, turning to face me. Her face looks more downcast than I'd seen her before. "Well… I dunno. I don't really meet a lot of people. Seia and Nagi always tell me not to, since I'm one of the Tea Party hosts, but it's so boring being separated from everyone else. I mean, I'm also a student, so why can't I go around and make friends like everyone else?" That explains it… "Are you bothered by me? I didn't mean to go on for so long."

"…No. Carry on."

Mika smiles before turning back to lead me onward. "That's right, you don't know about Seia, do you?"

"I don't."

"She's the third host, but she's been sick on and off, so she can't really go anywhere. I'd hate having to stay in bed all day like that. I hope she gets better soon." I know I told her to continue, but I've never seen a one-sided conversation quite like this. I've contributed surprisingly little during this exchange. I've put more focus into the glances Mika and I have been getting instead of trying to reply to her. "Oh, did you know about…"

I obviously didn't, but I wasn't prepared for how varied and elaborate Mika's rambling would go on for. Somehow, we end up at the gate I had entered from, but I can't recall one story she told me, nor can I remember where we had even gone. It seems we really did circle the academy, and though I'm sure Mika entertained herself, I don't know if I gained anything other than getting a decent walk in. "By the way, Sensei."

"Hm?"

"You were on your tablet a lot. What was that about?"

"I'm waiting for someone to pick me up. I was messaging her on MomoTalk." Yozora gave me a terrifying stare when she heard me call it 'the peach app,' so she drilled the name into me until it was word of the day in my lexicon. 

"Wait, you need to add me before you leave!" Without any input from me, Mika takes out her phone and turns it to me, showing the page with her contact information. "Here, here!"

"I don't really know how—"

"Okay, I'll do it!" Mika pushes me into opening my own contact information, something I could do since this exchange went very similarly when Yozora added me on MomoTalk. "Let me send you a message… did you get it?" I hear a ding as Mika's name pops up on the sidebar. It's me, Sensei! the text under her name says. "Alright! I'll talk to you later, kay~?" Mika waves to me before dashing off. "Bye!"

"Bye…" I push my way through the gate and wave to the guards. "Are you the one I saw earlier?"

One of the guards shakes her head. "I just got here. I don't recognize you."

I'll figure it out someday. Not today, but someday.

…

Yozora is waiting for me when I reach the helipad. I enter the helicopter and we take off. "How'd it go?"

"I've got more students to look after soon. A few weeks later, she said."

"You're really becoming a teacher now, aren't you? You'll be seeing the classroom more than the battlefield at this rate." It's good to get the experience, but I'm out of my territory. "Speaking of which, where are you headed to next?"

I could handle the meetings with Gehenna or Shanhaijing, or I could check on the RABBIT Squad. "Did you find out about any other letters while we've been out?"

"We won't know until we get back to Schale. Not like it's worth worrying about when we have other matters to address."

I send a message to Miyako asking how she's doing. I'll trust she's fine for now, but I'll have to go back to Kousagi Park at least by tomorrow. "You said Gehenna was a pretty big place, right? May as well see about that meeting too."

"It's not too far. Let's head there, then."

"Was there a stamp on the Gehenna envelope or letter?"

"Probably. Why?"

Great.

Chapter Text

Gehenna reminds me of the darker parts of Trinity. I wonder if Gehenna has any "lighter parts" that would remind me of the rest of Trinity?

It's not necessarily gloomy, but the colors are certainly thematically opposed to Trinity. I don't know who came up with this black and white contrast, but if those two are the largest academies, I'm starting to get a picture of the structure of this city. I mean, I'm aware it's called the Academy City, but no, really, it is the city of academies.

It's certainly convenient that these landing zones exist out of the way of anything else. Yozora finds one near the academy entrance and descends. "Same ordeal. If you need me, I'm a half hour away."

"Huge place, huh?"

"Quite. It's all in the history."

"You into history, Yozora?"

Yozora shrugs. "I don't know that much. Just enough so I can sound smart when I need to."

Yozora lands the helicopter and waves. "Have fun."

"I'll be back." I hop off the helicopter and make my way toward the academy.

An explosion. Far off, in some direction I can't exactly make out, but loud enough that I could clearly hear it. Yozora took off as soon as my feet hit the ground, so she's not there to confirm for me, but I know it's somewhere ahead of me. I'll find out what it is soon, won't I?

Another explosion goes off not too long after the first one. My memory isn't great, but I can remember hearing exactly zero explosions go off the entire time I was at Trinity. To be fair, it was a shorter walk to the academy, and it was much earlier then; it's well into noon now, so it's not a fair comparison. Something tells me that the timing isn't the only reason, though…

"Someone's there!" After walking for a little while more, the explosions became more frequent, each one louder than the last, until I saw two masked students sprinting in my direction. As they saw me, they raised their weapons and ran toward me. "Don't move!" I stopped, not that I had much speed on me, as the two of them stopped in front of me. One of them dons a ponytail, pointing a sub-machine gun on me (I don't have the clearance to guess what model it is, especially since I don't know the arms trade in Kivotos), and the other, with shorter, blonde hair, points a minigun at me. Perhaps it's different in Kivotos, but that much intimidation isn't very necessary… "We're not gonna hurt you, but you aren't gonna leave this spot, alright?"

"What's going on?"

"I've got you!" Another figure charges in the distance, sprinting forward while carrying some kind of rifle in her hand. "Don't—"

The two near me split to reveal me between them. "Don't try anything funny, Prefect Team!" Prefect Team… so that twin-tailed girl is in the same group as… I don't remember the name, but it's the one from one of the letters. I'll have to have a chat with her, but first… "Why is someone even chasing you?"

"Don't ask questions. Just sit there and let us handle it."

"Tempting offer, but I've got things to take care of." I'll have to get on the Prefect Team girl's good side, so if that involves taking care of these two, let's make it quick. "Could I go, pretty please?" 

"If you make any moves, we'll have to use force on you." What are these two, the police? I can see how someone could be easily subdued between these two, but one of them has a minigun; I don't think much maneuverability is available here. I shift toward the one with the minigun. "Hey, I said no—" As the one with the ponytail tries to warn me again, I raise my foot and shove it into her stomach, pushing her away and leaning my body toward Miss Minigun on the other side. She tries to raise it toward me, but I'm literally within a breath's reach of her, and the back of my weapon's stock gives her chin a hands-on demonstration. I hear the one behind me regain her balance and raise her weapon, but before I can turn around, a shot flies past me and rebounds off her. I turn just to watch her hit the ground as the bullet rattles beside her.

The twin-tailed Prefect Team girl jogs toward me, breathing out as she pokes the fallen student with her rifle. "Hey." She turns to look at me. "Are you alright?"

I nod. "They weren't any trouble."

She glances at Miss Minigun, who is also on the floor. Even if these students are durable, nothing hurts quite like a good metal bar to the chin, huh? "Doesn't seem like it. Thanks for your help. I'd have a lot more trouble keeping up if they didn't stop for you."

"Of course. By the way, you're from the Prefect Team, right?"

The girl taps her red armband. "Yep. What about it?"

I hold out my identification. "I need to speak to… whoever asked to speak with me."

She frowns. "That's probably Ako. One moment." She turns around. "Come in, Ako. Yeah, some guy named Sensei says he needs to speak to you… yeah? Okay. Sure." She turns back to me. "I need to call a medical team to pick these two up." She points behind her. "Keep walking down, and you should see someone else with this armband come to get you. She's got red glasses; her name's Chinatsu."

"And yours?"

"Iori."

"Thanks, Iori." I walk past her and continue my journey. It's impossible to miss the academy even from where Yozora dropped me off, but that doesn't mean it's very close.

So I continue walking…

…

At this point, I would prefer something else happen so I wouldn't just be—

Boom!

Ah. I was beginning to miss those lovely explosions. It sounds like a warzone, but it hardly looks like one. Not that I can call this district eye candy either.

…

Is that shop on fire? It seems to have been thoroughly demolished, but why this specific location in the middle of the block? I can see identically-dressed students (seems this is a theme everywhere) running around and out of the building, but then one taller girl with brown hair catches my eye. It's not conscious, but suddenly I'm crossing the street and making a beeline directly toward her. Halfway, she notices me and holds my attention with what I assume is a curious look, but I can only confirm that by the time I'm actually in front of her. Red armband, red glasses… this must be her, right? "Chinatsu?"

She perks up, only slightly, at the sound of her name. She fixes her glasses and straightens herself. "Ah, it is you, Sensei. It's good to see you again."

Wait. "Oh, you were there to help retake Schale, right?"

She nods. Huh. It… didn't click when Iori described her. To be honest, my first day in Kivotos is a blur, even if this is only my third day. With Arona's power constituting the highlight of that day, there isn't really much else from then that's worth keeping in mind. "Are you visiting Gehenna on official business?"

"Something to do with…" I feel like Iori mentioned her name… "…someone else in the Prefect Team."

"I assume you would be referring to Secretary Ako." That might ring a bell, or it might be in my head, but I nod anyway. "I believe I heard her mention something along the lines of wanting to meet with you. Is that what today is about?"

"Iori said you could lead me to Ako."

Chinatsu frowns. "Is that what she was blowing up my earpiece for? I apologize, I couldn't fully make out her words because of everything else going on, but it's good you ran into me on the way." She turns to someone near her. "I'm going to escort Sensei here to the main office. Can the rest of you wrap things up here?"

"Leave it to us."

"Thank you." Chinatsu turns to me. "Follow me. The office is in another building across from the main academy."

…

Across, indeed. We passed a couple buildings, along with many students walking around on campus. I say walking as a blanket term for any sort of movement, and frankly, I expected to be involved in a fight at some point. "That tension is normal for outsiders," Chinatsu says. "You get used to it after some time."

"That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"I agree with you. I wish we could do something about it, but as much as the head prefect and the rest of us do, it's impossible to manage all of Gehenna." As we move up the building, students dressed like the ones that ran past that explosion from earlier are either lined up standing guard or having casual conversation while walking around. Now, I say walking not as a blanket term, but as the genuine description of how they're moving. It's much less tense here than outside. "Our main office is through this door." Chinatsu knocks twice before opening. "Ako?"

A blue-haired girl sitting at the center of the room turns to look at us. "Welcome back, Chinatsu. Have you brought Sensei with you?"

Chinatsu steps aside and reveals me standing behind her. "Here he is." I wave to her.

"I didn't expect you to respond to my letter so soon. You must have been incredibly busy these past few days."

"This is part of work."

"I suppose so." Ako stands. "Let me prepare you a cup of coffee. Would you like one as well, Chinatsu?"

She shakes her head. "I have to get back to the shop explosion downtown. I was just here to drop Sensei off." Chinatsu turns to me. "See you later, Sensei."

"Bye, Chinatsu." She hurries away. "Could you close the door when you enter? Feel free to have a seat as well." I do as she says, taking a seat across from where she was sitting. A few moments later, Ako sets a coffee pot down with two filled cups of steaming coffee. "Thanks." I take the one closer to me and the fumes immediately wake me up. I don't drink caffeine, but the smell of fresh coffee is always pleasing. "What did you want to talk about?"

Ako sighs. "I was more concerned with you meeting the Pandemonium Society before I had a chance to warn you about them."

Bitter. Black coffee, huh? "Aren't they the student council? What's the issue?"

"Them being the student council is why Gehenna's a mess, I swear. The head prefect is out all day taking care of all of our district's problems, and all they do is step over our progress and double the damage we try to fix. It's a never-ending cycle that we'll never get out of. At the very least, I want to prevent you from getting any close to falling for the chairman's idiotic campaigns."

Her disdain is quite subtle. Are they so bad that she's comfortable complaining about them to me? "I'll be careful."

Ako takes a sip of her coffee. "What are you doing in Kivotos, exactly? It's hard to get any information after so little time."

"Helping out. I hear all of Kivotos isn't doing too hot."

"Hm…" Ako looks at my coffee cup. I apologize to all black coffee elitists, but I don't hate sugar. "It's awfully convenient that someone shows up when the GSC president goes missing."

Honestly, I still question whether this entire situation is a simulated prank, especially given my apparent immunity to explosive tank shells, but being philosophical isn't why I know how to shoot a firearm. "Better than nobody showing up, I'd say."

"That goes without saying. Though I question it, I'd wish less for Kivotos to fall apart." Ako takes another sip of coffee. Have we been here before? "Since I have you here now, shall I have someone escort you around the academy? If I'm not mistaken, this is your first visit, yes?"

I gave Mika a shot, so why not. "I've got about an hour."

"That's wonderful. I—hm? One moment, please." Ako taps her ear. "Yes? …" Ako's face morphs into disbelief. "What? How many? Oh, come on…" Ako taps her ear again, breathing out in exasperation before standing and walking up to the desk. "Apologies, Sensei, I've received word that Pandemonium students are surrounding the entrance to the tower. Please allow me some time to make them disperse."

"Go ahead…" Ako reaches into the drawers and takes out some sort of white ball. She sets it down on the desk and presses on it. A beam scans her body before projecting a holographic view of what looks to be the entrance of the tower. I can see Prefect students, but also students in a slightly different uniform. Those must be the Pandemonium students. "Good afternoon," Ako says with forced enthusiasm. "May I ask why you've decided to be a nuisance today?"

Amidst the crowd of Pandemonium students, a taller student with four horns on her head steps forward. "Prefect Team! I know you've kidnapped Sensei and trapped him at the top of your prison. Everyone has seen it! We've come to rescue him, so release him now or we'll have to use force!"

"I request you to use tact before using force. I don't understand where your baseless rumors originate, but I assure you nobody has been kidnapped."

"Why should anyone believe you? This is clearly another of the Prefect Team's numerous attempts to sabotage Gehenna!"

"Sabotage?!" Ako's hands begin shaking the desk as her grip on it tightens. The hologram of the outside fizzes lightly as well. "That's a lovely accusation coming from you! Name one thing we've done to sabotage Gehenna."

"Why act so ignorant when everyone knows when your marksman was freely tearing up school property during an innocent scuffle?"

"To stop the Hot Springs Department from drilling massive holes on campus grounds?"

"Or when your medic was caught torturing the wounded during one of her so-called patrols?"

"…You mean, tending to their injuries?"

"Worst of all, the head prefect herself—"

"I'd like to see you try to hold anything against the only reason Gehenna hasn't fully collapsed into rubble." I don't know if Ako is trying to tear the table from the ground, but she seems to be getting close. As she continues arguing with that four-horned girl, I stand and walk up behind her. "Ako, I don't think this conversation is doing anything for us."

The girl in the hologram perks up. "Shameless! To think you would try to sway Sensei under your incessant mischief! You're being brainwashed, Sensei!"

"What is she talking about…?"

Ako rubs her forehead, looking away from the hologram and sighing heavily. "Don't ask me about understanding these animals."

"A tryst, under our noses… scandalous." In an instant, Ako and I are glaring at her figure in the hologram. Without skipping a beat, she continues. "How long has it been? Mere days, and already the Prefect Team has hypnotized innocent Sensei and charmed him with unthinkable means!"

"Wait, that rumor could backfire on me…"

Ako rushed back to face the hologram directly. "What kind of nonsense are you spitting right now?!"

"This scandal can't go unreported. You can't hide this crime forever!" I can see Ako charging up another retort, but I'm already rushing toward the door. Ako turns to me with a frown. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"It's probably in our best interest to confront them directly. If I'm the reason why they're surrounding the building, I may as well go down there." I sigh. "Plus, I can't let that rumor go around."

Ako turns off the hologram and walks up to me. "We're pretty high up. I don't think you can get down there before one of the chairman's rumors gets around."

"That's the chairman?" Suddenly, many things start to make sense. I'm surprised there have been no explosions on campus, but maybe there's some level of mutual restraint in Gehenna. "I should hurry then."

"Hah… I'll see if I can distract her." Ako goes back and turns on the hologram. Right before the door closes, I hear a faint "You're still nosing around, you damn—"

I sprint my way down the tower, waving back to one student someway down. It's a blessing I didn't have to go up, but with all the technology Kivotos has, was an elevator really out of the question?

At some point, I see the entrance and hurry to get the doors open. As they do, I see Ako's hologram still bickering with the chairwoman. I walk around it, getting the attention of the chairwoman who suddenly stops speaking, giving me an easy time stepping in front of Ako's hologram. "Ako."

"Gah!" Ako steps back (I don't know how that works) in response. "You made it down faster than I expected. Well… I'll leave it to you." She turns off the hologram. I turn to face the chairman. "So you're the chairman."

"Hm, this is truly remarkable! It seems Sensei is greater than any of us could have imagined! To escape the clutches of the Prefect Team so meticulously, it's a feat quite unheard of!"

"Hm? No, I wasn't kidnapped or anything like that."

She frowns. "What kind of witchcraft must they have employed to have you saying such things…?"

Wow. This is the student council president? She seems like she'd hold her temper better than Ako, at least. "No, I'm serious. I was just having a meeting." Ah. Cut short, too. I was sort of looking forward to that academy tour, since I'd already done it with Trinity. I owe Mika more credit than I think I've given her… then again, I don't really remember any of the landmarks, besides that one big library and that one big cathedral. "Thanks for looking out for me, but I'm not in any trouble right now."

"Of course you aren't; the Great Makoto's presence alone is enough to strike fear into the wimps in the Prefect Team." Oh, her name's Makoto… and I've noticed her odd tendency to bring up the Prefect Team in every other sentence, if not every. Must be quite the superfan. "Now, Sensei, with that matter swiftly resolved, I invite you personally to have a meeting with me. There is no shortage of grandeur I could reveal to show you the true power of Gehenna." Hm. I remember part of Ako's letter specifically asking to disregard the chairman's letters, and I can see why she would specify that. Though, after meeting Nagisa, it couldn't hurt to visit this academy's student council and see what I'm working with. Sorry, Ako. "I have some time."

"Excellent. Follow me, and not to worry; the Pandemonium Society employs the finest guard in all of Gehenna." She and all the Pandemonium students turn at once, and as they start walking, I move back to one of the Prefect students. "Tell Ako about this, and tell her I'm sorry." I start catching up to the Pandemonium group, tapping my earpiece on the way. "Yozora?"

"Hey there."

"I'm about to enter a meeting. I should be back to the helipad in about an hour."

"Copy. I'll stop by ten before then."

…

After what seems like a while, though I don't really have a good grip on time while following a bunch of identical moving hats, I find myself with Makoto in quite a spacious room. Apart from a few students that were already inside, the room was practically empty. "We have much to talk about, Sensei."

"I don't have that much time."

"Of course you're quite the busy person. I don't doubt that at all." Makoto begins pacing around the room, as if she was readying some kind of speech. "Very well. There's a lot we could talk about, but for your sake, I'll keep this meeting brief. It's well known that despite how little time you've spent in Kivotos, you've already proven yourself to be quite the formidable warrior. It seems any student would have to have a death wish to even think of challenging you in combat." Time out. How does the media spread around Kivotos? So far, I know of four people that are aware of what happened in Kousagi Park—those two cafeteria workers from Schale, Nagisa, and Makoto. If not for the first two, I could write it off as just student council figures seeing such media, but then what kind of authoritarian society would that suggest? I don't think Kivotos is that kind of place, but if whatever news station was covering that incident is small enough that hardly anyone knows about it, it would be incredibly peculiar that people like Nagisa and Makoto receive news from it.

Now that I consider it, I vaguely remember someone mentioning that Schale was on the news in some fashion. It would make sense, given the missing president situation seems to be causing major trouble across Kivotos. Or is the situation so contained that only student councils and the GSC are worried about it? Is it really that bad, then?

"…And thus, I see no position more fitting for you than the official guard captain of the Pandemonium Society. What do you say?" Oh, shoot. Was she talking? It doesn't seem I missed much… "With your help, it won't just be Gehenna we'll have dominion over. All of Kivotos will witness our combined might."

"Huh? I can't join your student council. Besides, I'm already affiliated with Schale." I don't know if she's serious, but it's a wild request that I don't even need to consider. Has she even considered how it would all go down if I accepted her proposal?

"I understand. This is all very new, so I'll give you time to figure yourself out." This girl… "Then, I will hold off on discussing the rest with you for now. I'll let your imagination of what Gehenna can be influence your decision." If this is the head of what 'Gehenna can be,' I'm starting to understand Ako's worry.

"I'll think it over." I turn toward the door. "Thanks for having me; I'll be on my way."

"Farewell. Do not hesitate to reach me if you come to a proper decision."

"Sure." I exit the room and look down the hallway. A pair… of students? One girl with red hair, walking with a much younger girl with yellow hair, stops as she notices me. I walk toward them to be on my way, but something compels me to stop just in front of them. "Hello."

The red-haired girl frowns, studying me without saying a word. After a moment, she sighs. "Good evening." She grabs the younger girl's hand and pulls her past me. Huh…

…

The explosions seem to have stopped during my walk back. I hope I haven't already started to drown them out. That could be dangerous for me.

On the way back, I come across the same explosion I met Chinatsu at, and sure enough, she's still there as she said. What are they still doing there? It seems they've stopped the smoke and fire, at least.

I walk toward the explosion and call out to Chinatsu. "Are you doing well?"

"Oh, Sensei. Yes, we're doing fine. Did you finish all your business?"

I nod. "I'm just about to leave for the evening. How about you? Did you take care of everything here?"

Chinatsu shakes her head. "We're pretty certain of who did it, and we've successfully evacuated the workers, but the owners seemed rather panicked about an heirloom left behind in the shop. We're digging through to find it, but it's proven to be harder to sift through all the debris to find something so small."

"Where are the owners?"

"We've transported them to a medical unit to treat a few minor injuries."

"What kind of heirloom is it?"

Chinatsu sighs. "Good question. We didn't ask thoroughly enough, so we're assuming it's some kind of necklace or so. I'm also worried the heirloom suffered major damage, but the owners insist it was kept secure in some blastproof container."

I look into the remains of the shop. A few Prefect students are pushing away rubble and looking around, but none of them appear to have found anything. "I have some time. May I go in there and look for a bit?"

"If you would like, I won't refuse your help." I step inside the shop and examine the floor beneath me. It's not quite like sifting through the forest floor for nuts… actually, that might be harder than this. I crouch down in a corner where nobody else is and start to grab onto the debris. I look out the window (or what's left of it) before tossing the debris out to clear space. Grab, toss. Grab, toss. Grab—

?! I drop the piece I was holding onto and examine my finger. A splinter? I guess Arona can't be bothered to protect me from all damage… I look closely for the splinter and pull it out before getting back to work, albeit much slower than before.

Eventually, I've thrown away all the debris in one small area in front of me, and all I can see is a patch of dirt under the exposed floorboards. I crouch and look around for any weird objects, but there doesn't seem to be anything. I walk back outside and wave to Chinatsu. "Did the owners say where the heirloom would be?"

She shakes her head. "All we were told is that they left the heirloom somewhere in the shop. It would help to ask for more information, but we can't really get a quick contact with the medical department."

Awfully inconvenient… "I would spend the time asking anyway. At this rate, we might all be looking in the wrong spot."

"You're right… I'll have someone do that."

"I wish I could help you for longer, but I'm running on a tight schedule."

"Of course. Thank you for stopping by anyway." Chinatsu nods. "Take care, Sensei."

"See you around, Chinatsu." I take off toward the landing zone from earlier. Along the way, I stop and breathe out. "Arona."

"Hi, Sensei… um, I can't see you."

I unlatch my tablet and hold it in front of me. "There you are! It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too." Arona's beaming smile lights up the screen. "Say, I got a splinter moments ago. What kinds of minor injuries do you tend to overlook?"

Arona frowns. "I don't try to overlook anything that might get you hurt. If you were nicked by a splinter, well… either it was too sudden for me to prevent, or I can't think of how your finger could've avoided that splinter."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's easy to imagine guns jamming or bullets flying right past you, but if you slide your finger across a splinter, it's hard to pretend that it wouldn't prick you."

"How so?"

"Um… for the other stuff, you can't really predict whether it will happen or not, since flying bullets might not always go where you want them to, but if you're directly touching a splinter, it's harder to justify…"

I stop and think. "And about that tank shell that left me completely unharmed after making direct contact?"

Arona's face starts glowing red. "For big things like that, I have no choice but to bend the rules everyone accepts, but doing that uses up a lot of my power. I don't think I could've stopped a second one from hitting you."

"I don't understand how your power works, Arona."

Arona shakes her head. "Just know that I'll try to protect you no matter what. I won't let you down."

We say our farewells and I latch the tablet back onto my hip. I'll think about it later…

…

No explosions. Seriously, were the previous couple hours the academy's daily explosion period? I have no idea what goes on here.

Yozora is already there when I reach the landing zone. Sitting at the edge of the helicopter, she waves to me when she comes into view. "Had fun?" She asks when I come into speaking distance.

"Weird people." As I get into the helicopter, she slides back and makes her way into the cockpit. "I met the Prefect Team and the student council. Gehenna may be in trouble."

"It's been like this for a while. Sure, Gehenna's situation could be much better, but it could be much, much worse. And it has been."

As long as the academy isn't literally at civil war, there are larger problems at hand. "I suppose so."

"All done for the evening? It's not good to be working sun up to sun down."

I close the helicopter door. "I've had enough meetings for one day. Let's see if there's anything else we have to deal with."

Yozora laughs. "I don't know if you'll be wishing for that in a few weeks."

Chapter Text

Yozora slaps my back as she follows me out of the helicopter. "Your first day! How does it feel, jumping into a helicopter first thing and only coming back in the late evening?"

Behind us, the sun hides behind the mountains and paints the sky orange. It's a beautiful view, but I know what Yozora's saying. We'll be walking past this sun a few hundred more times, won't we? "As long as we're getting things done."

She chuckles, dusting her hands and walking beside me. "Once you get yourself familiar with the city, we'll be getting things done by the hour. It'll take a while, that's for sure. You've barely met a couple of student councils, and I've still got to wrap up my GSC duties before I can watch over you 24/7." She yawns, stretching dramatically and pressing her head against my arm. "Man, I just wish we could be done for the evening."

I am more tired than I'd like to be… I step aside to get Yozora off my arm, and she nearly falls after losing her balance. "What's left to do? Do you still have trips to make or something?"

"I would rather do that." Yozora sighs. "The flying is the easy part. Knowing where I'm supposed to fly the next day sucks." She points at me, leaning toward me to poke her finger into my arm. "I was up hours before making you get up, you know that? I left a bunch of gaps in my schedule to account for any district you might want to visit, and just trying to make room for a single thirty-minute gap for you took an entire hour!" Yozora pulls her finger away, closing her fist. "You'll love it when it becomes your problem too."

Oh dear. "First I've heard of this."

"Paperwork. It's amazing." She snickers. "The evening will be your favorite time of day for the foreseeable future, so look forward to it."

Paperwork. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nobody's forcing you, but you'll want to figure out what problems exist and which ones you want to tackle. Remember how we got three hundred requests this morning? It's been a day—want to see how many more have flooded in?"

"What was that with you bringing in a select few for me to see this morning?"

Yozora glares at me. "I'm not doing your work for you." Damn… was nice while it lasted. "We didn't have too much to sort out since it was all new, so I figured I'd pick out the really important-looking ones so you aren't doing odd jobs on your first few days, but eventually, that's all you'll have to work with, so have fun sorting through that."

"I guess I'll see what I'm working with."

Yozora nods. "Some of the staff have sorted out the things you don't need to look at, like really mundane requests or junk mail. You'll be okay." She waves. "While you do your thing, I'll be doing my thing. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Good night, Sensei."

"Good night, Yozora."

…

The thirteenth floor. I haven't been here since Rin's sudden call had me hitting the ground. Yozora mentioning paperwork triggered an eerily discomforting memory. I feel like I've been warned about it before. "You'll keep me company while I sort through the paperwork, right, Arona?"

"Of course I'll always be by your side! You won't need my company if you have an assistant, though, right?"

"Assistant?" Assistant?

…

That's right! I remember Arona mentioning something about that last time I was here. "You'll have assistants from students all across Kivotos helping you manage your workload, remember?" It sounds somewhat familiar. "You'll get to meet so many more students so much quicker this way!"

It's a bit of a strange feeling, too—not knowing who's behind the door, if anyone, and having what I assume to be the entire evening alone with them. It's almost like pulling open a mystery box as I approach the door. "Thanks, Arona. I'll talk to you later."

"Of course! Good luck on your first day working in your office." I place my hand on the doorknob and push the door open. There, I see someone with long, white hair pacing around the room, looking up to observe something before looking down to write something. At the sound of the door creaking, her head turns. It was hard to see from the back side, but a strange headgear pokes out from the sides of her head like horns. She puts on a curious look the moment she sees me, keeping her gaze on me as I enter the room and walk up to her. "Hello. Are you the assistant for the evening?"

She smiles. "Yes, that's what I've been told." She closes her notebook and nods her head. "Ushio Noa. Secretary of the Millennium Student Council, Seminar. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sensei."

A Millennium student. I glance at her uniform, looking down at the badge clipped onto her blazer. Then a bit up to look at her jacket. "Wasn't Yuuka wearing a jacket like that?"

"Quite so! It's good that you remember. Yuuka has talked extensively about you."

"There couldn't be that much to say."

Noa laughs. "Perhaps not. She seemed to be rather curious about a few things, and it's not common to see her that fixated about something. I'm glad to have the chance to observe that phenomenon in person." She continues smiling at me. 

"Have you been waiting long?"

Noa shakes her head. "I was waiting for sixteen minutes and eighteen seconds before you opened the door." Rather specific of a timestamp. "I was given an estimate of twenty minutes before your return, so it appears you're ahead of schedule. It gives us a little time to introduce ourselves and get a head start on our work, yes?"

"Right." I walk past Noa and move behind the desk. "I have paperwork, I'm told. Do I have to go get it somewhere, or…? I don't remember if there was a collection spot downstairs or anything like that."

Noa's smile morphs into one that seems to wonder if I'm joking. "Your paperwork is processed online."

"That means… it's all on this computer."

"That's correct."

I sit down and lay my head on the desk. A new, terrifying obstacle has fallen upon me. "Noa."

"Yes?" She keeps her grin on me.

"I need help with using the computer." It's not like I had many reasons to fiddle with technology for my line of work… in fact, Kivotos is incredibly technologically advanced now that I think about it. Flying drones, holograms, weapons on just about every student… I just accepted all of this blindly? "I'm not sure where to go."

"That's alright. I'm here to help. You can at least turn it on, yes?"

"Um…" I place my hand on the computer screen in front of me, feeling it around to try and find a power button. "This turns it on, right?"

I hear a very faint release of air. "That turns on the monitor."

"So…"

"You would power the computer by using the power button on… the computer, which is the box to the left below you." I look down and see the black box she's referring to. Now to find the power button…

I feel something staring at me. While I continue sliding my hands all around the computer box to turn it on, there's something drilling the back of my head, and it keeps getting stronger. "Sensei?" When did she get behind me? I didn't hear her footsteps.

"Hey, Noa."

"Would you like help with turning on the computer?" I get out from under the desk. Noa crouches down in front of the box, moving her hand to the center of it and pushing inward. A click from a silver button I swear wasn't there before echoes from underneath the desk, and Noa dusts her hands lightly as she gets up. "Oh dear. You appear to be rather unfamiliar with this kind of technology. I'll help you navigate to where you need to go, okay?"

"Is that… common in Kivotos?" I brace myself for a blunt answer.

Noa laughs, perhaps out of pity, though my perception may be off right now. "I wouldn't know what demographic to compare you with. In terms of technology, you would be on par with… the senior citizens."

"I'm not that old, I promise."

"You don't seem to be. It's alright, you're in good hands. Just make sure you're following along so you remember what to do next time." She picks up the mouse and starts moving it around. "Oh, there's a note on your desk. Temporary password? Looks like you'll have to change that some other time." Noa stops, frowning. "Actually, we should just do that now."

…

After a while, Noa helped me make an account (whose password she stored in the back of her notebook; now I'm worried), navigate to the place where all the requests are, and sort between requests I approve and the ones I don't. It seemed like an hour before we reached this point. "Thirty-seven minutes and fifty-six seconds. Compared to the average senior citizen, you reached this point fairly quickly." Noa taps my shoulder. "Wonderful. You're all grown up now~"

I keep my eyes on the screen, but my eyebrows begin to press heavily on my eyes. "I thought I was a senior citizen. Am I a child now?"

Noa giggles. "Not anymore. You're a proper adult."

"Don't patronize me."

Noa taps my shoulder again. "You've done well. Though, if you still need anything from me, I'll be here."

Something feels off… "Thanks for your help, Noa." Noa steps away and stops in front of the desk, taking out her notebook and jotting something down. I turn my attention back to the screen, looking at the list of requests sent in since this morning. Time to have a look…

…

I can't do this.

The first time you do something, the novelty is supposed to carry you through regardless of how dull the work may be. Even that isn't enough to get me working at half efficiency. Spending my afternoon staring at blocks of text isn't going to help me. I can feel myself glossing over each proposal over three times, still not processing the content before stashing it for later. The computer screen seems so much larger now, too… or is my head so low I'm looking up at it?

"Sensei? Do you hear me?" My attention snaps back to Noa, who with her head poking over the computer screen looks down at me. "Are you feeling alright? You appear to have trouble concentrating."

"I am…" I'm not cut out for this. I thought I could magically obtain some sort of resilience to this extreme lack of motivation, but if there was ever a non-calling for me, this is it. Honestly, I may be especially drained from the two meetings I had today, as short as they were. If this is what every evening looks like, it doesn't look very good.

Noa sighs, closing her notebook. "I wouldn't mind helping you, but I believe some people may become upset if someone like me becomes privy to the various crises happening across Kivotos. I can help you in other ways, such as helping lift your spirits or taking care of any menial tasks you may have, but I ask you to give it your all in sorting your paperwork alone."

"I'll… do my best."

Noa smiles. "I'm rooting for you. I'll go make you some coffee." She walks away. Coffee… the second time I've been offered today. I'm afraid I'll be having much more coffee over the next few months. Now I feel bad for rejecting Nagisa's offer. I've accidentally been too unfair to Trinity today… at least helping her out should offset whatever damage I think I've caused.

Speaking of which… I never had time to think about it. I turn myself away from the computer screen, looking down at the city from outside the glass wall behind me. There's a lot I can see, but if I couldn't see the whole city in Yozora's helicopter, I'm definitely missing a lot from down here. Still, I can see some clearly divided sections with vastly different terrains. Is that snow…?

With my eyes finally away from that cursed computer, my mind is free to float wherever it wants. I lean back in my chair and close my eyes, thinking back to my meeting with Nagisa. It's hard to remember all the details, but from what I can recall…

The perfect person…

No other option…

A couple weeks…

…

Urgently?

I think back to the letter Yozora read out to me this morning. I remember the request stressing that the matter was urgent, yet she said she'll contact me in a couple of weeks. Was it urgent that she ensured I was available for the position? That doesn't really align with what the letter said. What's her desired method of contact? Another letter to Schale? Even if there's some priority option for student council letters, I don't know if I'll find it with how many other requests we'll probably have by then. A white lie to get my attention? Even then, I'd expect she'd play up that same sentiment during the meeting.

That girl that rushed into the academy this morning… multiple tardies, and the guards expecting her to be expelled? Something about a new club, too… it sounds like at least the JTF is aware of this group that Nagisa's probably referring to, but what kind of preparation requires a couple weeks when it seems that club has already been formed? I let out a slow, tired exhale. "Arona."

"Good evening, Sensei."

"Do you know of any recently-created clubs in Trinity? Any with a few, possibly-failing students?"

Arona makes a sound of denial. "That information doesn't exist in my database. I can only access public records, for the most part."

"Thanks."

"Of course!"

…

I want to look into it, but that can wait. If Nagisa can spare those weeks, it doesn't sound like anything urgent is happening right now.

Now then, Gehenna… I still don't understand the place. It's even worse than whatever was going on during my first day in Kivotos. The constant explosions are already ridiculous, and if one of them was responsible for that shop explosion Chinatsu was taking care of, what does the district look like with these explosions happening all over and all the time? Well, not all the time, I guess, since they seemed to stop after a while…

Then there's the student council…s? Makoto's group is definitely one, but what does that make Ako's group? "Arona, can you tell me about the Prefect Team?"

"Sure! The Prefect Team… is Gehenna's disciplinary committee. Headed by Chairman Sorasaki Hina, their goal is to clean up the problems across the district and maintain a stable environment, to the best of their ability."

Maybe that Hina girl is why the explosions stopped after some time? Couldn't be, right? They were so far and frequent… though she could've had numerous armies of Prefect students containing it all. The one armband student I haven't met, if the three I have met are the only other ones. "How about the Pandemonium Society?"

"The Pandemonium Society, Gehenna's student council, is responsible for all the executive decisions made within the district. Although it appears the primary academy does not follow a democratic structure, the Gehennan population appears to be chaotic enough to the point where the student council can't contain the entire district under their rule."

Halfway through Arona's explanation, I find myself wearing a frown. "No democratic structure? As in, no vote or anything?"

"Correct. It appears that, in many cases, measures or changes desired by the chairman are quickly implemented within that day or the next."

"What about the rest of Kivotos?"

Arona hums. "It appears that Red Winter Federal Academy follows a similar approach, although the student council suffers revolutions so frequently it doesn't seem any major lasting changes can be put into place. Most often, the student council is led by Renkawa Cherino and the Red Winter Office. In other academies, while there don't appear to be elections to move students in or out of power, there are no signs that major changes are ever implemented suddenly as often happens in Gehenna." Arona sighs. "According to my information, many of those major changes in Gehenna are either so nonsensical that the Prefect Team tries to reverse the damage, or they're insignificant enough that they blend in with the rest of the academy's happenings."

"Those are some descriptive explanations. This is all… public information?"

"Not quite. This is all information stored in my database. I have more than just access to public records. I can track precisely how many steps you've taken with me by your side, or how many flights of stairs you've climbed, or how many hours of effective sleep you get per night, based on your movement patterns while you're unconscious."

"…Thanks, but I don't need you to be my health app."

"I'll still be tracking all that information, of course."

"Hah… okay." I turn to pat the tablet, and Arona smiles in response. So Gehenna is that kind of academy, and Makoto has that kind of power… Ako's words ring truer with every second… and I can take Makoto's claims a little more seriously now.

That's all about today. Well…

I pick up the tablet and move to MomoTalk.

Hi miyako. Everything good over there?

A few moments later…

All good for now

Hm… Miyako's messages are usually completely grammatically correct, and a bit more elaborate, too. A single punctuation mark isn't telling, but why does it feel like she stopped her message short?

A knock takes my attention away and I turn off my tablet, leaving that consideration for later. The door opens and Noa returns with a pot of coffee on a tray, along with a filled, white mug beside it. She sets it down on my desk. "Did you get any work done while I was away?"

I shake my head, which seems to surprise her. "I was thinking about some other things."

"Hopefully this will help you focus a little better." I reach for the coffee mug and put it up to my nose. At least the aroma is enticing; it'll help if this becomes the norm. I take a sip. "It's not black coffee." Not that it looked like black coffee; I remember the coffee in Ako's pot being much darker than this one. In fact, this one is quite nice in comparison.

"Is that your preference? I thought you might've preferred a less bitter profile, so I added some milk and creamer."

"No, this is great. Thank you." I don't know if it'll help all that much, but I can get used to this taste. I turn back to the computer screen, which has turned itself off since I stopped looking at it. I want to leave it that way for the rest of the night, but that's not what Noa's coffee is for.

I shake the mouse and get the computer to turn back on, welcoming me to the dreadful screen of pure text. I take another sip and start reading…

And reading, and reading…

Of course, none of that reading was stored in my head. Just one look at this screen made me think back to Miyako's message. I haven't heard another buzz, but something is still bothering me. I groan, turning off the computer the way Noa instructed me to. "It's getting late. Will you be alright returning to Millennium?"

Noa hums, tapping her pen to her chin. "I don't know if I can catch the nearest train station in time, but there should be enough light if I have to walk home."

"This might be too late to keep assistants at Schale… why is it even this time slot?"

Noa laughs. "I'll be alright, Sensei. I don't expect you to walk me all the way back to Millennium."

…

Wait, that sounds better than paperwork. "I could, though…?"

"…Hm?" Noa looks at me. "My, are you offering?"

"It's nice to have some company at this time of night, right?" It's still evening, technically, but that orange light gets dimmer by the second. It should be completely gone by the time Schale is out of view… except the tower we're in, of course.

Noa grins. "It's a maiden's proper etiquette to accept your gracious offer, isn't it?"

"Er… sure?"

"I'll be waiting for you at the ground level, then." Noa turns around, making her way out of the room. I look at the rest of the coffee pot. The second one cut short…

Maybe I'll ask Noa to make me another pot of coffee sometime.

…

Noa breathes out as we leave the building, and we stop for a moment to take in the air. "Kivotos' night sky is still lovely in its own way. Especially so, since you've gotten an excuse to avoid your work, hm?"

"I'll get to it later…" It's still kind of bright outside, even without the street lights, but from nearly passing out from hunger to beelining toward Schale to meet the staff, I haven't given myself a chance to see the night sky this whole time. "I haven't had a chance to take a walk like this yet." Though we have a destination, getting there quickly isn't the goal anymore. "It might be the only time I'll get to do so."

"Oh? So that makes me your first and only?" Noa laughs. "Let's cherish this walk together, shall we?"

…

A silent walk for us to experience the city night life. Noa hardly says a word to me, and I have nothing to bring up either. Still, the few times I caught myself walking distractedly slowly or quickly, I could notice her shifting her pace to match mine, and neither of us were ever beyond a single step of the other.

I can see Noa occasionally jotting things down or tapping her pen against her chin as she constantly turns her head to observe our surroundings. I hadn't seen anything that caught my eye or even anything I remotely remember, but she seems to be keeping note of pretty much everything. The few times I glanced at her while she was looking in my direction, she grinned at me before turning to observe something else.

The walk to Millennium reveals itself to be a rather long one, and every time I look at Noa, she proves herself to be the same, curious person that's been examining our surroundings ever since. When I glance at her again, she's looking right at me. "You've got quite the conviction for staring, don't you?"

"Uh…"

"This is the third time I've caught you directly. That doesn't count the eight other times I decided not to look back."

"You're keeping track?"

"Of course. It's my duty as secretary to be mindful of keeping numbers." She reminds me of Arona talking about health data… I'm almost curious now. "I believe Millennium shouldn't be too far from here."

Honestly, I haven't exactly been keeping track of where we are. It's been nice to have nothing on my mind. "I haven't visited yet, so it'll be nice to—" Buzz. I reach for my tablet. A notification.

…?!

Help

Chapter Text

"Sense…i!" Noa's voice catches onto air as she stumbles behind me. "Just a… a moment, please!"

"We have to keep moving! I'll drag you if I have to!" I stop and step back, watching Noa reach toward me as if she wants to pull me back. I lean toward her and snatch her wrist, pulling her forward and breaking into a run again. Noa's steps follow a drunken rhythm, dashing in bursts or skipping like a trot. As her steps change rhythm, her grip on my hand follows suit, and I can feel her threatening to pop the veins out of my palm. I take a few more steps and stop, turning back to see Noa's momentum nearly crashing into me if not for her reflex. She stumbles backward as she stops in front of me, pulling me backward with her and nearly causing another accident. "Please… ten seconds…"

I watch her bend down and clutch her knees, panting with her bangs over her eyes. Under the lamppost a few steps behind her, I can see droplets falling from her face, and… now that I think about it, maybe her outfit is half the reason why she's struggling to run. A loose coat, leggings, and some sort of heels? Her steps were reasonably louder than mine, but it didn't really click. I see the odd handgun strapped at her hip; is this her standard attire for any situation?

I step in front of her and turn around, crouching down and getting on one knee. "Get on. We have to get moving."

Noa's breathing gradually slows down. "H…huh? What are you…" She cuts herself off. "No…"

"You have five seconds."

Noa's stutters continue to grow exponentially. "I don't think—"

"This or we get back to running." I lift my knee from the ground and get into a crouch. Noa's breathing has stabilized, yet it still reaches my ears among the low interference of the city. Step… step…

A foreign feeling brushes my cheek as a weight leans against my back, pressing down on me lightly without trying to send me crashing down. Noa's hands rest upon my shoulders as she tries to position herself. I reach down and stand up, taking her up with me. "Wh—is this really oka—?!"

I lean forward and sprint toward the park, readjusting my hands every few seconds as my speed keeps Noa gradually slipping out of my grasp. She slides her hands down and joins her wrists at my chest, and her legs press against my sides just enough to keep her a bit stabler.

I don't think I'm allowed to discuss any added challenge carrying Noa had on running toward Kousagi Park, even within my own thoughts. There wasn't really time to worry about it anyway. Miyako's message…

Help

Nothing more. Every other message she's sent me before has been elaborate, with even simple greetings being at least a few words. She still hasn't responded to my reply, nor has she sent any updates on her own.

…

I have no idea what they're dealing with.

I don't know anything about what they've been up to.

I haven't checked on them since I left them yesterday evening. I've left them for over a day without even a passing glance. Before then, they were fighting off an order by the GSC itself, and if that wasn't damaging enough, their tents and equipment were raided while we were away. I still don't think a confrontation between them and me is unavoidable, but if the timeline had shifted just a little bit, would that disaster have occurred?

We still don't know who did it, nor do we know why. I can't judge whether the same would've happened if this all occurred later, but regardless, I'm responsible for this, aren't I?

"…sei." I turn my head and Noa leans forward. "You're… um, squeezing my legs a bit."

"Sorry." I breathe out and relax myself. Whatever. What's important is getting to the park and assessing whatever problem they're facing. Just a bit farther…

…

Light?

A faint orange glow radiates from the park site, one much brighter and louder than what a single campfire should emit. What kind of occasion prompted such a grandiose blaze? Getting out of being jailed shouldn't be this much cause for celebration.

…Hmph. If only.

My hands begin to slip and Noa slides down onto her feet before unlinking her hands and letting go of me. "This much fire is dangerous… Kousagi Park doesn't appear to be well-looked after, so it could easily spread across the entire field and even into the forest. Honestly, what are they thinking?"

I take out my tablet and go to MomoTalk, entering Miyako's chatroom and initiating a voice call. It's still a while until Noa and I actually step foot onto the park, so if we can get a better hold on the situation now… but she doesn't respond. "Let's go see for ourselves. We're headed there anyway."

Noa and I make a run for the park, and only after it appears over the horizon can we see—and now hear—what's going on. "Gunfire. Along with the flames, this is a rather extreme altercation to be held at a park." Noa sighs, taking out her notebook. "I fear we may have to respond in kind to calm the situation."

"That's fine." I reach for my earpiece. "Miyako can't respond to my messages, but… if I knew what channel to reach them through, this could be easier."

"Let's connect ours together first, and if we can break through and reach the RABBIT Squad, we can deal with it then."

"…Alright. Let's do this."

The final sprint reveals a large group of students crowding around and firing toward where I remember the SRT tents used to be. Amidst the smoke, fire, and chaos, it's hard to tell exactly how the gunfight is faring, but I can't even begin to pretend I see the rabbit girls fighting through this with a victory.

Wait… how are they fighting back? I remember the rowdy pair arguing about using all their ammo. Are they just enduring the onslaught and holding out by some force of nature? No… Miyako had thrown an entire drum mag at my face… which she never picked up, did she? And Miss Invisible's rifle still had a few magazines that I had on me… ah, is that it? Is she their last stand? "Somewhere, the RABBIT Squad's sniper should still be operating. Assuming she's behind the rest of her squad, we should be able to create some sort of pincer formation by attacking on this side."

Noa clicks her tongue. "With one person on each flank, you're asking to be encircled and swiftly removed. If you join the RABBIT Squad's side, you'll be able to push forward without having to look behind you."

"No. Even if it's flawed, the surprise should at least divert their attention away and give the rabbit girls some breathing room. I'm not exactly afraid of a barrage of bullets."

Noa laughs. "As expected of the person who could take a tank shell to the face. I suppose in that context, your proposal is reasonable. Very well." Noa reaches for her pen. "I will be observing their response to your attack from a distance and relaying that information to you."

"Perfect. Let's do this." Noa nods, and I charge toward the enemy formation. I could begin shooting at them from here, but I don't want them to back up toward the camp and press onto the rabbit girls. Noa's concerns are spot on, but that's what I'm looking for.

As I continue moving, I start to get within speaking distance, and eventually, some of them turn to me. Just as they start to process my presence, I sprint faster, pressing them to make a decision faster. Without hesitation, they turn their weapons to me and begin firing, with some firearms suddenly jamming and the others shooting right past me. To think that this huge crowd can't even hit someone charging straight at them? You've got a good imagination, Arona.

I reach for my super SMG and pull the stock back, raising it into the crowd and firing. I can't reasonably take them all out, even with all my reserve ammo, but I don't have to. As long as I'm a threat, I'll get their attention…

"The outer edges have started to circle around you! You have roughly twenty-five seconds before they close in on you." Keeping my fire on them, I start backing up so they have to shift their formation accordingly. If I make a break for it, they might abandon me and get back to the rabbit girls. I don't know if Noa's moved away from that position either, and I don't want to risk finding out otherwise. I'll have to slowly get them farther away, and only then can I make them chase me if I have to. I continue backing up, and they continue circling around me, crowding more toward my back as I continue shooting ahead. As they start walking out of the smoke, it becomes clearer to me… helmets? And… basic school uniforms? So the helmets aren't exactly for protection it seems.

If I'm going to break out of their encirclement, my best option is straight ahead, but that'll lean right into what I'm trying to prevent. This may be more of a hassle than I thought. I turn around once, watching the last group of students circle me and clump around the backside like a tumor. I stop, keeping a closer distance ahead of me but not too close to any one of them. It seems the only weak spot is where I've been shooting, and now that I've stopped to assess the situation, something is off. Circle may not be the right word…

"It's an ellipse! A weighted one, so to speak. They've kept more distance everywhere but ahead of you to increase your time to reach them. Directly behind you is much more heavily guarded, but you have much more distance to cover at your sides."

I turn around and observe the entire circle…ish thing. It'll be four seconds at top speed to reach the farthest edges, and if I take any time struggling, I'll be overwhelmed in no time. I look down, glancing at the smoke grenade at my hip. For some reason, I never used it during my first confrontation at the park. I pull the pin and let the grenade drop at my feet, and it's only a matter of seconds before smoke begins spewing from the can. It's not enough to mask my entire movement, but if I can shave off even half a second of reaction time, that's all I need.

"Southwest! They're least concentrated on you!" I turn around to my left, leaning forward and making a break for it. All I need—

Huh?!

Six helmets charge back at me, and a quick double back reveals everyone else moving inward too. I keep my head down and slide the blade under the barrel out, holding it up and holding it in front of me. Like a rhinoceros, or one of those old bayonet soldiers. I probably look dumb either way. All I need is a small gap that I can push my way through, and if they start chasing me after that, even better. I'll wrap around the RABBIT camp and escape into the forest if I have to. Hopefully I don't run into Miss Invisible.

I keep my focus on the two or three students directly ahead of my path, keeping a solid grip on my firearm. As I come within arm's length, I thrust my firearm forward, leaving a small gap as they dodge the blade. I leap forward, dropping my firearm to one hand, but my other arm is pulled back. I turn to see one of the helmet girls grabbing my wrist, raising my other arm to fire at her before that hand is quickly grabbed as well. I wriggle violently toward one side to try and break free, moving more toward my free hand in case the attention is kept on my firearm. It seems Miss Invisible's strength wasn't a fluke; I can't shake them off no matter how sporadic my movements become. Having restrained me, the rest of the crowd stops advancing as one of them walks up in front of me. "You're a fool, you know that?"

"What are you doing here?"

The girl laughs. "That's a question for you! Besides, don't you know who's holding up this camp? S. R. T." She scoffs after spitting out each letter, pointing toward the fire still burning at the park. "Those stuck-up dogs crawling to the president's foot are finally getting the justice they deserve! And—" She stops, turning as one of the other girls walks up to her. "Oh. Wait, really?" She turns back to me. "You were the one that stopped their protest? Hah! Why are you even bothering us? We're just finishing what you started."

"That's… different…" I feel like they're trying to pull my arms apart. They aren't, but I'm afraid they probably could.

"Oh yeah? So why'd you go and step all over them? You got a thing for beating people up and letting them go?" I remain silent, suppressing a sigh as our staring contest continues. She tilts her head, leaning forward and getting a closer look at me. I can barely see her eyes through her helmet's tinted glass, and all they're showing me is twisted amusement. "Say… I don't remember the GSC being too happy with these SRT girls after sending out Valkyrie to take them down. So why are they still here, huh? You got something to do with that, don't you?"

"…" One word and they won't be talking with me, but I can't really get out of this after spraying right into their army either. The least I can do… "SRT belongs to me. Don't bother them anymore."

The girl leans away, but she keeps her eyes on me. She stifles her first laugh before breaking out into a cackle. "You must be—" The laughing continues on for a while before she regains her composure. "You're kidding! With all your options ripped out of your hands—" At that, my wrist is turned and my firearm is yanked from me. "—you'd dare tell me that you have any control? I'll tell you what you are." She takes off her helmet, latching it onto her hip. Her eyes pierce me like two shining blood moons as her hair flows freely—long strands of black so deep I can barely see them within the darkness. "You're a false ideal. Whatever part of you saw success in your man versus the world epoch? Cling to it. Protect it with your life. Let it drag you down to the deepest hell you can imagine." She comes close enough to press her eyes into mine, stopping just short of physical contact. "Kuroha. Remember my name; for every minute you have breath, recite the one who showed you the truth of your reality."

As Kuroha turns away, I let myself sigh audibly. Very audibly. "So there are still kids at this age who are into this kind of thing…"

Kuroha refuses to turn back to me, only laughing in response. "It's not my place to give you a reminder." She breathes out, only turning her head to me. "I'll give you a little string of hope, another falsehood for you to grasp onto. I'll leave those girls alone for tonight; you've satisfied me plenty. I hope you have a moment of serenity; I'll be there to shroud you within your truth." She turns back, disappearing into the crowd and walking out of sight. Immediately, I get a kick to the back of my leg and I hit the ground, landing on my back with a rough double impact. The last thing I can clearly see are a sky of helmets descending upon me—

A fist lands onto my nose. A shoe is hurled into my side. A sharp pain hits my right leg as I see one of them spearing my firearm into me. I reach forward to pull it away but my arms are quickly pinned to the ground, leaving them open to a flurry of stomps. I breathe in, but the air flies out of my lungs as I take another hit. I can't die. I won't. Arona can stop a simple beating if she can stop a tank. Even so, I can feel every hit slamming the force of a truck into me. I can only see a shaky blur now, like being submerged while being wrestled by a shark. I can't hear much except the internal rattling of my body after each hit. I want to lose consciousness before it breaks, but I can't. Why am I enduring this? Let it end…

My ears open up to the morning breeze… wait. No they didn't. That wind…

A helicopter?

Suddenly, the barrage against me starts to slow down, but I can't tell why until I can faintly see streaks of light growing larger in the sky. Are they getting closer—

…

"…Sensei! Wake up!" My eyes open to a familiar blur of white, purple, and peach shaking above me. "Sen—ah!" Noa closes her eyes, her head dipping down as she sighs in relief. "I can't believe this."

"I…" I feel like I shouldn't be able to function after that beating, but by some miracle, it's as if I'm only a little staggered. Arona… I try to laugh. "A two-person pincer was indeed a bad idea."

Noa frowns. "I should've been more adamant about opposing that idea."

"Couldn't have stopped me." I raise my head in an attempt to get up, and Noa reaches down, holding onto me and pulling me onto my feet. Somehow, I'm able to stand. "What happened? They all left… and then some lights were coming down?"

"As soon as you were apprehended, I started connecting to every available channel to try and reach the RABBIT Squad."

"And you're damn lucky she did." I turn around, seeing the entire squad of four looking right at me. Helmet huffs, adjusting her helmet and raising her thumb, pointing behind her. "If Moe didn't have one last cluster missile ready to go, I don't think we were pulling you out of there."

Glasses grins, her lollipop dancing in her mouth as she giggles like a child. "They were all bunched up over you like ants around a rotten apple. I'm still shivering watching them fly all over—a helmet gang fireworks show!"

"You weren't worried that I would be caught up in the blast?"

Her grin drops as she curls her mouth into a less vibrant smirk. "Extra incentive."

"Moe." Miyako turns to her. Moe groans in response. Miyako turns back to me, sighing and lowering her head. "Sensei. Thank you for coming to our rescue."

"Hold on, rescue?" Helmet's head snaps toward Miyako. "You're acting like they were going to burn down all of SRT. We didn't even have anything left for them to destroy, and—" She turns to me. "—This is still because you decided to play mercenary to the GSC!"

"Saki!" Miyako drops her hand on Helmet's shoulder. "Quit it! Even so, Sensei isn't the reason why the helmet gang decided to attack us."

"Yet we would've had no problem dealing with them if we weren't wasting our time trying to make some stupid tents—"

"Saki! That is completely irrelevant to—"

"No, you need to realize that we can't just accept everything happening to us like a group of dirty, domestic pets! Do you even realize what kind of mess we're in? We've lost our academy, Kivotos' governing student council wants our heads, and we have petty gangsters throwing fire bombs at us despite everything SRT has done for this city."

"That doesn't mean you should get this heated over it. It isn't helping."

"You know what else isn't helping, Miyako? Our inability to do anything." She waves her arms around. "Anything! It's just one disaster after another—"

"Saki."

"What?!" She turns to me. "What do—uh…" Her voice drops as she looks at me. "What… do you want?"

"I'm sorry. This is my fault."

Miyako raises her hand. "Sensei, don't. Saki's just upset—"

"No, Miyako. Saki's right. I still believe it was inevitable that I'd have to stop your protest, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm responsible for the failure of your protest, the destruction of your camp, and the assault by those helmet girls." My body hurts. "I was asked to look after you, yet after tearing down your efforts, I walked away without even checking back once." It hurts to breathe out. "Tell me, Saki. What am I supposed to do? I can't reverse time, so how else can I help you revive your ideals? It's my duty… and my obligation."

"…" Saki glares at me before turning away and ripping her helmet off her head. She walks past her squad, making her way back to the campsite. "Ahhh… I can't do this! It's nearly midnight; can't we just worry about this tomorrow?"

Miyako looks back at her, frowning. "You were just saying otherwise…" She turns to me. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Sensei. Don't worry too much about us—we'll be okay, I promise. This much is manageable for SRT."

"…" I turn to Glasses. "Gl—Moe."

"Huh."

I breathe out. It still hurts, but the pain seems to be slowly numbing away. "You saved my life. I'll make it up to you."

"…That's two favors you owe us now." She sighs, turning away and following after Saki. Miyako steps backward. "Thank you again, Sensei, Noa." She turns to her left. "Let's go, Miyu."

Miss Invisible jumps (into view…? I hadn't realized she was there…), turning back to follow Miyako. "O-okay—"

"Wait, Miyu." She jumps again as she turns to me. "Were you holding back the helmet girls before I got here?"

"Huh? Um…" Miyu shrugs, looking to the side. "I don't know… I was able to hit a few of them… but there were too many… I guess they were slowing down a little…"

I smile. Weakly, but there. "You did well. Good work, Miyu."

Miyu faces me for a brief instant. "Oh—um—th-thank you…" She quickly spins around. "G-good night…" She hurries after Miyako.

…

I feel my legs shake as my body leans backward. As I start falling, a force jerks me upright as Noa's hands pull at my wrists. "Let's get you back to Schale. You need to be treated."

"We were walking back to Millennium, weren't we?"

"Are you serious? That doesn't matter—you're seriously injured!"

"I'll live."

Noa glares at me. "I don't know what kind of anti-tank invincibility you have, but that doesn't mean you're durable. I'm happy that we walked together, but now, what matters is getting you into a hospital bed as soon as possible."

"Are there none at Millennium?"

"…You really want to go to Millennium that badly?"

"Our walk…"

"I…" Noa smiles. "I thought I was starting to understand you. It seems it'll still be some time before then." She pulls me toward her, and I stumble in her direction. She stops, looking me up and down and closing her eyes. "Alright." She turns around, crouching down.

…A reversal? "Noa—"

"I'll give you five seconds." This girl… I crouch down and lean onto her back. She holds onto my legs and lifts me up with her. As she begins walking, the subtle rocking of her movements sends a calming wave through my head. I don't know if she was still talking to me; even that would've been drowned out immediately. My head leans forward and my face presses against the back of Noa's head, shallowly burying itself into her hair. I…

…

I hear a light rumbling. Is that the wind again? At this time of night…

Chapter Text

The air is harsh today. Behind me, I hear a light shuffling, almost like sandpaper. I turn to see Yozora rubbing her arms, her shoulders raised near her face, and her eyes wandering as her breaths are expelled faster than they should be. "You didn't have to follow me out of the helicopter."

Yozora opens her mouth, but instead of responding to me, she presses her lips together, glaring at me with a face I can only describe as, "You're such a bother today." And though I'm not sure why I came to that conclusion, it doesn't feel incorrect. She breathes out, perhaps longer than she usually would, and shoves her palms against her face, exhaling deeply before squeezing her arms. As she notices me watching her, she presses her hand onto my back and pushes me forward with a force I couldn't resist if I tried.

It isn't much longer before we step before the doors to Sanctum Tower. I haven't been near the area since the small encounter where I said goodbye to Ayumu. Come to think of it, that was when Yozora first introduced herself. I haven't even stepped foot since my first day in Kivotos. This place feels so uncharacteristically alien…

Yozora steps in front of me, pulling out a lanyard and pressing it against a scanner by the doors. I hear a beep, watching the scanner flash green and the doors swinging open. She walks inside and I follow her; somehow we've reversed positions. We walk along the carpet before she stops halfway from the receptionist desk, resting a hand on her hip and looking expectantly at me. I glance at her before passing and walking up to the receptionist. "Good morning. I have a meeting with Acting President Rin."

The receptionist frowns at me. "Do you need to follow procedure, Sensei? It seems like a hassle."

"I was told I needed to make some kind of official request."

The receptionist nods, turning to her computer. "I'll notify her of your arrival. You may proceed."

"Thank you." I turn to Yozora, who's already walking behind me. We step past the receptionist desk and head toward Rin's requested meeting point.

Some floors later, we step off the elevator and locate the meeting room I was told about. Inside, Rin stands with Ayumu and a crowd of GSC students I don't recognize. One of them has a rather large tail… and is indiscreetly snacking on potato chips. "—but the attack on Kousagi Park cannot be overlooked." As she finishes her sentence, she quietly gestures for Yozora and me to come over.

"How can we be certain to identify this as a unique occurrence? Notorious as they are, this would suggest the attack was simply another one of their usual bouts of mischief." I feel myself getting more than passing glances as I walk toward Rin; it's like an endless hallway of eyes tracking my movements, only stopping when I reach Rin and turn to face everyone else. "We can't allocate our resources on investigating a basic crime when our efforts are entirely focused on regulating the entirety of Kivotos since the president's disappearance."

"I don't believe we can consider arson in a public, recreational area a basic crime. This does not compare to the Helmet Gangsters' known tendencies to be rowdy across the city."

"Excuse me, Acting President." One of the representatives raises her hand, opening her folder. "I hate to bring this up, but Sensei's involvement in this event does not free us up to worry about some passing case of vandalism. You know that we're still struggling to pick up after the president, so why are you suggesting we waste our time chasing after some kind of side mission?"

Unconsciously, I raise my hand. Yozora turns to me, confused… but so does everyone else. "Do you have a comment, Sensei?" Rin asks.

I lower my hand and turn to the representative that was speaking. "What do you mean when you say basic crime and side mission? I'm not sure I follow your understanding."

The representative taps her folder to the table and rests her hands on her lap. "This behavior is expected of the Helmet Gangsters. Their behavior ranges from harmless loitering to vandalism and destruction, but we've had to deal with all of it before."

"Yes, but this attack was targeted toward SRT. Is that still a basic crime if they're seeking after the president's strike team?"

"SRT is no longer considered a consideration at the GSC's discretion." The representative takes a breath, looking at me with the love child of a gaze and a glare. "We have agreed to let SRT operate under Schale, but we will not assist them after their protest."

"If I may." That voice… Kaya? Everyone's eyes shift to the other side of the table, where I swear Kaya suddenly appeared. Has she been in the room this entire time? She clears her throat and opens her folder. "I don't disagree that SRT should not be entitled to the GSC's consideration and protection due to their own action. However, Sensei's concern is valid; though we no longer wish to associate with SRT, it won't immediately seem that way to anyone else, especially those that have a reason to resent us. I'm not explicitly suggesting we need to respond to this event, but we should not be so quick to overlook it." A soft murmur of discussion follows, but it eventually leads to a collection of nods and sounds of agreement.

Rin breathes out. She adjusts her glasses and clears her throat. "Thank you, Chief Kaya. That was the final topic of discussion; are there any other questions?" A few seconds of silence pass. "That concludes our meeting; you are all dismissed." Everyone begins closing their folders and standing from their seats, gradually flooding out of the room. After a while, only Rin, Ayumu, the short girl with the large tail, and Kaya remain. Kaya turns to me and waves. "I hope everything is going well with SRT, Sensei."

I rub the back of my neck. "Work in progress."

She smiles. "You've seen firsthand what the others think of SRT. What do you make of it?"

I glance at Rin, who is observing our conversation without further consideration. "I'll make it work out."

"Wonderful. I'll see myself out now. Good day, everyone." Kaya turns and leaves the room. My attention turns to the loud crinkling from the tail girl standing beside Ayumu as she smashes the bag in her hands and tosses it in the nearby trash bin. "My bad. I was done with that bag."

I turn to Rin. "This is Chief of Transportation, Yuragi Momoka. Yozora worked under her before transferring to Schale."

Yozora breathes out. "I'm still handling GSC transportation for a while."

I look down at Momoka. "I'm surprised nobody said anything about you eating during the meeting."

Rin sighs. "Even if anyone did, it wouldn't change anything. Regardless, Chief Momoka is still… mostly reliable at handling her duties."

"Well, it seems this is the first time we're meeting."

Momoka dusts her hands. "Hey. Did you like my gift?"

"Gift?"

Ayumu scratches her cheek. "Chief Momoka was… the one who put the chip bag in the meal I handed you two days ago."

My mind travels back to the helicopter ride. Ah—I said I would thank Rin for the sandwich. As for the chip bag… "Four chips. There were four chips in there."

Momoka narrows her eyes. "Dang, I left that many in there? I'm more generous than I thought."

Rin frowns. "Momoka…"

"It's fine, Rin. Are there any updates on Kuroha?"

Rin shakes her head. "We were lost on the first search. There are no records for any student by the name of Kuroha. There are too many students that match her physical description to make an effective narrowed search, either."

So it's some sort of self-given name? I called her out on playing pretend to provoke her, but it might actually be true. "Thanks for trying. I didn't expect much progress if she was going to blurt her name out like that."

"If you come across any other clues, you can continue reporting them to us."

I nod. "Yozora and I will go on, then. We have business to take care of today."

"Of course. Good day, you two." Yozora and I walk out of the meeting room. Immediately, I feel my breaths grow heavy. An electric shock pulses my brain and my vision starts spiraling. What kind of pressure was on me in that room? Yozora looks at me while I hold a hand to the wall to steady myself. Why… why is this happening?

…

A few seconds pass before I raise my shoulders and recalibrate myself with one last breath. Yozora sighs before walking ahead of me. I watch her move out of sight before following.

We retrace our steps to return to the lobby. I try to wave to the receptionist before we leave the building. but my hand lingers in the air as I can't find the strength to tilt my hand. Yozora pulls my arm and starts dragging me forward. "Let's get moving. I'm a bit behind on schedule."

"…Are you mad at me?"

Yozora pulls harder. "What are you talking about?"

"It just seems like it…"

Yozora stops. She turns to stare at me with the bastard child of worry and frustration. "We're wasting time. Let's go."

"Yoz—" She breaks out into a run before I can continue. I can't get her off me, and I don't even think it's because she's physically stronger than me. This isn't the Yozora I'm familiar with.

…

Yozora's helicopter is a prison.

What was previously a comforting box of quick transport now feels like an inescapable cell dragging me against my will. Yozora has always flooded every trip with conversation, often very pointless one at that, but she hasn't so much made a noise as she has spoken a word, like a strict warden transporting me to maximum security.

I can't stop thinking about the rabbit girls. In the span of a few days, I've torn down their efforts, ignored them, and seen the whole of their restoration efforts burned down before they had a real chance to pick themselves back up. What good could I possibly be doing when I've all but ruined the lives of four students, and the entire time, I've just been chatting with other academies like I've got nothing better to do?

"I wasn't a good pick after all, was I?"

From the corner of my eye, I see Yozora's head shift just enough to be noticeable, but no more to make any kind of difference. "Did you say something?"

"I thought I could help just by acting, and yet… the RABBIT Squad has lost everything, and nothing has changed anywhere else. I can't do anything…" I can't even bear to speak about Kuroha and her gang. To be humiliated to that degree after charging in so confidently… is Kivotos the place for me?

Yozora doesn't respond, nor does she seem to acknowledge my statements. "We're landing."

At least I'll have a chance to strategize with the rabbit girls while—

Schale?! This wasn't on the schedule. Why is Yozora landing here? I don't bother questioning her—she doesn't seem like she'd give a thorough answer as of now. As the helicopter lands, I still hear Yozora breathe out over the helicopter blades. As the blades slow to a halt, she gets up from the cockpit and walks up to where I'm sitting. She glares at me like I'm a dead raccoon rotting at her front doorstep. "Who are you?"

I return her glare with an uneasy confusion. "…?"

"I spent all of yesterday flying a self-proclaimed soldier determined to make a change around Kivotos. I could feel that resolve resonating within me with my nerves stripped from my body. Yet, with my eyes open wide and my heart beating loud, I feel nothing. Who are you to have broken into my helicopter and act like you have any right to sit within my fuselage?"

"What—"

Yozora raises my arm and slams it up against the wall of the helicopter, leaning toward me and burning her eyes into mine like two diamond snowballs breathing out a frostbitten fury. "You're weak. If a little rumble is enough to make you fall to the ground, you don't belong here. Not in Schale, not in Kivotos."

I try to shift my arm, but Yozora's hold keeps me firmly stuck to the helicopter. "Yozora…"

"And despite everything…" Yozora rests her knee between my legs, leaning deeper toward me. "You still let yourself sit captive to a mere pilot while you continue to play pretend like you're some remarkable soldier? Is this who you truly are, you so-called teacher?"

I lean to the side, trying to make some distance from this monster, but she mimics my movements and holds her face straight ahead of mine. "No…"

"You can spit out whatever you want, but you can't stop me from holding you here while the city burns beneath us. That's all you're capable of, right? An adult who lets himself be dragged around by mere students because he doesn't have the strength to just do his job."

"…" I've lost everything to respond with. Yozora has me locked in place with more than just her hand; her eyes are holding me with terror alone.

"If you're too helpless to even reply, you're no better than a dying mouse bleeding out on the sidewalk." With her free hand, Yozora reaches behind her and pulls out a pocket knife. She rests her fingers against my leg, holding the blade just above it without making contact. "If that's all you are, I'll have to show you what that's like."

"Stop… Yozora…"

"Stop…?" Yozora lifts her wrist, pressing the knife against my leg while withholding just enough force to prevent a cut. "Make me. If all you have are words, you don't need the rest of your body." Yozora starts applying pressure to the knife, pushing into my leg but keeping my pants intact. I couldn't understand the person before me; I knew something was off about her. Being held like this again… I thought I had time to breathe after Kuroha humiliated me, but Yozora's just like her…?

No… it's not that Yozora's acting like Kuroha. I… I'm the common denominator, right? Did Kuroha see what Yozora sees, even though I showed no sign of faltering like I am now? Am I that pathetic after all?

I feel a sting in my leg. Yozora's knife rips through the fabric and cuts into the same wound I suffered last night. My free hand shoots up before I can think, grabbing onto Yozora's arm and catching both of our attentions. In that instant, I couldn't think, but my body acted without me. My hand yanks Yozora to the side and she releases my other arm from the wall. In the same motion, my arm lunges forward to grip her shoulder and push downward with everything, and a clang echoes throughout the helicopter as I slam Yozora to the ground. Her knife flies out of her hand, rattling under the seat and joining the orchestra of echoes. My heartbeat drowns out the rapid pants leaving me like I'd just run five marathons at once, and meanwhile, Yozora looks up at me with glazed eyes and an unbothered face.

I don't know how long it took, but finally, my heart settled down and I could feel myself coming to ease, seeing Yozora observe me without making any other movements. My hands remain firm on her arm and shoulder with no thought of letting go, but neither of us paid mind to it. When I can hear the muffled breeze outside the helicopter again, Yozora breathes out and speaks. "You've remembered how your arms work. When will the rest of you follow suit?"

"Shut up…" Even though my heart has settled, my breaths remain heavy. "I'm… your teacher…"

Yozora smirks, raising her hand to hold my arm while her shoulder is still pinned. "Oh yeah? Am I due for some behavioral correction, Sensei~?"

"Be quiet…"

"But—" she says, pulling my arm down and sending me crashing against her, "—you can't be so vulnerable if you're going to properly discipline your students, you know?" She laughs, slipping her hand between us to push against my chest and lift me off of her. "You were surprisingly slow to stop me after I pulled out a knife on you. What's wrong with you?"

I press my hand to the ground and steady myself onto one knee, holding my hand out and pulling both of us up. "Haven't you done enough teasing for one day?"

Yozora sighs with amusement, a pleasant surprise from all her previously bothered ones. "I've been on the receiving end for too long. Once your head's back in the game, you'll understand." Yozora palms my shoulder and crouches down to retrieve her knife before returning to the cockpit. "Get it together. We're way behind schedule now."

"That's your fault."

"No it isn't." I sit down while Yozora turns on the helicopter. I didn't think I'd reach such a low point, especially so soon, and above all, I never saw Yozora being the one to so violently keep me in check. Something's changed within this helicopter… and I'm thankful it did.

"You ready?"

I look out the windows. "Ready."

"Taking off for Kousagi Park."

The sky looks beautiful today.

Chapter Text

Respite. After everything, respite is the least I could ask for the rabbit girls. Are twenty-four hours too generous to grace these fighting children?

As Yozora hovers over the park, I see a reflection of my dread. I'll leave those girls alone for tonight. Was this the extent of your pettiness, Kuroha?

"I don't want them to start blasting the helicopter if I get too low," Yozora says, tilting her head and glaring with a disdain somehow worse than what she showed me earlier. "They're so annoying. Get rid of them, Sensei."

"Giving me orders now, are we?" I lean toward the cockpit and share Yozora's view. As clear as the sky above us, I see the helmet rascals terrorizing the park as they did last night. I figured the night would help mask them, but that doesn't seem to be anywhere within their worries. They're really this insufferable, huh? I couldn't even begin to hope to find Kuroha from this distance, especially if she has her helmet on. I can rule out the red-helmeted ones, but that doesn't really help. "Well, I feel like teaching them a lesson anyway."

Yozora chuckles. "That's your job as Sensei, isn't it? Don't let them disrespect their superiors like they did last night, or I'll have to give you some teaching."

I glance at Yozora, but she's clearly giving it her all to keep her eyes away from me. "What are you talking about?"

"…Alright, I'll drop you farther away so they don't see us. Got a plan?"

This brat. Answer my question, damn you. "If I charge them, the same thing will happen. I need a new angle of attack."

"Hmph. You're in luck; did you ask for a Schale-certified special super cluster missile?"

"Uh…" I watch Yozora giggle to herself after blurting out… whatever she said. "No, but sure. Does this thing really have that?"

Yozora stares at me, grinning and shaking her head. "Nah. This is a transport heli. No angle of attack here, unless you want me to dive into their group."

"…" I don't have many options. Not only have I lost both my smoke grenade and the subtle cloak of night, I haven't gained any new options. Honestly, I don't think I can take this fight.

Hm…

"Let's fly around and get to the RABBIT Squad."

Yozora tilts her head. "Are you planning to make some sort of siege by joining them?"

We haven't tried that option, but considering RABBIT Squad's firepower here is like factoring the ants when weighing a cargo ship. It's no better than charging in from behind; even worse, in fact, that they can surround the five of us with ease that way. "New plan. Let's at least get the rabbits out of there so we can think about it elsewhere. They shouldn't have much to transport." Oh, yikes. That's a certainty, isn't it? They're living like nomads without the traveling part. So… homeless, I suppose, is the more accurate description.

"Sounds good. Let's move around." Yozora begins steering away to circle around the park. I take out my tablet. "I'm going to inform them."

"Sure."

I open MomoTalk and navigate to Miyako's chatroom.

Miyako, my pilot is coming to get you guys so you can escape the helmet gangsters. Can you prepare for takeoff in…

"How quickly can you get down there?"

"A minute or two."

…two minutes?

"We're over the forest where I'm guessing they're hanging out. I can descend and drop the rescue ladder, but if those helmet kids notice us, we'll be in trouble."

I look down at the rowdy bunch. Their attack feels strangely different from the one they launched last night. As if this one is… less spiteful? Perhaps it's to say this one is more… taunting?

"Bring me down."

Yozora looks at me. "Huh? Why?"

"I'll have a little chat with them."

She frowns. "But…"

"Nah." I scan the crowd, but I don't see any hints of Kuroha. Again, not that I would be able to identify any, but if there was any kind of distinction, that would be nice… "I don't think they'll jump after me if I don't attack them. Just land me." I feel like that isn't true, but I'll have to find a way out if it comes to it…

Yozora sighs. "Preparing for descent."

I look back to my tablet, checking if Miyako responded to my message.

That's much too short of a notice, Sensei. Besides, what would we do about our own helicopter?

Ack, Moe's cluster missile machine. Where do they even keep that thing? There's no way this park is so expansive there's a landing zone I haven't seen, because I'm very suspicious of it. Well, it did save my life, so it gets a pass for now.

Moe can pilot it. Just have her follow us until we have somewhere safe to land.

We'll need a little more than a couple minutes.

That's fine. Just get in as fast as you can. We're landing soon.

"I'm sure they can see the heli by now." Yozora exhales dramatically as she continues descending the helicopter. "If they throw anything or shoot any sort of missile at us, I'm pulling up immediately."

"Just keep going down."

"You got it, boss." I can see clearly the state of the RABBIT Squad's… second camp? And can it even be called that anymore? The lost camp, one could say. Habitable would be laughable sarcasm. The helmet gangsters gradually stop attacking the ruined campsite as they take note of us going down; and speaking of which, we're pretty low, and only now did some of them start to catch on? Are some of these girls lacking in spatial awareness that much?

"Landing in a couple seconds." Ah, the ground. It's been a while since I've been near it. What, half an hour? As the helicopter slows to a stop, Yozora looks more worn out than I've ever seen her. "Go for it."

I press down on Yozora's head. "Thanks. I'll be back shortly."

"Never do that again." Yozora swats my hand away, scratching the area I made contact with her. That's the last thing you'd say if that's what you wanted, dear pilot. I wave and jump out of the helicopter, stumbling as my legs hit the grass in a weird, two-one step. The majority of the group turns to me as they see me approach them. I hold my hands up by my head, waving with one of them as I continue pressing forward.

After some time, I gauge an appropriate speaking distance and put my hands down. "Hey. Is Kuroha with you?"

A select few shake their heads while most of them don't bother with a response. "We're, like, a sub-group," one of them says. "We don't know anything about what she's up to, really."

Huh. I thought Kuroha and her gang of helmet freaks were all there was, but what does that girl mean by a sub-group? How many of these helmet people are there? "So none of you were with Kuroha at Kousagi Park last night?" A few more heads shake than before, but again, not a single one nods. There goes any chance of asking Kuroha anything… then again, I should've expected she'd remain strangely mysterious as she tried to be last night. Now I'm worried that she's harder to reach than I hoped she would be, and all that talk from last night was genuine. Not entirely genuine, I'm sure, but it doesn't seem to be entirely in my head. "Thanks anyway." I wave and turn around.

"Wait," one of them says. I turn back around. "Aren't you Sensei?"

"What about it?" Suddenly, the crowd begins turning and looking amongst one another. Did Kuroha leave them with a message about me? I get the feeling I should be ready to turn tail. Why were they slow to recognize me, though? Maybe word about Schale and me doesn't get around much, but I remember Hasumi noting that there shouldn't be anyone else like me, so why am I still this obscure as a personality? Whether that's in part due to how news spreads or whether these girls are even receiving such news is beyond me, but the more I run into people that don't recognize me (which, as I continue to think about it, seems to be most people), the more I start to grow suspicious about it. I don't particularly want to be some kind of celebrity, but if the GSC is so influential, and Schale is a branch of the GSC that became prominent right after the president's disappearance, why do I feel like thinking of fixing Kivotos on a grand scale is a far reach? I started to worry that I wasn't doing enough with how slow I've been moving these past couple days, but to be honest, isn't that all I can manage in such a small time frame?

Ah. Kuroha was right, wasn't she? I've been thinking too highly of myself, haven't I? Between trying to be some grand schemer ready to clean up the entire city and charging into an entire concert audience of students just because Arona shielded me from a tank shell once, when did I develop this confidence? I don't think I'm one to usually doubt myself, but in this case, doubt seemed like an idea so foreign that I felt like some kind of… hero? When did this begin?

…

Didn't I tell myself I would become more than a soldier? Someone capable of more than I could imagine thanks to Arona? As if I believed in some… some miracle where I was invincible with Arona's power.

A dreaming fool. That's what I've been. That's what Kuroha saw in me. That's what Yozora saw me become. But then, what did she see in me before? Someone who was determined, even though I was still working toward the same dream I chastise myself for now? What was different about then? All I was doing was visiting a couple academies to answer their letters. And that was it.

That… was it. Is that what it is? It's not that what I did was "all that was," but "all that was" is… all I need to worry about. All that about this being this while that is currently that is just a waste of brain space, isn't it? Whatever I've got going on now is enough to be worth all my attention; whatever else I have to deal with can come later. Is that the drive you were looking for?

"Hey." My attention returns to reality, where one of the helmet girls is standing a few steps in front of me. A few make a rough trail behind her while the majority of them remain where they were. "What's up with you?"

"Sorry." I blink a few times and shake my head. "Did you need something?"

"Um…" She looks at me, looks around at the mess around us, then looks at me again. "Aren't you going to, um, attack us or something?"

I frown. "Why would I do that?"

"We were told you would charge at us if we tore up the park… or something like that. Something like… 'bring the hero to his knees.' Ugh, that's kind of cringe, actually." She tilts her head; I can imagine her raising her eyebrow too. "You're not supposed to be that hero, are you?"

"I did not give myself that nickname." Wait. No, I just did. Mm, I'm not saying that out loud though. "Blame Kuroha for that nickname."

She frowns. "Well… we were prepared to have to fight you, but… is there any point?"

I partially expected that these helmet girls would charge me regardless of whether I provoked them, but now I'm concerned I could've saved myself a beating if I tried to get their attention peacefully the other night. Seems that's another consideration for next time. "I don't want to fight you. If you think I'm upset about you trashing the park, well…" I sigh. "Yes, I don't like it, but I'd be wasting my time fighting you over it. I'd like to ask that you try to clean up after yourselves, but that's all I can do." I step to the side. "Ah, can you send Kuroha a message?"

"Hm?"

"Tell her… thanks. Don't bother with why, I feel like she'd know." I wave to the larger crowd behind her and turn around. "Stay out of trouble." I walk away.

…

Yozora's helicopter is empty… save for Yozora, of course.

"Where are the rabbit girls?"

"Uh…" Yozora laughs with a lingering uncertainty. "They figured they could all fit in their own helicopter, so they had no reason to be in mine. They're waiting to see me in the sky."

I open the pilot door and take a seat beside her in the cockpit. "Fair enough. I wasn't really thinking of that earlier."

Yozora glances at me, her smile laced with confusion. "You usually sit in the cabin. Something going on?"

I shake my head. "Thought I'd enjoy the view." I look back at her. "It's easier to talk to you up here as well."

She blinks. "Huh. Alright." She starts messing with the buttons; I couldn't explain what she was doing if I was given a thousand years to do so. "Taking off for Schale."

"Do they have a place to land?"

"Eh. Landing zone is large enough, so long as we're careful." Moe… careful… "So—"

"Uh, make sure you let them land first, okay?"

Yozora frowns. "Okay. So, earlier, I was kidding about being behind on schedule so you'd get a move on, but I do have to leave once I drop you off. Don't get into any more trouble, alright?"

"What could possibly happen while I'm at Schale?"

She sighs. "That's what I'm hoping for. Alright, let's go."

…

"Hey, Yozora."

"Hm?" Yozora remains focused on the air ahead of us, though she leans toward me to signal her attention. "What's up?"

I rub my forehead, looking ahead with a quarter of the enthusiasm I'd show to the floating rock under Schale. I haven't visited that in some time, actually… "Thanks."

"Sure, you're welcome. For what?"

"For stabbing me earlier."

…After a brief few seconds of silence, Yozora lets out a partially stifled laugh. "That's a thought. You have a thing for that?"

"No, I—" I breathe out. "You getting upset at me. It helped me understand something."

Yozora raises her hand, pressing a fist into my shoulder. "Care to explain anything or will you remain cryptic and keep making me poke your hornet's nest?"

Okay. I reach over and squish Yozora's head down again. "You made me realize I was being stupid. I'll be the person you remember I was before, but I'll be even better than that."

"That's wonderful, now please remove your hand." I ruffle her hair before taking my hand off. "Tch… so, what can I expect from you? No more urgent signals near midnight to come pick up a half-dead Sensei?"

What. Who sent that signal? Did Noa somehow find a channel to connect all the way to Schale? I'm pretty sure there's a secure protocol that connects long distances like that, so what could it have been? Arona? "I'm hoping so. But if I can't help myself…"

"No." Yozora fumbles with her head, messing around for a moment before fixing it. "I don't want to see that again."

"…" I look at Yozora. She remains focused ahead of her… somewhat. "Okay. No more of that, I promise."

"Somehow I don't believe that."

"Nah. I'll be too strong to be in a state like that again."

Yozora laughs. She appears more vibrant than before—was she losing color in her face? "I'm looking forward to seeing you, super soldier."

…

Good thing I warned Yozora to land second.

"Did she forget I have to land too?" Yozora groans with disregard for her voice, turning her head back and forth while she tries to analyze the field for a good landing spot. "Ah… I feel like it would be better to get low enough for you to jump for it."

"If you hover around that corner—"

"I'm kidding." Yozora's groan softens into an exasperated sigh. "Wait. I should've landed first since I have to leave anyway."

"Oh, good point." Somehow, I feel like Moe would still pose a threat even if we told her to hover while Yozora drops me off. "I'll let them know."

After a while, the RABBIT Squad's helicopter pulls up, allowing Yozora to land and stop. "Destination reached. I'll be back later."

I slide out of the cockpit. "Thanks. Take care, pilot." Yozora salutes before taking off. Soon after, the rabbit helicopter descends onto the landing zone. As the blades come to a stop, the girls start filing out of the cabin. "You just had to take us here, huh? Decided to turn us in for good or what?"

"Give it a break, Saki." Miyako waves her hand. "Nothing bad is happening. This is probably just the first place Sensei thought of."

"The GSC isn't here, you know." I clear my throat. "Schale and Sanctum Tower aren't the same place."

"See?" Miyako sighs. "You always overthink everything Sensei does."

"No, you underthink everything he does." Saki closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "You'll be in trouble if you don't start thinking things through a little more."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Miyako turns back to me. "Do you have a plan, Sensei? Are we going to wait here until the helmet gangsters leave?"

I take a moment to observe the rabbit girls. I don't understand… they appear so broken. I can tell they've been barely getting by within the park and forest, living as rogue students at risk of detrimental attacks with no effective means to fight back… which they learned the hard way, twice. Really… "What's the point?"

They all stare at me confusedly. "I'm sorry, Sensei?"

"SRT… why do you still bother? Don't you think you're chasing a long lost dream?"

"What…" Miyako's face shifts into a terrified disbelief. "What are you saying, Sensei? Do you not believe in our efforts?"

After realizing what was wrong with myself, I've started to have doubts about SRT. After what Saki said last night, too… I'm painting an ugly picture in my mind. "That's not it. I admire your heart, but is it properly guiding you? Is that light you envision truly the end of a tunnel, or is it the glow of a violent pool of lava ready to incinerate all you've worked to achieve? Isn't that what Saki said? The GSC doesn't care about you, and those helmet gangsters are just one group of who knows how many that aren't fond of you either. Is such a hill worth scaling if you don't even have a vision of the top?"

"Hey." Saki adjusts her helmet. "Don't fault me for your own disapproval."

"No, it's not that." I can see it now. Something is coming back to me…

Elite students… all across Kivotos…

A personal strike team…

"Listen." I wave behind me, showing off Schale's full might (mostly carried by the skyscraper-like appendage that does nothing other than waste my time when I want to reach my office) and attempting to stand tall. It helps that these girls are all shorter than me. "I see you, SRT. You want to remain the best of Kivotos. You want to prove you've earned your title. But you can feel you've run around for too long just trying to pick yourselves back up when your duties await you, right?" I can see their doubt slowly moved by my praise. "This isn't your destiny. Fated to endlessly suffer within the park like you're barely trying to get by isn't what SRT is supposed to be." I feel myself grinning widely; it's come together almost perfectly, no? "Schale was built to do what SRT did before; moving around this broken city and repairing it with our own hands. Don't you want to get back to what you're supposed to do?"

"Sensei, we—" Miyako stops herself. She turns around. "What do you all think?"

Saki makes another contribution to her daily quota of frustrated sounds. "Sounds better than what we've been doing, I guess."

Moe shrugs. "Will we get to blow anything up?"

"More likely than if you're stuck at Kousagi Park."

"Good enough."

Miyako turns to Miyu. "And you, Miyu?"

Miyu jumps, as if she herself forgot she was there. Frankly, I also momentarily forgot she was there, but that was partially because she hid behind everyone else. "Um… if everyone else is okay with it… I'm okay with it too…"

Miyako turns back to me. "We'll accept your proposal, Sensei. However." She glares at me, but not out of malice, or so I tell myself. "Just because we're helping Schale doesn't mean we're giving up on SRT. If Schale will help us protect what we've been fighting for, it's a worthwhile mutual benefit, but SRT is where we truly belong."

"That works." I extend my hand. "Can I welcome you aboard, rabbits?"

Miyako takes my hand. "We're with you, Sensei."

Now I see who I'm meant to be. I don't need to be so blind, I've got some extra eyes with me now. My grin starts to fade as our handshake ends. "Okay, now you all need to get inside and freshen up. Off to the showers you go; I'll handle the rest in the meantime."

Their response makes me wonder whether all that about staying true to SRT holds any weight.

"Finally…!"

Chapter Text

"…Okay, here's their cards." The worker slides four lanyards across the counter. "The four of them are now officially registered as members of Schale."

"That's great." I grab onto the lanyards and wrap them around my wrist. "Do I have to visit you every time I want to register anyone to Schale?"

She shakes her head. "You'll want to visit me for ID cards, but you should have the clearance to register anyone to Schale at your discretion."

"Huh…" I hope it isn't something I have to mess around with on the tablet. I'll have to ask Yozora about it later. "Thanks for your help." She flashes a grin before I walk away. After scrambling around the building to find a way to get the rabbit girls an official designation apart from SRT, I finally ran into the admin office. With the technical stuff out of the way, I can worry about getting the rabbit girls back on their feet.

…Calling them the RABBIT Squad, rabbit girls, whatever, is kind of a hassle. I need to come up with a shorter nickname soon.

After asking around, I find out which set of rooms they were directed to. I give each of their rooms a couple knocks, but nobody answers. I try the knob, and it turns too easily for a supposedly locked one. "I'm entering…" I push forward and open to an empty room. A messy arrangement of tactical wear rests on the bed, but there's nothing else in the room. Not that they had anything else to bring, but where are they?

I try another turn of asking around, but I can't get a solid answer as to where they ran off to. It's been too long for them not to be done with the showers, but where else would they be?

I turn on my tablet.

Where are you all?

Seconds later…

We visited the cafeteria.

I should've figured. With shelter accounted for, food is all that's left, huh? Now… where's the cafeteria?

…

Thankfully, asking around a third time was helpful for that case.

The student behind the counter waves to me. "Good afternoon, Sensei."

I wave back. "Hey there."

I step into the dining area and see a large, sporadic assortment of students walking around, eating, chatting, and working. It's a perfectly calm, uplifting atmosphere that would've done numbers for me if it was open when I was starving a few days ago.

And speaking of starving…

"There you are." Among the sea of walking heads and halos (which reminds me, I should start paying attention to those), four pairs of rabbit ear headpieces poke out within the hall. Navigating the crowd, I finally make my way to their booth. The group are enthusiastically eating away: Saki and Moe sit at the edges of the booth, cleaning their plates like a top-rated vacuum while Miyu sits hidden in the center, chewing quietly and laser-focused on the table. Miyako is in the middle of setting down her spoon and finishing what seems to be her last bite. "Enjoying yourselves?"

"Sensei!" Miyako snatches a napkin and starts wiping her face. "Hello."

"You four look better than ever. More so that you've had real food to eat. Feels good, doesn't it?"

Saki holds a fist to her mouth as she quickly gets down the rest of her bite. "You had all of this and were still starving to death when we first found you?"

"Wasn't open that day." I frown at their plates. Empty plates. "I didn't think you'd just be allowed to eat here."

Miyako takes a breath as she sets down her glass. "After giving them our names, we were allowed in for being members of Schale; that's what they said."

That was faster than I expected it to be. I just registered them minutes ago—I thought it would take some time before everything was processed. "Speaking of which, hold onto these." I extend my arm and pull off the lanyards coiled around it. "You're now officially working under me as Schale operatives."

Moe pulls a fork out of her mouth. "That supposed to be an honor?"

"Yes." I slide Moe's lanyard sharply against her plate. "Welcome aboard, Kazekura Moe."

She slides the lanyard onto her lap. "Whatever."

I step back. "I'll let you all enjoy your meal. Miyako, give me a notice when you're all done. In the meantime, I'll be working in my office." I give them a wave and turn away. Well… I don't particularly want to do office work, but I can't run from it forever, especially now that I've let the rabbit girls depend on me to relive SRT through Schale.  I've given myself an unfortunately tedious responsibility, but… if I can't handle this much, I can't call myself Sensei, right?

…

Forget it.

Sure, I'm obligated to do this, and regardless of whether I want to, I'll power through it somehow, but what cruel mistress deemed this a necessary process in helping Kivotos? I understand why Noa was hesitant to look through the letters for me, but beyond that, I somehow feel like I wouldn't mind letting someone else decide what to do for the day. If I'm going to have to take care of everything eventually, the order isn't terribly important, right?

Knock, knock.

Hm? Is today's assistant already here? It's not well into the afternoon; what kind of schedule is this? "Come in." The door opens, revealing Miyako, fully kitted in her tactical wear, entering the room. "Miyako?" I don't remember hearing a buzz from my tablet. "What brings you here?"

Miyako closes the door behind her. "Good afternoon, Sensei. I wanted to have a word with you."

"Sure." I turn my attention away from the computer (not that this is a rare occurrence). "Did you need something?"

"I—" Miyako clears her throat. "Actually, let me preface this first. Sensei, I'm grateful for what you've given us. No matter what Saki or Moe or even I may say about you, you blessed us with the chance to feel like normal students again. It was our first real shower and real meal in days during a time where we were ready to accept not returning to that life for months or even years. In any other scenario, we would be fools not to wholeheartedly accept ourselves as members of Schale." She sighs. "You remember I said we would remain true to SRT, right?"

"Yeah, that was… an hour ago, I think. Maybe two."

Miyako nods, frowning with what I have to assume is regret. "I'm worried that… if we allow ourselves to remain part of Schale, we'll inevitably forget who we're supposed to be. I accepted your proposal because… your words, they moved me. Even behind me, I could tell the others were intrigued by your offer, so I thought I had no choice but to go along with it." Miyako's eyes shift to the side. "I, too… wanted that. It was selfish of me, but it sounded lovely…" Miyako closes her eyes and takes a breath. "That's more of a reason why I have to tell you this, and I know I've forgotten this as well. SRT… we were taught discipline. I knew there was more to us holding our ground at Kousagi Park, but I admit it started to slip my mind as everything began falling apart. That doesn't excuse us, of course, but now that I remember, it's only right we honor it. The selfish half of me wants to indulge completely within the confines of Schale, but I know the four of us would see the day where we would call ourselves Schale before we called ourselves SRT." Miyako shakes her head. "I hope you understand, Sensei. We'll answer your call when you need us to help you around Kivotos, but I feel like we belong at the park. That's what we're expected to do as students of SRT."

Miyako looks at me with an earnestness akin to a child begging her parents to let her visit the candy shop down the street. It's difficult to believe that the rabbit girls are… first-years? I remember the office worker telling me so when I was getting their cards printed. I couldn't believe how young this group of fighters were; I'd have guessed they were on their way to becoming third-years. Well… maybe Saki and Moe's antics suggested otherwise. Never mind, I can believe it. Still, where Miyako's proposal is concerned, how brutal were the expectations and regulations at SRT? I understand where she's coming from; complacency is dangerous, but is it too much to afford a little bit of pleasurable balance? It's not like you're expected to perform worse if you're allowed the chance to experience some level of rudimentary happiness; in fact, that in moderation is beneficial, no less. The time for lockdown training may come for these students, but now is much too soon. I sigh as my brain processes this consideration, and I look up to give Miyako my reply. "Denied."

Miyako's head jerks back, as if she had watched my head fly off my body. "Wh—what?"

I shake my head. "You will remain a part of Schale. Have you considered the immediate issues of doing such a thing? Your squadmates won't be very happy if everything promised here is suddenly stripped away."

Miyako blinks like the thought had never crossed her mind. "That may be so, but—"

"Another thing." I rest my chin above my hands. "If you let yourselves remain at the park for those helmet gangsters to continue harassing you, it becomes a problem for me to have to come clear them out. We've seen twice that you aren't properly equipped to handle them; you can call it your own suffering all you want, but this is a matter beyond just yourselves."

"Still… I don't want to lose SRT…" Miyako's breathing starts to become visibly uneven; it's obvious she's having trouble coming to a solid conclusion. In a battle between her ideals of what's right and the logic of my authoritative guidance, what will this brave student decide for her and her team?

After a while, Miyako's breathing settles as she seems to come to a conclusion. She closes her eyes and holds a hand to her vest, holding the pose while she looks to be observing her inner vision. When she opens her eyes, she's looking at me with confidence. "I trust you, Sensei. Please give us your guidance."

Wow, that was faster than I expected. I give her an approving smile. "Wonderful, Miyako. Thank you for cooperating." I breathe out a sigh of relief, a sigh that quickly morphs into one of dread as my mind shifts back to my computer. I haven't forgotten you, unfortunately. Miyako, seemingly noticing this, leans toward my desk. "What are you working on?"

"Looking at requests and whatnot. I have to figure out what to do next, but there's so much to do and so much to read, it's an unbearable drag on my mind." I spread my hand through my hair. It's not a state I want to show a student that just declared her trust in me, but I'd need years of acting classes to pretend I can bear this kind of work.

Miyako turns her head. "May I help you look through the requests?"

"Well…" Well, actually… Noa said it'd be a problem if she knew about what goes on around Kivotos, but is that because she's affiliated with Millennium's student council? If Miyako and the others are exclusively helping me out, not to mention SRT worked directly under the old president… what's the harm, right? "Knock yourself out. It'd be a great help, actually."

Miyako walks up behind my desk and leans toward the computer screen. "It's no better nor any worse than looking at reports and documents, at a glance. Do you have any idea of what requests may be more important than others?"

"If I did, this whole thing wouldn't be such a problem."

Miyako frowns. "We should focus on sorting these requests in some sort of hierarchy if you're going to be stashing them all so frequently. We can leave that as a future consideration." She takes hold of the mouse. "Let's look through them for now."

I step out of the chair. "May as well get comfortable."

"Oh, I don't need—"

I turn the chair toward her. "Better you than me. I'll barely be of any help."

Miyako directs her frown at me. "At the end of the day, this work belongs to you, Sensei." Even with Miyako, I can't escape this responsibility, huh? Regardless, I continue nudging the chair toward her. At least if she's a bit more comfortable now, she may be more inclined to make more progress than otherwise. "Hah… fine. If you continue insisting like this." She takes a seat and continues reading through the requests. "A general pattern I noticed is that if a request's body takes some time to establish the writer's position and academy, there's a decent chance it holds more weight than others. I've seen keywords like Hyakkiyako, Festival Operations Deparment… well, maybe that one's not as important… Shanhaijing, Plum Blossom Garden, Abydos, Foreclosure Task Force… honestly, a lot of these requests look more like odd jobs than anything. If you can effectively narrow it down, I doubt you have too much to work with."

"Huh. I hadn't really looked too much into it." If there's a pseudo-filter I can work with, this might not be as bad as I thought."

Miyako turns, looking up at me. "Isn't this the crux of how you decide your duties at Schale? You don't seem very in tune with this work."

I look away. "This is the first day I've had to start looking at requests." A half-truth, given last night, but I didn't get proper rest—I'd still count it as the same day. "As long as there's something to do, I don't entirely care what we do first."

"…" Miyako turns her head back to the computer before pushing the chair back and standing up. "I'm done helping you."

"Is something wrong?"

Miyako nods. "Quite." She turns to face me… still looking up. Just a little bit. "Please have a seat. You have to set a good example in front of your student…" Miyako places her hand on my shoulder, gripping it with terrifying strength unbefitting of someone so young. "Right, Sensei?"

"That's cheating…" My words clearly don't reach Miyako, who's started to turn into a con artist with her persuasively demanding aura. "I guess I have to." I take a seat and push the chair back to where it was before. "Let's have a look—"

"…Sensei? Are you okay?" For a few seconds, my eyes are stuck to the letter on the screen. It looks like one as mundane as all the other blocks of text I've tried and failed to read through, but I'm reeled in by the first line effortlessly.

Hello, dear false ideal.

"Kuroha…"

"Sensei?" I hear Miyako, but only my ears receive her; my focus is wholly encaptured by the words flashing on the screen.

I received your gratitude from one of my girls. It was so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh. Forget a false ideal, what kind of ideal even are you, thanking the one who beat you so deep into the ground?

"Sensei…" I feel Miyako tap my shoulder, but I can't bother to respond, whether it be brushing her off or acknowledging her at all. I have to read the rest of this letter.

It's hard to understand you, so now I'm a little upset. Don't blame me for taking it out on SRT, okay? This is your fault.

You know who.

I snatch the mouse and drag the letter into the empty box. I barely remember what Noa taught me about approving requests, but what I just did should be right. I jump out of my chair, taking Miyako's hand (still on my shoulder) with me. "—?! Sensei—

"Call your friends." I lock my eyes on the exit. "We're leaving." I can't know if Kuroha was talking about now, or even today, or even this week. That I found a reply from her so soon, through the Schale request network, though… the urge to come back to Kousagi Park is unbearable to even set aside. At least the rabbit girls are with me… but that makes me wonder if the helmet girls from earlier missed the fact that I evacuated them already.

Miyako jumps to follow after me. "Is there an emergency? What is it, Sensei?"

"We're going for a walk in the park."

…

Yozora still isn't back, huh…

"What's wrong, Sensei? Don't trust your dear Schale operative, Kazekura Moe, to pilot you safely through the air?" Moe grins, biting into her lollipop and bending the stick upward. "Not a single scratch on this bunch, so you'll be fine."

Miyako sighs. "Either way, we're all in the helicopter with you, so even if she wanted to pull something funny, she'd be taking all of us down with you."

Moe huffs, the stick of her lollipop dancing around in her mouth. "I'm not that irresponsible. Besides," she says, her grin growing larger than I'm used to, "it's not like I'm not ticked off by those stupid gangsters tearing up our park." She points to me. "Since you're out to show 'em their place, I'll give you the smoothest flight you'll ever get."

I can hardly ever feel like I'm bumping through the air when Yozora is flying me around. It's not like I have any experience riding on these girls' helicopter, but I'm not fully worried about it. I blink and refocus my attention on Moe. Somehow, her smile seems more wholesomely enthusiastic than mischievous. "You'd really rather wait for your girlfriend than go teach those brats a real lesson?"

"Moe…"

Moe's really laying it on today. I've never considered her to be so forward about this… and I understand Kuroha. I can't help but laugh. "Sensei?"

I let out one last enthusiastic breath before walking forward. "Alright, rabbits. Let's give those girls a remedial lesson on behavior."

Chapter Text

"You're sitting this one out, right?" The three of them turn their attention to me as those words escape Saki's lips. "It would be bad if what happened last night happens again, right?"

Miyako raises her hand. "Well, now that all five of us—"

"Nah, she's got a point." I fiddle with my armor as I glance at my equipment. "I'll be in the way, since they'll all be coming after me."

"Then you'll be good bait!" Moe laughs as she continues coasting us through the air. "If only Schale gave me more rocket ammo, I'd be able to see another helmet splash show. Stingy bunch."

After using my super pistol on a tank, it's been hard to justify using it on any threat even remotely smaller than that, and using it hasn't even crossed my mind since then. "It'd make this operation easier, but you've just been signed to Schale. It's enough of a blessing that they fully restocked the rest of you." I hope I can find a way to get better equipment soon. "I don't think I've asked this: what's the game plan? Four against what, a couple dozen?" I glance at Miyu occupying herself by observing her sniper, only giving us her hearing. "You've at least got some movement since there's nothing to defend."

Messing with her hair, Miyako steadily nods her head like she's listening to music. A tune in her head? "Saki, Miyu, and I can take vanguard. Moe can stay back or hang in the helicopter since her firearm won't do much against a crowd."

I snap my hands off my armor. "In essence… rush them head-on?"

Miyako glances at me. "It sounds rather crude when you put it in those terms. If they're grouped up like they have been, we should have an easy time finding the weak spot in their circle and mow them down from there. Since there isn't much cover for either side to work with, this should be pretty straightforward."

I glance at my tablet at my hip. "If you get too close, they'll be able to close on you and trap you in their circle. Now that Moe can't perform her fireworks show, there's no merit to letting that happen."

Miyako looks at Saki. "We can have Miyu hide away in the forest and rush them on two opposite flanks. A bit riskier, but if Miyu covers their advances, we should be able to divide them up and whittle them down, like a triangular, three-person pincer—Sensei?"

At the word pincer, my body seems to have involuntarily jumped at the idea of what would follow a failed pincer. "Nothing. Continue."

"What do you think, Saki?"

Saki fiddles with her firearm's barrel, not dissimilar to what Miyu's doing to her own. "I don't know, it sounds too risky. There's no saying if we have enough firepower to mitigate their size. Why don't we employ a sort of repetitive hit-and-run where we distract them at various spots and slowly break their forces down without a major risk of getting pinched?"

Miyako shakes her head. "I had that thought, but it's too slow for how few people we have. If we make even a small mistake, they can catch onto us and we'll be back to the first scenario, except this time we'll be even more unprepared."

While Miyako and Saki continue going back and forth about their battle plans, a thought occupies me. If we're descending on them like how Yozora and I arrived this morning, would any tactic be remotely viable? We don't exactly have any good spots to land nearby, not to mention the time we'd be wasting, so that's why we settled for landing directly on the park. Without surprise on our side, I don't see how we have any sort of chance here. "Maybe I should play bait."

"What was that, Sensei?"

I pull at the straps of my armor. "We don't have any real options unless they're not expecting you. Why don't I try misleading them into believing it's just me, then divert them by making a break while the rest of you drop in and get settled?"

Saki taps the floor of the helicopter with her weapon's stock. "You think they'll be so blind that they'll miss the SRT helicopter coming down—or the three SRT students rappelling down from that helicopter?"

"Well…" I feel like I made note of how slow some of the helmet gangsters were to notice Yozora's helicopter while it was descending. They must be in some kind of trance while caught up in their schemes. "Yeah, I feel like they are. Trust me; let me lead them away, and when it looks like they won't focus on you, get down and get to work. You had a good idea there, Moe."

I can hear her grin, as silent as it may have been. "My ideas are always good. Amazing, even."

Miyako smiles. "That could work. When we're down, we can have Miyu sneak off while one of us circles around their group…"

"No, we should just split up anywhere and start poking them and running…"

Let's hope this operation goes well. I'm betting on Kuroha being overdramatic enough to already be back for another round. I can't let her roam free knowing what she's done to me.

…Okay, perhaps it isn't good to be so dramatic, but I couldn't control myself from calling the squad together once I read her letter. I can't explain it, but she truly does have me incomprehensibly ensnared. For now.

…

"Here we are," Moe calls out. "The lovely park we all know and hate. Oh, and would you look at that. It's been infested with mites." Moe cackles with evil excitement. "Go exterminate them, pest control."

Pest control wouldn't make for a bad nickname… it's not terribly far off from rabbits, either…

"Sensei."

"Hm?" My attention turns back to Miyako calling me. "What's up?"

"You're about to descend, right? You seem distracted." Miyako looks out one of the windows. "We're getting close to the ground."

"Right." I turn to share her view. Below us, I see the mites Moe refers to, but they don't seem to be as active before. Did they notice the rabbits weren't there and decide to wait before exhausting their energy? They may be more on guard than this morning… that won't be good for our plan. "They don't seem to have noticed us yet." I glance back at the group. "Miyu?"

"Hn—?!" Miyu jumps in her seat, frantically jerking her head around before landing on me. "Y-yes, Sensei…?"

I hear Miyako and Saki exhale quiet laughs as Miyu tries to calm herself down. "Do you understand the plan?"

Miyu blinks. Once, twice. "Um… we go in and defeat them all, right?"

It's like all of us turn to stare at her in unison. Not that what she said is inherently wrong, but has she been listening to us? Saki sighs, resting her firearm against the bench and crossing her arms. "Well, if Miyu says it like that, we've got no other choice, right?"

Miyako nods. "We can't afford to lose here—"

"Oh, take a look!" Moe's voice finds a hint of sudden enthusiasm to latch onto. "Do my eyes deceive me, or might that be a video drone hovering just by us? Whatever could they be hoping to capture?"

Miyako frowns. "They're just covering the helmet gangsters terrorizing the park, I'm sure…"

"Yes, yes, of course." Moe starts giggling. It's just like her. "Say, Saki. I'm dying to see something blow up today. Won't you help a grieving teammate out?"

Saki scowls. "As much as I'd like to… we have other things to worry about. Might as well show those punks some exclusive footage of what SRT means."

"Hmph. I better see bodies flying or I'll be upset." Moe yawns. "Hey, Sensei, isn't this low enough?"

"Huh? Oh, I guess so." I open the side door and look down. "I guess we can get the rope down and…" I frown, looking down at my hands. "This won't be very pretty."

Miyako turns to me, leaning to see if something's on my hands. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to experience an unpleasant burn sliding down the rope." I clasp my hands as I try to imagine the burn I'll get after going down all the way. Like… palming them flat on a smoking stovetop?

Hm… I'm having doubts about this.

"If that's the case…" Miyako holds her left hand out, pulling her glove off and handing it to me. "One should be enough, right? I'll have to go down myself, so…"

I look at Miyako's glove. Will it even fit my hand? Whatever. I nod and take her glove, slotting it over my hand. Let's not comment on how it feels. "Thanks, Miyako." I slide my foot against the rope and kick it out the door. Harnessing myself and triple-checking, I flash the others a thumbs-up before leaning toward the open air. "Good luck, rabbits." I hold onto the rope and jump.

…

Do they notice me? They should. I feel like they don't. Are any of them looking at me? It's not like they have anything else to do, so it's only a matter of time, right?

My feet hit the ground. Kind of. My right foot stumbles and I hit the ground on my back. I must be having trouble operating after getting beat up last night…

I push myself off the ground and turn to the crowd, who finally has their attention on me. I hope it wasn't because of the fall. As the ones farther away start to notice me, a vision creeps back into mind. Even in the brink of day, I can still feel the terror of night as I see them surrounding, slamming me to the ground and hitting me like a tank slamming into my ribs.

Well… if it's like that… screw it.

I fumble around with my armor until my hand lands on the super pistol I have tucked within it. I pull it out and raise it to the air, getting a feel for its base underneath Miyako's glove. I don't need to keep this as a secret, a last resort, whatever. I'm not fighting this battle.

They're close enough… a rough estimate should be fine. I lean my arm and straight it, getting a good look at the crowd I'm about to introduce myself to. Even if they all look the same with those helmets on… when I think back to Kuroha, I can't help but believe these are the ones that I met last night. If that's the case, I hope they receive this warm welcome with open arms.

Who knows why they aren't reacting? Do they think it's a flare? Maybe they simply don't know how to react. Both of those are fine. "Here's your explosion, Moe." I pull the trigger and hear a quiet spring echo into my ears.

My arm flies down as a weird ball (yes, even I think it's weird) ejects from the smoking barrel, soaring through the sky like the first pitch a father throws his son when he first gets into baseball. Not the most relevant analogy, but when the super pistol is in action, I can forgo logic or reason. All I care for is the aftermath.

I understand you, Moe.

As the ball starts descending toward the crowd, my other hand moves toward my harness. It isn't much longer…

And then the sparks fly. As the ball hits the ground, the ground around it bursts into a ring of flaming petals, catching any screaming victims in the way of its blazing painting. It's as cruel as the fire these same girls were inflicting upon the park last night, but even when shadowed by the imposing daylight, this fire can't fail to capture my heart.

But there's no time to admire such a magnificent show, especially with the zombie apocalypse-on-fire chasing straight after me. The instant I hear the harness thud the ground, I give the barrel of my super pistol a frantic spin while sprinting toward the nearby forest. I can reload with my eyes stabbed out and my feet impaled by steaming stalagmites, but escaping a massive gang of angry girls on fire is a different challenge.

After a successful reload (with neither of the aforementioned setbacks), I stash it away and continue sinking deeper into the forest. As long as I can keep—

Wait, no. They're sure to catch up to me, even if it's just a few of them. I can't let that happen again…

I look up. They won't figure it out, right…?

I did this when fighting the rabbit girls. They didn't even notice me when I shot at them. This should be fine. As long as I find some good ridges, and…

Luckily, this was a good tree to climb, and I find myself sitting on a large branch, my back resting against the trunk as I hear the group scrambling to find me from below. Occasional shots ring out into the crowd, my sign that the others have finally started their operation.

Then, my earpiece buzzes.

"Saki, where are you going? They'll just target you if you keep running around like that!"

"Says the one shooting mindlessly at them like a sitting duck! Wouldn't hurt for you to get your legs moving a little bit, yeah?"

"Argh, we're not making any progress like this!"

I wonder where Miyu's cooped up. Between the disastrous chemistry that is Miyako and Saki, I can only hope she found her way to where she needs to be.

"Sensei already whittled down their size! We just need to take care of the rest!"

"Are you stupid? The three of us aren't enough to just 'take care' of them!"

…Miyu's probably fine. I've done my part; I can afford to hang out up here while they take care of the rest, right?

I remove Miyako's glove and stash it in my vest. Even if it's only been a few minutes, it's nice to let my hand breathe with the rest of me. Miyako and Saki have me a little worried, but they should be fine, somehow. A shame I won't be able to face Kuroha…

…

Guh—?!

A sharp pain rings through my head, spreading from the left side. I turn to see a shoe reeling back as the other one kicks the air with a playful swing. Looking up, what towers over me is exactly what I thought I wouldn't get to see. Her hands caress the helmet on her lap as she rocks her head like there's a melody playing around us. What is it with people and imaginary music today?

Her eyes remain on me regardless of where her head is, and her lips curl into that same, provocative smile I could even make out in last night's darkness. "Well, well, I didn't think you would hear my plea so soon. You've flustered me." Her cheeks are paler than the white of her eyes. As she sends her foot toward me again, I lean away to dodge while rubbing the earlier impact spot. I see her smile dampen slightly after missing, but she's still no less condescending. "You're fun; I'm simply compelled to play with you, see. It's never been easier to mess with a big bad like yourself, especially when you keep giving me these free shots at you."

She continues throwing kicks at me, but I'm just far enough to sit still without getting hit. "What am I a big bad for? Because I'm an adult?"

"Hm, I wonder…" Her kicks slow down, seemingly no longer aimed at me. "Lots of non-adults can be big bads. Aren't I a big bad to you?"

"A small bad, maybe."

Kuroha's lip twitches. She starts to return more force back into her kicks. "Well, anyway, I showed up expecting to teach those lovely little SRT girls a lesson, but I didn't expect you to take them all for yourself. Guess SRT really does belong to you, huh?" She lifts her hands and rests her helmet above her head without putting it on all the way. "But you know—" She places her hands on the branch and leans forward, "—that just makes me more upset with you." She pushes herself off  her branch and lands squarely upon mine, her feet resting seamlessly like she was posing for a shoot. Kuroha crouches down, feeling the branch before sliding her feet off to take a seat. Resting her knees on the trunk, she starts… crawling toward me? "You'll take responsibility, right?"

"What are you talking about?" I bring my knees toward me as Kuroha continues inching closer. "I haven't done anything to you."

Kuroha grins. It's got an air of Moe's usual mischievous look. Wait… where has the malice in her eyes gone? "Aw, despite everything I've just said to you? You've got to listen to me more, you know? Now I'm really upset," she says, when her face is showing anything but. Even if she can flavor her voice with melancholy, there's no mistaking that look. "Won't you help out your troubled student, Sensei? She's grieving hard."

I turn my gaze to Kuroha's eyes. "Where is this troubled student?" I ask, without a hint of sympathy in my voice. "I don't see one here."

Kuroha's smile doesn't change, but I see her eyes change. Like they've gone blanker. Like she's losing her edge. "I suppose we don't see things the same way. Then, as the teacher, it's your responsibility to properly reeducate me, right?" Kuroha reaches forward and grabs onto my shirt from under my vest. "If you don't do your job well, I may turn out to be quite the bad girl~"

I grab onto Kuroha's wrist and pull her hand off me. Surprisingly, she doesn't keep a firm grip like I remember Yozora doing earlier. With her other hand, she cups it over mine and clamps down. "Physical violence is no good, Sensei. I may learn from your example." She leans back and yanks forward, pulling me off the trunk—if not for how I was sitting, I'd be in a rough position. "Come on, Sensei. I want you to help me—you wouldn't refuse a student in need, right?" Kuroha continues pulling my arm, bringing my face closer while my legs continue to act as a soft barrier. "You seem so distant. It really hurts, you know. I just want to spend more time with my beloved teacher."

I try to pull my arm away, but she chooses now to keep a firm grip on me. I know that if I let go of her wrist, she'll just use that hand to further entrap mine. I don't know what kind of predicament this is, but with Kuroha involved it's nothing less than a hassle. If anything, the least I can do is refuse to play along with her games. "Go spend time with someone actually beloved to you. I don't have time for you."

Kuroha's hand gives mine a sudden squeeze. It had none of the tenderness of someone who dared use the word beloved, rather, all I could feel was the old malice I thought was gone from her. "As foolish as ever. I suppose I must blame myself for believing in you so soon. I'll have to give it some more time, then." I don't know what nonsense she's spouting, but in this pseudo-despair of hers, shouldn't she be just a little bit vulnerable? I tug my arm back a small bit to test this, and she seems to give as little as I pulled. This could work—

"I may be a bad girl, but I'm still smart in my own way, you know?" In an instant after I perform my test on her, Kuroha releases her hand above mine, raising her elbow and shoving down to crack my hand away from her wrist. She lunges forward and grabs onto my shirt's collar with both hands, leaning her body to one side. "I only gave you a chance when you weren't paying attention. If only you'd look at me properly…" Kuroha pulls me away from both of us, shifting my weight off the branch and leaving me a single move from falling off. It's not too high of a drop, but at this angle, I won't be able to make a proper landing. "Don't ignore me." She lets go of my shirt, letting her upper hand leave contact before pulling away with her lower hand with a tug.

Ah—

My leg slips off the branch, and Kuroha's blank expression is the last thing I can process before my vision turns.

I'm… falling?

Chapter Text

A tree never seems so tall until you're the one falling from it. I'm no stranger to slipping while trying to move covertly through forests and the like, but there's quite a distinction between slipping off a tree and getting thrown off it. How should I say this? There's a clear added weight to the latter, both in the extra force of the push and the mental hit one gets when a girl much younger and smaller than them overpowers them like such is how the world is intended to work.

In such little time, I've already grown tired of it. Perhaps I'm partially at fault for imposing such cruel standards upon myself within the limits of this unknown city, but someone with the age, size, and experience like me should have some reason to believe they can hold their own against these students. I can't. Sure, it's not like whatever treetop playdate I was having with Kuroha can be considered any sort of a real or balanced scuffle, but that doesn't discount the fact of the matter being my inability to do anything to these girls unless I have a striking advantage, like Arona's mystical shield or… perhaps that's it.

Yozora not being here is perhaps the one reason why I can comfortably allow myself to believe in my own inability. That's never something I would've imagined myself contemplating, let alone only away from the passionate eyes of a transport worker, but what else am I to do about it now? It doesn't matter how much I'd want to falsely believe in some innate ability that I've, by some miracle, developed through my time in Kivotos, no dreams will change the ugly truth happening before me now.

…

I could barely feel the jolt slamming the ground would've sent through my body. Hell, I'm hardly conscious of the fact that I've hit the ground at all. My mind remains in a free-falling stasis, forever shackled by the twisted realization that for some so-called Sensei, some pitiful excuse for an adult, let alone a teacher, I sure am prone to getting thrown around by some kids without any motion to even raise my hands, let alone my fists.

"This is no place to nap, you know?" Above me, Kuroha's voice echoes downward, striking my head with another of her taunting, spiteful remarks. "You've got no time to be laying around when you've got a duty to fulfill, right, dear Sensei?"

…Well, screw the self-loathing. In the end, Kuroha is someone I should only express my humblest gratitude to—if not for this insufferable brat, I wouldn't have a reason to get up and do something about her. I turn myself toward the ground, reaching out with my palm to push myself upward and start getting myself back on my feet. I have no plan to get back up to her without giving her free reign to mess with me, but at the very least—

…?!

I… can't move? What's going on here? I wasn't poisoned in some way, was I? No, there shouldn't have been an opportunity, and Kuroha wouldn't have had to push me off if I was just going to be paralyzed. Then, what could it…

That fall… surely my constant injuries haven't caught up to me? I could've sworn I was already better, even if it seemed like some inexplicable miracle, some divine blessing, but I would have been able to feel the lasting sting of that night's beating if it was affecting me. As weird as it was, I felt great, but it's like this fall triggered some backdoor to opening up those wounds again. "Arona… do you know anything…?"

A slight hum comes from where my tablet should be. Hopefully that's not cracked either. "I'm… I'm sorry, Sensei! I tried to stop anything from breaking when you hit the ground, but I didn't know it would affect you afterward!" Then, Arona is the cause of me being numb to the fall itself? And she did mention she couldn't imagine me not being nicked after getting a splinter… was this, too, one of the injuries she couldn't imagine? "D-don't worry! I can at least stop anything from bleeding, or breaking, or, or—"

"You don't have to panic. I'm not dying or anything." Even so, it isn't very pleasant being essentially immobile with a smug helmet gangster towering above me. For now, I at least need to deter her from making any moves on me while I'm stuck like this.

Like we're counting one, two, Kuroha initiates our game. That, or, mind-reading might actually exist in Kivotos, given everything else I've witnessed here. "Come on, Sensei, you almost make me want to pity you lying helplessly down there. I'll forgive you if you come back up here and have a nice chat with me." She goes back to swinging her legs while sitting on the edge of the branch. At this point, I can see the branch snapping off with her joining me down here before I'm ever able to even start climbing back up there. "Honestly, I can't tell if you think you're acting cute, but you look little more than a dying bug lying still on the ground like that." I swear I've heard this insult before… "Come on, now. Don't make me come down there and stomp you dead for good." Tch… I can ignore the thematically problematic threats she's making to me right now, but I don't like the notion of her threatening to come down here.

"Why should I have to follow along with what you say? It's not like you're the teacher here, is it?"

I hear Kuroha chuckle from above. "Ooh, scary. Looks like Sensei's finally getting mad. I hope he doesn't come up here and properly discipline me." I admit I'm not well versed in comebacks, but it doesn't sound like anything I could've said would've given me an upper hand here. Really, just how much more one-sided will this conversation continue to be? Agh.. what do I even say? Tell her I won't go up there and I'll continue being teased, tell her I can't and the outcome of that is obvious, tell her I will and then fail to follow up on that; that outcome is also painfully obvious. My best option now seems to be stalling for time and hoping I'll regain enough strength to stand and get out of here. "I'm not in the mood to discipline you, Kuroha. If you think you need to be disciplined, it sounds like you're aware enough to know what you shouldn't be doing."

"…Hmph." I hear the wind blowing more quietly as she slows down the kicking of her feet. …Just kidding. I turn to see her doing so. "Perhaps you're right. Now," she says, her face twisting into a grin I wish wasn't on her face, "let's say that I'm a bad kid who always needs discipline but never learns from her mistakes. Maybe I'm such a difficult student that I can't help but tease my teacher, no matter how much he tries to get me to change myself. Then, I wonder—" She swings herself toward the base of the tree, pressing her feet against the trunk while hopping off her branch and sliding down the tree like she's doing some weird skateboarding trick. Near the bottom, she leaps off and lands with one knee pressed toward the ground. She pushes herself onto her feet and raises her chin, staring down at me with a provoking condescendence that could honestly be the spark for my express recovery. "—Sensei, what would you do if I couldn't control myself?" She starts stepping toward me. Slowly, with one step per couple words she utters with teasingly lengthy pauses, her figure becomes larger and larger before my eyes. "Do you know…? Even bad girls feel some sense of shame when they defy authority… But what makes them so eager to continue being so bad, time… and time… again?" She stops a short distance from me, enough to where she could reach me simply by crouching and extending her hand, but not so close that her foot could reach me from where she's standing. "When nobody's… watching." Like a trashed doll being puppeteered, my head lifts itself up, looking around for some miracle that someone's there to stop Kuroha from trying to act out her sick fantasy of 'delinquent student has her way with paralyzed teacher,' or… whatever she's currently doing, but of course there's nobody. Of course her fantasy is allowed to continue according to her rules, her terms, her desires.

I turn my head back to Kuroha, now crouching over me and smiling. As pure as it makes itself out to be, I see the malice in those eyes. I still can't understand what she wants from me. Maybe my inability to understand some of these students is also holding me back as a teacher…

"I'm sorry I can't control myself, dear teacher," Kuroha says over my ear. I swear, this girl and her tendency to be so… strange? "You'll forgive me, won't you? I'm just a misled student who needs proper guidance from you…"

A strange one, for sure, but at the end of the day, a silly joke is just a joke. I mean… it is a joke, right? "What are you even planning to do?" Frankly, as suspicious as Kuroha's rambling is, I'm not entirely sure what she even wants to do. Looking at the forest around us, all I can imagine is…

…How that scuffle I had with Miyu ended. But that's much too weird for her to—

…

Kuroha's giggle spears through my ear as she drops herself upon me, reaching under my vest and pulling it away from my stomach. "Look at you, so defenseless! How will you hope to stop me, I wonder?" With her hands fastened under my vest, she turns her head to face me. "Really, you will forgive me, right?"

"For—" Kuroha slams her pointer fingers into my stomach, her hands doing some sort of—

—Guh, I can't concentrate on her—

"Sto—" Mistake. The last thing I should've tried to do was stop suppressing my voice. If she's going to keep me restrained here, the least I can do is ruin her fun as much as I can. But…

"Hm? What was that, what was that?" Kuroha's poking slows down as she moves to pressing her palms onto my stomach to push herself forward, getting a better look at me as she gives her face free reign to explore. "You said something, Sensei? I'm really excited to learn from you, so please say it again!"

"I didn—" With the terrible mistake of opening my mouth again, Kuroha strikes once more, sliding her hands away from one another and striking the hips. The attack itself was enough for my voice to cut itself out, yet that barely saved me from letting out any undesirable sounds. "Come on, come on! I hope you don't mind me being so forward, Sensei, but you're really making me itch for knowledge, you know?"

No, really, who is this girl? I swear her actions are driven mostly by some form of spite, yet why does her voice sound like nothing more than innocent fun? Even if it's at my expense, it's not like I couldn't imagine a student I know potentially doing the same if their personality was right for it. That just begs the question again, what is wrong with this girl?

"Wow…" After eons have passed us by… or maybe it was a couple seconds, Kuroha releases her finger onslaught from my midsection and sighs. "There's no denying the power of a teacher. That should've broken you eventually, but even with your guard down, you wouldn't play nice?" Kuroha pouts for an instant before her face relaxes itself. She isn't donning that smugness I've come to be terrified by, but that look of hers is still… "That said…" She pulls her hands away from my vest, relaxing her body and slumping onto me. "When I was about to have fun with you, I noticed something weird…" She tilts her neck to get closer to me while keeping herself well-slumped upon me. "I hope I'm not misunderstanding it, but you seemed to be… hiding your neck?"

Ah. I've failed in covert movement. Gradually, Kuroha lifts herself off of me, sliding herself toward my upper half and pressing her weight against my shoulder. "Hey, Sensei…" She reaches a hand for my chin, pushing my face upward and exposing my neck. I only used it against Miyu because I knew it was effective against someone, and, well…

Kuroha giggles again. "Now, then, what sort of things do you have to teach me, now that we're up close like this?" As if what she was doing earlier wasn't enough physical proximity? Her head hovers just above my own as her free hand moves to reach for my neck. "I hope to learn a lot from you~"

I close my eyes, bracing for the worst. I can endure this.

…

I feel… light? As if something is lifting me far away and into the clouds. I dare myself to look…

What is going on?

At this speed, my mind wants to concentrate on the harsh breeze more than anything else, like who or what is carrying me, but if nothing else, it seems some miracle has pulled me away from Kuroha.

…Miracles this, miracles that. What am I, some zealot obsessed with praying to the divine? It's about time I rely on something I can feel…

After a while, having slowly adjusted to this new, temporary reality, I'm finally able to see what's around me. Looking up, seeing just what is carrying me so far…

…

Have I seen this mask before?

It's hard to remember the faces I've seen, especially so since I'm not in a clear state of mind. Even so, I've seen very few masked people in my time here. In fact, if I had to narrow it down, I think I've only seen…

One?

"Hey…" I don't know how well my voice carries at this speed, but her face turns to me and I feel us quickly slowing down. "You…"

"Oh my, it didn't look like you would be conscious." In the next few seconds, we slow to a stop as the mysterious student slips behind a large tree, not one quite as large as the one Kuroha was on, but one large enough to properly hide us from the other side. She lays me down against the trunk while standing above me. "Are you hurt? You looked to be in grave danger."

…Maybe from a distant perspective, it might've looked like Kuroha was trying to stab me to death or so. It would've been a weird place to pull off a hit, though. "I'm a little bruised, but I'm mostly fine. Thank you." As a test, I try to lift my back off the tree. A miniscule success, and a huge failure. I'm hardly at the strength I'd normally be at.

"A-ah, it's no good to stress yourself, you know?" The girl kneels in front of me, setting her rifle down and tilting her head as she observes my figure. "You don't seem critically injured, but the way you're sitting makes it clear you aren't doing very well."

"You're pretty observant." In turn, I tilt my own head to change my perspective of the girl. As figured, it doesn't really do much. "Say, have we met somewhere before? I feel like your face, er, mask, is familiar, but I can't put a name to it."

"…What?" After a deathly eerie silence, the girl clears her throat, picking up her rifle and standing up. "You say you.. recognize me?"

I nod. "Unfortunately, I don't recall your name, but I don't think this is the first time we've met."

The girl turns her face away, but it's not like I can see it to begin with. "…Wakamo."

It's quiet, and I can barely make out the syllables of her words. "One more time?"

She turns back to me. Letting go of her rifle, her hand reaches up to her mask and pulls outward, completing the picture of this bushy-tailed fox girl. With a tinge of red across her face, she smiles warmly at me, though I sense a hint of sadness within her eyes, yet I can't tell why. "Kosaka Wakamo. Will you remember my name?"

"I might have trouble with your last name, but I'll remember Wakamo, now that I can see your face." With that, the red in her cheeks glow brighter but the sadness in her smile begins to fade. She dips her head, pressing the mask back onto her face before raising her head. "Wakamo, why and how did you come to get me?"

Wakamo crouches down, placing her rifle down to the side and taking a seat beside me. "Hearing that you could recognize me, as fleeting as our encounter was… now I know it wasn't a mistake to find you, my dear." Dear? "From what I could see through the news, I would have a chance to see you again if I happened upon this park, but for as long as I scoured the park grounds, I couldn't happen upon your face. When I suspected the ruffling in the forest might've been you, that's when…" Her tone begins to fall, as if the memory had suddenly turned dark. "That's when I saw whatever pest was hovering above you trying to hurt you. I thought you might hate me for stalking you like this, but I couldn't watch you down like that." Wakamo's hand slides toward her rifle, gripping it so hard her hand starts rustling the leaves around her. "Darling, if you want me to wipe that girl's face off this city, say the word and I'll have it done now."

I have this unshakeable feeling that there isn't a hint of jest in her voice. "No… you don't have to do that. All she did was mess around a little bit. She didn't do anything bad."

I feel like she's frowning, albeit it's impossible to tell beyond her mask. "Only if you say so." She picks up her rifle and stands back up. "In that case, would you like to run with me? I won't harm that girl if you wish me not to, but wouldn't it be best for you to stay clear of this area for now? I could take you to a nice hideout where you could stay for a while if you need to…"

One more time. I press my hand against the trunk and try to push my back off it. Success…? I don't feel like falling back immediately, either. Maybe I…

I keep going. One leg first, then the other. Slowly, I push myself back onto my feet, keeping a hand against the tree to balance myself as I make my way upward. The entire time, Wakamo stands in place, watching me, perhaps because some part of me looked like it didn't want help. With one last push, I break away from the tree and successfully stabilize myself upon just my two feet. "Wakamo." She turns slightly, signaling her attention. "Maybe one day, I'd love to escape to a hideout with you." I turn behind me. "For now, though, I have students waiting for me back at the park. I hope this doesn't upset you."

"…" Every time Wakamo is silent, the air feels heavier than it should. Not even Rin or Yozora could conjure this level of tension, yet Wakamo doesn't seem to be the kind of person that should exude this level of pressure. Something else about her… "You can't upset me, dear." She bows. "We shall meet again soon. I hope you'll remember me while I'm gone."

"Of course. I'll see you soon, Wakamo." As Wakamo starts to turn away, I do the same, but my hand immediately reaches for the trunk as I stumble upon my first step. Maybe I was putting more effort into standing than I let myself believe…

I hear Wakamo's footsteps coming closer toward me. "Shall I take you back to the park, dear?"

It's embarrassing, but… "I'll be in your care." I turn to see Wakamo, exposing just one eye behind her mask, beaming as those words leave my mouth. She quickly slides her mask back on before reaching out toward me. "Ah—"

"Now then, darling," she says, scooping me up with ease (in hindsight, this doesn't help my case about being weaker than students) and leaning forward. "Shall we go?"

"Isn't there some less compromising position—" Wakamo takes off, leaving that tree and my words in the wind behind us.

Chapter Text

After enough time goes by, two days will mean nothing in perspective, but where I am now, these last two days have given me a lot to think about. Why am I being carried back to the main park area by a fox girl wearing a fox mask? Why did I allow Kuroha to mess with me after already being led around by her letter to Schale? Why did I leave the rabbit group so desperate that playing into Kuroha's hand was the best option I could see for their revival?

In the end, the worst part about all of it is how much I complain about my lack of contribution to the revival of Kivotos yet still can't do anything about it. I'm doing practically everything I'm at liberty to do, yet what have I had to show for it? Two humiliating encounters with some girl who otherwise looks like an ordinary street thug with her helmet on, a babysitting job over four supposedly elite students that was provided by my own hand, and maybe a few meetings with school officials? With everything together and hardly anything else to mention, can this really be called the diligent work of Kivotos' Sensei? Honestly, even being the one at the center of it, I couldn't see it being any more than a loosely stringed structure of random occurrences combined solely to make history's least comprehensible story. 

What a proper Sensei would do is at least address a couple of minor yet still notable threats instead of making big leaps and having nowhere to land. Even taking the meetings into question, it's not like anything has currently come out of any of them. Sure, I had a few sightseeing trips, and what have I given in return? My presence, and maybe a dream of being able to call on the help of Schale? It would sure be a shame if I was that help, since right now I couldn't say you would get anything useful out of me. Hah… it was only earlier this morning that I had a similar depressing thought and had Yozora chew me out for it. It's not like I was praising myself for being paralyzed on the ground with an excited Kuroha waiting above me either.

…Why did the president choose me? I'm sure I've thought about it before, but it wouldn't have been out of heavy doubt in my abilities. If whatever stars aligned and miracles made manifest led the president to finding me on that train, there must've been some kind of foul play at work. I can't blame the president if Kivotos is doomed; all that's worth faulting is my lack of promise. Sitting back and watching the world burn is no worse than what I'm doing now if my efforts can't amount to anything. Why—

"…Hey, dear?" At the sound of Wakamo's voice close to my ear, I rattle my head and shoot out rapid blinks to find my way back to reality. I look down, seeing my feet planted firmly on the leaves below me, with the shadow of a tree behind me poking out just enough to tell me I have a safe fall if I stumble again. To my right, Wakamo's eyes dance around as she continues to peek at me through her lowered mask. "I've let you down for a while now… is there something bothering you that I may be able to take care of?"

I shake my head, turning to my left. It's not easy deciphering chaos from this distance, but it doesn't look like Kuroha's goons are in any trouble. The fact that they're still in somewhat of a position tells me that my girls are okay, at least…

"I don't want to sound snarky, but you mentioned that you have students waiting for you. Are you going to stand around any longer? Not that I mind remaining in your company." Wakamo suppresses a sigh as she turns away, her head facing the ground to her side.

I raise my hand and plop it atop Wakamo's head, landing between her fox ears onto her head. "You're right. Thank you for taking me back here, Wakamo."

Wakamo's hands cover the spot my hand leaves while she moves her face even farther away from me than it was before. Behind her, I can see the end of her tail wagging from side to side. With a tail of that size, that movement is genuinely magical.

…Do any other students I've met have tails? I'm sure there must've been one, but Wakamo's is the only one that comes to mind. It would probably do me good to pay more attention to those kinds of details.

"Ah…" Wakamo takes a deep breath and raises her head to face me. "Please take care of yourself, Sensei. It's no good if you get hurt again, no matter what you need to do."

I nod, flashing her a smile. "Don't worry about me, Wakamo. No good teacher can't walk off a little pain for their students."

Wakamo gazes at me with a neutral stare before turning around. "Then, it's time I make my leave for real. May we meet again soon." I mutter something akin to "goodbye Wakamo" before she begins leaping out of view.

…I'm no good teacher. I have to thank her for dropping me by a tree, because I still need a crutch even now. It may not have been long, but is this really the extent of my strength?

I look down at my hip. "Arona."

"Sensei! I've been waiting for a chance to talk to you! How do you feel? It doesn't seem like you're in any critical state, but you're not doing well either, right?"

"You don't have any way to suppress these injuries? Some kind of numbing or painkiller effect?"

"I can't do much about injuries that have already occurred—my abilities extend primarily to preventing disaster. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't justify the length I'd have to go to for a non-threatening injury. At least, nothing that can't be taken care of normally."

"Okay. Thanks, Arona." She won't be of any help, it seems. Though, perhaps I've been too dependent on her magical barrier to keep me safe. As if I needed my revelation of incompetence to get any worse. I take a deep breath and raise my shoulders… it kind of hurts.

In my ideal fantasy, I would unlock some hidden ability that would allow me to lure the rest of Kuroha's group into the forest and take care of them myself. I can see how it could happen—atop the trees, blasting away and keeping them off me with well-spaced grenades and excellent maneuvering. Perhaps I'm not nimble enough to do the last thing, but my arsenal may be outdated. After all, if I don't have to get close to anyone I'm fighting, I have no reason to fear getting ganged up on or pummeled to the ground. It's a mystery that I have to worry about any of that at all, but it's better than being as vulnerable as I normally would be to bullets. I'll have to ask Yozora about how to get that upgraded arsenal. First things first…

I raise my hand to my ear. "Rabbits, can I get—"

"Sensei?!" Saki's voice blasts into my ear. "Took you long enough! What the hell have you been doing?"

"We're not cornered, but we're not exactly in a good spot either!" Miyako's voice has a hint of exhaustion, like she's been sprinting at top speed this entire time. …Wasn't that one of their plans? "We need you here, Sensei!"

"No we don't!"

"Yes we do!"

"…Okay, we could use your help!" Ah, Saki agreeing with Miyako; so they really are in trouble. I rub my wrist as I examine the hand wrapped in Miyako's glove. Sure, I can't really help them on the battlefield, nor do I have any stellar tactics to turn this battle around—I probably would've come up with one before we landed. Without either of those traits, I shouldn't have anything to show if I want to help out. Frankly, I don't, but that doesn't matter. I walk forward—and it doesn't hurt. If it kills me later, that's fine. I've got a more urgent problem to worry about.

…

It isn't as bad as I feared.

Given how the last interaction between the rabbit girls and Kuroha's group went, I expected a more dominant sweep, but restocking on arms seems and the lack of having to defend something is making a huge difference. Whoever came up with running around and being annoying did something strangely remarkable. The question is, why did it sound like they needed my help so urgently?

"Sensei—someone—" Saki's voice is barely transmitting through the comms line. We shouldn't be losing connection this close… "—Down! Repeat, RABBIT 2 is—"

Now Miyako? It's not like these thugs look like they're having a good time. They seem to be wary of Saki and Miyako as if they aren't being hunted down, yet that's what it sounds like through my earpiece. Unless…

I take a sharp turn and start running. I slam my fingers against my earpiece, the vibration echoing unpleasantly through my ear. "Miyu! Where are you?"

"Um—in the forest?"

"Give me a direction! Which way is the sun?" I slow down as Miyu's stammers fill the silence. "Kuroha is after you—I need to reach you before she does!"

"Ah—b-behind me!" I stop and gauge for the sun, feeling the heat graze my cheek. Of course it's in front of me. I don't want to cut through the open park, but I could run into Kuroha if I circle around. Even if she catches wind of me from the others, I should still be able to reach Miyu in time to figure out some sort of escape plan. Even then, it's not like I can find Miyu by running in a straight line, but if Kuroha sees either of us before we're together, we may have trouble. At least—

"I must say, revealing your position to your enemy is a strategy I haven't heard of. I suppose whatever the other two tried wasn't much better, though. Oh—that's right, Sensei. I have a proposal for you."

I try looking around the forest, but I have no sight of her. "What?"

"If you stop trying to reach your last little rabbit, I won't go after her. Instead, why don't you sit pretty wherever you are so we can continue our little chat? I was hurt when you ran off like that—don't you care about my feelings?"

"…Whatever. I won't move."

Kuroha laughs. "I can see you, by the way, so you better not run off, alright? I'll be there in just a moment." Kuroha, Kuroha, Kuroha… nothing has gone right with her. Just who is she? She can't be some ordinary thug, and clearly she isn't, but it would be a severe underestimation to call her only a little more terrifying. Having broken into our communication line, I can't tell Miyu to switch to a different channel, nor can I alert Moe to be ready for evacuation. At least she should be aware of our crisis, but she doesn't seem like the type to take that initiative without a signal. I could always MomoTalk someone, but to be frank, all I have to contact are Miyako, who's presumably knocked out, Mika, who's all the way in Trinity, and Yozora, who…

Where is Yozora right now?

I take out my tablet and open MomoTalk to Yozora's chatroom. Kuroha doesn't mention anything about it… did she really see me? Yozora trouble kousagi park help

As I wait for a reply, my tablet starts singing as a large notice pops up about receiving a call from Yozora. It nearly jumps from my hand as the music catches me off guard, but I keep a hold on it and rapidly tap toward the green button. "What's going on?" I hear between the loud blowing of what I assume is wind around her. "That's not a message I expect to see from you."

"Kuroha is causing more trouble than I anticipated and… I need your help. I can't contact Moe without Kuroha finding out, so you're my last option."

A sigh follows on the other end. "I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Thanks—and just a heads up, I don't know how we're going to round up the rabbits to escape—I think some of them are unconscious."

Another sigh. "I'll be there soon." Yozora ends the call and I slot the tablet back at my hip. It's only been a minute, and unless Kuroha is taking her time or saw me from very far away, was she lying about that? "Kuroha, you're going to make me tired of waiting," I say, as a feeble attempt at mimicking her usual provocation.

"Aw, I'm sorry. I'll try to get there soon, so just wait a little longer for me, okay?" Didn't work. One day, I'll best Kuroha at this teasing business, but now it's a waiting game of whether Yozora or Kuroha will reach me first…

…

Can a few minutes really be so long? I swear I would have counted to a thousand by now, which should be way longer than Yozora's vague estimation of when she would arrive. And Kuroha is nowhere to be seen, heard, or felt. Did she figure I was toward Miyu's side of the forest? It wouldn't be fun for Miyu if she had that realization, but then again, she promised not to go after her if I didn't move, so if she breaks that promise, I don't have much to be standing around for…

The wind has been blowing above us the entire time. I don't think I'll be able to tell when Moe's helicopter blades end and Yozora's begin, so I can't do much else but wait.

Now that I have time to think beyond this encounter, Kuroha's group and Moe come to mind. What are the helmet thugs doing while Kuroha is picking off the others? Did she order them to stop and hang out? Are they still confused and wary even after a long period of nothing? What about Moe? Has she been hovering over the sky this entire time, unable to do anything as the rest of us are struggling down here? 

As I continue descending into my sea of miscellaneous thoughts, I hear footsteps crunching the leaves behind the tree beside me. I turn and lean forward, seeing Kuroha smiling at me as she continues walking closer. "There you are. I've been looking for you."

"What was that about being able to see me before?"

Kuroha chuckles. "You probably understand the nature of that statement by now." Even if she was lying about it, it would be a bigger risk to go running after Miyu when finding her in a huge stretch of forest would already be difficult, let alone having to sprint to that side to even start that search. "As I promised, though, when I found her, I didn't do anything to her." Her face drops into a frown. "Of course, I couldn't ignore her when she started taking shots at me, so I had some friends take care of her instead." She raises her hands. "I didn't touch her at all, though." So that's how she played it? I'm not sure if she would have ignored Miyu if she didn't try shooting at her either. "That only leaves you. There's that fourth SRT girl, but you can't do much stuck in the sky, can you?" She stops in front of me, raising her hand and tugging at my vest. "So, Sensei, it's just you and me here. Nobody will bother us—this time, I'm sure. You didn't call any other student to come snatch you away last second this time, did you?"

I narrow my eyes. "It wasn't even me the first time."

"Sure it wasn't." Kuroha shakes her head, letting go of me. "Still, that little sequence made me disinterested in keeping up that act. It's not fun to repeat something that the other expects—and it doesn't really seem like you're as immobile as you were before. You're still pretty durable in your own way."

As Kuroha stares at me in mild enthusiasm, I watch for any of her attempts to jump at me, but she doesn't seem to be planning more than a basic conversation. Is this the same person that was trying to tickle me to death under my vest only minutes ago? So far, the Kuroha I've seen is all some child obsessed with sounding cool, a brat who likes to bully adults, and… a normal girl, maybe? "What is it you want from me?" I ask. "You continue making less and less sense."

Kuroha sighs. "I'm trying to make sense of you. Are you some optimistic dreamer who thinks he's more than he could ever hope to be, or are you genuinely just a walking disaster? I couldn't imagine someone with such a designated role like yours being so miserable, so I could only assume it's the former option. Then again, it's not like you've done wrong, but you don't know the first thing about who I or any of them are." She waves her hand toward the open park. "How do you even begin to think you can pose a threat to us when you don't have the slightest idea about the reality of Kivotos? You think I called you a false ideal on a whim? That's not something you can fix in a day or even a year. Until that moment, if you ever come anywhere close to it, remember where you really belong in Kivotos. You may be called Sensei, but you've got a lot to learn yourself."

Kuroha's lost her air of smug importance. I'm not sure if I can understand this girl. "Why bother worrying about me at all? You could've steamrolled me again and moved along until I got the hint."

Kuroha looks up at me. This entire time, her smile hasn't returned like I expected it to. "At some point—" She stops, ducking as a burst of bullets comes flying at her. She slips behind the tree as I turn to see Yozora running toward us with a rifle in her hands. She continues sprinting forward, but I hear Kuroha's footsteps far away long before Yozora can check. By the time she does, Kuroha is long gone. She clicks her tongue, dropping the rifle and shaking her head. She turns to me, sighing as she looks me up and down. "You seem fine."

"I am. Thanks for asking." I'll have to find out more from Kuroha some other time. "I didn't think you landed your helicopter."

"What was that about having trouble evacuating the rabbit girls? It took me a while to find you, but I seemed to have gotten lucky." She turns around. "Let's go get the rabbit girls and get out of here." As Yozora starts walking, I get a buzz in my earpiece. "Until next time, Sensei. I'm tossing the earpiece and regrouping my girls, so fear not. I hope we can have a more civil conversation next time." I can't tell if she followed through on the earpiece thing, but one glance tells me the other helmet thugs are starting to disperse.

"Sensei. You there?" I blink and turn to Yozora, who turned back to look at me. "We shouldn't be wasting any more time."

"Right. Sorry." I take a deep breath and follow Yozora.

…

After rounding up the unconscious rabbits and taking them to Moe, she comments with "At least it's over," before flying off. I follow Yozora back to her own helicopter and get ready for takeoff.

As we enter the sky, she breathes out in exhaustion before turning to me. "That was Kuroha?" I nod. "That so…"

"Is something up?"

"Not really…" Yozora shrugs. "Something feels weird, but maybe it's just that I've seen her causing problems somewhere else before."

I look to the sky. Back to Schale, it seems. "I thought of getting a better weapon. I can't contribute much in a regular gunfight. Any ideas?"

Yozora shakes her head. "I don't know the first thing about that. I picked a random gun off the ground and just held the trigger for a bit when I saw you two. I'm part of the transportation department, so that's not my strength."

"In that case… is there an arms department or something?"

"Uh…" Yozora narrows her eyes. "Defense?"

I blink. "Oh, I could ask Chief Kaya." That solves that… except, how do I ask her? "Do you have her contact?"

Yozora glances at me. "You need to start exchanging information with more people. Having MomoTalk is synonymous with having a communication device for students; you're a necessary part of that group."

"So…"

Yozora shakes her head. "You can try to reach her at Sanctum Tower. I can get to Momoka, who could get to the Acting President, who could probably get to Chief Kaya, but… I think that communication chain would stop at trying to reach Momoka."

That sounds about right… maybe I should try contacting someone else? "Oh, speaking of contacts, that Millennium girl you were with last night should have your contact information. Did you see?"

Millennium girl? Did I exchange contact information with Noa? It must've slipped my mind… I take out my MomoTalk and check my contacts, and sure enough, Noa is in the list, though without a chatroom. Not that having her as an option would've helped against Kuroha, but how long would I have gone not knowing she was in my contact list if Yozora didn't tell me? I don't remember this happening.

I open a chatroom with Noa. Hi Noa this is Sensei

A few seconds later, I get a response. Hey there, Sensei. Your message sounds just like I'd imagine. Are you doing alright?

Doing good. you doing okay?

I'm doing well. I'm working with Yuuka today. Should I send along a message to her?

I said hi

After a while, I see an odd oval pop up with a triangle in it. "Yozora, what's this oval message with the triangle? And some weird lines after it."

"Sounds like a voice message. The triangle is a play button," she says, her tone of voice suddenly shifting. I tap the triangle and raise my tablet's volume.

"Hi, Sensei. Do you hear me? Haha, don't respond. Yuuka!" she calls. "Sensei says hi!"

"Wha—huh? What are you talking about?"

"I'm currently chatting with him right now." Noa giggles. "Should I say something back?"

"Wh—I didn't know he had a MomoTalk! He didn't seem like the type when I was talking to him."

Noa laughs again. "Well, I wouldn't disagree with that. Hopefully he doesn't take it too harshly when he hears this message."

"Huh? Noa, are you—hey, stop recor—" The message ends. Soon after, I get another message. Oh dear, Yuuka's upset. I'm sure you'll receive a message from her soon. Not a second after I finish reading her message, I hear a ding as a new chatroom pops up. Sensei, this is Yuuka. Please respond if you receive this message.

I open her chatroom. Hi yuuka

For a while, Noa and Yuuka's chatrooms continue lighting up back and forth, simultaneously asking me about the same things. I'm not sure how they can reply so quickly—I guess Millennium students must be good with this technology thing after all.

…

Technology…

I open up Noa's chatroom. "Yozora, how do you do one of those calls on MomoTalk?"

"Uh, you…"

I follow her procedure and make a call to Noa. Shortly after…

"…Didn't you tell him we were working? We should get back to it or—"

"I'm sure it must be something important. You're on speaker, Sensei. Did you need something? If you want to speak to Yuuka, you could've called her instead. I'm sure you heard that bit about her vying with me to get back to work, but she would've probably picked the call up faster than I would've."

"Noa!"

I close my eyes. I don't know the slightest thing about Millennium, but everything from the design of their outfits to Noa's helping with my computer trouble seems to suggest the same thing. It isn't much, but if it can be of any help… "Noa, do you know where I can get a better firearm?"

Chapter Text

"Then, if you want to plan a day trip to Millennium, you have to ensure you can afford to leave any urgent matters untended or left to any of Schale's other workers." Yozora closes the door to the infirmary, exhaling a deep breath out of her and pointing down the hallway. "More than anything, you need to be sure those four can handle a day without you. You don't plan on bringing them along, do you?"

I shake my head. It's not that I don't trust them, but I don't see why they need to visit Millennium with me. My only concern is to visit the engineering group that Noa described to me so they can evaluate my armory and propose any changes. What are they going to do, stand around and observe the landscape? They have every other region in this city to do so, and besides… "I trust the rabbit girls enough to handle small concerns that I could handle alone." Frankly, they may be more capable than I am at solving any request, but some truths are best kept internal. "As long as Miyako is with them, they should be able to operate on their own."

Yozora shrugs. "The point of you being with them is that the GSC doesn't trust them. Isn't that what was spoken about in that meeting? That scuffle just now might not do you any favors in that regard either."

"…Is there any way to check that?" I'm not too keen on how our confrontation with Kuroha will be spread to the public, but in a hundred years I'd have trouble coming up with a reason that there's anything good to take away from our side. Only three of them handled an assault from dozens of those helmet thugs, so if that's conveyed through the news, this may have been a worthwhile struggle. Why, then, do I have this nagging feeling that such subtlety won't find its way to the public?

Yozora takes out her phone and taps on it for a moment before showing it to me. "This is what I found covering it. Some scoop by a couple of Kronos students."

"Kronos?"

"Journalism school, the relevant one." I raise my hand and Yozora drops her phone into it. The video on screen continues playing, showing a girl with a microphone pointing toward what seems to be Kousagi Park. Though she and the camera are far from the main area, I can vaguely make out running helmets. Not that there's anything else that could stir any confusion; it's certainly the place. At the bottom of the video, a rolling line of text that eventually reads BATTLE FOR KOUSAGI PARK: SCHALE AND SRT IN ACTION? while a smaller line of text offers a less extravagant overview: "Local group of delinquents running amok as Schale and SRT reveal a hand most devastating—who will win this showdown for Kousagi Park?"

I return the phone to Yozora, frowning all the while. "You would call that… positive for us, right?"

Yozora turns the screen to her face, sliding her finger across while tilting her head in thought. "I… I suppose so. Maybe Schale is new, so the media is trying to make it come across as this new big thing, or the media were reluctant to side with the helmet gangsters… either way, that doesn't really line up. I don't see a problem with casting doubt on a novelty like Schale to gain skeptic traction, and as for being against the thugs… that's not really the case. Newsworthiness has a blindfold when concerned with morality, so someone on the covering team must be a fan." She shakes her head, putting her phone away. "Lucky break, huh? That stumble of yours ended up pushing you forward." She turns around. "Good for you. Well, I need to go confirm future flight plans. Call me if you need me."

I raise my hand. "Thanks again for saving me in the forest."

"…Yeah." She walks away. I turn the other way, not because where I need to go is this way, but because I'd rather walk farther from my destination than trail Yozora from a distance. Come to think of it, I can't really say that she walked the right way either, but since she was on that side of the infirmary door, it just felt right…

The media coverage. It wasn't exactly praising our names across the edges of the world, but even from an outside perspective, it didn't seem much more than an uncoordinated disaster. Maybe it helped when I lobbed a bomb from my super pistol into the crowd, but theatrics aside, it didn't secure a victory, even if there was a significant advantage from the event. If there's some kind of fabrication going on, who's behind it? I don't know anyone from Kronos, and I doubt SRT has any ties to any shady media manipulation. If not them, then who else is there? Maybe… the GSC? If that's the case, it would rule out everyone except Rin, Ayumu, Momoka, and Kaya. I don't even know anyone else's name, much less have faith that any of them would try to manipulate the media in our favor. I highly doubt any of the first three would do anything, so that leaves Kaya, but what does she have to do with this? A helping hand, maybe, but what does defense have to do with the media? If none of them, it may be someone I've yet to know.

…I can't really do much about it right now. While I wait on this visit to Millennium, I may as well focus on what I can control… even if I would rather do anything but.

…

Did I close the door to my office earlier?

I was in quite the hurry after seeing Kuroha's letter, and I don't think there was any urgency for Miyako to close the door either. I'm not the most paranoid person out there, so there must be something calling my attention to that fact. Unless…

Is it today's assistant?

I open the door. There, I see… at first, I can't exactly describe it. In literal terms, a girl hunched against the glass wall behind my desk, tilting her head back and forth and scrutinizing her reflection instead of looking outside. The stranger part is her wear—her headband and dress form this combination of a maid uniform and festival wear, and it's hard to make out any other details.

The girl hasn't turned to me after I creak the door open and close it behind me. As I approach her, I hear faint mumbling that my light footsteps nearly mask: "That's not quite it. Maybe if I try a more drunken approach? But that doesn't really match the brand either…"

"What are you doing?" I'd thought about watching her until she turns around and sees me, but for some reason, I'm not entirely interested in a theatric performance.

"Wha—" The girl spins around, facing me in an instant. "S-sensei!"

"That's me." I grab onto my desk chair and spin it to face me. "And you are?"

She raises her head to speak but quickly pauses. "Ah—hm." She dips her head and goes back to mumbling. "It wouldn't make sense to do my typical intro because we aren't at Momoyodou, but then what would I…" She looks up and stares at me before sighing. "Kawawa Shizuko. I'll be your assistant for the evening."

I take a seat and spin myself back to face my ever-favorite desk. "It's good to be working with you. Here's to a productive evening."

Before turning on my computer, I can see a dim reflection of Shizuko looking toward me with a blank stare mixed with slight concern. "…"

"…So, what was—"

"Aah, I don't want to talk about it!" Shizuko presses her hand against her face while reaching out and frantically shaking the other one. "You were out for so long that I thought I should use that time to practice…"

I fiddle with the computer, finally getting it to turn on after an uncomfortable series of feeling around it like I was massaging it. "Sorry about that. Something unexpected came up that took longer to deal with than I thought it would."

Hearing that, Shizuko perks up and reaches into her pocket. "That's right, you were on the news today!"

I turn around. "You saw that?"

"Hard to ignore that huge blimp broadcasting your name when I was supposed to go help that same person." Shizuko pulls out her phone and fiddles with it before showing me what looks to be the same coverage Yozora showed me earlier. "I had some trouble understanding this, so maybe you can tell me outright… what is your branding here?"

I stare at her, and she stares back, unfazed. After a few seconds of mutual silence, she breathes out. "So you're the kind of person that jumps into the battlefield. That much is obvious, especially since this is your second time. However, you were hardly fighting this time. After whatever explosion you caused, you disappeared and didn't even show after the fight was over. It would do you good to remain on the front lines so people can get a better look at what kind of person you are."

I nod, turning back around as the monitors start showing video. "I would've liked to but my firearm isn't very effective against students from Kivotos. I'm planning to get it checked out tomorrow."

Shizuko hums to herself. "Interesting… by the way, Sensei. You aren't bulletproof, are you?"

"As in, immune to bullets? No… are you?"

"If you shot me right now, it would sting a little at most. If I shot you, you'd die on impact, right?" She frowns. "Why exactly are you out on the battlefield? It's a miracle that you haven't been killed out there."

"Thanks for your concern. I have a safeguard, don't worry." Come to think of it, there may be some problem with revealing Arona's ability this publicly. But who would be able to do something about it?

"I guess you do have a pretty strong brand there already…" 

By the time I get the computer ready for the evening's work (Shizuko seemed especially concerned watching my slowly look back between the screen and a sticky note to get my password down. "Are you really that slow?" is the last thing I'd want to hear, but unfortunately, the answer is yes), I'd lost all my motivation to get any work done, not that I had any to begin with. "Shizuko, are you any good at this kind of paperwork? I'm not entirely familiar with it myself."

Shizuko frowns. "Is this what I'm supposed to be helping you with? I figured I'd be here to help you with general things like getting you food and water or, I don't know, some kind of emotional support?"

"What are you told when you're called in for assistant duty?"

"Along the lines of what I just told you."

"That sounds more like… a maid service than assistant duty."

Shizuko giggles. "Here's Shizuko, the idol maid of Momoyodou, at your service~"

I can't explain the emotions going through my face as I hear that. "Come again?"

"Can I get you anything, Sensei?" Shizuko grins as she leans toward me. "Many would kill for this personal service I'm offering you, you know?"

I sigh. "Could you get me something from the cafeteria? I haven't had a chance to eat."

She nods, standing up before leaning over at my other side. "When you come to Momoyodou, I'll show you quality service beyond what you can imagine." She walks away from my desk before stepping into a quicker jog out of the room. I turn my attention back to the computer. Since I'm planning to go to Millennium tomorrow, the idea now is to find any smaller incidents that the rabbit girls could handle on their own. Then again, I wonder if I would receive any of those kinds of requests since Yozora said the especially small ones would be filtered away.

Taking a look at the ones Miyako set aside earlier, it does seem as though they aren't terribly urgent; however, many are the kind that require myself to show, like meetings with district officials… I had already received those through physical letters the first day, though. It doesn't seem like Nagisa or any other Trinity official has sent me a request from there, not unless there were smaller ones that were filtered out. Another Gehenna letter seems to have appeared, though only from Ako and not Makoto: a message of concern over what Makoto said to me and a request to meet again to follow up on our previous conversation. I believe I remember the Shanhaijing seal on a request sent on behalf of Madame Kisaki. It feels important, but there doesn't seem to be any major sense of urgency. I can't send the rabbit girls to deal with it, but I should have time to address it later.

Finally (ignoring the letter from that festival department or whatever), a request I don't remember seeing by letter: a request from a group called the Foreclosure Task Force from the district of Abydos. It doesn't look like much; if not for the big words, this request could easily be written off as any other. I vaguely remember Miyako bringing them up while going through the requests, so perhaps there's some merit to giving this request some thought? It's a simple plea to help with driving out helmet gangsters from overwhelming their school. That doesn't sound too diplomatic… in fact, this could be perfect for the rabbits to handle on their own! If they need reinforcements to protect their school, four SRT students should be able to hold the line well, especially if they managed to hold down the park on their own a couple days ago.

Then, we're all set for tomorrow. I'll have the rabbit girls investigate Abydos while I visit Millennium. "Arona, how far is Abydos from Millennium?"

The tablet lights up from the corner of the desk. "Far enough that I wouldn't recommend walking, but all the major districts are close enough that if you're traveling by aircraft, it'll be similar to most rides." As I lean over to check the tablet, I see Arona pacing around her classroom, holding her chin while studying the water beneath her. "But Sensei, this plan of yours sounds really good! Since the RABBIT Squad won't be fighting with you, a successful defense will be news that they can still be trusted with their previous roles, right?"

"It's definitely a start." Obviously, one or two examples is nowhere near enough for a full conviction, but if Kaya is doing her part as she's said, we could get far with just a little progress. Now, for—

"Sensei—" Shizuko bursts into the room, groaning as she points behind her. "They won't let me grab food from the cafeteria."

"Huh? Why?" Or, I suppose a little intervention with Shizuko can come first…

"'Only Schale affiliates or registered guests can access the cafeteria.' Somehow I'm neither, even though I'm officially on duty helping you. I told them that, but they said they needed more concrete proof. Is it that big of a deal…?"

Given all that I've had to deal with today… something as laughably trivial as this is refreshing. "I'll go down with you. Think that's concrete enough?"

She shrugs. "It's so meticulous that I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. You'll be there anyway, so you can get the food yourself if there's still a problem."

I stand from my desk and shake my head. "I thought I was supposed to be expecting some quality personal service from Shizuko herself. What am I going with you for if I'll be giving that up?"

Shizuko grumbles. "Just you wait, you'll be missing me every day from now on after this!" She hurries off, and I have to run after her just to catch up.

…

Unlike earlier, when I ran into the rabbit girls in the cafeteria, the lighting has now changed to a warmer, dimmer hue, one nearly fit for a coffee shop if the distant sound of frying wasn't polluting the background. "A big cafeteria like this is much more hectic than the café I normally work at," Shizuko says. "Most of all, you have to run around to get your food here, whereas all you need over there is hunger and anticipation." She shrugs. "Browsing what you want isn't a bad feeling, I'll admit, but it sometimes ruins your appetite when you're surfing through such large crowds. Does Schale already have so many students?"

"I don't know about that either. All these people pop up and keep the place running while I'm supposed to take care of the academy stuff. You think I should explore the place more?"

Shizuko looks off to the side. "You'd be better off visiting our café. After all, it's more related to your task of going around the city…"

We approach the girl at the counter, the same one I encountered earlier. She waves at us and bows. "Good evening, Sensei, and to you too once again, miss."

I gesture to Shizuko. "I was told she wasn't allowed entry into the cafeteria, so I wanted to help that."

She nods. "Yes, that's what I heard from her. Unfortunately, it's policy to only allow those officially registered with Schale, unless they're explicitly registered as a guest. Officially, she doesn't meet either requirement, so even if she's personally endorsed by you, I can't allow her in."

"That's a problem, isn't it…"

She tilts her head, dropping her eyebrow in confusion. "You know, Sensei, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to register her as a student of Schale. You're the head of Schale, after all."

Slowly, my face breaks into a frown. "And how… would I do that, exactly?"

The student shakes her head. "I wouldn't have an idea. You should ask down at the registry office."

That's the place where I got the lanyards for the rabbit girls printed. "Thanks." I turn around with Shizuko to leave the cafeteria. "It's a bit of a hassle, but we can go and get that done…"

Shizuko nudges my arm. "We can just go back to work… I didn't think it would actually be this big of a deal."

"It's fine." I push her forward. "Besides, you've talked so much about you and your café that I feel obligated to see what that's all about. You won't leave me hanging this late now, will you?"

Shizuko smiles. "You'll get what you wish for." She starts running off again, making me chase her once more—she doesn't even know where the front office is, does she?

…

"Head of Schale, but we still have to go through this whole process. How much more official does it get than your own presence?"

"Guess I'm not fully Schale unless I have a name tag." I laugh. "It's fine. Maybe there will be a time where I'd need you to be registered with Schale, so this ends up saving us in the future."

"That's ridiculous… oh well." We approach the registry office and I ask one of the workers how I can register Shizuko with Schale. "Perhaps your computer or the tablet you always carry around has someplace where you can do it remotely. For now, I'll register this girl for you." She gestures for Shizuko to follow her as I wait outside. Taking out my tablet, I look around for any buttons that look related to Schale, but none of them are clearly related. I find a nearby sofa and sit down. "Arona?"

"Yes, Sensei?"

"You heard that thing about registering students to Schale, right? Can I do that with this tablet?"

"Well, my authority is mostly with Sanctum Tower and the GSC, not really Schale, but… I'll come up with something, okay? Maybe if I get direct access to your computer, I'll be able to help you manage more around Schale as well."

"Thanks, Arona. I'll get that done when we're back in the office."

"Sounds good!" I put my tablet away and continue waiting. Moments later, I see Shizuko walk toward me, holding a lanyard in front of her. "All done. Looks like you're my master forever."

"…What?"

She grins. "Just kidding. Come on, let's go to the cafeteria." I get up and follow Shizuko to retrace our steps to the cafeteria. "So… I guess I'm part of Schale now. It's not anything crazy, nothing that I thought might happen."

"What did you think might've happened?"

"I imagined I'd have to register to answer your requests or join your battles or something along those lines. All I was told is that I'd have access to Schale facilities so long as you kept me registered. It's like a membership I don't have to pay for." She narrows her eyes. "Sounds a little too easy when I think about it."

"Maybe. Registering the RABBIT Squad as part of Schale was a simpler process than I expected as well. I'll give it some thought when I have a chance." The only immediate thought I'd have was that having a connection to the GSC made it much simpler to manage and afford all of this, from the manpower to the facilities, but considering it took them an entire day just to helicopter me breakfast and a credit card, are we that financially successful? I think Rin or Ayumu even commented about there being financial trouble when Kivotos was falling apart a few days ago, so it's hard to imagine Schale can stand this tall without some kind of third-party investment. I'm starting to understand the president less and less with each passing day, and it's hardly been half a week…

"At this point, you should just register anyone who's willing to be registered if it's convenient enough. It might make you look better too, granting such a privilege to all your assistants… actually, it's a bit odd that your assistants aren't immediately registered with Schale for assisting you alone."

"Once I figure out how to do it from my office, it'll be simple, I'm sure."

Eventually, we return to the cafeteria and are let in without an issue once the student at the counter confirms Shizuko's registration. "I know it seems pointless, but they never confirm my registration, huh? What if someone perfectly replicates me and it's as simple as that? I have my own card, so it's not like it's any more of a hassle."

Shizuko shrugs. "If someone is breaking into Schale disguised as you, going to the cafeteria is probably the least of their concern. It's straight to your office to grab whatever they're looking for, I'd bet."

"It's still odd that I can't just let you in with my presence alone. I wonder why that is."

"No point thinking about that now." We find a booth and Shizuko beckons for me to sit. "Wait here, I'll get you the best selection this place has to offer. Do you have any allergies, preferences, anything I should know?"

I shake my head. "Let me see what you can come up with."

"You've got it." Shizuko hurries off, weaving through the crowds as best she can. I can barely see her head as the collage of halos blocks the view in the far distance. Ah, speaking of halos… it does seem like Shizuko's has a little more decoration to it than many others, so I can spot hers floating around in a sea of mostly blank ones. I wonder why that's the case? What makes Shizuko stand out from the other students? It's not like all students have only blank rings as their halos, but somehow, it seems like Shizuko's shines brighter than most, if not all of the ones around her. I think I can vaguely remember something about Noa and Yuuka's halos… they were a bit thicker, weren't they? Would that be so for all Millennium students? Does being affiliated with a certain school immediately grant a new halo? How does one's halo even detect that kind of change? Maybe that isn't it… I'll really have to take note of more halos to get a full idea of how they're formed. It's not like every citizen of Kivotos has them, and Hasumi said even the elderly animal-like citizens are semi-bulletproof, so maybe there are degrees of power where only the higher degrees manifest into a halo. It's too much to think about right now, what with the conversation I just had with Shizuko about Schale. I'll have to consider these things more in the—

CRASH

Huh? That's not a sound that cafeterias typically make. I stand and walk over to the sound, noticing a gap in the crowd at the spot where I assume it came from. As I get closer, I see Shizuko pushing herself off the ground as students are clearing away from the broken plates and squashed food around her. "Shizuko!"

"A-ah, Sensei—" Immediately, she shifts her hands backward and jumps back into a standing position. "I'm fine! I just had a bad trip is all."

"I'm sorry!" A worker rushes toward the crowd with a broom in hand as a few others follow behind her with a mop and bucket. "There was a wet spot there we didn't get a chance to address because of the rush!"

Shizuko holds her hands out. "It's okay, you don't have to be so panicked. I'm sorry for ruining the food I dropped."

The worker shakes her head. "Never mind that—you're bleeding, you know? You should get that checked immediately."

"Oh, I am?" Shizuko looks down at her leg. "Huh… that's not good." Shizuko dips her head down and quickly navigates her way out of the crowd parting for her to make a speedy exit. She stops in front of me and sighs. "Will you lead me to the hospital?"

I nod. "Need me to carry you—" Shizuko pushes me backward and turns me around. "Alright, I get it." I begin leading her to the hospital.

…

As we approach the hospital entrance, I see Miyu and Miyako walking out together. They notice us and wave. "Oh, Miyako. Could you wait here for a bit? I want to have a word with you."

She nods. "We're also waiting for Saki and Moe, so we'll be here." They step aside for Shizuko and me to enter the room. "Hello, Sensei," the receptionist says.

"Hey." I gesture to Shizuko's leg. "A piece of glass cut her shin, so I'd like someone to check on it for her."

The receptionist nods. "I'll call someone right away." As she picks up the phone, Shizuko looks at me, frowning. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I've done nothing but cause trouble for you."

I shake my head. "I needed a break anyway. In return, when I visit Hyakkiyako, you'll show me that service you promised, right?"

Shizuko nods. "You better be there soon. Don't keep me waiting, alright?" The receptionist calls for her as another student enters the room. "I'll be back in a bit." She follows the student into another room as I wave to the receptionist and leave to find Miyako and Miyu. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. Tomorrow, I've made plans to visit Millennium to try and upgrade my firearm. Hopefully, I'll be able to make a real difference with you all on the battlefield soon. In the meantime, Miyako, you remember that request related to the Foreclosure Task Force we saw earlier?"

Miyako frowns. "Only a little bit. What about it?"

"It's a request to help defend the school against helmet gangsters. I'm not sure how an entire school is struggling against thugs, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's something the four of you will be able to handle alone. It works out for both of us. Sounds good?"

Miyako nods. "It's not unlike what we've done before. Miyu?" She looks at Miyu, who nods without much else. "I'll bring it up with Saki and Moe, but I'm sure they'll be willing to do this as well. After that beatdown in the park today, we need a good victory, and if it goes well, this sounds like that could be it."

"Speaking of victory, I saw the news today…"

Miyako beams. "Isn't it incredible? Somehow, we've managed to get the media on our side, just a little bit. I'm not sure what you did, but working with you already seems to be good for us. I'm optimistic for our future, Sensei. Thank you again for your help."

"Thank you as well. You're helping me save a lot of time this way too." I wave and turn around. "I'll meet up with you once again in the morning. Let me know tonight if any issues arrive."

"Take care, Sensei."

"Have a good night, you two." I walk away, heading to the elevator to get to my office. Tomorrow will be an eventful day, yet the night isn't over. There's still a little more to take care of…