Chapter Text
The time had long passed midnight, with a scant load of paperwork remaining on Sensei’s desk before he would officially be done for the week.
…Despite overworking his body and mind to such a degree… None of it compares to the emotions that are felt right now.
Sensei’s efficiency at completing sheets upon sheets of paperwork was dropping, already evident by the sound of the pen scribbling on the paper.
Outside solely had the sounds of crickets and occasional— but seldom gusts of wind.
And right when the breeze had gone quiet… A voice emerged from the tablet that Sensei had always been holding onto ever since he was appointed this title.
Plana:
“Sensei, the time is already 4:51 AM; it is recommended that you get some rest.”
Sensei:
“It’s fine… Just a teeny bit left before I can actually call it a day.”
Plana:
“...Please, just get some sleep, Sensei.”
“I know that it hasn’t been easy since Arona-senpai had just vanished, and that our efficiency overall had dropped substantially… But please, I don’t think that this is the way to do it.”
Sensei’s pupils veered to his left, with multiple phrases being formed in his mind to respond to what Plana had said.
Sensei:
“I… I know that Arona would hate seeing me like this, but don’t worry too much; I’ll be free from any form of work for the rest of the following days the moment I get this done.”
“It’s just… I don’t know how to feel about Arona just randomly missing from the tablet. Are you certain that you checked all the files and programs of the Shittim Chest?”
Plana:
“Affirmative, not a single trace regarding her and… I don’t know why.”
The two share a somber silence for a brief moment…
Sensei:
“I… I see.”
“Anyhow, I’ll just finish this, and I’ll get the needed amount of sleep for someone like me, promise.”
Plana:
“Very well, I’ll assist you as much as I can, even if my efficiency has dropped with Arona-senpai not being here.”
30 minutes would pass by, and only then would the duo be done. With Sensei immediately saying his goodbyes to Plana for the time and heading off to bed, thinking of a few things as he closed his eyes.
Sensei:
“(Arona… Just where did you go…?)”
“(Right before my two-week break too out of all times… The amount of things I wanted to show you outside of Kivotos, man…)”
As Sensei’s voice drifted off, so did his mind. Sweet dreams, Sensei.
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Sensei’s eyes would open on their own, being awake around the time when he’d normally eat lunch, but not like it matters when the schedule he abides by barely lets him eat three meals to begin with— ending with him eating two meals per day.
But that’s not really something to be too worried about; there was one thing that couldn’t be shaken from his mind the moment he awoke.
That being the dream that can’t be remembered, yet can’t be let go of so easily. A strange feeling of deja vu and regret were the things that had remained in his mind without any reason as to why.
However, thinking about something like that would only leave questions in his mind, ones that aren’t easily answered. Thus, shaking his head frantically— Sensei stood up, put on the work uniform that he had become so accustomed to, and left the bedroom.
Upon thinking for a bit, Sensei would primarily check on Plana and how she’s been doing ever since Arona’s random disappearance. And it wouldn’t take long for Sensei to re-enter the realm of the Shittim Chest.
There he would see Plana sitting near the shore-like area of what dimension has to offer, with Sensei deciding to take the spot to her right and sit down alongside her.
Sensei’s sudden appearance shocked Plana, but her halo would indicate that she’d feel at ease again shortly enough. Thus, the two started a short chat.
Plana:
“You startled me for a bit, Sensei.”
Sensei:
“Ahaha… Sorry, didn’t mean to.”
“You just looked… Really alone sitting here, so I thought that it would be a good idea to give you some company!”
A sentence that Sensei said in a more joyful tone and mood in hopes that Plana wouldn’t feel too down.
Plana:
“I see, thank you for the consideration.”
Sensei:
“Of course, you and I are going through a lot, no?”
“But… I don’t wanna keep bringing up that topic if it only just leads to us getting sad, so…”
“What types of places do you want to see whilst we’re outside of Kivotos for a bit?”
Plana:
“Anything works just fine for me, but what I should be asking… Are you done preparing?”
Plana could hear a slight chuckle from Sensei after she asked him that.
Sensei:
“Of course, I had been checking and preparing for a few days now.”
“It’s weird to do it without Arona… But I’ve survived on my own before, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.”
Plana:
“That’s good to hear, now that you’re done with the needed preparations… What’s next after that?”
A question that caused Sensei to rub his chin for a bit before replying.
Sensei:
“Maybe I can check up on Rin? Her being suddenly called by the General Student Council President was a bit off during that time.”
Plana:
“You… You still think that it’s the actual General Student Council President?”
“We’re both aware that she is not. Otherwise she would’ve recognized the various artifacts that would be given to the General Student Council President. Especially the Shittim Chest.”
“Come on, Sensei. We’ve had this discussion already.”
Sensei:
“I guess. It would be quite weird for the president of the entirety of Kivotos to just… Not be aware of the privileges immediately given to them upon reaching that rank.”
“Still, as much as my heart and my mind warn me of her and such… Even so, having faith and trust in my students is what makes me ‘Sensei’, after all.”
Such a line causes Plana to form a smile of her own.
Plana:
“I’ve heard that before, I know I have.”
“Well, if you decide to put your faith in that woman, then it’s fine. I’ll still be here to try my best to protect you from any harm that comes your way, no matter what.”
Sensei:
“Thank you, Plana.”
Plana:
“Ah, I forgot to mention this to you; I believe that a student that you’ve known had found out about your purchases.”
Sensei:
“Crap, Yuuka somehow found the receipts regarding my purchases for my break?”
Plana:
“Confirmed; however, doesn’t she only get mad at you whenever you use your money on things that aren’t really necessary? It wouldn’t be that hard to talk to her given that you’re purchasing things that you’ll genuinely need for this trip.”
Sensei:
“I… I guess, yeah.”
“Alright, I’ll go deal with Yuuka now; hopefully it won’t be too much of a misunderstanding.”
Exiting the dimension that belonged to the Shittim chest, Sensei hastily prepared himself for what Yuuka had to say in response to the things that he had been buying for the past few days.
And not even a few minutes after, Sensei would come face to face with the blue-haired treasurer of Millennium— one that had quite the receipts in hand.
Sensei:
“Haa… Would you let me explain?”
Yuuka:
“You better have a good explanation as to why you’re taking around 150,000 yen out of your account…”
Sensei:
“It’s the stuff I bought for a two-week vacation I’ve been planning for a while now.”
“Most of the yen is for the transportation and the place I’m staying at for the meantime. Sorry if it caused you a bit of confusion…”
Yuuka’s face spelt nothing but surprise.
Shortly after, she would instantly realize the misunderstanding and apologize for it.
Yuuka:
“I- I’m sorry…”
Sensei:
“Don’t sweat it, you’ve already seen the type of things I do with money, so I don’t really blame you for assuming that.”
“Besides, you’re just doing your job as a treasurer, aren’t you?”
Yuuka:
“O-Okay… But I do wonder, since you mentioned a place to stay and some transportation fees… Are you going outside of Kivotos?”
Sensei:
“Yup. I’ve also put in a notice to the General Student Council a few weeks ahead of time; not only that, but I’ve also completed any remaining work for this week. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you saw me up so late.”
Sensei’s going to leave Kivotos temporarily… Interesting, well, that’s what Yuuka thought.
Yuuka:
“Are you going back to your hometown?”
Sensei:
“Not necessarily, I just plan to revisit the places I’ve been to before I even thought of becoming the 'Sensei of Schale'.”
“Oh, and before you think about my safety, there’re a lot of laws and restrictions there that prevent the usual gunfights that would normally be seen in Kivotos.”
“Anyhow… I should probably be double-checking some stuff before my flight in two days, just to make sure I’m not missing anything.”
Yuuka:
“I see, goodbye for the time being, Sensei!”
Sensei:
“You too, Yuuka.”
After clearing the confusion with Yuuka, Sensei left the Schale building now that he had nothing to do. Well, the only task remaining was to check up on Rin. After all, Rin volunteered to come with him after discovering Sensei’s reasons as to why he’s even going on vacation to begin with.
But the General Student Council Building was quite a bit of distance to walk; luckily enough for him, the distance was walkable.
As Sensei walked through crowds and was passed by multiple others… Only then did the thought of contacting Rin and asking her where to meet up appear in that skull of his.
And thus, going to her contacts via his phone, he quickly moved his fingers across the very small keyboard on the screen.
Sensei:
“[Rin? You there?]”
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…
Nanagami Rin is typing…
Rin:
“[Yeah? Anything that you need, Sensei?]”
Sensei:
“[Just wondering where we could meet and talk about… You know, what we have planned.]”
Rin:
“[Ah, that?]”
“[Sure, Maybe… In front of the General Student Council Building? I’m almost done with my work for the week.]”
The subtle impatience in Sensei started to leak through, so he thought of quite the idea.
Sensei:
“[What if I help you with your remaining work? I’m already done for the week since yesterday so…]”
“[Just tell me if you actually wanna though.]”
Rin:
“[Actually, yeah, please do.]”
“[It’s getting really overwhelming, just tell the receptionist that you have some business with me and such.]”
Sensei:
“[k]”
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A few minutes would pass, and Sensei had already found himself walking through the squeaky clean hallways and floors of the General Student Council Building, heading towards Rin’s room stationed somewhere relatively high up due to her position in it.
And with just a few more meters of walking, Sensei and Rin would finally meet.
What met his eyes was simply met with something that was similar to what had been given to his desk when he had asked for a break— thinking that this wouldn’t be that different, he vowed to help.
Sensei:
“That’s a nice pile you’ve got there, don’t mind if I do…”
Rin:
“Wha- Sensei?! Since when did you get here?”
Sensei:
“I got here a few minutes ago, anything about it?”
Rin:
“N-No, not really. I just didn’t expect you to appear out of nowhere.”
“Well, if you’re that insistent on helping then… Sure.”
Sensei:
“Thanks, Rin… ny!...”
“...”
Rin:
“Can we please… not…”
The moment Rin looked up to glare daggers into Sensei… She only saw him looking at the pile with an emotion completely contrary to the one he was showing just a moment ago.
It was a pile that she hadn’t bothered with whatsoever, so the contents would be completely new to her if told right now…
Because what had reached Sensei’s eyes were…
Whatever it was, it was a folder that was yet to be opened. However, there was an image slipping through a gap, one that was enough to cause a mix of confusion, curiosity, and a slight amount of fear for Sensei.
His reaction was more than enough to immediately catch Rin’s attention, also making her a tiny bit curious as to the contents of this folder.
Thus, Sensei sat down on the chair in front of her desk, placing the other pile on his end of the table.
Rin:
“Um… What’s wrong?”
“Is there something odd about-”
Sensei:
“Yeah, odd enough to make me question what the hell it could imply.”
Rin:
“...?”
Sensei:
“I.. don’t know what it could imply. Not because I have no idea but…”
“There’s way too many things to consider if I were to randomly see images of what is beyond D.U, or Kivotos.”
“Especially if I see my younger self inside of some of them.”
Rin:
“...Huh?”
“Hold- hold on, you’re telling me that—”
Sensei:
“That this image here is me from the past? Yeah, it is.”
Upon placing the image face-up and sliding it towards Rin’s end of the table, she could absolutely see the similarities. The same hairstyle, the same colored eyes.. So on and so forth.
Safe to say that this was the most unique one out of the bunch; it only had images of the world outside of Kivotos. Not even anything else other than a piece of paper that was.. Apparently directed towards the General Student Council President?
It was obvious that both Rin and Sensei would get extremely weirded out as to why the General Student Council President would want this to begin with, especially if Sensei said that most of this involves some parts in his life, sometimes with a younger version of him being included to top it off. Resulting in the two asking themselves one thing:
“There’s genuinely no reason as to why she would even want this… If it isn’t weird stalker behavior then I don’t know what it is.”
However, dwelling on something like this would just make their head hurt even more; it was just better for Sensei to help Rin with her work first so that discussing this would be less stressful.
Fortunately for Sensei, there’s not much left for Rin to work with, and the ones that still remained were really simple to do, just a tiny bit tedious with how redundant it was.
And so the two would shortly put the existence of those images in the back of their mind for the time being as they took around half an hour to complete their work.
Once they were done… All that was left was the discussion regarding Rin going along with Sensei to places outside of D.U and Kivotos in general.
Sensei:
“Anyhow.. I assume that we're going back to the topic of you joining me?”
Rin:
“That is correct. I have too much free time lately, and I don’t want to spend that time doing nothing.”
“And besides, you’re more acquainted with the world outside of Kivotos, are you not?”
“I believe that it would be a good idea to have you by my side given how I barely know anything outside of Kivotos nowadays.”
Sensei:
“Oh? How come?”
Rin:
“It would have been around… 12 years ago?”
“Which… is something to think about, knowing that I’ve been living almost half of my life here alone when I was just a teenager.”
Sensei:
“I… did not realize you went here that early. I assume that your parents taught you how to live on your own?”
Rin:
“Mhm, I was taught early on how to survive alone. But that’s a topic for another time; we should probably do something else now that we have the next two weeks for ourselves.”
Sensei:
“...Right, if there was a reported case of a shining trapezohedron outside of Kivotos.. And if said trapezohedrons can be used to look into other worlds or realities, then—”
Rin:
“—To find the real General Student Council President… We actually have to leave Kivotos for the time being.”
Sensei’s words were stolen right in front of him, only nodding in response to her question.
Sensei:
“Yes, we haven’t found the equivalent of a ‘Black feather’ in Kivotos yet, but if we take the principle of how those trapezohedrons work, then who knows. Maybe we can find the world where that ‘Black feather’ exists, no?”
Rin:
“Right, and you’ve also told me about how your Shittim Chest just randomly dropped in efficiency during so, which is why I’m going with you."
Sensei:
“Yyyup! Besides, given that you’re close friends with her too… Might make my job easier."
Rin:
“...Too?”
Sensei:
“Ah, right. I almost forgot to talk about how she and I are connected in, uh, some way.”
“However, I feel like talking about it here would lead to someone accidentally eavesdropping and ending in us being reported to the current General Student Council President.”
Rin:
“...Valid, very well. I shall grab my belongings and prepare to leave.”
Sensei:
“Same here, I’ll help you grab your stuff if you don’t mind.”
The two would quickly help each other reorganize the office, and as they walked through the building, they would also exchange a tiny amount of goodbyes from those that were there at the time.
And this would end in the decision to walk and talk between them. Well, until they found a bench, that is.
Sensei:
“Alright, I doubt that there’s any prying ears here, so just go at it with the questions that you have in mind as of current.”
Rin:
“It’s just… Where can I even begin?”
Rin chose her next words carefully before speaking, breaking eye contact and looking elsewhere as she did so.
But she’d quickly formulate one simple question, looking back at Sensei when asking it.
Rin:
“Just what was your bond between the two of you anyway?”
“Because if there is someone that knew her more than me… It'd either be herself or you, given that I’m now aware about how you were connected to her during our little conversation.”
Sensei:
“Heh, I doubt that you’re going to expect what I’m going to say, but… She was the only person I would consider a friend outside my family.”
“It’s kinda crazy to think that someone like me, someone who is well known and talks with so many students, used to barely talk to anyone.”
Rin:
“Really?... I swear, there’s always something new when it comes to learning about you.”
Suddenly— Sensei’s eyes lit up as if a core memory had just been remembered in his mind, with him elaborating in a moment.
Sensei:
“Hehe, Rin-chan really does sound like her; maybe her influence with you was also just as drastic.”
Rin:
“... And here I thought you were done with calling me that…”
Sensei:
“Sorry, sorry, just wanted to tease for a bit. But going back to the topic…”
“I’ve realized just now that there are so many people that think they know so much of me, when in reality… Well, there’s still a lot to uncover.”
“Because if there’s a thing that I’m bringing to my grave… Is the not-so-bright side of my upbringing that doesn’t deserve to linger on for any longer.”
Rin:
“I… What?”
Rin was undoubtedly startled by how fast Sensei’s tone changed the moment he started talking about this topic, but that vibe would shortly go away as, well, it’s Sensei.
Sensei:
“Ahaha… Sorry for suddenly making the mood awkward; I just don’t want the generational trauma to pass onto everyone here at Kivotos, you know?”
“Besiiiides! I’ll talk about that during the flight there, because trust me, it’s going to take a while to explain fully.”
Rin:
“Then I can’t wait to know more in the upcoming days, Sensei.”
“If anything… You were always an anomaly, not in the bad sense, of course. I don’t want to make it sound like you don’t belong here.”
Sensei:
“And I’m glad to have met all of you.”
“Ah, almost forgot to ask, but have you prepared your belongings? I’ve already got the tickets right here.”
Sensei would shortly pull two plane tickets out of his pocket. Which was… Not really the best place to put things like that inside of, but it’ll be his fault if it ever gets stolen.
Rin:
“...You just carry that around with you?”
Funny, even Rin had a similar thought.
Rin:
“You know that if it gets stolen—”
Sensei:
“Yes, yes, I know. But regarding my question from earlier…”
Rin:
“I have, don’t worry about me.”
Sensei:
“Alrighty. Now that we’ve got that over with… What can we even do while we wait for our flight?”
“It’s leaving in two days, so we can either rent a room in an apartment or hotel near the airport or just do some random stuff in Kivotos for the time being; I don’t mind any option here, honestly.”
Rin:
“...It’s going to be weird to try and explain to Kronos as to why we shared the same apartment room together, so I think it’s better off for the two of us to visit some places in Kivotos for the time being.”
“Lastly… I’m glad that I was able to finally continue this conversation with you, Sensei. All the talk regarding the real President and whatnot. It let off a bunch of weight on my shoulders on whether or not my memory is messing with me.
Sensei:
“Of course, I said that I’ll always be by my student’s side, no?”
“Though, to be fair, you’re a close friend of the person that kind of appointed me to the position of Sensei, so maybe calling you a ‘student’ kind of feels weird.”
“Do you just want me to refer to you as your name or a close friend?”
Rin:
“Up to you, but for now… I’ll go back home and get some rest. If you want, I can try to find out more about these.. random images that were meant to be given to the president.”
Sensei:
“Well, sure, here.”
Grabbing the folded piece of paper that he had been keeping inside of his pocket, he gave it to Rin, and shortly after, the two would part ways for the day.
Sensei:
“Goodbye, Rin. See you in a day or two!”
Rin:
“Of course, Sensei.”
Sensei would remain on the bench, watching as Rin walked further and further until she was no longer in view. Which would in turn leave Sensei to just ponder for the time being what things there are to do given the amount of free time on his hands.
Hmm… Sensei decided that visiting some academies wasn’t that bad of an idea, but the thing is: Which one should he visit first? Maybe the first ones that he should go to were— quite simply, the closest ones first, with the farthest ones being last.
And after thinking about it for a bit… It’s been a while since he last visited Gehenna, no? There’s been barely any conflict regarding it and other academies, probably because Hina is too busy getting rid of any chances of such an incident happening in the first place.
So yeah, Sensei had decided to take a trip to Gehenna for the time being, and luckily for him, a train station was nearby.
Thus, getting up from the bench and double-checking if he was missing something… Sensei began walking towards the said train station.
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It wouldn’t take long before Sensei would find himself inside a train, leaning against the comfy seats belonging to the train.
However, the train would still take around three hours at its current speed before actually reaching Gehenna; no one would blame Sensei if he decided to get some shuteye. After all, and a shocker to none, he’s probably the most work-burdened person in Kivotos, and they don’t even have a halo to help with their stamina and willpower.
…But that might just end up in him getting more paperwork, who knows.
And so, letting his tired eyes finally rest… Sensei could feel another dream occur within his head, one that he’d expect to forget.
Despite that… He… Didn’t…?
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You open your eyes, Schale’s Sensei, finding yourself within the very train that you found yourself in.
The air conditioning seemed to have made you sleep longer than you anticipated… But this train still had not reached its stop.
Sensei:
“(...Wha… What?)”
Weird, as you thought to yourself. You can feel your eyes registering this as something unnatural, but your mind doesn’t, oddly enough.
Shrugging off the weird feeling… You check the watch on your wrist… The Shakeid’s Staff.
Sensei:
“(...The Shittim chest… Where… Where did it?!—)”
Despite the urge to do so, you tried to find this… Tablet that never existed to begin with.
Feeling a slight weight on your left shoulder, you start to realize that the world had gone a pale gray once more.
Sensei:
“(...Who’s on my…)”
A random thought occurred in your mind, one that slipped away quickly, as the surroundings had started to give you a slight ounce of paranoia.
Hence why you started to stand up and check the oddly familiar sight from the window, one that you swore you’d seen before you arrived in Kivotos—
Sensei:
“Cut the bullshit, whoever is there.”
“I know damn well that isn’t real. Just- what do you even want with me?”
With such an audible and frantic voice, it seemed to awaken the person that was—
Sensei:
“I know about there being a person resting on my shoulder with how heavy my left feels.”
“Now, who are…”
“...You…”
Your eyes met her figure, someone slender, someone with blonde hair and slight strands of purple; she had a beret and donned an attire belonging to…
Sensei:
“...The General Student Council President?”
“Why are… Why are you here?”
Her halo started to come back to life, sounding like a star in the vast depths of space, with the sound glitching as if it came from a corrupted .mp3 file.
The magenta eyes belonging to her face would start to look back at you.
You’ve been in this scenario before, in this same train from before, in this same setting from before—
Sensei:
“It is NOT! Don’t even try to make it feel like it is!”
Yelling so loudly, your voice echoed throughout the train. One that felt never-ending.
With how loud you were… You expected the person you love right next to you to react and ask why you were randomly yelling in public.
…
Where did she go? You were sitting right next to her just a moment ago. Surely a person like you wouldn’t forget her; she’s been with you throughout your entire life.
You wouldn’t throw her away; you wouldn’t let someone like her experience what you’ve gone through… Actually, just what did you go through?
Sensei:
“(I- I… Why…?)”
As your legs buckled and your palms braced for the ground, an intense migraine shot through your temple. With one of your hands clutching it instinctively.
Your breathing had become jagged, the panic starting to seep in.
What were you?
Where are you?
…Who are you?
Sensei:
“Just… Leave me be!”
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And then, Sensei woke up.