Masaya didn't return the next day, which set the girls on edge. He had stated that he would see them in a few hours, and they sincerely hoped that nothing had happened, yet since he hadn't called, and as no one had any updates, they were left to worry incessantly. Rise made sure to take notes in class so that he could catch up when he returned.

In the White Lilly Society meeting after classes, the mood of the girls was subdued, and each one was glancing constantly at the empty seat that Masaya usually occupied. Rise, realising that they wouldn't accomplish anything like this, decided to end the meeting early, and each girl went back to their rooms, their thought plagued by the nearly unlimited scenarios of what could have happened to Masaya.

…

The next day, after classes were done, the Filles de la Vincennes were given a rude shock when they spotted Okonogi Masaya walking up the garden path and headed at a quick pace towards the Final Course dormitory. But what surprised them wasn't just his appearance, despite the fact that he had a small cut on his left cheek, and one of his arms and the vest on his torso had several visible dents. No, what shocked them was his stance and general air.

The young man had a scary scowl on his face, his teeth gritted almost painfully. His fists were clenched, as if something were truly distressing him, and to top it all off, his pose was somehow stressed, and at the same time, limp, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Masaya ignored everything around him, striding directly to his room of the dorm. To put it simply, no matter what appeared in his path, he simply circumvented and ignored it. Trees, pigeons, other people; he simply ignored everything, including several attempts to catch his attention via his name being called by his classmates.

Some of the girls, worried over the state the young man had returned in, followed him, keeping enough distance back to not get in his way. Others, knowing that the White Lily Society was meeting at the moment, went to go find them and let them know of the new development.

…

"He hasn't come back yet, has he?" Chiho asked Rise as soon as she and Ruriko had stepped into the White Lily Society room.

Rise shook her head morosely.

"What could possibly be keeping him?" Chiho asked, her old fears of when he had left her the first time returning somewhat.

Ruriko said nothing, simply looking worried, but Panterbell uttered a small, sad 'kuu'.

The girls sat quietly at the table for almost ten minutes, none of them sure of what to say. It wasn't until that point that Rise decided to cut the meeting short again.

"Okay… it seems that there's nothing to be discussed for now," Rise spoke, a little forcefully. "I think it would be best to-."

"Rise-sama!"

The door suddenly opened, and a Final Course first year stepped inside, her chest heaving from having run here.

"Oh, Mieko," Rise said in surprise, looking at the newcomer along with Chiho and Ruriko. "What is it?"

"Masaya-sama! He's back!"

The girls immediately brightened up at that and began to get out of their seats, but Mieko's next words shocked them.

"You have to come, quickly! Something is wrong with him!"

That got them seriously moving, and the foursome ran all the way to the Final Course dormitory. On the way, Mieko filled them in on the situation and on what she had seen, especially on Masaya's physical state. The girls, at first worried, were now almost freaking out, as none of them could begin to wonder what he could have encountered to have returned in such a state.

When they arrived at the dormitory, they found a small crowd gathered at the front of it, all of them immediately splitting and creating a path when they saw the Soleil D'Ecole approaching with the other two White Lily affiliates. Knowing those three were the best candidates for calming down Masaya, the crowd allowed the trio to pass unimpeded.

The three of them could see that there were several girls in front of Masaya's door already, yet none of them seemed to be doing anything but staring at his door.

"What is going on here?" Rise asked authoritatively.

"We saw Masaya-san go into his room a few minutes ago," one of her classmates explained. "After that, we heard several crashing sounds, but since he locked himself in, we couldn't investigate, and he refuses to come out."

Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko's worry mounted as they heard this, and Rise decided to take the lead, stepping up to the door, which was oddly quiet now. Taking a deep breath, she knocked three times on the door.

"Masaya-san?" she called out hopefully.

There was no answer.

She tried again.

"Masaya-san, are you in there? Please, what's wrong?"

There was once again no answer.

Rise looked back at her two fellow White Lily members, asking for assistance wordlessly. Chiho nodded and stepped up, knocking on the door.

"Masaya? Come on, let us in! Please!"

Silence.

This time, Ruriko stepped up, knocking lightly.

"Masaya-san, please, don't shut us out! We wish to help you! If something is troubling you, we wish to alleviate it! Please, let us in!"

There was once again no response from him.

The three girls looked at each other in worry, then at the gathered crowd, but no one could offer an answer.

Then, suddenly, a sound shattered the silence like a bullet through glass.

The door clicked, signifying that it had just been unlocked.

The three girls glanced at each other, wondering what to do. Chiho and Ruriko waved at Rise to go on. The pink-haired girl nodded, grabbing the handle of the door. After taking a deep breath, she turned it, and pushed open the door slowly.

The sight that greeted the girls could have been considered a battleground, and everyone gasped at the sight.

Masaya's room had been turned into a mess. The glass coffee table that was once at the middle of the room was shattered, the glass covering the floor. His wardrobe had a large hole at the side, and many of his clothes were thrown around the room. Finally, there was Masaya himself, who was sitting on his bed.

The young man looked completely defeated, which hurt Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko just by looking at him. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and his hand in his face. He wasn't moving, but the girls thought they could hear him… sobbing.

Carefully, Rise stepped inside, followed by Chiho and Ruriko. Stepping around the shattered glass table, she slowly approached Masaya.

"M-Masaya-san?" she asked, somewhat fearfully.

Masaya didn't move or respond. Extremely worried, Rise carefully sat next to him on the bed, with Chiho sitting on his left. Ruriko remained standing.

Slowly, the rest of the girls trickled in, all of them gasping at the mess the room had become. They all looked towards the young man, and couldn't help but tear up at the sight of the crushed Masaya.

Rise slowly put an arm around his shoulders, a slightly difficult task due to his stature. Chiho decided to follow her lead and placed a hand on his leg, rubbing it in a comforting manner. Ruriko couldn't really do much, but Panterbell hopped off her shoulder and made his way to Masaya's leg, rubbing himself against it comfortingly like a cat.

Masaya slowly responded to their ministrations, lowering his hands from his face, yet leaving it hanging down, shadowing his face. When he did look up, though, the girls gasped at the sight of his deadened eyes.

What could have possibly happened to bring Masaya down like this?

"I can't even cry, you know…" Masaya murmured, looking down once again. "My tear ducts… were practically burned to cinders by the explosion I was caught in…"

The girls remained quiet, knowing that he needed to get things off his chest. Much like his appearance, his voice seemed to be dead as well.

"It's a shame, too…" he continued, his eyes narrowing. "I never thought I'd feel like crying again…"

He took a deep breath, then looked around, as if just now realising that his room was filled with girls that were looking at him sympathetically. He looked to his sides, seeing Rise and Chiho there, then looked at Ruriko, who was standing just in front of him, all with worried frowns on their faces.

"Oh… you guys…" Masaya muttered, as if just now realising who was with him.

"Masaya…" Chiho murmured worriedly. "What happened to you?"

Masaya looked at her, his gaze somewhat blank. He blinked once, then twice, before looking down at where Panterbell was still wrapped around his ankle.

Some movement near the door caught Rise's attention. Looking up, she saw the Red Rose Society arriving at the scene, with Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and Konomi stepping inside and reacting just like everyone else when they saw the scene. Mitsuki looked at her ex-best friend with worry, while Ritsuko and Konomi were more worried about Masaya's state.

"I've seen a lot of things in my missions…" Masaya began suddenly, drawing all attention to him. "I've learned many lessons… and I've even had to kill some people… but…"

Masaya shuddered, recalling just what had happened in this mission.

"Nothing like this…"

…

Masaya leaned against a wall, carefully watching and listening for any enemies. The infiltration had gone off without a hitch, and as his teammates created a good enough distraction outside the large warehouse that was the suspected base, Masaya had sneaked in through a secret passage revealed through infrared and satellite mapping of the area.

As he watched two men run his way, armed to the teeth and ready to go defend the outer courtyard of the place, Masaya quickly stepped out and disabled the first guard by clothes-lining him, sending the man down with a gurgle. In the same movement, he twisted around the second man and easily snapped his neck, killing him. After making sure the first guy was down, he dragged both of them into a closet, but not before taking one of their pistols and some ammo.

Continuing down the corridor, he encountered a room that had several security cameras around, as well as some guards that, miraculously for him, were standing in a close radius and walking around. Digging into a pouch that he had picked up from his teammates, he pulled out an EMP grenade and surreptitiously slid it into the room. It beeped twice, drawing the guards' attention, before going off and shocking the entire room, disabling both the guards and the cameras easily.

The rest of his infiltration went about the same. The group that had been trafficking drugs and people seemed to be a mostly militia group, so they weren't particularly well equipped. Thus, Masaya found nothing predominantly worrisome yet.

That is, until he reached the heart of the warehouse, where he found a sickening sight.

As Masaya reached the room, he leaned against the door and activated Smart Vision. As the sonar-like augmentation started up, he could see three figures in the room. There were two large men standing in between a kneeling woman, and judging by the pose the woman had, she was definitely chained up, as her arms were pointing straight up. He could see very little clothing on her, just enough to cover her waist, leaving the rest of her body open to the world.

Gritting his teeth slightly, Masaya checked around the room and found that there was an air vent large enough for him to fit in that seemed to lead into the room. Carefully opening it, he slid inside and made sure to move quickly yet quietly. Who knew what these bastards were planning?

Well, he had a faint idea, but he didn't want to think about that right now.

He carefully opened the vent door that was his exit, sliding out of the vent under the cover of shadows. Luckily for him, these men seemed to be into intimidation, as the room was sparsely lighted, giving him many shadows to blend into.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, a pleading, broken voice reached him.

"P-Pl… Please… no more… why…"

Masaya's eyes widened momentarily as he turned, looking at the girl that was captive. His earlier assumptions that this was a woman were wholly wrong.

This was a young girl, perhaps a year older than Rise was.

She had brown hair that had been cut short and ragged, and she had a face that could have been called beautiful in any other situation. But now… her face was covered in cuts and bruises, and one of her eyes was blackened and closed, a sign that she had been hit there rather strongly. From his vantage point, Masaya could see that her chest, breasts, and stomach had several bruises as well, and her legs were looking just as bad. Even more worrying, she was a frail thing, with skinny arms and legs.

One of the men, a burly guy wearing light armour and with an AK-47 strapped to his back, laughed in a sickeningly mocking voice.

"Oh, would you look at that, Hiro? It seems this girl still has a little spunk in her!"

"Still hasn't learned, has she?" the other guy, Hiro, sneered. He was a frail-looking guy, who had a pair of pistols strapped to his belt and a similar AK-47 on his back. "It seems we have to teach her to behave a bit more."

"P-Please…" the girl moaned brokenly, not even having the strength to struggle. "W-Why are you… doing this…?"

"You still haven't learned yet?!" Hiro mocked her, leaning forward and making the girl flinch in horror. "All the nobles will pay good prices for you silver spoon girlies. You should be proud! You get to do something good for a man before you die!" The man laughed then, as if reacting to his own joke.

Masaya, on the other hand, was on the entirely opposite side of the emotional spectrum.

It took all he had just to control himself, but he knew he didn't have much time.

…

"I still didn't know what I was going to do… but I knew one thing…" Masaya spoke, looking up at his captivated crowd. The girls were all entranced by the story, and they were all equally horrified by what this young man had done and gone through so far. Unfortunately, with the way he was speaking, they knew that it wasn't the end.

"That girl… was a Vincennes alumnae."

That made all of the girls gasp in shock and horror.

"And she wasn't the only one."

…

Masaya stepped around cautiously, watching as the men belittled the poor girl even more. He knew that he should step in, but he wanted to take the two from behind, where he was sure to be able to kill them without any possible collateral damage.

He had already decided that they would die. These two scum couldn't be allowed to live.

His resolve was further cemented when he heard the unmistakeable sound of a zipper being undone.

"Alright, girlie," the buff man stated, reaching into his pants with one hand and grabbing the girl's chin with the other. The girl tried to struggle out of his grip, but no matter what she tried, he was still too powerful for her. "Since you want to act all big and whatnot, I'm going to teach you another lesson. Now, open your-,"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off and turned into a gurgle of pain when a blade shot through his neck, splattering his blood all over the floor. Hiro yelled in shock as he beheld his partner being killed mercilessly, and wasn't able to react well when the man's body was picked up and thrown in his direction. He yelped as he and the corpse crashed to the floor, and when he looked up, his eyes widened and his face paled when he saw Masaya standing over the pair, the only light in the room giving him an almost demonic quality to the young man.

"W-W-Who are you?!" Hiro yelled.

Masaya leaned down slightly, pulling back his right arm. "You can call me… divine retribution."

Then, without a second thought, he extended his blade and thrust it right through Hiro's neck, killing the man.

When he was sure that they were dead, he walked towards where the girl was. She was hanging limply from her chains, but as soon as he approached, she tried to struggle.

"N-No! Please, no more…!"

"Hey, hey, look at me," Masaya pleaded. "It's okay, I'm here to help you."

The girl stilled and looked at him, her broken and deadened eyes not really seeing him. He, however, didn't notice that, as he was too busy searching the corpses for the keys to the chains. Finally, he found hanging from Hiro's belt, and without further ado, he opened the shackles, pulling the girl up to her feet slowly.

"Listen, I need you to talk to me," Masaya began to speak, looking around and noticing a door to his left. "Are there any more of you being held here?"

The girl nodded slowly.

"Okay, alright. Do you know where they are?"

The girl looked at him for a moment, then looked up and pointed at the door to his left with a shaky hand.

"Okay, good." Masaya helped her to the door and kicked it open, then walked down the corridor with his charge. "We need to find them and get out. My team is outside and causing a distraction, but we don't have much time."

As if to confirm his statement, he began receiving a transmission from the leader of the team outside.

"Masaya, come in! How is that search and rescue going?! We don't have much time left out here!"

"I've just found one of the victims, Mitsuo," Masaya relayed to him. "I'm en-route to where the rest of them should be. I'll call you back when I've found the rest of them. Over and out."

The girl he had hanging from his shoulder had said nothing this entire time, and that was beginning to worry the young infiltrator. His worry was forced to take a backseat, however, when his ears picked up the sound of what sounded like female cries from a room up ahead, as well as several male voices.

Looking around for a moment, Masaya spotted a supply closet nearby and walked towards it, opening the door carefully. Just as cautiously, he leaned forward and sat the nearly catatonic girl on the floor, where she curled up.

Looking at the girl with worry, Masaya suddenly became aware that some of the men were about to exit the jail room. Not only that, but at that point, Mitsuo called him.

"Masaya! Some of the men have broken off and are heading back inside! I think you're going to have company soon!"

"Copy that."

Masaya cursed lightly when he heard that. He couldn't just leave the girl, but he had a mission to complete.

Face set in determination, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun he'd swiped from the first guards he'd killed, then grabbed the girl's hand.

…

"I knew that I needed to complete my mission, and at my current skill level, there was no way I could protect us both had I gone in there with her," Masaya said, lowering his head. "So instead, I placed her in a room next door and gave her one of my weapons to protect herself should any one of those bastards go into that room."

The girls around him watched as he suddenly shuddered and looked up, his eyes showing pure remorse.

"That… was my first mistake. My second…"

Masaya looked down once again, sighing.

"My second mistake was leaving her alone."

…

"Here," Masaya stated, placing the gun in the girl's hand. She looked at the weapon, her eyes blank, then back at Masaya. "I'm about to head in there, so you need to stay here. If any of those bastards come in here, you take them out, understand?"

The girl stared at Masaya and didn't respond, so he shook her a little. "Understand?"

The girl nodded.

"Good." With that, he stood and made his way to the door. "I'll be back soon."

Opening the door carefully, he stepped outside and closed it, making sure to close it well so that it didn't set off any suspicion. Besides, with the racket he was about to make, he was sure that the goons would ignore the door in favour of the bigger target, but it was better to be sure.

He then focused on the door that led to the jailing room and checked it with his Smart Vision. When he was sure no one was looking this way, he quietly opened the door and slid inside, closing it just as quickly and quietly. Looking around, the scene he came to made his blood boil.

Around the room were cages that were likely meant for farm or circus animals, each one big enough to fit a lion at the most. But instead of cattle or wild animals, these cages were filled with girls. Each of them were in similar states as the girl he'd just rescued, and each one looked to be the same age as well.

He quickly hid behind an ammunition crate when he saw a guard approaching his position, making sure the rest of them were busy with other things before reaching out, placing his hand over the man's mouth, and pulling him into his hideout, where he twisted and broke his neck. After confirming his death, Masaya continued on, walking carefully between cages and boxes and taking out every guard he could see, while also making sure to keep the girls around him quiet so that they wouldn't give him away.

When it was only one guy remaining, Masaya's luck ran out when the man realised it was a little too quiet for comfort. Turning, the last thing he saw was a gun nozzle in front of his face before Masaya pulled the trigger, blowing his brains on a nearby wall.

"Good riddance," Masaya growled looking down at the man.

After that, he pulled a ring of keys from one of the corpses and went around to opening the cages. Some girls jumped at him in thankfulness, some others were about as catatonic as the first girl he'd rescued, and even more others were, to his rage, already brainwashed by the bastards. They almost refused to leave, but with the help of the other girls, Masaya was able to convince them that they needed to go.

Calling back Mitsuo, Masaya said, "Mitsuo, I've got the girls. I count twenty in here."

"That's the right amount. Get them out of there, Masaya," Mitsuo confirmed.

"Understood." Turning to the girls, Masaya spoke in a loud voice, "Alright, we're about to receive some company. I need you all to line the walls next to the door and wait for my signal. Otherwise, you'll die, and I can't let that happen."

…

"Oh… how ironic those words were…"

…

When they had all followed his command, Masaya opened the door carefully and brought out one of the boxes from inside, placing it about halfway down the corridor that led to the room. He could already hear footsteps approaching, but he was able to quickly set up a few mines he had found in one of the ammunition crates in the room, hidden away in shadows around the place, before hiding behind the box and waiting.

As soon as he heard the running steps get close enough to his hiding place, Masaya activated the mines.

In quick succession, each one of the mines detonated, sending the men flying back, some with screams of pain, others in pieces. When the last bomb went off, Masaya looked on ahead and made sure they were down, only to duck down once again to avoid some bullet fire from the only man that remained standing.

"You bastard!" the man yelled out. "You'll pay for this!"

"Yeah, I don't think so," Masaya stated, quickly stepping out and running towards the man while pulling out his Desert Eagle. The man shot at him frantically, but he was only able to hit Masaya's torso, where his vest stopped the bullets, and his arm, where the same thing happened thanks to the material his arm was made of. With a precise shot, Masaya killed the man with a bullet to the head, then, when he stopped to recover, he made sure to finish off the rest.

However, once that was done, his blood froze upon hearing another shot, this one muffled… and behind him.

Turning around slowly, he saw nothing off about the corridor, and the doors were still closed. However, as much as he refused to believe it, he knew where that shot had come from.

Slowly walking towards the place, he stopped in front of the door, almost afraid of what he would find inside. After taking a shaky breath, he grabbed the handle, and opened the door.

The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks.

The first thing he spotted was the far wall, which was covered in blood that had been splattered in an upwards fashion.

The second thing he became aware of was a smoking gun that was lying next to a corpse.

The third thing he processed was the corpse itself.

"No… No, no, no, no…" Masaya murmured, stepping towards the body of the girl he had left here.

It was simple, yet difficult. The girl had probably heard the gunfire and panicked, or decided it was just too much, placed the gun against her chin… and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Masaya yelled, running forward and kneeling by the girl. No matter how he felt… it was far too late. "Why…? Why?! Why did you do that?!"

Masaya's voice shook as he yelled, and in his grief, he never noticed when the door to the jailing room was opened and the girls cautiously stepped out. One of the braver ones stepped forward and looked into the room, gasping when she came upon the scene and drawing the other girls to surround her.

…

"After that, I wasn't aware of much, but I do know that the team outside successfully took down the rest of the bastards and came inside to search the building. And that's exactly where they found me."

The room was deadly silent after the story. Some of the girls, not being able to stand it, had left to the bathroom to puke. Others were simply standing by the walls, shock and horror clear in their faces.

Ruriko had been forced to sit next to Chiho, as the tale had left her so shocked she could hardly stand. The three girls sitting around Masaya were all extremely shaken by the story, and they could hardly imagine what he went through.

"I spent the entirety of yesterday wallowing in my misery," Masaya sighed. "I kept replaying the moment in my head, telling myself what I should and shouldn't have done. I tried to justify my reasons… but they all sounded weak and simply like excuses." Masaya then chuckled, his voice so dead that nobody there could have mistaken it for a mirthful chuckle. "In the end, hindsight is 20/20."

He fell silent at this point, and the entire room was left to digest this story. Masaya didn't even bother to look around, sure that they would hate him for allowing one of their alumnae to die. He was already prepared for the backlash this could cause, which was another reason he didn't want to return immediately yesterday.

He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and came face to face with Rise, who had stood up and knelt in front of him. Before he could say anything, she reached forward and embraced him, putting all of her feelings into the hug. Masaya's eyes widened as he felt the comfort she was trying to pass to him through the hug, and he didn't respond immediately.

"You… are a strong person, Masaya-san," Rise said in a shaky voice, pulling back and smiling at him. "You tried your best to save her. I can see it in your eyes, and hear it in your voice. You aren't at fault for this. You know that, don't you?"

Masaya stared at the girl, his eyes wide and uncomprehending. How could she forgive him that easily?

"She's right," Chiho added, standing up and placing her hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. "Masaya, you couldn't know. What happened is regrettable, but you saved nineteen other girls, and unfortunately, you aren't omnipotent. You can't save everyone."

"I know that," Masaya insisted, looking down once again. "But I should have never armed her in the first place! I should have known-!"

"Masaya-san!" Rise exclaimed, cutting him off. When he looked at her, she stared into his eyes with determination. "There are many things that should have been, but weren't. I do not know much about what you went through, but for the situation you described, you reacted appropriately. You cannot blame yourself for her death."

"Rise-sama is right," Ritsuko, surprisingly, spoke up, approaching the trio. She looked into Masaya's face with determination and continued. "Masaya-sama, I have heard and read about such kidnappers. If there is anyone to blame, it is them. They are the ones who hurt those girls, and they should be held responsible. And thanks to you, they were."

Masaya stared into the girl's eyes, the cloudiness in them fading slowly.

"I stand with them, Masaya-san," Ruriko spoke, also standing and looking at Masaya. "You did the best you could, but you could not influence everything. What happened is regrettable, as Chiho-san said, but you should not let it destroy your spirit. Instead, take strength from it, and learn from it."

Looking around, Masaya saw that almost every other girl in the room had similar sympathetic and determined eyes, and it all served to clear his mind further. He chuckled, this one much lighter than the last one he had released.

"Thank you… everyone…" Masaya murmured, standing up as well. Looking around and locking eyes with each girl in the room, he spoke with newfound determination. "You're right… I won't let this keep me down. And I won't stop… until I find every last one of those bastards and make sure they receive the punishment they deserve. I can promise you this, though." His eyes narrowed. "So long as I still draw breath. I will do my utmost to protect Vincennes. I had already decided to do so long ago, but now, I am even more determined. I will not let anything happen to any of you."

The girls smiled radiantly at his words, and Rise stepped forward and hugged him tightly, followed by Chiho, then Ruriko. The rest of the girls were more reserved, but he was still thankful for their support.

Finally, Masaya looked around clearly and realised that he had made quite a mess of the room.

"Oh, boy…" Masaya muttered, taking in the wrecked room. "I have to wonder why I get so destructive when I get angry…"

With a shake of his head, he headed to the kitchen and rummaged around it a bit. When he came back to the room, the girls were extremely surprised and amused when they saw that he had put on an apron that was covered in pink hearts over his clothes, and in each of his hands were a broom and a dustpan.

"Well, better get to cleaning."

…

...

...