Time has moved forward into the year 2013, and Phillip was moving into the next school year.

Phillip had no time to reflect, honestly. Hunger and fatigue cursed every waking moment, and work hasn't let up. In fact, it actually managed to pick up, though he could tell it wasn't a good thing.

With the stress now added into the mix, Phillip's mistakes became more numerous. Almost every customer had a complaint about something, be it the service or the food. More utensils and dishes were broken, ingredients were left out unintentionally, and even chairs ended up broken with Phillip's weakening strength. Sho always managed to replace everything rather quickly, but Phillip knew everything came out of his payment.

With all this happening, Phillip's mental health began to deteriorate. While the likeliness of Phillip going insane was nulled by Gabriel, Phillip lost almost all of his confidence as time marched on.

With every accident, Phillip rushed to fix it the best he could. He tripled checked every food item he cooked. He smiled extra wide when greeting customers, and bit back any and every sarcastic comment or joke he could mistakenly make at any time. He tried to make the restaurant extra comfy, welcoming every guest he could, and even tried to pull in more customers from the neighborhood. He pushed himself to make everything extra clean and buffed anything that he could. This, of course, caused him to lose the only two hours he had for sleep.

And, of course, it was almost always in vain.

While service complaints dwindled, food complaints nearly tripled. It got to a point that Phillip created a sign that asked customers to allow him to remake the dishes. Most customers didn't take him on it, but Phillip was able to battle some of them down to allow him to try again. Though, those exact customers would simply come back up with the food, dumped it into the trash can, and walked out.

The most recent case involved a family of three: one wife, one husband, and one child. They were looking for a place to eat, and Phillip managed to convince them to enter the restaurant, which was now blindingly shiny, due to how much Phillip cleaned.

The man of the family made an offhand comment that it looked like a 5-star. Phillip's heart jerked in hope, his smile growing, as he gathered the family's orders, before running back to the kitchen.

He never saw the wife smack the husband's shoulder.

Phillip quickly made the orders, constantly checking to make sure the processes were handled to a T. Once he was sure every little thing was accounted for, he hurriedly brought everything to the family, gave the family a kind-hearted "enjoy your food", and walked back the kitchen to give the family space.

It only took one look back to see the wife had already stood up and moved towards the trash can, food in hand.

Phillip immediately intercepted the woman to convince her to allow him to correct whatever mistake he had made. The woman, though, remained stubborn on her decision and brought her family to the door.

Phillip became more desperate with each attempt, each stomped down by the ruthless woman. By the time the family was walking out the door, Phillip, down on his knees, was looking at the other members for anything form of validation. The husband shot him a look of sympathy but followed his wife. The last one out was the child; one so small they couldn't reach the chairs but old enough to walk.

"Please."

That word could be chalked up to be the world's weakest plea.

The child looked at him, confused, before following his parents out. The group walked away.

Phillip cried.

With the number of mistakes increasing, Phillip refused any payments Sho tried to give him. It didn't really matter to him, due to the last payments being that one coin again.

The only thing Phillip was doing well in was school, and he doesn't know how that worked. It might have something to do with the fact that Phillip's clones read every book from cover to cover before they popped from the lack of stable chakra.

Bringing that up, Phillip's chakra was completely shot. He was able to maintain his transformation, thus blocking his actual appearance from the world, but anything above that was going way too far. The last time he tried to force a Jutsu to work, he suffered a lung laceration. Thank god for his healing, but that was the last time Phillip tried to pull that.

The only upside for a while, after everything went to hell, was that the neighboring businesses often helped him when needed. The bakeries often met him at the doors of their buildings to give a treat before he ran off to school. Clothing stores gave him clothing when his old ones were worn and torn. The only ones that don't give him things were other restaurants, but Phillip did catch some chiefs outside every once in a while, and they would give some cooking advice when he asked.

Of course, his biggest supporter happened to be Ms. Chen.

The reason why most of these places gave Phillip stuff was that, at some point, he helped them out. Either as he was heading out to school or returning, Phillip gave what little time he had to give a helping hand.

Ms. Chen happens to be the one that ended up needing him most. This was because Kuro, her cat, was always picking fights with some stray dogs. Phillip almost always pulled Kuro from the fights and brought him back to Ms. Chen. The first few times, Phillip got clawed up pretty badly, but Kuro eventually got used to the retreat tactic and curled up in Phillip's arms when pulled away from the dogs.

Because of this, Ms. Chen always had a goodie bag with his name on it. Along with that, Phillip was often pulled in a chair to talk with her. This would often be a word of confidence, tease towards his girlfriend count (which he would blush each time), and an offer to talk to her about anything. Phillip never accepted the offer but gave his thanks anyway.

It always confused him why she left so suddenly.

One day, as he passed by, Phillip noticed a note stuck to the door. It was addressed to "whoever it may concern", and gave a list of reasons why the store was now closed permanently, and that Ms. Chen had moved away in pursuit of "greener pastures." The last part seemed to address him, as it asked for someone to look after Kuro.

Phillip found Kuro that same day, right after school.

He... did his best when it came to the gravestone.

From that point on, however, all the stores that once helped him came to hate him. They rejected his aid and pushed him out when he came around. Last month had one of the stronger reactions, where the owners had no problem throwing whatever hard thing they could get their hands on at him. The only one he could count on were the chiefs, but even they seemed to steer clear these days.

This leads into today, as Phillip got out the door to head to school. Making sure no one saw him, Phillip jolted down the streets. He didn't need to know what new weapon the stores had picked up to use today.

Making no detours, Phillip arrived fairly early at the entrance of the school. With the transformation activated, he walked through the doors, hoping for a normal day.

It was far from a normal day.

As soon as all the students were placed into their classes, the teachers were told to bring everyone down into the auditorium. Once there, everyone was sorted into columns by their grade, and into rows by their number. As each grade had only three classes, Phillip's class, 2-B, was placed right into the middle.

Looking over at the 1st year, Phillip noticed a large braid of white hair near the front. He was happy that she got in, but she was now in danger. Turning his attention back to his own class, Phillip noticed something.

The girl he met back in the store so long ago was now standing beside him.

Their eyes met for a brief second, before putting their attention onto the stage in front of them. With the girl this close, Phillip could tell she was taller than him, but only by an inch or so. He tried thinking up a topic, for conversation's sake, but someone walked up the stage.

A woman in a blue dress suit walked to the middle of the stage and spoke into her microphone. "Welcome, student body of Senba High. Today is a monumental occasion for us all. A new principal has been hired!"

The students had gone into rumor mode almost immediately. They started talking to themselves, trying to discern the truth, only to get conjecture instead.

Phillip, however, was shocked. He anticipated that the year would have most of his time spent making a trap for the old prune of a man now that the Kaslana girl was in the picture. Now that he knew that the old principal was out, a wave of relief washed over him.

The woman on stage cleared her throat, bringing attention back to her. She then gestured to the side of the stage, where another woman stood.

Dressed in a brown suit, pants and all, the raven-haired woman took the place of the other. Her coal eyes were now staring down at the students, and her rigid expression betrayed nothing as she spoke.

"Hello. I will be your new principal."

Several catcalls and a few whistles came from the crowd. All of them were silenced by the straight girl population.

"Ignoring the unprofessional behavior, let me tell you first and foremost what happened to the previous principal," the woman stated, her coal eyes going darker from the catcalls. Phillip was almost too eager to hear what happened to the pudgy man.

"Thanks to some dedicated investigations and some … unusual talent from this school," Phillip swore her eyes flickered over to the first years for a second there, "the principal has been found guilty of a multitude of charges, including sex trafficking."

That set off every rumor-monger in the school. The whispering contaminated the auditorium, effectively quashing the woman's speech. It took every teacher to step in to calm the students rambling.

"Thank you, dear teachers." The woman returned her attention to the students. "This, I'm afraid, requires me to go through all actions the principal has done during his time here. If you get pulled from your class, it is that we deem some of you suspicious."

With a sigh, the new principal gave the dismissal. The classes then walked back to their homeroom. Phillip filtered himself to the back of the line like he has done every time something like this occurred. It gave him think time. With this time, Phillip deduced he would probably be one of the first students pulled from class.

He was right because, as soon as the class got back to their room, he was stopped right as he was going in by the homeroom teacher. The teacher told him the principal wanted him, so Phillip immediately walked to the office and into it.

Inside, the new principal was busy reorganizing the room.

"Please sit."

Phillip did as was commanded, sitting in the only seat available to him: the one right in front of her desk.

She sat in her own chair a few minutes after. The new principal stared at him harshly, arms on the desk, and hands cupped against her mouth. After a few minutes, she leaned back and pulled a silver suitcase. Spinning it around so the opening could face Phillip, she popped it open, revealing stacks of cash inside.

Phillip could tell this was going to be a hard battle.

"Were these one of yours?"

Phillip remained silent.

The principal sighed as she closed the case. "You know, it's kind of odd. A young child, like yourself, comes into a school, having enough money to bribe almost everyone into allowing him to stay here, and yet have absolutely no background to check."

"Would you believe me if I said that it was the last of my savings?"

The woman smirked at the comment. "Ah, but that would still have some ways to be traced. Not even a last name to go with it, only a first name."

"I thought there were customs that didn't use last names." The glare she shot at him was enough to get him to drop it.

"Then there are all the rumors surrounding you. Not sure if I want someone like you in my school. So, try and convince me that you should be here. Otherwise, you're out."

Phillip sighed. Without any real defense, all he could play was the pity card. However, the pity card was...

"I'm going to show you something. I'll let you decide on what you want to do after."

She smirked wider. "Give it a try."

Phillip breathed...

And dropped the transformation.

With the transformation back in place, Phillip walked to his class, passing Kaslana along the way. Once back, Phillip noticed that lunch break was starting. He could tell not only by the clock but how people began to group up together. One of the bigger groups were collecting right in the center of the room.

Now wanting to garner any attention, Phillip tried slipping out undetected.

"HEY, DUDE!"

Keyword being "tried".

The blonde-haired kid from last year was still around and constantly did his unintentional best to peeve Phillip. Today's antic was yelling loud enough to be heard on all floors and forced Phillip into a one-armed hug around his neck, thus sticking Phillip into the boy's armpits.

This was enough to garner the attention of the entire class, who returned to their original actions when Phillip's eyes met theirs.

Lacing what little chakra he had left into his fist; Phillip jabbed the kid in the stomach, causing the boy to actually lose air.

"O-ow! N-nice hit."

Ami, the girl that was the kid's friend, moved to drag him away from Phillip, something Phillip was happy about. With everyone now seeing him, Phillip simply walked to the row near the windows and sat at the last desk in the back, making people flinch along the way.

He dwelled on the idea of just taking a nap but decided against it, knowing that, if he did, he wouldn't wake up for several months. He looked at the group in the center and noticed that girl from the store was in the middle, with everyone fawning over her.

Seems that she was Miss Popular in the school.

"Yeah, dude. That's her."

Phillip sighed. This kid really needed to take the hint. Phillip looked over at him, who had his eyes glued to the purple-haired girl at the center of the crowd.

"Raiden, Mei. The 'Queen of Thunder', as the school calls her. Cool under pressure, and a wicked bod. Just for the record, I was right: she does have an ass to match that bust."

Phillip's brow flatlined as he stared at the boy. Phillip then shifted his gaze at Ami, who was blushing up a storm from hearing the blonde-haired boy.

"Now imagine her without those clothes," the boy said, drooling at his self-created image. Phillip now had a palm over his eyes as Ami drop-kicked the boy. The only solace from the scene was that the center group was too focused on Mei to care, and Mei herself was busy appeasing the crowd to listen.

Now, Phillip just wished the day would end on a high note.

Walking home, Phillip made sure to be as sneaky as possible. Returning was much harder than leaving, as Phillip was even more mentally exhausted from the school work and perverted boys with too much time on their hands. Along with that, the business of the day was going on. That meant people were more or less outside to pull people into their business. While Phillip could normally walk with a crowd, people picked him out of it really quick.

Which happened today.

"Hey, Phillip!"

Phillip, stupidly, stopped to look at where the voice was coming from. As he turned, he made out a flower vase coming towards him fast. Knowing that if he moved more things were going to be thrown, Phillip stood his ground and waited for it to crash into his forehead with closed eyes.

It didn't come.

Opening his eyes, he saw the vase had been caught by a blonde-haired woman wearing a green, military-like, dress that cut off on the right side, showing her leg up to her thigh. A detached, white cape, with a fluffy collar that draped her shoulders, flowed from her shoulders as she threw the vase back at the attackers.

"It's not nice to throw things at children, now, is it?"

The man who threw it got ready to holler back at her, but one of his buddies came by and quickly covered his mouth. They bowed, one more forced than anything, and scampered away.

The woman turned towards him, and he let his mouth fall. The woman had two bangs that were swirled: one on the bigger right and one on the left that was much smaller. These two bangs led down to her dress' cleavage window, which showed off her voluptuous bust.

Though Phillip did have to question if those two belts actually did anything, his mind lost those thoughts when she turned around

"Are you already, boy?"

Phillip flushed and nodded rapidly, looking down to avoid looking at her.

The woman gave a small smile. "It seems that this has happened before. Where do you live?" Phillip pointed to the nearby alleyway, which caused her to frown. "Children shouldn't live in alleys." She smiled slightly bigger than last time. "Why don't you come with me? I own an orphanage."

Phillip's eyes nearly jolted from his head. He wanted to take the offer. He NEEDED to take the offer. He knew that, if he kept trying to do his job, he would end up dead. He had to get out, and he knows it.

But he owned Sho too much to give up now.

"W-wait! Let me explain first," Phillip squeaked, making the woman raise an eyebrow.

_ Sometime later_

"I see..." the woman muttered. Phillip told her his living arrangements between his "employer and landlord". She seemed to ponder something, before looking at him with a soft smile. "Then, how about I escort you back." When he didn't answer immediately, she turned her back to him, before sticking out her hand.

She expected him to hold her hand. Him, a now 16-year-old.

He blushed heavily and took the hand. He didn't notice that she switched between a smile and a strong frown before she smiled large again.

As they moved, Phillip noticed that she seemed to deter anyone from coming near him. Anyone that was once rude to him seemed to stay as far away as possible with the woman leading him.

Once they were in front of the restaurant, Phillip moved to open the door for the woman.

"Oh, what a gentleman~," she teased, causing him to blush. After she walked in, Phillip followed.

It surprised him that Sho was still there. Normally, Sho would always be gone at this point.

"Ah, Phillip! So good to see you here. Why don't you wash up? I'll entertain our new guest!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Phillip ran to the back to use the bathroom. This left only Sho and the woman in the front.

"Nice kid you've got there," the woman stated, starting up the conversation.

"Too true, but he has so many mistakes with that kindness," Sho said with a smile, before sighing. "So many complaints."

"Hmm."

The woman hummed this to herself, before taking out a canister from her bosom and downing the content. After a few gulps, she capped it and put it back, now glaring down Sho.

"Listen... 'shit show', was it?"

Sho frowned, and glared back. "Sho."

"'Shit show', right. Listen, shit show."

The woman walked up to Sho, before gripping his shoulder.

"That kid is a real nice kid. He seems to be a bit hungry, so make sure he gets fed sometimes. Okay?"

Sho was now sweating under the amount of pressure the woman was putting into her grip.

The woman's smile was now a sign of danger. "You wouldn't want me to get involved, would you?"

Sho was certain his shoulder was going to break. However, he wasn't willing to take this laying down.

Sho opened his mouth to retort but shut it when a literal cannon appeared in front of his face. An orange glow within told him that the cannon was charging.

"Are we clear?" The woman asked, never losing her smile.

"Crystal."

The pressure on Sho's shoulder disappeared, and he righted his position. The cannon disappeared, and the atmosphere seemed to clear.

This was the point that Phillip came out of the bathroom, and entered the front.

"I'm ready, sir."

Sho's smile returned when he looked back at Phillip. "Good! Why don't you get started? I'm going to take my time in the bathroom."

Phillip nodded. When Sho had left, Phillip looked towards the woman. "Thank you for today, miss."

The woman gave a hearty laugh. "Miss? Please just call me Cocolia."

"Oh," Phillip responded, blankly, before he bowed. "Thank you, Miss Cocolia."

"Oh, you're so cute!" Cocolia squealed, pinching Phillip's cheeks, despite the two being the same height. "I'm sure a girl would be lucky to have you!" When she dropped his cheeks, Phillip rubbed them, blushing madly.

Cocolia pulled a card from one of her belt pockets and gave it to him. "Give me a call if you need anything." Phillip looked down to see a picture of a small cottage on a snowy white background, with an address and number at the top.

With this, Cocolia left, and Phillip started on his job with earnest.

_Sho_

Sho locked the bathroom as soon as he got in. Afterwards, he opened the medicine cabinet, pushed a hidden button that caused the cabinet to lift, and then flipped a few switches that were hidden beneath.

A cautious creation to prevent security breaches, he felt.

Once all the jammers were on, Sho walked to the farthest wall from the door and fished his phone out from his pocket.

A couple of scrolls through the menus and a press on the screen, Sho put it against his ear. The recipient of the call normally takes a bit due to … business, but Sho hoped they would pick up soon.

Luckily, they did.

"..."

"Hey, sorry about calling now, but it's important."

"..."

"The product is going to be delayed another few months."

"!"

"I know, I know," Sho sighed. "He just made a real powerful friend, and I need to lead her astray before she catches a whiff."

"..."

"No, we can't do what we did to that fat bitch from the bakery. This one's a different beast. Damn Bloody Baroness bitch."

"!"

"Yeah, it's the Demoness herself. That bloody hound of hers is probably sniffing around too."

"..."

"I don't know. I was hoping this one was going to break after the first two months, the bleed-heart soul he is, but the kids have been going strong for almost a year now. I'll try to break him by December, if not sooner."

"..."

Sho pulled his phone from his ear to whisper seething rage back into it. "Well, you'd still have your toy if you didn't break it in the first two weeks. She was even in mint-condition!" He put the phone back to his ear after this.

"..."

"The actors did fine, especially that woman. Taking in her family was a smart move. Too bad they had to die because of that idiot husband."

"..."

"Right, right. I'll get it done."

Sho put his phone back, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "' Hurry up'? How the fuck am I supposed to 'hurry up' with this fucking bitch of a kid." Sho stalked back through the front, nearly kicking the mop bucket Phillip had down out of frustration as he left the building.

_Cocolia – Several minutes prior_

Cocolia stretched her body as she went farther into the alley. She wanted to avoid any wandering eyes, so she found an indent in one of the buildings and stood there. Taking another swing from the cask, Cocolia calmed down slightly.

"Bronya."

The air around her shimmered before a young girl was revealed.

The girl had grey hair, tied into two drill-shaped ponytails at the back of her head, held back by two massive red and black hairclips, and blood-red eyes. She wore a completely black bodysuit that revealing all of her arms, shoulders, and legs. Her gloved were elbow-length, colored black with red machinery that bulged out at the wrists. Her shoes were black pattern with red trim while reaching up to her mid-thigh, with only a sliver of her black, similarly-sized socks underneath. Each piece of clothing had silver plates: one at both sides of her waist that never connected, one at the end of each glove, and one at each ankle. A silver mask-like structure with red lines extended from her chest, held back by a red and black sphere on both sides. The last thing to notice was the clear vial sticking out of her back.

The girl, Bronya, spoke mechanically. "Matushka."

"Keep an eye on that place, Bronya," Cocolia said, pointing back at the restaurant. "I don't trust that scum."

"What about Seele?"

Cocolia snapped her head to Bronya. "Don't worry, we'll get her back. One way or another."

Bronya jerked her attention to the restaurant. "Da Bronya sensed jammers activating in the silly-named building." Bronya lifted her hand, and the cannon from before appeared. "New Mission acquired: Destroy."

"Disengage, Bronya." Bronya lowered her hand, and the cannon disappeared. Cocolia sighed at the immediate attempt at destruction and gave a new command. "Breakthrough the jammers."

"Attempting. Attempt complete." Bronya said almost simultaneously. "Cellular phone numbers traced, conversation recorded, and locations collected. Sending to Matushka's files."

Cocolia nodded, not really caring as her thoughts turned to her other daughters. "Thank you, Bronya. Go get some sleep."

Bronya nodded. Seemingly levitating off the ground, Bronya disappeared, leaving only her two footprints as evidence of her existence.

Cocolia sighed, before pulling out her phone from her bosom. A few taps and she put it against her ear.

It picked up instantly.

"..."

"Is it ready?"

"..."

"Don't worry about that. I'll get what we need. You just fix the lawsuit for me."

Cocolia ended the call there, putting the phone back. She then exited the alley, missing Sho on the other side, and aimed her vision towards the end of that street, where, in the distance, a large building with the symbol ME at the top stood.

"Sorry, Mr. Raiden. I need your tools more than you do at this time." Cocolia murmured to herself. "I WILL see Seele again. One way... or another." With this, Cocolia walked the other way.

_Time Skip_

Last month was weird for Phillip.

For some reason or another, Sho began working with him. As great as it was to have the work cut in half, Phillip lost almost all free-time, surprisingly. Sho found a few new things to add with each day. While Phillip essentially stopped cooking, these new things ended up taking up more time than cooking ever could. The only problem Phillip had was how people always seemed to enjoy Sho's cooking, to the point Phillip heard how happy they were Sho was cooking in comparison to "that absolute failure of a cook".

He also ended up seeing Cocolia a lot too. Whenever she came by, though, Sho would tell Phillip to go sit with her. Sho would collect her order, and went to make it. All the while, Cocolia would shower Phillip with both compliments and advice. Phillip would be a tomato with each talk. The thing was when Sho brought her food and left, she would watch him leave before pushing the meal away. Phillip asked why, and she snickered.

"I don't feel too hungry, and this is a lot more than I wanted."

That was her excuse each time this happened. Each time, Phillip would ask, blushing, for the food, only for Cocolia to state it wasn't something "kids like him should eat". This included any time all she ordered was a salad. Phillip suspected a different reason, but he didn't try interrogating for it. Honestly, it felt nice to have someone like this again.

Something else happened as well. Before, Phillip could never find time to go to his room. Now, once every week, Sho had been asking Phillip to go up to look into his room in search of odd things. When he got to his room, Phillip looked into his room to find something very odd.

New clothes were folded expertly at his now dusty bed. There were several different types of candies and packaged goods littered the floor. Hell, an entire fruit basket was sitting there, completely full and all ripe.

It took everything Phillip did not to just pounce at the fruit basket, but Sho simply told him to go up and alert him of anything odd. So, he did.

"It's all likely poisoned. I'll dispose of them myself. Finish up working, would you?"

Phillip gave a nod, the groans of disapproval from his stomach hidden by the seal.

So, that was how the month that Phillip meets Cocolia was one of the weirdest months. Phillip filed it as such forever.

With the new month in front of him, Phillip headed towards school. Thanks to Cocolia helping him that single time, Phillip didn't need to worry about that neighbors anymore. That let him move at his own pace, instead of hauling ass as much as possible and then hurling out blood for pushing his body too much. It's a blessing, a beautiful blessing.

Getting into his homeroom, Phillip noticed something different from other days. First, the large center crowd was completely gone. Second, everyone seemed to be whispering to themselves, except Mei. Speaking of which, Mei seemed to be downtrodden as if her first pet died recently.

Obviously sensing the hostile atmosphere, Phillip went to his seat. From there, he mustered up what he could to hear the context of the groups.

"Did you hear..."

"Yeah, CEO of ME Corp got jailed!"

"Yeah, that bastard embezzled money! And she thinks SHE'S getting hurt from this! Entitled bitch."

"Well, with her father's assets gone, she'll be living in the dirt where she belongs soon enough."

Phillip grimaced from the conversations. Apparently, Mei's father was caught doing something stupid and, in casual human nature, people attacked the first person related to the situation. Mei was taking the brunt of her father's mistake instead of her father.

Phillip looked over a Mei, who seemed to have heard every conversation if her expression was anything to go by. He felt his heart give way for the girl. In her world, a piece of her family just left her, and a lot of the support that could have helped left her with no strong rationalization.

He made a move to get up.

"Hey, dude!"

Of course. It wouldn't be a school day if this twerp didn't come from the shadows.

The blonde boy was already beside Phillip, with the same energy as every other time.

"Hey, you heard right? The CEO of ME Corp got busted for embezzlement."

"Yes, I've heard."

The blonde-boy jumped at his voice. "You do talk! Anyway, that makes him a criminal, and her," he pointed at Mei, "the spawn of a criminal."

Phillip twitched.

The punk carried on. "Most people are kinda hoping that you go psycho and just kill her. I'm here to ask you to not do that."

Phillip looked at him.

"You see, a broke criminal is so much easier to get into than that prim, proper, stoic girl from before."

Phillip's hands inched closer to the boy.

"Once she's scarred from the isolation, I'll come in like an angel, gracing her with my attention."

Ever closer.

"Then, when I made her completely indebted to me, I'll convince her that being my sex slave is her best option to live."

Phillip was almost touching the desk at this point. All needed was one grasp and he'll tip the desk and split the brat onto the floor.

"At least, until she gets pregnant. Then, I'll dump her back onto the streets."

Phillip's hand made a detour for the neck of the son of a bitch.

"Alright, that's enough! Get seated, now!"

Phillip immediately pulled his hand back. Not wanting to risk expulsion due to rash action, he simply pulled a notebook from his pack and got to work, ignoring the bastard's chants of "one day, one day".

As lunch came to pass, Phillip left quickly to clear his head. Knowing a place that had become abandoned at his presence, he retreated to the roof. Unbeknownst to him, Mei tried to ask him if he wanted to have lunch with her, but he ended up brushing her off. After that, everyone else either refused her outright or even spat at her. Mei started thinking of places where she could ponder this dilemma without interference. Because of that, Mei unintentionally followed him.

Once Phillip got to the roof, he immediately got into the shady part to calm himself. Intense emotions ended up hurting on all accounts. After unloaded the blood that flooded his mouth, he sat back down near the door's building. He contemplated his next actions.

I shouldn't get involved. Being described as a criminal for being related to one hurt her enough. If I get involved, that's just another name they'll add onto the list against her.

So enamored by his thoughts, he failed to hear the door open and close. Mei had walked through the door and looked the roof over. Not seeing anyone around, she took refuge on one of the benches in the large, open area.

"Why was it that everyone left here?" Mei mulled to herself, going through the reasons people told her. "Oh, right. A 'serial killer' lurked here."

She then gave a dry laugh. "Maybe it's fate then. I doubt anyone will miss me if..." Mei shook her head. "No, Mei. No bad thoughts. I still have Swordmaster HOMU, and Dad might still leave jail if the court is overruled." Mei smacked her cheeks a few times. "Just stay positive!"

Mei's thoughts darkened at this. "Stay positive. Can it even be that simple?" Mei began to curl herself into a ball. "Dad, I promised you I'd be strong, but..." The emotions pooling within her began to boil over, as Mei began to weep.

This was the scene Phillip saw as he looked past the door. His heart was back, hammering in his chest, yearning to meet the girl and give comfort.

His soul demanded he helps. His emotions were conflicted, one part desperate to aid but terrified of just causing more harm in the process. His body froze under the expectation. He needed guidance, a free will that could tell him that whatever action he takes here, it will be fine.

He got it.

"Go to her."

Gab?

"You never shirked the will to act. Why now? Why here?"

I-

"All it takes is one open hand and one open heart to heal."

Phillip began to move without thinking.

"Aid her now. Fix the pains that follow later."

Phillip stood beside her now.

"One word can make another's world."

"Hey."

Phillip watched Mei nearly jump out of her skin at his voice. Their eyes met for a second time: his dark brown met indigo.

"I'm sorry."

Mei stopped eating her lunch, chopsticks still in her mouth. Pulling them out, she gave the boy, who had his elbows propped up on his knees, an inquisitive gaze.

"For brushing you off before."

Mei mouthed an "oh" before she smiled. "It's alright. I'm just glad someone would be willing to eat lunch with me."

Phillip rubbed his eyelids with his thumbs before pulling himself up. "I shouldn't have run off like that."

"As I said, it's okay," Mei said, smiling gently. "Sure, I felt hurt at the time, but we're here now, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Phillip said, giving a small smile back.

"Good. Now, eat."

Phillip panicked mentally. It's hard to tell anyone he hasn't eaten for a long time. Telling someone that could be a friend, was out of the question.

"I didn't bring anything. Wasn't hungry."

That was probably the worst lie he ever made. Of all time.

Mei looked at him, completely confused, before lifting her bento to him. "You can have some of mine."

Phillip almost salivated at those words.

Mei then became bashful, for whatever reason. "I... can't guarantee it will be good though. It's my first-time cooking after the servants left."

"Y-N-n-no, I really shouldn't." Phillip's first response was easily going to a "Yes, please", but that sounded too desperate. He couldn't let her know he was absolutely famished.

"Please." Unfortunately, he was still powerless to the legendary puppy eyes.

Phillip moved to take the chopsticks, but she held them back. She picked up a piece of bento with the chopsticks and held it out to him. Realizing what was going on, Phillip blushed and opened his mouth. Mei placed the food into his mouth and pulled her chopsticks back before he closed his mouth.

Mei was right, though. It wasn't the best dish he ate. However, from what he got from the food, he was actually interested in what awaits her in the field.

"Phillip, why are you crying?"

Damn fucking emotions.

Without even realizing it, Phillip started shedding tears as soon as he started chewing. More than likely, it was because his body was so starved that a single serving was a blessing from God himself.

"Nothing." Drying his tears away, Phillip addressed her. "The food was good. Not the best, obviously, but not all that bad." Mei brightened significantly at that.

"O-Okay! Thank you!"

"Mei," Phillip spoke softly, garnering the girl's attention. "I don't know how to heal the pain you're fighting," Mei looked down at this, dejected, "but I want you to know that I'm here for, should you need me."

"You're willing to be friends with a 'criminal'?"

Phillip looked at Mei, who kept her gaze on the cement beneath the bench they sat on. He sighed and said, "Well, I'm already the 'serial killer' of the school. What's one more nickname, eh?"

Mei's eyes widened. "You're the serial killer?!"

Phillip shushed her down, so the civilians outside didn't hear. "Yeah, I'm the 'serial killer'. I got the nickname because I pushed people away." Phillip smacked his palm to his forehead. "I hoped the damn thing would disappear after a while, but I guess that was a dream meant to fail."

Mei began to laugh, hard. Phillip waited for the girl to calm down before she said, "Thank you. I-I think I'll take you up on that offer."

"Friends?"

"Friends."

Thus, the first lights were created in each other's hearts.

_End Story: Principal's principles_

_1 month ago, / post arrest_

"Hello, this is Schicksal's Information Department. How may I help today?"

"Hello, this is the principal of Senba High. Look, I don't have much time. You still have the bounty on the Kaslana, right."

"Yes sir."

"I found 'em. I'll a photo as proof."

"Alrighty, sir. Stand by for examination."

"..."

"..."

"... well?"

"I'm sorry to inform you sir, but the Kaslana we're looking for is male. Not Female."

"Wha-"

"Furthermore, this Kaslana has the build of a person that could treat steel like wet tissue."

"B-but-"

"I see this inquire will not provide any more details into the matter. Thank you for your call to Schicksal's Information Department."

"W-wait!"

The recipient closed her phone.

"Amber, who was that?"

Amber, a white-haired woman with her long hair tied into a braid, stood behind a chair elevated from its surrounding with a circular staircase.

Amber spoke. "A caller who believed he had information regarding Siegfried Kaslana, sir. He, unfortunately, did not, so I terminated our contract."

"When you say 'terminated'..."

"I self-destructed his phone, sir. As we do with all false callers."

"Excellent, Amber."

"There is a bit of information he did give us, sir."

The chair swiveled to reveal two blue eyes that stared down on the woman. "Oh?"

"He did not have information on Siegfried Kaslana, but he did provide information on another objective: We now know the whereabouts of K-423."

"Interesting." The chair swiveled away. "Send a team in."

"Yes sir. I'll send Durandal to subdue K-423."

"'Subdue'?" The man chuckled. "Oh, sweet Amber, I don't need her captured."

"Sir?"

"Let's watch first. Observe how she grows. Then, we'll handle capturing her."

"Of course, Lord Otto."

Welcome!

Thanks to those that followed, favorited, and read this chapter.

To ERA: I appreciate the praise and your eagerness for this chapter. Granted, it will be a long read. A lot to unpack here, simply to get this story closer to the story of the games and comics.

I appreciate constructive criticism.