A/N: Tadah~ At long last my next story fic is up~ Meant to have it up shortly after 'Sister Appreciation Club' ended, but then I got the idea for Yesterday's Tomorrow and this one was pushed back to make room for it. It'll be a bit on the longer side, probably around the same mark as Whispers of Saturn/Stardust, though the actual length I'm not totally sure on quite yet.

Uploads will be mostly on a weekly basis, it'll be on the schedule as per usual.

That aside, do enjoy~


Halo

Chapter 1: Missing

''Mn, ah...''

Sunlight gleamed in through the curtains of Schale's office building. Gleaming brightly it pierced through the slightest gap in the grey-toned curtains, sweeping a streak across the matching carpet and to the bed on the other side of the room. Running over the dishevelled quilt of a double bed the occupant within stirred, shifting momentarily, before with a soft sigh and groan they rolled over onto their back, gazing up at the ceiling with bleary eyes.

Sensei; effective leader of 'Schale' itself. A man in his late twenties with a head of raven-black hair that remained eternally unkempt despite his best efforts, he was enlisted by the now-missing Prime Student Council President and assigned by Rin to run Schale, an organisation that acted as a problem-solver for many of the student academies around Kivotos, often with limited success. Though one perk was, due to its authority higher than the academies themselves, Sensei had no shortage of 'volunteers' to assist him in that capacity.

''Hah... what time is it...''

Groaning softly Sensei threw the quilt covers off, one hand palming at his eyes as he chased away the grogginess that lingered over him – he blamed the latest string of late-night problem solving missions he'd undertaken. Giving himself a few minutes to wake up properly he reached over to his bedside table for his phone, plucking the device up off the smooth grey surface and checking his notifications out of habit.

Unsurprisingly he had a stuffed inbox of waiting messages in MomoTalk. Opening it he scrolled through the many present, clicking them at random and replying as he went.

One from Asuna said: [I'll be ready to serve whenever, Master~]

He fired back a quick text. [Thanks. I'll call if needed.]

Scrolling down he found another from Hifumi, thanking him for being so supportive of her. A quick [You're very much welcome, Hifumi.] sufficed.

Another from Sumire laid further down his message list. [I'll be working hard today Sensei, so sorry if I'm unavailable for any missions.]

[It's fine.] He dropped a quick text back, checked the time she sent her message – an hour ago – and continued on.

One by one he worked his way through the list. It was common for his students to leave him messages and even calls; sometimes just to chat, sometimes to get to know him better, and sometimes to ask for help with things or offer it in return. Some like Hanae and Serina were particularly guilty of the latter; always offering help and sometimes appearing out of thin air to just treat him of his injuries, like guardian angels waiting to nurse him back to health.

Soon he was through all his messages, though curiously noted he was missing what had by then become daily wake-up messages, such as from Serina herself; she usually greeted him good morning every day when she woke up before school. Vaguely recalling her saying something about feeling sick he presumed she was stuck ill in bed, the irony of a nurse being sick earning a bit of a chuckle out of him, faint as it was.

'That's enough phone-time, I guess.' Sensei mused to himself, groaning as he motivated himself up to his feet. 'Alright, alright... schedule for today is... shower, breakfast, get through those forms from Trinity, call up Yuuka to see if she's willing to help out, contact Rin...'

His schedule continued forth in his mind as he walked out of his bedroom; stepping into the adjoining bathroom, the slow click of the door the only real sound beyond the muted tenor of the city beyond Schale's walls. With his room so high up in the towering building he was spared from the sound of cars driving about, leaving his cream-coloured bathroom pleasantly peaceful, the hiss of the shower's spray soon to disturb the silence.

And soon, just as he began to strip off, did too the sound of his phone ringing pierce the quiet – a sharp, piano-keyed tune that caught his attention, eyes drawn to the screen. Upon its black background laid Rin's icon.

'Hm...? It's not like her to call me so early...' Sensei mused, pressing the green 'answer call' button and bringing the phone to his ear. ''Hello?''

''Sensei. Good morning.'' Rin's tone was as professional as ever. ''I hope I haven't woken you.''

''No, no, I was already up. Just about to get in the shower actually.'' Sensei casually remarked, idly glancing at the mirror and rubbing his jaw idly. He could probably use a shave.

''I see. Well, I won't take up much time then.'' Rin's voice grew tight quickly. ''There's something of utmost importance we must discuss. I'm just about to depart my own office; I should be at Schale within fifteen minutes. Please be at your office by then.''

Sensei frowned at the severity in her tone. ''Right. I'll be presentable by then. See you later.''

''Goodbye.'' And with a click, the call ended.

The dark-haired man frowned, lowering his phone and gazing at it. ''Utmost importance, huh...''

The way she phrased it left an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, but he pushed it down – reiterating his routine in his mind and tossing off what little clothing he had left before sliding under the shower's spray, his morning routine continuing on.

X-x-X

True to Rin's word she arrived within the fifteen minutes stated, punctual as ever.

Stood in his office leaning against his desk Sensei heard her coming long before she reached the doors of his office; the elevator audibly chiming from down the hall before the door thunked open. Heels clicked sharply against the smooth granite floor, and from within his modern grey-white office he could see Rin as she passed along the hallway outside; a row of frosted windows allowing him to make out her figure as she passed by them, ending at his office door.

It spoke to the severity of Rin's summons that the formal woman didn't even bother to knock – simply pushing the door open and shutting it firmly behind her, hand going up to the lock just above it and twisting it, shutting them in the room together. The slight but noteworthy action drew a raised brow out of Sensei, his gaze on her, but Rin just shook her head; telling him she'd explain later. He trusted her enough that he kept his mouth shut, merely nodding and stepping to the side.

Rin appreciated that, marching up to his side. ''Forgive the suddenness of my call, Sensei. However I assure you this is of grave important not just to Schale, but to the student councils as well.''

''I expected as much.'' With a frown Sensei nodded, glancing down at her arm – noting the Manila folder tucked under it.

Rin noticed his gaze and responded by humming, taking the folder out and planting it onto the desk, unfolding it. ''Are you aware of the recent goings-on within the various academies?''

''A bit.'' He admitted, waving a hand back-and-forth in a 'so-so' motion. ''I can't tell you what they get up to on a daily basis, but I have a decent idea of them on the whole.''

''I see.'' Rin remarked, sliding out a sheet of paper. ''Given your lack of reaction, I would assume then...''

A missing person paper was laid onto his desk.

''...that you're unaware of the recent kidnappings going on, around Kivotos?'' Rin finished grimly.

''Kidnappings.'' Sensei repeated, stunned. ''How many?''

''We can't be sure. Various agencies and councils are still investigating, but the minimum tally thus far is at twenty-two across all of Kivotos over the last three weeks. Perhaps more.'' Rin explained succinctly. ''Schale is being tasked with finding out the how and why of these kidnappings. Everything pertinent to such an investigation is enclosed within his folder, from missing individuals to contacts of witnesses to locations. I would undertake this myself, but unfortunately my workload prohibits it.''

''No, it's alright. You have your hands full enough as it is.'' Sensei swiftly responded, carefully sifting through the folder lest he accidentally mess up the order of documents, all of which were neatly arranged. By Rin herself, undoubtedly. ''Any leads you can tell me about?''

Rin hummed, crossing her arms. ''Witness reports state that they saw no trace of the victims disappearing. One claimed that they last saw their friend cut through an alleyway on the way home, but they never made it there – occurring at around four o'clock, near sundown, in Trinity. Another claimed their friend texted them that they were going out for ice cream, but never heard from them again – that one was in Gehenna. In Hyakkiyado a witness stated they lost their friend in the crowd, and never saw them again.''

Sensei frowned, nodding as he skimmed through the documents before him. ''So all the victims disappeared without being in line-of-sight of any witnesses?''

''Correct.'' Rin affirmed stoically. ''However that is the end of the pattern, unfortunately. They strike at any time of day from morning to sundown to nightfall. They attack in public places, desolate back-alleys or in the wilderness. Their targets have all been students, but they have gone for individuals of all academies at a roughly equal rate, so we can exclude any possibility of foul play between academies.''

Sensei grimaced. ''That's not a lot of information to work with. Kivotos is a big place.''

''Believe me, I know.'' Rin sighed, lifting her head slightly and looking out the windows of his office. ''It's one of the main reasons I've brought this to your attention; you've proven yourself quite resourceful thus far, so perhaps you can unveil some details that I and the student councils could not.''

Sensei smiled slightly. ''Rare for you to compliment me, Rin.''

The bespectacled woman just huffed, a light flush to her cheeks as she adjusted her glasses. ''I was just stating an evident fact, Sensei. Now isn't the time for jest.''

''Ah... right.'' His smile waned. ''Right. So... any idea of where I should start? I'm still relatively new to Kivotos, remember.''

Rin conceded to that, humming thoughtfully. ''Hm... I would perhaps suggest checking the last known locations of the victims. Perhaps you could uncover or piece together some information. Better than sitting around waiting for the next kidnapping to happen.''

Sensei hummed, pulling out a map from the folder marked with all the missing student spots. True to Rin's word they were all practically random; students disappearing from the dense city areas, the quieter residential areas, the public parks, the wilderness – there was no conceivable pattern to it. Even if he was to attach strings to a bunch of pins, all he'd be left with was a bunch of criss-crossing wires with no convenient triangulated zone.

''Permission to take students with me?'' He then inquired, glancing at Rin.

''Of course. I don't expect you to just go wandering around Kivotos hunting a kidnapper unescorted. Especially since you aren't as resilient as most inhabitants.'' Rin remarked.

Privately comforted by that fact Sensei nodded. Rin hummed, stepping away. ''Well, that is all I came to say, really. If you need my assistance feel free to call me, but I'm afraid I don't have any more answers than you do presently. I'll forward any updates to you as I get them.''

''Right, thanks.'' He firmly nodded. ''I'll get to the bottom of this. I promise.''

''Don't promise to me, Sensei.'' Rin remarked, turning to leave.

''Promise to the students who remain at risk.''

With a click and then a thud, Rin departed his office – the sound of the elevator doors opening and then closing soon becoming audible as well.

Only when Rin was gone did Sensei release a breath, running a hand through his ever-messy hair and looking down at the documents on his desk. He certainly hadn't expected to hear about kidnappings – especially since he was in regular contact with many students; he'd have though that at least one of them would've mentioned it. Perhaps they hadn't wanted to worry him or assumed he was already on it... or, perhaps, were unaware of it themselves.

Twenty-two kidnappings was a lot, especially in such a short space of time, but in a massive city like Kivotos? It was a drop in the bucket, cynically speaking – most students wouldn't really be aware of it unless they were a part of student councils or knew those that went missing. However that only motivated Sensei; determined to not let said students find out, to let them be distracted from their happy school lives by something as grim as student kidnappings.

'Who to call, though...' Sensei mused.

Millennium would be a good choice overall; they had a good roster of students who could aid him in whatever task he'd need done. However he'd been relying on them quite a lot recently to help mop up some low-level troublemakers and didn't want to burden them further, so they were out. Trinity crossed his mind, but they had their hands full enough as it was with trouble in their own territory; they'd be overstretched to volunteer some students to aid in what could well be a long-term investigation. Hyakkiyado crossed his mind but he soon dismissed them, recalling their own troubles at home. Gehenna too popped into his mind but he dismissed them too, recalling how cautious they were of Schale due to its, and by extension his, overarching authority.

Other academies came to mind but he mentally discarded them too, narrowing it down to just one academy that would suit his needs best – Abydos. The struggling academy of just five members. They were a tightly-knit group and one he'd been working with practically since the start, and he was confident in their skills not just in combat but outside it as well. It would also give him an excuse to 'pay' them to help ease off their debt.

However, he was no fool. Which academy he picked would not go unnoticed by the other academies. A deal with Schale that earned a tidy profit? Many would question why the tiny five-member academy would get it, over someone larger like Gehenna who had a literal field army that he could hire at a similar price.

At best, it'd draw eyes. At worst, it would make Abydos a target in the eyes of many.

Beyond the favouritism aspect, however, laid another issue – the debtors themselves. If Kaiser Loans found out that one of their clients was getting a healthy income from Schale itself, then they might try and up the interest rate to milk more out of Abydos, essentially negating the extra money they'd pull in. No doubt they had some subtle wording or vague legalese in their contracts that would allow them to pull it, and any attempt to fight it would undoubtedly be a lengthy, and expensive court case; further draining Schale, and the student council itself of funds for a case that would do little more than put a dent in Kaiser Loans' cash flow.

So hiring Abydos alone was a no-go. But hiring Abydos and another academy might get a little pricey.

''Hm...'' Sensei hummed, one hand scratching his jaw idly-

-when he got a text. ''Huh?''

Plucking his phone from his pocket the messy-haired man gazed down at it, flicking it open onto MomoTalk – and laid eyes upon a text from the one and only Aru. Self-proclaimed CEO of Problem Solver 68.

[Hey, Sensei, are you busy today?]

A light grin crossed his lips.

[I was actually about to call you. Might if we have a chat?]

X-x-X

It was a little past four when the sun began to set.

From his position in his office Sensei got a wonderful view of it. Of how the amber sun glinted and glistened across the various high-rise buildings that formed the nearby skyline, how the warm light poured in through his large office windows and utterly bathed the room in its glow; it was almost picturesque in how pretty it was. That prettiness, however, did little to alleviate the burdening thoughts on his mind.

The sound of an elevator dinging drew his attention. Sitting up more straight Sensei adjusted his business suit a bit and made himself look busy, plucking a pen up and pulling some random document in front of himself, making a show of reading through it. From the corner of his eye he saw a group of five figures meander past the frosted-glass windows, some glancing in, but the hazy windows prevented them from seeing much beyond his general posture, as could he see only theirs and their colourful clothes. The vibrancy alone told him who it was.

Knock knock knock~

''Come in.'' Sensei called out firmly, lowering the document onto the table.

With a click the door to his office opened, allowing the beaming face of Nonomi to step inside, green eyes bright. ''Good evening Sensei~ You called for us?''

''Mm. Come in, come in.'' He beckoned them forth, languidly watching as all five girls filed inside. ''Sorry for calling you on such short notice Hoshino. Hope I wasn't distracting you girls from club activities.''

''Nah, it's good~'' Hoshino lazily answered him, smiling that trademark sleepy smile. ''What's the job though? You didn't really tell me much beyond having 'a job for us'. Pretty ominous, Sensei.''

Sensei chuckled lightly. ''Sorry, I didn't want to risk saying anything over the phone. It's pretty confidential.''

That caught the attention of the five girls. Shiroko perked up, Serika frowned and crossed her arms, Ayane looked curious and Nonomi looked a touch concerned. His focus was most on Hoshino however; brows knitted together and dipped slightly into a frown, about as serious as the short council president would get.

''That so?'' Hoshino musingly hummed. ''Mind tellin' us then?''

''Don't be rude, Hoshino.'' Nonomi gently chastised, poking the short girl in the cheek,

''Hey~ I had to skip my afternoon nap for this meeting~'' Like a switch Hoshino changed from serious to cheerful; a lazy smile on her visage as she shrugged. ''I'm getting too old for this you know~''

Sensei smiled wryly at that. ''It's alright, I understand that you're curious. However, I've also called someone else to join us, so rather than me explaining twice I'd prefer we wait until they arrive – they should be here within a couple minutes.''

''...someone else?'' Shiroko quietly asked, curious.

Sensei opened his mouth to speak – only for Shiroko's question to be answered as they heard the elevator ding. Almost instantly voices could be heard; one mature female voice arguing feverishly with a higher-pitched, snickering female, joined by a stammering one and the exhausted sighing of another.

''C-Come on, hurry up or we'll be late!''

''Heeh~? You're looking so excited – are you perhaps looking forward to something~?''

''S-Shut up! We have to be punctual if we're to be taken seriously as a legitimate business!''

''I-I'm sorry for holding us up!''

''All of you relax... we're like, two minutes late...''

''Eh?'' Nonomi tilted her head, peeking behind herself at the window. ''Isn't that...?''

''Sounds like it.'' Shiroko spared a look at Sensei, and when he didn't react she kept her hands by her sides, not grabbing her slung rifle.

Not a moment later four figures swept past the frosted windows and disappeared behind the door – before with an elegant, undoubtedly-rehearsed series of knock, the voice of Aru came through the door. ''Sensei, Problem Solver 68 has arrived~!''

Sensei smiled, already seeing Serika's eyes widen in disbelief. ''Come on in.''

With a sweep of the door Aru did; the red-haired student bearing a prideful smirk. ''Sensei, so glad of you to see the value in-''

It was then Aru saw the Abydos girls; Serika in particular. ''...huh, why are they here?''

''H-Hah?! What kind of response is that?!'' Serika snapped. ''The hell are you doing here anyway?!''

''Sensei invited us to help with a certain problem he has.'' Aru smugly remarked... before leaning over and grabbing Haruka, yanking the shorter girl in front of her. ''Do we have a problem with that, Abydos girl?''

''I have a name thank you very much!''

Seeing Shiroko about to move in Sensei chose then to speak up. ''Easy girls. I didn't call you both here just to have you fight.''

His interrupted quelled the rising argument, and with a sour look shared between Aru and Serika the red-haired sniper marched herself further into the room, stood near the window with Haruka just a step or two behind. Mutsuki skipped on inside and gave him a wink, whilst Kayoko followed behind at a much more subdued pace, just giving him a nod of greeting before shutting the door behind herself.

''So, why did you call us here Sensei?'' Curiosity laced Nonomi's voice as she inquired.

To that, Sensei just hummed. Not immediately answering he instead took out the Manila folder handed to him by Rin, waving it about for them all to see before dropping it down onto his desk. ''I have a mission for you both.''

Shiroko eyed him closely. ''...you could've told us beforehand if it was.''

''Mm.'' Leaning forward in his seat he looked over the nine girls before him. ''This isn't any ordinary mission however. It's top-secret, and one that I ask you don't mention to anyone else. It'll pay well, but will be a longer-term mission.''

Hoshino hummed, watching him. Though she retained her languid expression there was a glint in her eyes that spoke of a greater intellect than she showed, evaluating his proposition. Aru, despite the lilted hum and way she tapped her arm, also considered it – though he was willing to bet less because of the severity of it, and comparing it to existing contracts she had instead.

Until, practically as one, both spoke. ''Agreed.''

Sensei smiled slightly, but the expression faded quickly. ''Good. The mission itself is in regards to a string of kidnappings across Kivotos.''

''Kidnappings...'' Serika muttered in disbelief. ''You can't be serious.''

He merely nodded, grim. ''At least twenty-two students are known to have been kidnapped, with the possibility of many more. Schale has been tasked with solving the mystery kidnappings, and of course I'm hiring both Abydos and Problem Solver to help with that.''

Ayane frowned, concerned. ''Forgive me, Sensei, but are we really the best suited for this...?''

''Perhaps not.'' He conceded. ''But, if nothing else, you could use the experience. As far as I'm aware there's no proper leads yet anyway so hiring one of the larger academies to assist wouldn't yield any different results anyway.''

''What information do we have on these... kidnappers?'' Aru interjected, tone slow and with a curious lilt to it. ''Motives, patterns, targets...?''

''None.'' Sensei answered frankly. ''We don't know their affiliation, their motive, their type of target, there's no pattern to who they take – the only clear-cut bit of evidence we have is that they always take their target when nobody else has line-of-sight on them. In an alley, an empty street, so on.''

''That's it.'' Serika stated, stunned. ''That's all we have to work with?''

He hummed. ''Trust me, I'd like more information too... but that's all we've got. Whoever is behind this is covering their tracks well, and they've not left much of a pattern either. One day the kidnapping is in Trinity, then the next day somewhere near Gehenna. There's also unconfirmed reports of multiple kidnappings happening at different locations near the same time, which might mean that there's multiple culprits working at once.''

A moment of silence fell over the room, the distant sound of the city below the only real noise to disturb the quiet.

Then Shiroko stepped forth. ''When do we start?''

''Are you busy tonight?'' Sensei inquired, looking around the room at the girls. ''The sooner we start, the sooner we can put a stop to it.''

There was a bit of murmuring; the Abydos girls sharing some whispered words whilst Problem Solver 68 just did a quick mutter before coming to a conclusion – Aru being the one to speak first, smiling grandly. ''We're ready to set off at your order, Sensei~''

Twitching Serika also piped up. ''Yeah, we are too.''

Sensei smiled, rising from his seat. ''Good. You'll operate in teams of three and I'll accompany one of you, alternating between you each day.''

''So one of us is gonna be paired up with the Abydos girls.'' Aru noted, glancing at the aforementioned girls with raised brows. Something that, once again, made Serika twitch in irritation. Clearly being in the presence of her former enemy wasn't doing her self-restraint much favours.

''I'll do it.'' Surprisingly it was Kayoko who volunteered, shifting out from the back of the group. ''I'm probably the most sane of the four of us, anyway...''

''H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!''

Aru's dramatic exclamation went unheeded, and with murmurs between them the Abydos girls split up – Serika, Hoshino and Ayane gathering off to one side whilst Nonomi and Shiroko stepped over towards Kayoko. The remaining three Problem Solver girls remained by the window, looking a bit uncomfortable without their usual fourth member, but none protested.

''Alright.'' Flipping open his folder Sensei skimmed through his pre-prepared documents. ''Aru, take your group down to Trinity's main streets. Here's a photo of the last known location of one of their students; she was reported missing three days ago around ten at night. Scan the surroundings for anything you can find, but don't expect much. And no splitting-up; I don't want any of you girls going missing too.''

''Right.'' Professionally and with a proud smile the red-haired sniper meandered up to his desk, accepting the photo. ''Hm... I believe I remember this alley. Next to that café I visited not long ago.''

''Actually it's across from the theatre.'' Sensei corrected with a tinge of amusement.

''Ack-!'' Aru flinched. ''I-Is that so, aha... looks similar...''

Sheepishly the sniper meandered back to Haruka and Mutsuki to show them the photo, prompting Sensei to move onto the next girl. ''Ayane. I want your team down near Hyakkiyado. There should be a store called Maru's Domain with a twenty-four-seven dry cleaners next to it; both have bright green neon signs, can't miss them. The victim was last seen inside the dry cleaners there while the clerk on-duty, Hitachi, was in the back. See what you can find.''

''Affirmative.'' Ayane firmly responded, approaching his desk and accepting the offered photograph.

''Shiroko.'' Sensei then called out, meeting the wolf-girl's eyes. ''I'll be going with your group tonight. We're heading down to Trinity as well; though we'll be going further out to a place called Corridor Road. The student there was last seen just yesterday, so that's the spot I want to check out the most.''

Shiroko nodded firmly. ''Understood.''

He looked around at the three groups of students. ''Alright then. If there's nothing else, let's get a move-on. We'll work until nine tonight and regroup here at Schale. Understood?''

''Hai!'' Came a chorus of affirmations.

Sensei smiled, gathering up his things. ''Then off we go.''

Another mission, and another problem that needed solving.

Yet something deep in his gut told him that this wouldn't be such a simple mission.

[END]


A/N: What'cha think~?

Regardless, see you next time in Chapter 2: Clues~

Sneak peek:

Sensei shook his head slightly, about to reply to Nonomi – when he caught sight of movement ahead. The others did too, some raising their guns slightly as the figure so suddenly stepped out from a narrow alleyway; stopping mid-motion when Sensei snapped a hand up. The movement, in turn, caught the attention of the individual, surprise lighting up her bespectacled space and tension stiffening her frame.

Shimiko. The kind librarian student from Trinity.

''Ah...? Oh, um... g-good evening, Sensei...'' Shimiko greeted him somewhat timidly, adjusting her glasses. ''I didn't expect to see you here...?''