Chapter 6 - An Urgent Request - Abydos
...
Jane...
...Thanks, Josh!
Hey Josh, let's go hang out!
...what is this? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!
Nothin' personal, Joshy boy.
...you piece of shit.
No hard feelings, man. We just want that bounty.
Ricky, stop!
I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU RICK!
The CEO of Galveston Enterprises was found dead this morning...
I'd like to see you try~
You're done for Joshy boy!
STOP!
I'll kill you, you bastard, even if it's the LAST THING I DO!
I shoot up out of bed, eyeswide and frantic. I look around the room quickly.
Where am I? Did one of those assholes kidnap me again?
Slowly, I begin to remember. About Kivotos, Schale and my students.
My heartbeat slows to normal, as does my breathing.
I look down at my bad, having literally shot to my feet, and fix the covers.
Another damn nightmare... they don't happen often as they used to, but they still suck.
It's fine. He can't get me here. I'm safe. I'm okay.
I walk to the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face.
I run my hands though my black hair as I stare deep into my light brown eyes.
I look down at myself, still clad only in my boxers.
I've changed since then...
Banishing those thoughts, I get dressed and prepare for the day.
Two weeks.
It had taken two goddamn weeks to finish looking through all the requests. Not to mention ones kept coming in during that two weeks, constantly adding more and more.
There were now a few distinct piles of papers on my desk. Some I'll have to bring to Rin later others to be thrown away, but all have been looked over. All papers are in this single stack.
All except one.
One request caught Arona's eye whilst I was deliriously checking over papers. A heartfelt and desperate plea from one student.
To the advisor of the Federal Investigation Club.
Hello, my name is Okusora Ayane, and I'm a student at Abydos High School.
I'm writing this letter because I want to ask for your help.
Our academy is being harassed.
One of the local gangs has been tormenting us.
It's a long story, but we think this gang is after the school building itself.
The students are doing their best to stop them.
It's only a matter of time before we run out of ammunition and supplies, though.
At this rate, the school will fall to them for sure.
That's why I'm writing to ask for your help.
Can you please help us, Sensei?
After reading it, I couldn't just chuck it, or give it to Rin. This seems to be something serious. Something that needs personal investigation.
"Know anything about Abydos, Arona?" I ask my assistant while loading lots of different ammo and supplies into two duffel bags. If I remember right, Abydos was a city in ancient Egypt.
"It used to have a large, thriving district, but fell on hard time last due to climate change." She explains. "The district was so large that people would even get lost in the middle of town!"
"Huh." I let out a shocked noise.
Arona chuckles. "That must sound ridiculous. How does someone get lost in modern civilization? I'm sure that's just an urban legend."
"Probably."
"Anyway, I can't believe that academy is being bullied by some lowlife gang! It sounds pretty serious. I wonder what brought this on."
"That Ayane girl mentioned they might want the school itself. Maybe they're trying to build something, I dunno." I try to think of some reasoning, but nothing comes to mind. I don't have enough info. "Anything else you can tell me, especially about that climate change?"
"Well, Abydos was hit by lots of sandstorms. Now lots of it is buried in sand."
Sand? How odd.
"Anyways, I'm about all packed up."
"You really want to head there right away? You really don't back down, do you?"
I chuckle. "If there's one thing you need to know about me, is that I'm the most stubborn person you'll ever meet."
"After all that paperwork, I can certainly see that." She says, deadpan. "All right then, good luck Sensei!"
"Thanks Arona." I say, slinging the two duffel bags over my shoulders and picking up a stack of papers. Best to take them to Rin ASAP.
"Can you carry all that?"
"I've been staying in shape, Arona. Remember I go to the gym room but in the mornings? I'll be fine." Yeah, Schale has a gym room. Was pretty happy to find that out. I don't wanna get out of shape!
"Later!"
"Bye, Sensei!" Arona shouts as I walk through the Schale club door, closing it behind me.
I eventually arrived in the Abydos district. It's a good ways from Schale. I can also see a desert on the horizon. Guess Arona wasn't kidding, huh?
After wandering around, I realized something.
I was hopelessly lost.
I decide to sit on a step in front of a random house in the former residential district. Pulling out my phone, I use the map app to hopefully get my bearings. Unfortunately, there's next to no signal here, due to this area being abandoned.
Fuck.
I could just keep walking, but... No that's a bad idea, especially with these two duffel bags full of ammo.
Note to self, invest in a car. Preferably an armored one.
My train of thought is interrupted by a screeching sound. Sounds like tires being stopped by brakes.
I look up, at the origin of the sound, and see a girl on a bike, stopped next to me.
She has grey hair that reaches her shoulders, along with grey ears atop her head, are the wolf ears? Her eyes are blue, yet one pupil is white, instead of the usual black. She wears a dark blue blazer over a white shirt as well as a cyan tie and scarf. Below is a grey skirt. Her tennis shoes are black with light blue laces, covering her white socks that reach to just below her knees. Around her shoulder is a black bag and a white rifle. She also has a green and black glove on her left hand. Her halo is a cyan ring with four notches on it, a second, smaller ring is in the center. It resembles a crosshair. On her hair is an upside down cross hairclip, also cyan. She has a school badge attached to her blazer.
Looking up at her like this...
I feel like I've been in this exact position with her...
Or perhaps someone who looks like her...
Why can't I remember?
"Are you okay?" She asks, with a soft voice. Making me forget my current worries.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, calming myself down. "I was trying to get to Abydos' school, but got lost. Could you show me the way?" I ask, politely.
"Oh. It's been a long time since anyone visited us." She says, with that same monotonous voice. "It's not too far from here."
"Really?" I ask, a bit shocked. She nods. "Well then, lead the way."
She silently nods again, as she gets off her bike. "Shiroko." She says simply. Guess that's her name.
"Joshua." I say, to which she nods as we both walk to Abydos High School.
A few minutes later, we arrive at Abydos. The school is eerily empty, as Shiroko and I walk through the hallways. Soon, we come to a room, Shiroko enters first. "I'm back." She says, quietly.
The room is quite simple, filled with shelves and the like. In the center of the room is a large table. Near it, is a whiteboard, one that has two sides to it. Inside the room, are three other girls.
"Welcome back, Shiro... ko?" A black haired girl with cat ears says, as she notices me. Her hair is tied into twintails. She wears a dark blue blazer over a white shirt and a teal tie, identical to Shiroko's. She has on a short grey skirt covering black spats. Her black and white tennis shoes, with teal laces, cover her black socks that reach her mid-shin. Her right knee has a black pad on it, and her hands are covered with black and red gloves. Her halo is a red crosshair, similar in shape to Shiroko's. Also like Shiroko, her school badge is attached to her blazer. "Who's this guy?" She asks, a bit worried.
"Hmm?" A girl with long, pale blonde hair, tied in a bun on the left of her head, says. Her bright green eyes catch my attention. She wears a white shirt, covering her bust, which is the largest of the group, with a teal laniard that holds her school badge. On her arms is a beige jacket. She wears the same skirt as the cat girl, but a longer one. She has black and white tennis shoes and short, black socks. On her hands are black fingerless gloves. Her halo is two lime green rings with three teardrop shapes around it, the lowermost one has a small circle next to it.
"A visitor?" The third girl looks at me in confusion. She has black hair in a short bob cut with a white butterfly shaped hairclip. Pointed ears poke out from her hair, her eyes are a golden color, yet are covered by red glasses. She wears a similar blazer, shirt and tie as the others, but she also has on a beige vest over the shirt. Like the others, she wears a grey skirt. She has on dark brown dress shoes and longer socks, that come to just below her knees. Her school badge is clipped to her blazer, on her sleeve is a blue thing clipped there, similar to the Justice Task Force. Her halo is comprised to two red rings, the innermost one resembling a crosshair, somewhat.
"I'm shocked, we haven't had a visitor in ages!" The blond girl says.
"True, but were we expecting anyone?" The bespectacled elf girl asks.
"Well, one of you sent a letter to Schale, so here I am." I explain with a shrug. "My name's Joshua, a teacher from Schale. Nice to meet you all."
All four of the girls' eyes widen in shock and surprise.
"No way! Are you?!" She elf girl asks.
"You're with Schale? The Federal Investigation Club?!" The cat girl shouts.
"Yup." I say simply.
"Wow!" The blonde girl says, happily. "That means you got the letter Ayane wrote!"
"A real teacher?" Shiroko asks, quietly.
"Why are you surprised about that?" I ask the wolf girl.
"Kivotos doesn't have any teachers." The cat girl explains. "Sure, sometimes the bigger schools get guest lecturers, but we're all taught with blu-rays."
The hell? I'm the only teacher in the whole city?!
"But still, this is great! This means we can finally get more ammo and supplies." The elf girl says.
"Speaking of..." I say, placing down the duffel bags. "Here." The blonde girl opens them.
"Wow! There's a lot of ammo here!" She says, surprised.
"Did you really carry all that here?" Shiroko asks.
"I'm strong, y'know." I say with a smile. Her eyes get a glint in them. One of interest?
"I have to tell Hoshino!" The elf girl says. "Wait... where is she anyway?"
"She's taking a nap in the next room. I'll go wake her up." The cat girl says, leaving the room.
Any further discussion is interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside. All at once, the girls tense up.
"Was that gunfire?!" The blonde girl shouts.
Looking out of the window, I see some girls wearing helmets, shooting up the school.
...That's kind of a fucked up thing I just said, huh?
"There's a group approaching the school!" The elf girl says, looking at a laptop. "It must be the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang!"
"What kinda stupid name is that?" I ask, deadpan.
"Those punks..." Shiroko says, quietly yet angrily. "They have some nerve coming back for more."
"I've got Hoshino! Now if she'd just wake up!" The cat girl shouts as she returns, dragging another girl, who is barely awake.
The sleepy girl yawns. "Just five more minutes..." She says sleepily. The girl, Hoshino, has long pink hair. She wears a shirt, tie and skirt, similarly to the others, but she also has a combat harness held around her shoulders, that is held together under her small bust. On her feet are dark blue tennis shoes and short, white socks. She also wears fingerless black gloves. Her halo is pink, comprising of two small rings and a third 'ring' that splits in two, disconnecting on either side. In between the split ring, are two smaller, horizontal shapes. All in all, her halo seems to resemble a pink eye. Her school badge is also clipped to her shirt.
"Hoshino! The Helmet Gang is attacking again!" The elf girl shouts, trying to wake up Hoshino. "By the way, this is Joshua Sensei, from Schale."
"Ohhh. That's a problem." She yawns cutely again. She opens her heterochromatic eyes to look at me. Her left eye is blue, her right is golden yellow. "Nice to meet you, Sensei."
"Wake up and get your butt in gear, Hoshino! Literally! We have to defend the school!" The cat girl shouts.
Hoshino yawns yet again. "Don't they know it's rude to interrupt someone's nap? I hate the Helmet Gang." Hoshino says sleepily, with veiled venom in her voice.
"Let's get going." Shiroko interjects, picking up her white assault rifle. "Sensei brought us ammo and supplies to use."
"Okay! Let's sortie, everyone!" The blonde girl says, holding a... fucking gatling gun?! How?!
"I'll navigate us from here." The elf girl says.
"I'll stick back and support 'em." I say, taking out my pistol. I got a new one to carry on me. "First things first." I say, clapping my hands. "Quick info dump. Tell me your names and specialties, so I know what we're working with."
"Shiroko, assault rifle. I also have drones I can use." Shiroko says, simply. I nod at the short and concise description.
"Oh! Um, I'm Serika, I also have an assualt rifle and some special stronger ammo left over if we need it." The cat girl, Serika introduces.
"Good to have options." I say.
"I'm Nonomi! I have this gatling gun here that has a pretty good range!" The blond girl, Nonomi says.
"I'm Ayane." The elf girl says. "I can provide healing with a drone of you all need it."
"Healer? Very good." I say, causing her to blush a bit.
"I'm Hoshino..." Hoshino yawns again. "I've got a shotgun and a riot shield."
"And now a tanker? Good." I say. "Okay, I've got a good grip on what we can do, let's go."
A few minutes later, all of us, sans Ayane, get outside.
"Are those idiots really just shooting at the school?" I say, dumbfounded while watching them just shooting brick walls and stuff. What's that gonna do, break the wall in a few years?
"Yeah, they've pretty much just been doing that for a while now." Hoshino explains, awake now, yet still sounding sleepy.
"It's really annoying." Shiroko says.
"We've driven them off again and again. You'd think that they'd learn." Serika says.
What the hell could be their reasoning for this...? Ayane's letter mentioned she thinks they might be after the school itself. If that's the case, why break it? Do they just want the land..?
"Haah." I sigh loudly, unable to come up with a sound reasoning. "Let me talk with 'em."
"Sensei? I don't think that's a good idea." Ayane says, over the comms.
"What are they gonna do, fight us? I figured that'd happen. Just let me see what they want." The four girls hesitantly nod, as I walk over to the gang. "Hey." I call out to them.
"Huh?" One of them says. "What do you want old man?" The fuck she just say?
"Old man? I'm 24! Nevermind that, why are you all shooting up this place?" I ask.
"Why do you wanna know?" Another asks.
"Curiosity."
"Well you can take your curiosity and piss off." Another sneers.
"Fine, fine." I begin to walk away. "Light 'em up, girls."
As I get a good distance away, the four girls spring into action. One of the goons laughs. "Ha! Don't worry guys, they don't have any ammo!"
Then they start getting shot at. "Fuck! They have ammo!"
I stick behind the girls as I instruct Hoshino to get in front, Nonomi in the middle, and Shiroko and Serika to stick back. They do a pretty good job of fending off the goons, knocking them out one by one. My eye catches movement to the side. "Nonomi! Light up the right!"
"Okay!" She shouts happily, as she unloads her gatling gun into another group on the gang, who came from the right. They all fall pretty quick.
I see another group coming from the left. "Shiroko! Drone to left!" She nods and pulls out her drone, which quickly unloads missiles into the group.
A few minutes of this, and they give up. "Retreat!" They, as one, flee, dragging their knocked out friends away. I didn't even fight any of them, just those four. Were they really having that much trouble with them?
Ayane chirps in over the comms. "The Kata-Kata Helmet Gang is retreating from the district!" She says happily.
"Wow! We won!" Nonomi cheers.
"Hahaha! How do you like that, Helmet Gang?" Serika says.
"Great job, everyone! You're safe to return to campus." Ayane says over the comms.
A few minutes later, we all regroup in the classroom we met in.
"Wow, I can't believe we won! The Helmet Gang seemed pretty determined." Hoshino says.
"You shouldn't say that, Hoshino." Ayane chastises the pink haired girl. "Those thugs would have taken over the school had we lost." Seriously? Are they the only ones at this school?
"Sensei gave us the edge we needed to turn the tide." Shiroko begins. "We couldn't have done it otherwise. Experience was likely the deciding factor. It was amazing how you handled resources, equipment and support."
"Eh, this wasn't my first rodeo, so to speak." I say, sitting down.
"Sheesh, Shiroko, you sound like you have a schoolgirl crush." Hoshino says, causing the wolf girl to blush. "Anyway, can I go back to sleep now that it's over?"
"You shouldn't tease Shiroko like that, Hoshino!" Serika chastises. "Besides, haven't you slept enough today?"
"Someone got yelled at!" Nonomi interjects. Why did she say that?
"Haha." Ayane lets out a dry laugh. "Anyway, we should properly introduce ourselves to Sensei. We're the Abydos Foreclosure Take Force. I'm Okusora Ayane, a first year in charge of the task force's records and operations." She points to the cat girl. "This is Kuromi Serika, also a first year."
"Hey." Serika says, smiling.
"And these are our second years, Sunaookami Shiroko and Izayoi Nonomi." Ayane introduces. Guess Shiroko really is a wolf girl with 'ookami' in her last name.
"Hello, Sensei!" Nonomi says cheerfully.
"We met before." Shiroko says. "...Ignore what Hoshino said, okay?" She adds with a blush. I nod and she seems to visibly relax.
"And this here is our president. Takanashi Hoshino is our lone third year." The elf girl says.
"Nice to meet you, Sensei." The sleepy girl greets.
"Well, you all already know I work at Schale, but I'm Joshua. Pleased to meet ya'll." I greet with a nod.
"I'm sure you've noticed by now that our school is in crisis. That's why I reached out to Schale for help, and you've already managed to come though for us." Ayane explains. "Those thugs would have succeeded in taking over the school if not for you. We can't thank you enough."
"Eh, it was no problem." I shrug off her thanks somewhat. "But I've gotta ask, what's your clubs' real purpose?"
"Our goal is to bring Abydos back to it's former glory." Ayane says.
"We're the only club in the school where every single student is a member!" Nonomi chirps in. "I mean, we're the only five students at this school, but still..."
"Yeah, I gathered that much when no one else showed up to help." I say. "Why's no one else here anyways?"
"All the others either transferred or dropped out and left town." Shiroko explains. "I don't blame them for leaving Kivotos entirely, with the state that Abydos is in. And now we have to deal with thugs like that Kata-Kata Helmet Gang trying to take over the school."
Damn... "So ya'll have just five members, as well as having to fight off a bunch of goons, which eats up all of your ammo and supplies, so you guys reached out to me." I concluded.
"Yes, that's right." Ayane says, a bit sad.
"It's too difficult to defend Abydos on our own, and embarrassing to see the state it's in, if I'm being honest..." Shiroko says, sadly.
"If you hadn't come to help us Sensei, we would've been in real big trouble this time around." Ayane explains.
"Seriously." Hoshino says, falling asleep in her seat. "I figured we were done for one we ran out of supplies. That's some timing you had there, Sensei." She praises.
"At least we don't have to worry about the Helmet Gang anymore!" Nonomi points out happily. "It pays to have adults in high places!"
"No. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they come back." Shiroko crushes her fellow second year's hopes.
"I figured that'd be the case. Considering you all have seemed to have fought 'em off a lot before." I say. "But still, why are they after you guys...?"
"Who knows? But still, I really hate them." Serika says.
Ayane lets out a long sigh. "We have plenty of other things to worry about besides them."
"I have a plan." Hoshino says, catching everyone's attention.
"What the...? Hoshino came up with a plan?!" Serika shouts.
"I'm surprised too!" Ayane says.
"Hey, I know I'm not the best, but that kind of reaction huts my feelings. I do my part too, you know." Hoshino says, hurt somewhat.
"Let's hear it." I cut in.
"If history repeats itself, the Helmet Gang will attack again in a few days. So before then, why don't we go on the offensive for once? They're probably sulking and vulnerable after that last fight."
"Oho! I like the way you think!" I say, fully agreeing with her.
"Y-You mean right now?" Ayane asks, a bit shocked.
"Yeah, now. With Sensei here, we have more than enough supplies to finish the job once and for all." Hoshino says.
"True. The Helmet Gang's base is thirty kilometers from here. We have plenty of time if we leave now." Shiroko adds.
"It's a sound idea. They're just a gang, best to strike them before they can steal anymore ammo and such." I say. "Best to strike when vulnerable."
"Oh? You sound like you're speaking from experience." Hoshino says, sleepily.
"Yeah, I am." I say, staring into her eyes. There's a glint in those heterochromatic eyes, one of understanding perhaps. Seems like she gets it... odd for a student to understand that...
"I'm all for it!" Nonomi says, happy as always.
"I can't deny that, but..." Ayane trails off.
"No one else has got any other ideas, and this seems to be our best bet." I say.
"Great! If Sensei if giving us the green light, then let's hurry up and go!" Hoshino says, the most energetic I've seen her yet.
"Let's strike while the iron is hot." Shiroko says quietly, as usual.
"Okay! Let's go!" Nonomi says.
"Might as well, let's hurry." Serika says, sighing.
A few hours later, we arrive at a small hideout in the Abydos outskirts.
"You're now in the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang's turf." Ayane says over the comms. "I'm detecting their signal nearby, not to far from here. Don't let your guard down, they might know you're here."
Sure enough, a wave of goons comes around the corner. "There they are!" "Thought you could sneak up on us, huh?" They shout.
"Get into position!" I say, as they arrange themselves in a formation, one I had thought up when we came over here. With a similar set up to the earlier fight, they begin lighting up the goons. This time, however, they're more equipped since this is their turf.
Kneeling behind some rubble, I watch girls unload round after round into the goons, their numbers begin to thin, until...
"Sensei!" Ayane shouts over the comms, catching our attention.
Before I can respond, I feel the barrel of a gun on the back of my head. How the fuck did one sneak up on me?! Have I gotten lazy over the past two weeks doing paperwork?
"Sensei!" The girls shout, looking at me in shock.
"You four had better give up, or I'll shoot your precious-" Unfortunately, for her, she's interrupted by me planting my elbow into her stomach. "Gah!" She shouts as I whip around and punch her in the face. She's stunned back as I stand and quickly do a full spin, ending with my heel smacking her in the face, knocking her out.
I exhale after the quick motion. Turning around, I see the Abydos girls and the rest of the goons staring at me wide eyed. "Well? Weren't you all fighting?"
Hoshino responds faster than the others, shooting a goon nearby in the face. The others soon follow suit.
Not long after, the same results as before occurs, the goons flee. Afterwards, we raid their hideout, taking as much ammo and supplies as we can, destroying the rest.
"They're retreating!" Ayane says, happily. "Better yet, the Helmet Gang's supplies, hideout and ammunition were all taken out!"
"I bet they'll think twice before attacking us again." Shiroko adds.
"Great work, everyone! You too, Sensei. I wasn't expecting that takedown!" Hoshino praises.
"I know!" Nonomi chirps in. "Sensei was so cool."
"Well, I certain wasn't expecting it." Serika says, still surprised at that.
"Great kick." Shiroko says.
"Like I said, this ain't my first rodeo." I shrug. "Welp, I suppose we should head back."
"Yeah, let's get back to the school." Hoshino says.
The five is us begin the long trek back to Abydos, as we talk about this and that on our way back.
These girls are tough to bullets, but certainly not the toughest people I've gone against. Everyone's weak to blunt force trauma, after all.
Guess things are lookin' up for these girls, thanks to me.
It feels... weird helping others after worrying about myself only for so long.
Guess it's just part of the job, huh?
AN
Well, here we go, the Abydos arc. The first three parts of V1C1 are covered in this chapter.
As a note, I am terrible at writing and/or thinking up fight scenes, so please excuse my terrible ones haha.
We also got a slight flashback at the start... wonder what happened to him...?
Next time, more stuff happens. I dunno.
Edit: September 1, 2022: Renamed Nonomi's 'chaingun' to its proper name 'gatling gun'.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!