'BEEP BEEP'
The sound of his phone vibrating caught his attention, causing him to lower his arm into his pocket. It was Yuuka, who sent him a message on Momotalk which read:
"I'm coming in, so you better not pull any tricks up your sleeve or do any weird stuff, okay?"
"Aww. It's alright, I won't bite."
"This is exactly why I hate you sometimes!"
"Haha, it was a joke, don't take it to heart. Anyway, feel free to come in anytime, mkay?"
Upon sending the message, the sound of a door creaking open could be heard, followed by some shallow footsteps. Sensei glanced at the direction of the living quarters, only to see the figure of Yuuka standing in the shadows.
"You weren't lying, right?"
"Of course I wasn't. Have a seat."
Yuuka cautiously approached the sofa that Sensei had placed himself on and sat down next to him, leaving at least a metre's space between the two.
"Y'know, I really wasn't lying when I said that I don't bite."
"This is for my safety and also for yours. I'd rather not have you charged over multiple counts of sexual assault against a minor so if you will refrain from doing weird stuff then I would definitely appreciate it."
Sensei frowned slightly at the remark, but ultimately decided to refrain from saying anything more about the matter.
"So, let's get back to business." Yuuka said, in a more serious tone.
The pair began to discuss about personal finances, with Sensei sorting out the files and receipts, while Yuuka did the calculations and mental maths accordingly. Eventually, after a hefty amount of time spent arguing over trivial matters and constant infighting between the two, they managed to get all of the work done.
"And that's that."
Sensei let out a sigh of relief, before throwing himself onto the nearby sofa.
"I need a nap."
"Then feel free. You don't need to tell me that."
"I guess you're right."
Sensei slowly faded out of consciousness, closing his eyelids steadily until they were completely shut.
"SENSEI!"
The words echoed through his mind, but his body felt like it was floating. He could envision himself in an endless void, unbound by the rules of reality as he had come to know in his life.
"SENSEI, WAKE UP!"
He could hear the words, almost as if they were impacting his body with the strength of a bullet. This was all it took to bring him into consciousness. When he awoke, all he could hear however, was nothing but perpetual gunfire.
"What.. happened?"
"Snap out of it, please Sensei!"
Upon realising where he was, he slowly raised himself from the ground and stood up straight. Upon peering into the distance, he could see that it was those same soldiers, the ghostly, gas-mask donning apparitions that chased him in his nightmare earlier this morning. As he turned to look at the person who was calling him, he saw that it was a girl. The girl had long, stranded hair with a few braids on her shoulders. She seemed to be wearing a decorated military uniform, presumably white in colour but stained with dust and mud from the battlefield. He felt a sense of recognition - but he couldn't put his finger on it for sure.
"I'm dreaming. This isn't real, you aren't real."
"What are you even saying?! Look around you, do the bodies of your - our students look like they are fake to you?"
Upon hearing that, Sensei glanced around the place. Bodies of fallen students littered the place, but what was most frightening to him were the shattered halos. He hastily walked to one of the fallen students, glancing over her head where he knew there would normally be one.
But there was nothing.
He looked at the broken halo beside her arm, before attempting to pick it up, only to realise that he could touch them.
"How..? How is this possible?"
He observed the fallen student, only to see bright, neon-blue flames emitting from her lifeless corpse. He watched as it slowly consumed the spirit of the decaying corpse, crawling all over her body like it was a rat looking for food. Eventually the flames entered through her mouth, before forming what appeared to be an M2 gas mask on her empty face. The once-dead corpse of his student reanimated at once, with a ghastly halo appearing above her head. A gun, resembling a modern M4 carbine spontaneously materialised in her hands.
"SENSEI, WATCH OUT!"
In shock, all Sensei could do was observe, as the apparition slowly aimed down its sights on Sensei, before shooting him in the chest at point blank range.
He woke up. Only to realise he was no longer dreaming. He looked around, realising he was back in Schale HQ.
"What..?"
He got up from the sofa, and observed the nearby clock.
"6:47? It's already that late?"
He looked around again, realising that Yuuka had already left.
"Damn.."
He scrambled to look for his phone, pressing the home button, only to see that there were no new messages. Apart from one, which read:
"Meet me at the Gehenna School District."
The sender of the message had no name. Confused, Sensei sent an awkwardly-written response:
"Whois asking?"
"The one who has the answers to your queries. Of course, this is all optional. After all, you do seem pretty content with your life right now, as it seems."
"I'll be there."
Sensei wrote his second reply without any mistakes. His eyes glued onto the screen. After a few seconds, the mysterious person sent him a reply.
"But be warned: this does not come without any consequences. You will be putting the lives of many at risk if they are linked with your involvement. Including your own students."
He froze in place for a second, re-reading what the text said, before ultimately deciding that this was for the greater good.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to protect them. With my life if that's necessary."
"As you wish. I will be seeing you soon then, Sensei."
As soon as the final message was sent, the contact of the mysterious texter suddenly disappeared from his phone without warning.
"I promise. I won't let this happen. To anyone."
Sensei looked up towards the glass ceiling. It was near-dusk, with the sky looking darker and darker by the minute. But as he stared closely, he could witness a pair of birds flying across.
"What kind of birds this time?"
He looked closer, zooming in to observe better. He kept his sights on the birds, only to suddenly realise that:
"The crows are flying today."
