After that first meeting, the White Lily Society began to meet in earnest. Most times, they just spoke about how their days had gone, getting to know each other better, as most questions were taken care of early on. As Ruriko and Chiho were both in Masaya's class, they were the most suited to seeing how the class was reacting to him. Suffice to say, it was being an uphill battle.

Masaya himself wasn't much to talk about. He hardly interacted with the student body, which led to all three of his only friends to scold him for it, scoldings that he barely listened to. He was simply an antisocial person as it was, and since he himself had stated that being a transfer student wasn't his main reason to be there, he wasn't really going to try too hard. His days went the same, going to class and mostly keeping watch on the outside. Once classes were done, he'd meet with the girls at Maria Hall, but he still refused to be part of the conversation for more than a few seconds at most, just enough to get his point across in as few words as possible, and even then it was only when he was directly asked. Instead, he kept guard by the window, and while the girls could admire his determination at doing his job well, it also irked them to no end that he refused to interact with them. The problem was that none of them could understand why. Ruriko had a bad feeling that having been privy to the story of the dog partner that he had lost may have made him want to become more closed off than before, while Chiho was inwardly saddened that the boy she had known as a child hardly wanted anything more with her. As Rise had no prior connection to him (as far as she knew), her displeasure came from the fact that he was so lax about a topic that she was trying so hard to get across to everyone else.

Before Masaya knew it, several weeks had gone by, and yet there was still no contact from any enemy. This was a pretty good outcome for him, as it allowed him to take it easy most days (though he remained vigilant as ever at nights), but it also nagged at him. What could they possibly be waiting for? Not that he particularly wanted there to be an incident (better for him if there wasn't), but it was better to be assured of a threat than to be constantly on edge because of a possible one.

Regardless, May was fast approaching now, and there was still no change in any situation. The gender integration movement was still low, having only gained a minimal amount of supporters; the girls had no luck with getting Masaya to open up; and there was no criminal activity against Ruriko or the school.

At the last meeting of April, Rise brought up a subject that would soon affect them all.

"Alright, everyone, as I'm sure you know, the May Festival is coming up. As one of the societies of the school, it will be our job to come up with an idea for a theme to use." Realizing something, Rise turned to the bodyguard in the room. "Masaya-san, you know of the May Festival, correct?

Masaya nodded, his gaze remaining squarely on the window. "Yeah. The school's way of appeasing the students because they refuse to give them some freedom."

The girls winced at his description of the event, but couldn't really refute him.

One thing they had been able to get out of Masaya was that he absolutely despised the way Vincennes was. In his words, "A school that does its utmost to keep its students naive and pretentious is a complete joke of a school, and its students will come to realize that as soon as they step a foot out in the real world. Boarding schools aren't the problem; boarding schools that shelter the kids under them until they're adults are. It's doubly worse if they're single-sex ones." The girls had tried to refute him at first, stating that this was the way it had been since the beginning of Vincennes, but the young man refused to budge on his point of view. "How it may have been done in the past is no excuse," he had continued. "The fact that most of you in the school and your families are wealthy is probably the only reason this 'school' hasn't gone down under, though by what you say, it just might soon. You, who have the money and influence to land a job anywhere you feasibly desire, don't have to worry about such problems, especially if you're in a situation like Ruriko-san's, who will inherit a very large company." Ruriko had looked hurt at that, so he had amended, "I was speaking about your situation, not yourself, Ruriko-san. But riddle me this: what do you think would happen if a middle- or lower-class school tried the same tactic that Vincennes has?" The girls had no answer to that. Not any that they'd like to give, anyways. Masaya didn't care, though. "The world would chew them up and spit them out like a bad piece of gum, forcefully telling them that choosing the path of ignorance was the wrong way to go. And I can bet, considering how bad the situation currently is out there, more than half of those hypothetical kids would end up dead or in prison."

That had shook them all to the core. Being sheltered as they were, they weren't particularly caught up on lower-world happenings. But even though they knew almost nothing about him, the girls understood that Masaya was much more world-weary than they were, which was likely what had shaped him to be what he now was.

"Well, yes, if you wish to look at it that way," Rise said, getting the meeting back on track. "Does anyone have an idea for a theme?" Silence echoed in the room, making Rise smile sheepishly. "Well, I suppose expecting there to be ideas immediately would be difficult. The dance is on the fourth, so you don't need to break your brains."

The girls discussed things back and forth as Masaya continued his guard, his mind hard at work. The May Festival was a Vincennes holiday of sorts, which would include an Association-picked event in the day and an all-night ball later on. Masaya wasn't thinking about what he would wear to it, though. He was thinking more along the lines that such an event made the girls the perfect target to attack. He knew that the ball would be in the gym, which had a lack of ground-level windows. This would make it extremely difficult for a sniper to attack, as they'd need to be on a helicopter to be able to have the slightest sight of a target. That left the doors, of which there were four, across from each other on the north and south walls. Those would be vulnerable, but if he kept his rifle nearby, he would be able to ask two of the Gardiane to keep watch around the doors and alert him of any suspicious activity while he stayed inside.

The next day, when they met, the group still had no idea what to pick.

"Masaya-san, could you help us out?" Ruriko decided to ask.

Masaya glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noting that Rise and Chiho were both looking at him hopefully. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought about it, then sighed and shook his head. "I have nothing immediate. As I have no basis on what kind of event it is, I can't help you out."

The blonde sighed sadly. "The way you word that makes it sound as though you have never been to a dance, Masaya-san."

"That's because I haven't."

The trio of girls gasped simultaneously. "Wait, you have never been to a dance? Ever?" Chiho asked.

"No..." Masaya turned back to them halfway, raising an eyebrow. "Why is that so shocking?"

The girls looked at each other, realizing then that they were used to things like that, even Chiho, who did have parties she had gone to while living in the city.

That train of thought brought a question to Ruriko's lips. "Masaya-san, I must ask... Do you plan on attending the Soiree Dansante at all?"

"Of course," Masaya responded almost immediately, raising the girls' hopes. Said hopes were immediately flattened when he followed that up with, "I do have to keep watch, especially when it comes to a big event like this."

"Is there any time you don't think in terms of work?!" Chiho half-yelled in exasperation. A split second later, she realized what she'd just done (helped by the incredulous stares of Rise and Ruriko, though both secretly thought the same), and her hands shot up to cover her mouth, her eyes shaky as she stared at Masaya. The brunet remained unmoving for a moment, then turned back halfway, his cold eyes boring into her own. The emptiness in them made her shiver in anxiety for a moment, until he looked away and sighed.

"No," Masaya admitted, surprising the girls. "At this point in my life, there isn't."

"But... But why?" Rise asked.

"Simply because I had nothing else for a time," the young man responded. "Not too long ago, and still now, my work was all I knew. Eventually, I suppose it just got ingrained into me to act and behave as if I'm always on the job. It has saved me a few headaches and troublesome situations, I'll admit."

A thick silence fell into the room, with none of the girls knowing how to react to the confirmation of their thoughts. To think that all this young man had known since he was a child was mercenary work...

A sigh from said young man brought them all back to the present. "What is it you want from me, exactly?"

The girls glanced at each other, and Ruriko decided to answer. "We want you to be more like the teen you should have been, Masaya-san."

Masaya tch'ed and looked back to the window. "No can do, I'm afraid. I'm still under orders."

The girls sighed simultaneously. "Well," Chiho ventured, "would you at least dance with us?"

"A dance would be nice," Rise concurred.

Masaya shrugged. "If it's a quiet night, then sure, I suppose I can."

The girls smiled at his acquiescence. A moment later, however, Ruriko sighed and said, "Oh, my, we may have a conundrum."

"How so?"

"If you will dance with us, Masaya-san, we cannot all be your partner," Ruriko pointed out primly. "And the matter of who you dance with first is of great importance."

A thick silence once again blanketed the room, though if someone were to look into the room from outside, Masaya would look entirely unaffected by the atmosphere.

"Is it really?" Masaya asked, one eyebrow raised.

"But of course," his charge responded.

The trio of girls glanced at each other, then at Masaya. To their chagrin, the young man merely shrugged and looked back out the window, saying, "Well then, you can decide that between yourselves. I couldn't care less who went first."

The three girls glanced at each other again, displeasure clear in their countenances, when suddenly, Ruriko's eyes lit up. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "I have an idea for the theme!"

"Oh? What is it?" Rise asked excitedly.

Before Ruriko could explain, however, there was a knock at the door, drawing everyone's attention. Masaya immediately tensed, preparing himself for a threat automatically. As Ruriko glanced at him, Rise called out, "Come in!"

The door opened, and into the room strolled Mitsuki, with most of the Red Rose Society at her heels.

"Salutations," she greeted, with the foursome returning the salute. "I had heard that you were discussing the theme for this year's Soiree Dansante and magnanimously decided to check in on you." The four White Lily members exchanged dubious looks. "I have come to tell you that you may submit your theme without worry, as the Red Rose Society will not submit one. Isn't that right, Ritsuko?"

"Huh? O-oh, yes," a navy-haired girl just behind Mitsuki blurted out, looking flustered. The girl, Kitamikado Ritsuko, was the selected leader for the Red Rose Society, but the White Lily members suspected she was, at most, a figurehead, as it seemed like Mitsuki still pulled the strings.

"What are you talking about?" Rise grumbled. "We don't need your charity."

"Now, now, do you think you can really turn me away so easily?" Mitsuki asked in smug tones. "The Red Rose Society has eleven members, while you only have two affiliates."

"Three affiliates," Rise growled.

"Oh, yes, and Masaya-san, I suppose."

Most of the girls in the room turned to the flippantly mentioned young man, only to see him standing by the window and looking outside, his back to them, seemingly lost in thought. At least, that's what they believed, leading them to jump when he spoke up suddenly. "And yet, that's more than enough to defeat you."

"Please! You're an unwelcome person here, and you have all of three allies," Mitsuki directed her words at him now. "How could you possibly think yourself enough to change a rule that is nearly a century old?"

"Because everything in this world withers away and dies eventually, Mitsuki-san," Masaya responded coldly, turning halfway around and pinning Mitsuki with his gaze. "That includes rules and laws. I may despise how Vincennes works, but I was brought here to be a force. An inescapable law of the world is that everything erodes and becomes brittle with time, and at that point, it takes only the slightest of forces to shatter it and scatter it to the wind."

The room went quiet at his words, but one person spoke up after a moment. "Excuse me, Masaya-san," Ritsuko asked, "but did you say that you despise the way Vincennes is?"

Masaya nodded. "That I did."

"May I ask why?" the Red Rose leader asked, legitimately curious.

Masaya looked back out the window, picking his words. "To be clear, Vincennes itself isn't what I dislike." He motioned to the three White Lilies sitting at the table. "I explained it to these three already before. What I truly despise is the utter ignorance that is present in the student body here about the outside world, a product of its unnecessarily strict rules. Those who come to Vincennes late, such as Chiho-san, know this more than anyone, and yet they're ridiculed and ostracized. And frankly, that pisses me off, because I can guarantee that if any of those girls ended up in a seriously bad situation down in the 'lower world', be it physical or economical... Well, they'd be screwed seven ways to Sunday."

A few of the Red Rose members spoke up heatedly, denying his point. One in particular yelled, "That's not true! My father always informs me of any events in the city!"

"Do you seriously believe that being told of what happens is any substitute for actually witnessing or living it?" Masaya responded in a deathly whisper that silenced them regardless of volume. "No. I agree that keeping yourself informed is smart, but what will you do if you're caught down in the city and surrounded by gangsters? Do you know which way to run? Where to hide? How to best contract the authorities?"

"I always go out with bodyguards," another girl said smugly.

"Do they carry guns?" Maya immediately shot back, catching her off guard. After a moment, she shook her head. "Any kind of firearm?" Again, she shook her head. "Then they're dead," he continued coldly, making her and the rest of the girls jerk in shock. "And by the time authorities or any reinforcements arrive, you would also be dead... or worse."

A deathly silence filled the room at his words.

"And now you see why I despise it, Ritsuko," he addressed the one who had originally questioned him, who looked as shaken as everyone else. "Things weren't as bad back when Vincennes was first formed, so they could get away somewhat with sheltering their high-class kids. But just as technology had changed overwhelmingly since then, so has the way of life of the middle and lower classes of Japan. Oh yeah," Masaya confirmed, noticing the widened eyes of some of them. "This problem isn't exclusive to Tsurugigaoka. This city is simply one of the places where it is easier for such activities to fester. And those are the kind of environments I grew up with. Facing those problems nearly every day; seeing family and friends scarred, maimed, and killed, sometimes for the pettiest reasons. That is why I hate how this school works."

"But..." Mitsuki spoke up in a shaky voice, now truly understanding what Marika meant when she suspected that he had a rough life. Slowly, her preconceptions about this young man were shattering. "If that's the case, why are you here, Masaya-san?"

"Because of her," Masaya nodded at Ruriko, who nodded in confirmation. The White Lilies knew the actual reason (his bodyguard duties), but he decided to explain for the ones not privy to that information. "She convinced me to come and help her, and since I could see that she truly wanted to change it, I agreed. That is the only reason I'm still here, else I'd have turned down the offer or left at first chance."

There was a deafening silence after Masaya's small rant, with none of the girls knowing what to say. Eventually, Rise was the one to switch the conversation around when she asked, "Oh, that's right! You said that you had eleven members, didn't you, Mitsuki-san? How can that be? The voting for members is long over."

Feeling glad at the change of subject, Mitsuki waved towards the shaken girls, who parted and allowed through a small, green-haired figure. "She's not an actual member," Mitsuki clarified. "I decided to emulate your idea of affiliates and get one of my own."

"M-my name is Yanase Konomi," the girl introduced herself, embarrassed at being put under the spotlight. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, Konomi," Rise said in wonder. "I see now. Since you're still in Intermediary, you wouldn't be able to join normally anyway."

"Yes, but Mitsuki-sama said I could join as an affiliate," Konomi responded back, a little heatedly.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to insult you," Rise said hurriedly. "I forgot Ritsuko was your Onee-sama."

"Yes," Konomi nodded, "though that is not the only reason I joined."

"Oh?"

"I joined... to protect my Onee-sama from him!" Konomi exclaimed with what sounded like great difficulty. Unlike with Mitsuki, however, Masaya didn't respond to her. Instead, when the girls looked at him, he seemed to be legitimately focused on whatever was out the window. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Masaya did just that, stepping closer to the window. His tensing shoulders was all the warning the girls received before he suddenly turned around and ran for the door, yelling, "Out of my way!" The Red Rose girls at the door immediately jumped away, leaving the way free for him to run outside. As he exited, he yelled into the room, "All of you, stay in here!"

And with that, he slammed the door closed, his rapid steps fading down the hall.

"What in the world is he talking about?" Mitsuki asked aloud, heading for the door.

"No!" Ruriko exclaimed, surprising everyone and stopping Mitsuki from opening the door. "Don't go outside. You heard him." The Red Roses looked at her in askance as she stood and moved to the window, but acquiesced.

Outside, Masaya was running towards a group of bushes that were visible from the window he had been standing guard, his right hand ready to reach into his jacket. Just as he had heard Konomi's declaration, his eyes had registered an odd sight at those bushes. When he focused, he realized that there was an odd glint there, as if there were some kind of lens peeking out. As soon as he thought that, the glint disappeared and the bush shook slightly, cementing it for him and making him run out of the room.

As he arrived at the spot he'd seen, he slowed down and approached carefully. With a quick backhand move, he parted the brambles, bringing to view a small clearing where a person could easily kneel. Unsurprisingly, however, there was nothing and no one there. Looking around, he spotted a couple of fresh boot prints on the dirt ground, leading southward. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialled the Gardiane station.

"Hello?"

"Chika-san, it's Masaya," the young man said hurriedly to the captain that had responded. "Tell any Gardiane officers you have near the dormitories to head there and be alert. I believe we may have an intruder."

"Understood. Orders have been relayed. What is your current position?"

"At Maria Hall. I spotted movement by the bushes east of the entrance to the building, but by the time I got there, whoever was inside fled southward."

"Gardiane officers are in position, Masaya-san. Will you meet them there?"

"No. Ruriko-san and several others are here with me. I'll stay here and keep watch.

"Very well. Stay safe."

"Likewise."

Masaya sighed as he ended the call. He would have preferred chasing after the bastard himself, but he couldn't be sure that the guy was working alone, meaning he couldn't leave Ruriko undefended. He did feel a little surer now, though, as he knew that there had to be some kind of concrete threat if there was espionage involved.

A rustle to his left made him snap to that direction, his hand flying inside his jacket. That hand stilled when he registered the origin of the noise as a wide-eyed Nogi Tamie, her camera in her shaky hands.

"Tamie-san?" Masaya asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously as a hypothesis came to his mind. "Were you the one hiding here?"

"N-No!" Tamie exclaimed, waving her hands in his direction. "I was nearby and spotted someone here, but when I got closer, I guess they got spooked by you and ran off!"

Masaya sighed, pulling his hand out of his jacket but not dropping his guard. If she hadn't been the one hiding here, then who?

"Were you able to see anything about the person here?" Masaya asked her.

"No. Like I said, when I approached, he ran off, but I don't think it was because of me."

"That's good, actually," the young man sighed, turning back to Maria Hall. "If he had spotted you, who knows what he could've done?"

"What do you mean? You know who that was?" Tamie asked him, walking alongside him.

"No, but I can guess why he or she was here," he responded, pulling out his phone and writing and sending an email so quickly that Tamie was unable to catch even the smallest glimpse of it. The pair arrived in front of the door to the White Lily Society meeting room just as he received confirmation of it being sent, with Masaya opening the door.

As soon as it was open, he was bombarded by the inquisitive sights of the girls inside. The Red Roses likely wondered why he had acted as he did, while the White Lilies probably wondered what had alarmed him like that.

"Masaya-sama, what did you see outside that caused you to run like that?" Ritsuko was, surprisingly, the first to speak up. From what he knew of her, she was typically a quiet girl, preferring to listen rather than speak most times, much like him.

"An intruder, possibly," Masaya responded, surprising them all. "I spotted an odd glint outside, but by the time I got there, it was gone. There were traces of someone being there, though."

The girls began to gossip between themselves in shock, wondering what or who it had been. One voice in particular, that being Konomi's, said loudly, "Why, that fiend! I should go out there and challenge him to a duel! How dare he try and spy on my Onee-sama?!"

"I would not recommend that, for a few reasons," Masaya said to her, leaning against the table. When she (and the rest of the girls) looked at him, he continued, "For one, I doubt you'd be able to catch up with him. For another, the Gardiane are already searching for him, so you'd likely only hinder them."

Konomi looked frustrated at his points, but didn't argue. Masaya closed his eyes and sighed, glad he didn't have to try and persuade her further. Sensing someone near him, he opened his eyes again and spotted Ruriko right in front of him, standing almost uncomfortably close.

"Uh, Ruriko-san?"

"Masaya-san," Ruriko said in a low tone, making sure the girls around couldn't hear her or weren't paying attention, "Was the intruder after me?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow, reminding himself once again that, for as clueless as she may appear at times, Ruriko was uncannily perceptive when she wanted to be. "I'm not entirely positive, but it's very likely. As far as I'm aware, you're the number one target here in Vincennes, Ruriko-san. So unless the intruder had been given specific instructions to spy on someone else, you need to be nearly as on guard as I am."

Ruriko nodded seriously, but Masaya noticed she didn't move from her position in front of him. Looking down, he noticed that their knees were nearly touching, and if his eyes weren't mistaken, she was leaning forward ever so slightly. When he looked back up into her eyes, he was met with an almost pleased expression, complete with a little smirk.

"Ruriko-san, what are you doing?" Masaya asked in a deadpan tone.

"Whatever do you mean, Masaya-san?" the blonde girl asked in a faux-curious tone, once again taking the 'adorably curious' expression she took whenever she asked him questions.

Masaya sighed and stepped away from the table he was leaning against, momentarily pressing their bodies together and making Ruriko gasp lowly in surprise. When she stepped back, he turned and walked to the window, leaving her standing by the table and looking his way with an unreadable expression. When she looked back to the table, however, it was to be met by the searching sights of Rise and Chiho. When she raised an eyebrow in askance, both girls made an 'hmph' noise and looked away.

Just a few minutes later, everyone decided to end their meetings and head to the dormitory. As they were all in the same dorm, with the exception of Konomi, they headed there as a group, with three of the Red Roses splitting from them to head to either the library or the cafeteria. As they walked through the path that led to the dorm, with the girls talking between themselves, Masaya kept a careful eye on their surroundings, something that Tamie noticed.

"Is something up, Masaya-san?" she asked, slowing down to walk next to him.

"Not necessarily. Just keeping an eye out for our 'guest'," Masaya responded, his eyes narrowed.

"You think he's still around?" Tamie asked, holding her camera in her hand.

Noticing the movement, Masaya placed a hand on her shoulder, slowing her further down until they were well out of earshot. When she looked at him, he asked, "Tamie-san, I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up?"

"I need you to lower your spying activity around me," he said bluntly, making her step back.

"Y-you saw me?!" she exclaimed.

"Of course. You're not bad, but still an amateur, I'm afraid," Masaya responded, making her groan. "But I ask because it's putting me on guard unnecessarily."

"What do you mean? Are you acting as security now or something?"

"Or something," Masaya responded dully. "Just cool it around me, alright?"

Noticing the seriousness around him, Tamie became serious and nodded. "Very well, if that's what you need."

"Thank you."

Just as they were arriving at the dormitories, the group was stopped by a pair of Gardiane officers, who immediately zeroed in on one member.

"Masaya-san, is it possible we can speak with you?" the leftmost one, a young woman with amber hair and black eyes, said.

Masaya nodded, noticing the multitude of curious stares that he received from the group of girls. Looking at them, he waved his hand towards the dormitory and said, "You girls go on ahead. It's nothing big."

Still sceptical, the girls nonetheless acquiesced and moved on, continuously shooting him odd looks. When they were out of earshot, Masaya became serious and faced the pair, now properly processing the two of them. The other officer was a woman of about the same age, with pale blonde, short hair and green eyes.

"Alright, what is it?"

"The intruder that you warned us about… we captured him."

Masaya's eyes widened slightly. "You did what now?"

The blonde officer nodded. "Squad 2B spotted him and immediately asked for assistance from squads 4D and 6F, who were nearby. With six of us against him, he did not stand a chance."

Masaya's eyes went from wide to dangerously narrow. "That was a foolish move, but if you achieved results, then I won't criticize you much. What did you do with him?"

"He is currently at the Gardiane station, handcuffed to a chair. We came to see if you would prefer to interrogate him. I'm afraid that we don't really have much expertise in that field," the amber-haired officer said.

"Very well, I'll head over there now," Masaya nodded, turning around. "Keep a lookout on the dorms. We can't be sure that he was working alone."

After receiving confirmations from them, he headed to the station.

When he arrived at the Gardiane station near the gates, he noticed that there were quite a few Gardiane around, looking on edge and constantly glancing towards the station whilst talking between themselves. He sighed and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text message to his operator where he worked at. Putting away his phone, he walked to the door of the Gardiane station, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding officers, and knocked.

The door was promptly opened by the current captain on duty, a short-brown-haired woman named Aiko.

"Aiko-san," Masaya greeted her with a nod. "I was told you had the intruder in captivity."

"Indeed," Aiko responded. "He awoke just a minute ago, but he has refused to say a word."

Masaya nodded, expecting this. From his experience with the gangs in the city, the people serving in them were extremely loyal in most cases. "Don't worry, Aiko-san. I know how his kind work. This is normal for them. Let me handle this."

Aiko stepped aside, allowing him entrance but not closing the door, letting the Gardiane officers standing outside see into the station. The inside of the small building was oddly plain when compared to the rest of the school, with mauve-coloured walls, a few chairs around a long table, and a trio of desktops at one wall surrounded by screens, where the feeds of the security cameras around the school were being shown.

At the table, handcuffed to one of the chairs, was a nondescript man with jet black, short hair and equally black eyes. He was wearing loose, casual clothing that likely would've let him blend into crowds in the city easily. Here in Vincennes, however, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

When he had heard the door open, the man had looked up, gazing at Masaya with what seemed like a mad grin. "So the guard dog appears," he spat out. "I had a feeling Kamiyagi had hired someone. Didn't think it'd be you, though, Okonogi…"

"So you know of me," Masaya responded stoically, approaching him.

"My superiors do, alright. You're something of a curse in our circle… you and your stupid interfering with our plans," the man laughed derisively.

Masaya stopped just in front of him, eyes narrowed. "Then I'm sure you already know how this is going to go. Are you willing to talk?"

"And just what will I get out of- urk!"

The man's question was cut off when Masaya's hand shot forward and clamped itself around his neck, squeezing tightly enough to cut off his air flow easily.

"How does suffering a little less sound?" Masaya asked rhetorically, an eyebrow raised calmly as if he weren't the least bit concerned about the man's bulging eyes and cheeks. When the man's cheeks bulged further and he began clawing desperately at Masaya's hands, the brunet lightened his grip but didn't let go, allowing only so much air to get through the man's trachea. "Well?"

To the surprise of the Gardiane watching (who were already feeling nervous about the act of cruelty going on), the man only laughed in a raspy voice. "Do whatever you want to me; you'll get nothing. It wouldn't compare to what he would do to me if I said anything."

"That so?" Masaya asked, noticing the flicker of fear in the man's eyes when he mentioned the unknown. "Alright then."

The brunet reached down and grabbed the cuffs holding the man to the chair, then looked back and held his other hand out. "Aiko-san, the keys, please."

She was a little slow to react, but eventually passed them over, allowing Masaya to unlock the cuff holding on to the chair and lift the man out of it. Before he could try anything, Masaya quickly pulled back the man's free arm, making him whimper in pain, and cuffed him properly, grabbing him by his upper right arm and jolting him away from the table just as a Gardiane officer came running to the station.

"Captain, there is a black truck stopped just in front of the gates," she said between light pants.

"That's for me," Masaya said before Aiko could answer. He pulled the man in front of himself, then began to frog march him out of there, the Gardiane by the door parting to let them through and following them after they were outside.

"Where are you taking me?" the man groaned, his left arm still stinging from the pull that Masaya had made earlier.

"Don't worry about it."

The gates opened automatically as he approached with the prisoner, and by the road, a truck reminiscent to an American S.W.A.T. transport van was parked, with two guards at its side.

"Wait… what are you planning…?" The prisoner was now shaking a little, a bad feeling in his gut. He wasn't expecting this when he had accepted the scouting mission.

Masaya didn't answer. Instead, he forced the guy to his knees in front of the truck, allowing the guards to hold him there. "Since you didn't want to talk, I suppose I'll just leave you here," Masaya said, beginning to walk away.

Both the intruder and the Gardiane watching looked at him, each having their own thoughts of the brunet. Those thoughts promptly changed direction when Masaya stopped halfway to the gates, turned, and pulled out an object from inside his jacket pocket, aiming it at the man.

Several cries of alarm and shock were heard due to the three silenced gunshots that tore through the air.

The man gasped and yelled in pain as each bullet found its mark on his torso, creating a skewed triangle on his back. He jolted, his senses overloading from the pain of the penetration, which faded quickly as the sudden blood loss from his punctured heart became too much for him to bear.

The Gardiane stared in horror at the slumped body of the intruder, held up only by the hands of the two security guards that had been holding him before. The wall of the truck had been somewhat splattered with the blood of the man due to Masaya's aim, but as if reacting to that thought, two more men came out from the truck and proceeded to quickly and easily clean the stain from the side of it. Simultaneously, the group of Gardiane looked back at the young man, eyes wide, and their horror mounted upon seeing his blank countenance, eyes expressionless and arm still extended from shooting the man.

He slowly lowered his arm, then placed his gun back inside his coat and said, "Remember the clean-up procedure."

The two soldiers holding the body up nodded, and the one on the left lifted the man like a sack of potatoes, walking inside the truck. With nothing more than the sound of a fading engine, the truck sped away, headed down the hill. Masaya, meanwhile, stayed at the gates, thoughts tumultuous. It would be difficult to find out where the man had come from, but not impossible. If and when the company he worked for found out who the man was, they could track where he came from, and Masaya could hopefully end this guard job early.

When he turned back to the gates, he was unsurprised to see the Gardiane still gathered there, eyes wide in utter shock at what he had done. He sighed in annoyance, though a part of him understood that he really shouldn't be so surprised they were startled.

"Well, I suppose now you've seen first-hand how I work," Masaya stated, walking towards them.

"Is... Is that all you have to say?!" Aiko exclaimed, walking up to him with a fierce glare, though she was still sweating from her shock. "Is that all you have to say for yourself after having killed a man?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow. "And, pray tell, what would you have done, Aiko-san?"

"Certainly not that!" Aiko screamed, pointing towards where the intruder had been kneeling. "He was captured! Beaten! What reason could there have possibly been for you to kill him?!"

Masaya returned her glare ten times over, making her step back in fear. "To not run the risk of him finding his way back here again, with reinforcements. If we'd captured him, we'd have to turn him over to the police, guaranteeing that he'd be out in three days at most for a bullshit charge." Aiko began to step back further, with Masaya matching her every step. "He'd go spill to his boss what he learned, and then he'd send a group of his own mercenaries to storm this place and kill my charge, Ruriko-san, or worse, everyone here. Why do you think Ruriko-san's father chose to employ the services of a private military company to protect his daughter? Because the corruption down in Tsurugigaoka is at an all-time high. Killing that man was an easy decision because he was a piece of trash. He willingly followed a man that is hell-bent on having all of Tsurugigaoka, and Japan if possible in his lifetime, under his foot. By killing him, I ensured that his boss remains unaware of my presence here, buying my company more time to find where he's hiding so we can storm that place and kill him." Masaya stopped walking after Aiko, as she was now in the midst of the rest of the Gardiane, who were looking at Masaya with equally disbelieving eyes. "I held hope that at least you, the security force here, would be more in the know of how bad things are in Japan. But it seems my hope was worthless. I suggest you all get more informed, ladies, because a parasite has been growing down in the city, and I feel that it's soon going to start climbing that hill to attack this place."

"But why Vincennes?" one Gardiane woman asked.

"Because, regardless of its isolation, it's still a very famous place in Japan. It's practically known for being an impregnable place. And the man responsible for that intruder being here wants to show that he can still pierce that defence in a manner that displays his power and reach. If he gets to kill the heir of a famous company in the midst of it, that's twice as good for him."

The Gardiane were left speechless at his words. Truth be told, they had no idea that was how people saw Vincennes. However, it did fit. Hardly anyone knew what went on inside the walls, and whenever anyone was caught attempting to enter it without authorization, they were apprehended quickly. The school had earned a reputation for being a tall, impregnable place where powerful young women could be made, but as they lived in it and saw its flaws, the Gardiane didn't see that.

"I'll be heading back to my room," Masaya stated, walking past the gates. "Whether you want to work with me or not, I'm still going to do my job. It's up to you to decide whether you will support me in keeping these girls safe at all costs, or whether you will stand aside. Because if any of you decide to support the madman that is causing all of this trouble..." Masaya looked back, his eyes stormy. "I will show you as much mercy as I did to that man."

And with that, he left, leaving behind a group of shaken and dubious Gardiane officers.

...