ALT-FLAG 3B: Lies Greed Misery II

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Meanwhile back at the Academy, Suzaku is now conducting English class with 2-A. Just like the other classes in the Second Year level, he gave them the same assignment as 2-B. So far, the students there have shown a satisfactory performance, and had completed their assignments properly.

Still, he was looking more into the papers of Goidou Yui and Kujo Tsukiyo, two of the 'Goddess hosts' that he just confirmed hours ago. He was curious that these two still attended class, while the other 'host' at Class 2-B, who he expected to be present, did not.

And then there's the essay papers they made. Looking at them back and forth, he could not just believe what he discovered: between the two essays lay not just a common theme, but a common name: Katsuragi Keima.

Thus, before he dismissed the class for the day, he requested Tsukiyo and Yui for a small talk at the rooftop. Unfortunately, the former had to attend to her duties as a member of the Astronomy Club, so only Yui arrived at the designated meeting place.

On the rooftop, the woman in Men's uniform saw Suzaku looking over the school grounds. Since it was slightly windy at that time, his long coat was waving to his right. That did not deter his stance though – a pose comparable to a general overseeing the battle inside a command center… or an evil villain plotting his next ambitions for global domination.

This made Yui a bit uneasy as she approached him.

"Sensei," said Yui. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Suzaku then slowly turned to the student. "Nothing much, really. And you don't need to feel uneasy when you're with me. I won't bite," he said.

He then invited Yui to sit on one of the benches near the tree. "I want to talk to you about your essay. I just read through yours and Miss Kujo's and I noticed something in common."

"Such as?"

"Both of you made mention of Katsuragi Keima, one of my students at Class 2-B. Is there something I don't know about that I need to know now?"

Yui's cheeks turned a bit red.

"Um, I don't know much about Keima-kun and Tsukiyo-san though…"

"Hmmn, as expected of a girl of her age, despite the manly clothing…" was the thought running through Suzaku's head.

Then Yui quickly composed herself and blurted out "…but as far as I'm concerned I'm actually in love with him."

Suzaku felt surprised at her statement. "Uh, that was quite bold of her…" he thought.

"Can you elaborate on that statement, Goidou-san?"

"Uh… where should I start with this," She scratched her head in confusion, which prompted Suzaku to let off a light grunt. Clearly, she was still withdrawn about the matter notwithstanding her straightforward answer.

"Okay, next question," Suzaku said as he stretched his arms. "You said in your essay that you performed with your band during the last day of the festival, right?"

Yui nodded in response. "I actually had a blast that time, being able to play drums with my fellow members of the Light Music Club. But were it not for that encounter with Keima-kun, I could have been ordered by my mother to stay home."

"I understand that feeling, Goidou-san. Anyways, who were the other members of your band, if I may ask?"

"Well," she started counting down the names through her fingers. "There's me as the drummer, Terada-san on keyboard, Keima-kun's sister Elsie on bass, Ayumi-san on guitar, and Chihiro-san on vocals."

"And I heard you girls got to perform with Nakagawa Kanon that night, am I correct?"

"Yeah. How did you know about that, Sensei?"

"Well, I just went through Terada-san's essay and saw both your names there. And she made mention of the same thing."

Just then, Suzaku's phone rang. He excused himself from the bench and answered it. "Hello, Shinozaki speaking…"

"Hello Suzaku, Nikaido here. I got one of my students here in the Faculty lounge. She wants to consult you about something."

"Ah, must be Miss Kosaka. I know this may be too much, but could you kindly tell her to proceed to the rooftop? I'm almost done with my conversation with another student here."

He heard Nikaido let out a sigh. "Okay, Suzaku. I'll tell her to go there."

"Thanks, I owe you one…"

Just then, Yui stood from her position in shock while looking at her watch. "Oh man. I'm almost late for my appointment!"

"It must be important, Goidou-san. I'll let you off for now, but please do tell Kujo-san to come see me when she has time, okay?

Yui nodded then bowed to her teacher as thanks. As she was about to reach the door, Suzaku said "oh by the way, you still owe me an explanation regarding your experience with Katsuagi-san, okay?" while giving a wink. She blushed brighter than before, as she left the rooftop.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of town…

"Haqua-chan! I'm going to the sales office for a while! Will you be ok for today?"

The call came from a reasonably petite, 57-year-old woman. She was wearing a pink blouse under her jacket that bore the word "Gokult", as she left the house.

"How long until you get back, Yukie?" The reply came from a young lady with long, purple hair who was looking out through one of the front windows.

"Oh, maybe a little over 9 in the evening. My fellow Gokult vendors invited me to a little get-together at a karaoke bar in Narusawa, right after we file our sales reports."

"Just be careful on your way home, okay Yukie?"

"You need not worry about me, Haqua-chan." She smiled and waved as she went on her way to Narusawa City. After the conversation, Haqua closed the window and sat on the couch facing the Television screen.

She began to think deep about the situation in New Hell. Just a few days ago, she was captured by the Public Safety Department for inciting Treason, then later getting an unexpected help from Dokuro in order to escape a possible execution for her actions. And now she finds out that the latter was immediately executed for being the leader of Vintage.

She just could not stomach it. The person who gave her the resolve to fight back at Vintage and redeem the pride of New Hell, disposed off like a rag doll? She shook her head, trying to suppress her emotions.

Just then, she heard a knock at the front door. She assumed for a worst-case scenario and grabbed on to her Scythe of Testament which was leaning on the wall near it.

Upon opening it, she saw a woman with dark-green hair, held together with a small hair band placed right below her nape. The latter also saw what appears to be a battle-worn Scythe of Testament.

"Hello, you must be the District Chief of Area 32, am I correct?"

"Yes. The name's Haqua du Lot Herminium, and you are…"

"Sylvia du Lac Vindictus," she uttered as he reached for a handshake. "I'm here on a special order from Dokuro-sama. Mind if I come in first?"

Feeling a sigh of relief, Haqua invited Sylvia in to the house. But, having met another new devil that she's not familiar with made her slightly suspicious. So while Sylvia rested her scythe on the wall, Haqua carried hers to the living room and rested beside her chair within arm's reach.

"Do make yourself at home. I'll just get us some juice and snacks," the purple-haired district chief said as she headed to the kitchen to serve some food for her guest. "I hope' you're okay with some Natto soup."

"You need not bother that much, Haqua, I'm just here to ask a few questions."

After a few minutes, Haqua emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of Natto soup and a pitcher of grape juice. "So, what brings a veteran new devil to this part of Japan?" she asked, while Sylvia poured some juice onto a cup.

"Well, my order from Chief Dokuro was to investigate as to possible attacks of Level-5 Weiss, particularly in this area where the rumored Goddesses sealed the Weiss during the closing days of Almage Machina."

"Level-5 Weiss?"

"Yes. Right now though, I'm here on orders from my human buddy to gather some information regarding the man known as the God of Conquest."

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