"Blessed by a trail, he was stubborn to turn back.
He had one destination,
Not to win but to not lose."
When Sariel exited the dressing room's stall, he was immediately met with disgusting glares from all three students. Dressed similarly to Hina's gothic lolita fashion, he would wear a similarly fashioned black skirt, and blouse. He felt stuffed with all the frills accenting his clothing but not overheated. Like his previous outfit, he put ribbons in his hair to complete the disguise but it was clear to most students that he was sensei, and that he lacked his halo. What they didn't know was that he was the sensei of all senseis and tasked with ending the other senseis who caused strife and chaos.
"I can't help but feel appalled looking at you. Though you complete the disguise, it doesn't fool me now that I know." Hina groped his chest, or lack thereof. "But you lack the charm which my sensei had in abundance. You lack it so much that it would be easy to know as you are flatter than even I."
The way she was feeling him up despite not having breasts was awkwardly uncomfortable. Is this what girls felt like? He almost wanted to call her a pervert. Sena didn't have any words to share, that in itself was her commentary towards his weird talent for blending in well with the students. Shiroko muttered disgusting under a breath after realizing he was the girl she played tag with.
He lifted the hem of his skirt, looking down at the expertly crafted frilled ends then tapped his head. "I need a halo. I can't hide from Kaya if I don't have that important detail."
"A halo? Hm… maybe we can…" Sena trailed off, moving her eyes towards Hina for confirmation and the girl nodded. After paying for the rather expensive clothes, they returned to Sena's truck, more specifically the back of it where ammo and medical supplies were stored. But atop a field kit was Gehenna Sensei's halo, a halo that was crafted from a car's wheel disk. His crown was kept close to Hina for safekeeping but she finally had a use for it other than it reminding her of the past. Sena carefully held the dark red halo as she hopped down from the back of the truck to show Sariel.
This faux ceremony almost made him want to kneel but Gehenna was a demonic school. Should he have made a pledge? Perhaps that was already done when he accepted GSC prez' offer. Nonetheless he lowered his head so Sena could dawn him with the symbol of New World Order, named by Gehenna Sensei himself. In Sariel's hands it would be A Paradise Lost. He raised his head ready to begin the stratagem.
Sena rode her truck along the road and in the passenger seat was Sariel looking out both the window at his side and Sena's. Both Shiroko and Hina were small enough to sit on his lap in the passenger seat but it pissed him off more that they were going to crease and wrinkle his clothes than him accidentally getting a boner.
"Where is Fox Platoon?" Sena said bluntly.
"We aren't going to look for them. We're going to cut the head off their tails and go for their boss." He figured that returning to Schale lounge was too obvious a hiding place for their leader. He only had vague clues about Kaya but stupid wasn't one of her qualities seeing as she took the chance to hunt him when he had no one to guard. If Shiroko wasn't there then he would've died and lost to the world in an instant. If he were a student in the game, one of his skills would definitely be luck related.
But that was enough dwelling on his mistakes. If he wanted to find Kaya he had to exhaust all the possibilities outside the box. Perhaps Sanctum Tower? No–since she didn't share the same authorities he did when it came to administering GSC and Rin had told him they recently moved locations but never said where.
"Well..?" Sena snapped him out of his thoughts, still waiting for him to say where their targets were.
"Is there a place where the GSC operates besides Sanctum Tower?"
"Yes. The GSC's secondary office building." Sena's eyes drifted towards the side window and in the corner of her eye she could make out the pristine white skyscraper that was taller than the buildings around it but only by an inch.
"Then take us there." Sariel said with a determined glare.
"The only way there is a one way street. It is likely your pursers are there, if not, one of them." Hina said before stroking her chin to think of strategies herself. Sariel furrowed his brow wondering they there weren't any other paths, to which Sena explained that recent confrontations closed many roads for repair. He wondered if it was confrontations from Izuna then wondered if they could turn the tables on Kaya by baiting her trap there.
Sena stopped at a red light. "Do you not have a way to infiltrate? The Prefect Team is capable of shooting their way in if need be."
Sariel smirked and tightened his hold around the girls' waists causing them to blush from the sudden move. "We'll get in without the use of force. We'll turn ourselves in where she wants us and out bait Kaya at her own schemes. Sena, run this red light!"
Sena stepped on the gas on his orders and sped past the other slow moving vehicles. He had a plan to get arrested by the school to get to Kaya before she could notice. That wasn't a possibility she wrote off however.
She sat in a worn office chair all day, boredly watching her computer screen full of footage from the street's security camera. Occasionally she would get a report from Yukino but their search throughout the city turned up empty.
She bit her thumb knowing this was bad. Her pride got ahead of her strategy to kill him before he could figure out her plans. None of the senseis that entered this world were stupid but some were smarter than others. Deep down, she hoped the sensei of all senseis wouldn't be as cunning as…
Kaya shook her head. "No… He was foolish enough to fall prey to Yukino and Niko. Still… he got away…"
Aside from the occasional offense like a speeding vehicle or pedestrian crossing when they weren't supposed to, she couldn't find a trace of sensei. He went into hiding which was smart of him to do, there were not many counter actions she could take with only two students at her disposal.
Picking up her headphones, she ordered Niko. "Status report Fox Two?"
"Nothing over here but there is this restaurant that's giving away free inarizushi samples. If you'll excuse me…"
Kaya let out a frustrated groan, rubbing her temples because the formerly elite platoon had become so casual. Nonetheless she collected her worries. "Fox One, give me a status report of the investigation."
"Nothing found. Ah, what is this–" Yukino darted her eyes to a collection of police vehicles blocking off an armored car at an intersection. Her fox ear twitched, "Just another student getting fine for going over the speed limit. I don't think Valkyrie needed to send that many students though."
"Investigate it."
"Yes!"
Everything was going perfectly, Sariel thought. Getting pulled over at a four way intersection where there wasn't a camera posted on top of the street lights was what he needed. Though Fubuki wasn't among the police students, they behaved similarly lazy and were about to let him off with a small fine and warning since crime was a rarity. But he pissed them off enough to warrant a tackle and handcuffs around his wrists, same with Hina for being an accomplice. However he'd backed towards Sena's truck and knocked on the metal twice with his arms behind his back and she drove off causing the students to groan and brush her off for later. She refused to leave the vehicle and they weren't going to pull guns yet.
As he was being pushed into the back seat, he froze hearing Yukino's voice in the background.
"What's going on here?" She said plainly to the police student in charge.
"Just a couple of Gehenna tricks. I'm surprised Vice Prefect was a part of this. I expected better from the mediator of that school." the student nudged Hina's back. She then motioned to Shiroko "I haven't seen this student before though. She must be new."
Yukino eyed her for a second then turned to Sariel who escaped within the vehicle. He was sweating bullets but she couldn't see it. She approached the car and Sariel saw her uniform come into view in the corner of his eye. He didn't move, he didn't react.
"..." She inspected his clothing, not recognizing the new student in Kivotos. That brief minute felt like several hours of staring but she wouldn't deduce his identity. Maybe it was the headdress that did the trick? His prolonged stay in Blue Archive did make his hair grow a few inches. Backing away from the car, she nodded. "Tell me if you see a sensei around in this city."
"Understood."
Yukino then reported the updated status to Kaya as the cars drove off. The investigation ended in a no show and no clues.
"Return to HQ. He might've gotten away for now but we'll resume the search tomorrow." Kaya said, then carelessly tossed off the headphone.
For now the tension eased. The sensei she was hunting may have escaped for now but she monitored his actions. The leader of the sabotage club became a depressed alcoholic after Rio's death and roamed the streets, homeless out of choice and not circumstance. Kaya was going to accelerate his self destruction by ending his life early. He'd be thanking her for doing so.
Ten floors below in the basement of GSC's secondary building were a collection of holding cells.
He confronted a fox-eared warden there but not Yukino. The grey dull halls were calm and silent, most of the cells were left empty since city crimes were non-existent and their jurisdiction in school crimes limited. Valkyrie school couldn't interfere in, for example, the assassination of Gehenna Sensei. The cell watching warden had a room of her own where she was practically on break for the entirety of her job since there was rarely a person that needed to be investigated but she came out after Sariel banged on the metal bars for an hour straight. Making a ruckus with his body alone, clawing at the floor and kicking the walls.
The warden approached his cells where she found Sariel sleeping on the ground all of a sudden. A ruse of course, she suspected, and rightfully she smacked the butt of her pistol on the bars. "Wake up! This isn't a place where you should enjoy yourself!"
She aimed her gun toward the ground and fired two warning shots that woke him up in a daze. Like a zombie he stood up hunched over and waddled to the cell bars keeping his arm raised over his face. The warden was creeped out but her stoic face wouldn't show it. She backed away from the bars and turned to look at Hina's cell across from his. That was her first mistake.
Sariel was fast in his execution. By the time she heard the rusted metal squeak open he was already at her back. Sariel wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted to slam her back on the cold hard floor, a powerful suplex that knocked her out for good.
During the brief nap he had in prison Arona didn't pull her punches when it came to giving him a knuckle sandwich. She taught him a few moves after his body was broken in two in the dream. He used the keys he took from when he sexually harassed the officer to open Hina's cell. Valkyrie Police were too lazy to even rummage through all of their pockets, simply confiscating their guns and calling it a day.
The group of three retrieved their guns from the warden's room. In Sariel's case, he had bought a new uzi since the one he used he forgot back in his office when he ran. This uzi was unmodified and lighter to carry in one hand but he wouldn't be doing any shooting in a stealth mission.
Approaching the exit doors, Hina asked. "What is your plan now, if I may ask?"
Sariel grabbed the door handle. "We go up. There's nothing more to it. We don't look suspicious and by the looks of things it seems like most of the staff are away."
But away for what? Probably lounging and being lazy like Momoko since the GSC didn't care about the sensei problem.
They left the basement to the lobby where it was still strangely quiet and empty, save for the faceless GSC member behind the circular counter. She waved to them thinking they were set free after their interrogation. If only she knew the truth.
She tilted her head confused, watching them go past into the next hallway where they took the stairs to the next floor. The elevator would put them at risk of confronting their target directly.
Sariel figured some actual sneaking needed to be done and decided to break open a vent on the ceiling. Hina sat on his shoulders so her machine gun could reach and with a few jabs the vent dented and almost fell with a loud bang. Thankfully Sariel was dexterous enough due to his training with his nurses to catch it and gently place it down.
This snake-like sneaking wasn't really necessary, especially since he didn't know the layout of the building at all to know where Kaya was. He peeked through the bars of the vents he crawled over and found most rooms vacant or not the room he was looking for.
Shiroko's ears twitched and she looked back after passing another vent. "Nn… is this the room? Someone is there." She whispered as quietly as she could. Sariel had to nudge her butt to signal her to move a bit so he could press his ear near the vent to listen in.
"Don't worry Aoi, I'll retrieve that Sensei soon enough and he won't be harmed. Do me a favor will you?"
"..." The voice on the comms was too distant to make out.
"Please, contact Rin and inform her to lend me Bunny Platoon for this investigation… If she refuses? Hehe, then I have my ways of changing her mind."
The woman here was Kaya for sure. Sariel sat and wondered how he wanted to tackle this. Either fast, and quick to take her hostage or slow and more carefully planned through to extract as much information he could. A minute of him rubbing his chin passed before he came to a decision and pressed the barrel of his uzi to the corner of the vent.
"Watch out Shiroko, I'm going to shoot on three."
"Nn…" He didn't see but she nodded her head.
"Three!"
several loud bangs erupted his eardrums. The corner of the vent busted just enough for him to push his weight down and fall into the room, scaring the life out of Kaya (as well as Hina and Shiroko for his sudden shot).
"Bweh!? W-who are you?!" She stammered but before she could aim her gun, Sariel aimed his and shot by her feet.
"I'm the lead saboteur." The title had an imposing flair when he said it. He continued as Shiroko and Hina joined his back. "What are you up to, Kaya? Do you want me dead or alive?"
Though she was visibly shaken, she smirked and held a finger to her cheek. "Okay, I'll be blunt." For this one time she opened her eyes showing her horizontal pupils. "I want all of you senseis dead! You're all sick in the head, cross dressing as one of us then using students for your own ends. Because of Hyakkiyako Sensei, Kurumi and Otogi are dead!"
"What…" Sariel lowered his gun.
"They were tortured to death and I was unable to stop it. So," She collected her bravery, drawing her gun and pointing it at Sariel. "I'm going to abolish GSC to prevent more of you bastards from appearing."
Sariel hesitated, knowing she was justified in her doings but could things have been different if he knew earlier?
"Another death caused by that sensei." Sariel said quietly. He relaxed his stanced and outstretched his open arm to her. "Look, I'm going to stop that sensei and I need all the help I can get. The GSC President told me herself to fix the world. The feud you have with me can come after I finish my mission."
"...I refuse."
Two shots rung. One from Kaya which Sariel side stepped to avoid, and one from Hina which struck Kaya in the stomach and left her winded. She was ill suited for any kind of combat and without her foxes acting as her shield, she was worthless.
"Then you leave me no choice." Sariel said as he maneuvered around the desk to get closer to her. She lifted her firearm but Sariel shot it out of her grasp. "I'm taking you by force." He grabbed her arm and forced her to stand.
"How dare you!" She hissed.
This was the first time Sariel really asserted any force on a girl. He felt so powerful holding her thin shaky arm–and in this world as Sensei he could do anything and get away with it like Hyakkiyako Sensei. Thinking about taking advantage of Kaya was so easy, a line of logic that must've sent Hyakkiyako Sensei off the rails, but Sariel wasn't going to follow the same path.
At least not completely. He pressed the barrel of his uzi to her forehead which got her to stop moving under his grasp. "Shut it!" He shouted.
"Uwaa…" Now he could see the utter dread in her eyes. Turning his head, he looked for anything that could be used as a rope but all there was were wires and monitors plugged into.
"Hina, Shiroko unplug those wires and hand them to me." He commanded.
Hina placed her machine gun aside and moved accordingly. Shiroko took awhile to piece together his plan before she moved the same as Hina did. What was he going to do exactly with wires? Kaya was subjected to a cruel torment. Tying her just like Noa did to him, he made sure the BDSM wrappings accented her breasts and butt before binding her arms and legs.
He had to fight tooth and nail to keep her still and afterwards Sariel was left with many scratches on his face. She was light to carry, in fact he could lift her over his shoulder like a bodybuilder.
"Just you wait, Sensei, you won't get away with this. I'll make sure my foxes hunt you down and kill you dead." Kaya tried kicking her feet but with her legs in a tight bind all she did was ensure a heel falling off.
Hina watched as he carried her out of the room, motioning for her and Shiroko to follow along. A small smile grew on her face, reminded of the past terrorizing activities of the Gourmet Research Society, and though she was once her adversary to ensure Gehenna didn't blow itself up, she missed it.
Kaya ranted and rattled all throughout Sariel's walk to the elevator and only when the doors slid close did she run out of breath and shut up forever. The ride down was silent but not awkward. No comment needed to be made on the situation because what Sariel planned to do with Kaya was up in the air.
Torture? Rape? Outright throwing her out of the window from 10 stories up? None of it was off the table and both girls were too hesitant to oppose him if he did. Sariel held a pissed off look when he was tying her up, and Hina assumed it was Kaya clawing his face that was the cause for his frustration. In truth he was aggravated, but that was because BDSM was harder than it looked.
To clear the silence, Shiroko let out a snicker. "Hmph! You're such a pervert doing this." But her face fell pale when the elevator suddenly rumbled and the once blue lights coating the small space white changed to red and in turn the white walls had an opposite color.
Kaya began to cackle. The elevator sank to a floor below the holding cells, Sariel could tell by his heart nearly flying out of his throat during the fall. Thankfully it came to a slow crawl reaching the absolute bottom floor. The elevator stopped but the doors didn't open. No doubt this was Kaya's doing, attempting to kill him. He kicked the doors a couple of times then placed Kaya upright to lock in the corner with an elbow.
"You..! What did you do?!" Sariel's eye twitched with fright from the fall still holding his heart.
But all she did was laugh! "Hahaha! You're going to die!" She exclaimed with drool leaking from the edge of her mouth.
"Are we stuck?" Hina said, with a visibly frightened look.
Sariel spun his head. "Hina, use your gun to blast the doors open."
"That's difficult for me to do." She replied, trying to angle her gun but the tight elevator kept it from aiming 90 degrees.
Shiroko trained her rifle towards the doors. "Allow me to do it."
"Don't waste your ammo." Sariel turned his body enough to gesture towards her. "I have a feeling something big is awaiting us."
"Yes, something big and bad."Kaya interjected.
"I'll show you something big!" Sariel said loudly while shaking her madly. Shaking her wildly enough to make her head dizzy.
The doors would automatically open welcoming them to a foggy facility illuminated by red emergency lights. This was directly out of a horror scene but with no other option but forward Sariel commanded Hina to take the lead.
Unexpectedly she broke out into a sprint. Well, not really unexpected since that was the way students got around in combat. With Shiroko taking the middle and Sariel himself at the rear, their formation was formed. The fog seemed to cloud more and more of this underground facility hallway.
It was wide enough to fit three tanks side by side and the ceiling was out of reach. Painted on the hallways read "Sector First" . Hina came to a skidding halt after noticing a red glow flash amidst the fog. She and Shiroko aimed up their guns and slowed to a moderate pace as they traveled the mysterious setting.
"This is the end of the line for you Sensei." Kaya said after a cough.
The fog made way for the remaining two members of Fox Platoon, having slid down from the wires behind them, Yukino and Niko seemed to have returned just in time to confront the Lead Saboteur on Kaya's orders. Sariel didn't exactly know how they figured out his whereabouts and Kaya. If he had to guess then maybe she had a small transceiver on her body, that's when Sariel cursed under a breath wishing he'd strip her not only to search but to further embarrass her efforts to stop him.
Sariel tossed down Kaya exposing her as his bargaining chip to the foxes. He said to her, "And if I win?! You'll lose two more foxes and your own life. I spared you because you have something that can help me defeat Hyakkiyako Sensei."
"..." He didn't get a response, only mad grinning amplified with her goat-like eyes.
Yukino grabbed her headset and took them off. "Niko, if this battleー"
"No." Niko abruptly interrupted and stood up from her crouched position. "If you die then I die too. I refuse to live without Fox Platoon in my life."
Yukino tossed her headset. "I suppose that's honorable for a member of SRT to do."
They were young and Sariel didn't understand why they were throwing away their lives for something so meaningless. They were students, not soldiers on the battlefield or tools used for a single purpose and discarded. In order to sabotage this battle he had to convince them to see his ways, but how?
"Your orders?" Hina said.
"Shoot to defend!" Sariel commanded and moved further away from the middle line.
Hina's eyes lit up once hearing the same thing from her own Sensei. Confidence filled her entire being and the hints of cracks on her horns all sealed. Her wings flapped and spread wide enough to almost touch both ends of the tunnel, strong winds blew the still air against Fox Platoon. She pulled the trigger on her machine gun unleashing a three shot spread barrage.
Yukino and Niko both dodged in separate directions narrowly avoiding the fanned out bullets.
"I'm not going to lose to him. I… I cannot..!" Yukino reached her arm over her shoulder and threw out three discs from the bag around her shoulder. They clanged against the ground nearby Hina's feet. Following a muffled beep, a red light would flicker on and off indicating its activation.
Across from her, Niko slowly walked forward, shooting her shotgun to deter both students from advancing as if the land mines didn't already do that.
Hina used her wings as cover to block Niko's bullets while she reloaded. By the time she was finished, the mines by her feet exploded creating a field of black clouds briefly. She should've been blown away but instead Shiroko rushed through the fading cloud.
Yukino audibly gasped but she didn't slip her thoughts out. "What kind of tactic is this? They used the explosion as cover to switch positions?" An aggressive approach but untested against real military strategy.
Shiroko didn't factor in Niko who would shoot at her side, causing her to stumble aside and fall. The wolf didn't waste any time in throwing the active grenade she had in her free hand. The bomb exploded at a distance from Niko but close enough to knock her off balance.
Sariel clenched his fist and turned to face Kaya. "Students shouldn't live to die like soldiers on a battlefield! They're young and innocent with a full life ahead of them. The other Senseis were the adults in these students' lives but adults have their own baggage too. I'm the only one who is capable of defeating Hyakkiyako Sensei, as the last adult—the last Sensei given this mission by GSC Prez!"
"...hrm." He heard a nervous groan from Kaya but she turned her face towards the ground trying to hide it.
"Gotta keep the distance." Yukino hopped back and ejected a magazine from her gun. She reloaded another in less than a second but that didn't stop Shiroko from running in closer at all, even when the fox pointed her rifle she still kept trying to close the distance.
The strangest thing occurred when they were at sword's length and Shiroko swung up her rifle as if it were a blade. It knocked Yukino out of her two handed stance but Shiroko released the rifle so it flew directly upwards. However That hand she swung backward reached into her backpack and with a downwards swing she struck Yukino's rifle again, breaking her two handed hold with what looked like a briefcase.
Yukino spun into a tactical roll to distance herself just enough to shoot but her eyes widened and her finger stopped in awe. The briefcase shaped object expanded into a riot shield, "Iron Horus" written on the front, and the rifle she had thrown fell back into her hand. Her body was covered by the shield saved for her rifle which peeked out the side.
"Did this sensei teach her to do that? Then maybe he can…!" Yukino then let out a shout as she and Shiroko both pulled the trigger on their rifles. Both girls unleashed the full capacity of their magazine.
The shield would protect Shiroko from most of the barrage but Yukino was defenseless against Shiroko's bullets. Her sailor shirt was filled with holes and she fell weakly on her back. Hina would fall as well, same with Niko. Both having reached the limits of bullets they could tank.
Sariel and Kaya were left with a scene of defeated students caused by their hands. "Don't you see the… hypocrisy?!" Said with some dramatic flair. "Look at our children, hurt and bruised. Kurumi and Otogi may have died but don't forget, you gave the order! And if you won't listen to me then I'll take Fox Platoon for my own. They'll be better in my care than yours!"
Hopefully this speech he gave worked. Hina and Shiroko really gave their all in this battle–in fact all the girls did. They laid in a puddle of sweat and panted like dogs. Today was an utterly long day, even Sariel felt a headache coming from exhaustion.
"..."
"... Do you promise you're not going to kill me?" Kaya said timidly.
Sariel eased his shoulders and let out a breath of relief. "No. I need you Kaya. Besides, GSC Prez wouldn't smile at me if I hurt you too badly." As assholeish the GSC staff were to him, they were still his closest allies and gave him the authority to be Sensei. Especially GSC prez…
"L-Lead Saboteur..?" Yukino said quietly.
"..!" Sariel stepped closer to hear her better in this large facility hallway. Standing over her, he looked down holding a blank stare.
"Are you… just saying things or do you promise to stop Hyakkiyako Sensei?"
"I promise with every bone in my body."
Yukino's lips curled into a small smile. "Hm… I'll keep you to it."
This Sensei whose words were full of inspiration allured Kaya but she couldn't put her finger on it, the mistrust she had for what he set out to do. He used the GSC president's name so freely. He didn't know the president so how could she have told him what to do. Though she understood his speech, she needed time to dwell on the decision to assist his efforts.
Afterwards Sariel returned to his office, back home in a familiar place and not sleeping on the streets till dawn. He took off his heeled boots and slumped onto the couch letting himself sink in before sitting upright and taking his phone out to make a post on momosocial declaring the Sabotage Club reopened. Not surprising to anyone the first to like his post was Serina, but soon after Rin and Momoka liked the post too. The two peers holding similar administrative positions basically told him to fuck off last meeting. They knew the meaning of sabotage, were they secretly supporting him in his efforts? Despite what they said, he felt they knew something about this GSC President's plan.
He dropped his phone and looked towards the desk, scattered with papers just like the first time he arrived in this office. Thinking about his abandonment of responsibilities now, he felt silly for trying to escape this burden. Maybe there were more, less notable senseis, that ended up dying in pathetic ways upon being summoned to this world. The thought made him sick and he got to cleaning his office by himself this time. Late in the afternoon he would hear a knock on his door but he didn't respond to it. The student knocking would invite herself in carrying a notebook to once again record actions in what was a personal history book.
"Sensei, may I have a moment of your time?"
She wasn't Yuuka. Why did she try to imitate a dead girl? Was she taunting him for failing to save her? His mind went blank, going into fight or flight mode. In a swift move he ran to punch her.
"Gah!" She squeaked as she fell and dropped her book; left with a bruised cheek and on the verge of crying. She burst out all of her emotions at once. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything!"
Crocodile tears? No these were the real deal, but he never saw Noa display her inner emotions. It was out of character to do but she was still a young child burdened with adult responsibilities and thrusted into adult problems. It was entirely Rio's idea to use her to tie him up that day and disway him from getting involved. Sariel looked at his fist then uncurled it to look at his hands. These were the hands that were supposed to help not harm.
"Yuuka's dead and It's all my fault. She was like a sister to me but I couldn't stop Rio! I couldn't do anything!" She bawled her eyes out while Sariel just watched plainly. He didn't know what to think, say, or do. Ultimately he just wanted her out of his office.
She collected herself enough to run out the room crying. Hopefully no one was in the building to hear. However she left her notebook behind. Sariel picked it up and flipped through the entries that read more like a diary than keeping record of important things. Still, it was useful for finding out more of the past, as dirty as it was to read in a girl's diary. He closed it and placed it in his pocket for later.
Suddenly his phone vibrated and he looked to see a momosocial message from Kaya who accepted his offer and sent a return message informing her to be prepared to visit Hyakkiyako the next day.
A/N: imgurcom/a/lw2QXVI
