Chapter 60 - Down Time XVI

...

Instead of focusing on the reality-bending dream of last night, I focused on my paperwork.

Fucking realistic dreams...

Though I got another diversion in the form of a text message. From Eimi, interestingly.

Sensei, doesn't it feel like it's gotten hotter lately? After working on a mission, it feels even more stifling.

Summer's still a ways away, Eimi.

Yeah. Maybe it's just me.

That girl already wears so little, how can she still be hot? As I muse that, Utaha texts me.

Sensei, how is Arona doing?

Great, actually. She's been over the moon since she got the new body.

Thanks again.

No problem, Sensei.

Ah, while I'm here, I saw you reading through the wholesale stationary shop's catalog when you were here last.

Is there something you need?

I was thinking about getting a pencil holder. There aren't any in my office, unfortunately.

If it's something as simple as a pencil holder, isn't it just faster to make it through the 3D printer in the club room?

Y'all have a 3D printer?

Nevermind, I shouldn't be surprised.

Indeed, and any pencil holder made with it should be lighter and stronger than most products on the market.

I even have the materials. Should I make one for you?

Sure, it'll save me some time.

Okay! Come by the Engineering Club workshop in about an hour.

I'll be there.

Guess I've got plans. As I move to get up, I get yet another text. What is this, 'Everyone text Sensei in the morning Day'?

Shockingly, it's from Himari.

I'm still a tad upset with her. I suppose I oughta get back at her a bit.

Fufu~ Hello, Sensei.

Hmm?

Hm? Are you so moved from getting a message from me that you're speechless?

Yes, it makes sense. Suddenly receiving a message from a beautiful hacker maiden like myself.

Hang on, who is this?

Wha?! No way, you haven't registered my contact info?!

Nah, I'm just fucking with you.

She sends me another message with a crying, pleading faced emoji.

Geez, Sensei, that was a mean joke. Even this beautiful genius young lady was surprised.

Consider that a bit of payback for selling us out to Rio before our little heist.

A-Anyway, there's something that I wanted to say.

I just hacked into Schale.

I mean, investigated.

It seems that you have the day off today, correct?

I mean, I'm still doing some work, but yes, it's my day off.

Also, please don't hack Schale.

Fufu~ That's great! I'll send you some coordinates later.

I'll be waiting for you at Millennium, Sensei.

You're lucky I'm already headed that way.

Groaning as I pocket my phone, I get up and call out, "Arona."

"Yes?" My AI pal says, peeking from around the corner of another room.

"I'm heading over to Millennium for a while. Don't cause too much trouble." I tease.

"Geez, you know I won't, Sensei." She says as I walk away.

"And no boys in the house!"

"SENSEI!"

I laugh as I leave my office, hearing Arona's embarrassed shout.

After reaching Millennium, I want over to the Engineering Club's workshop, where I found Utaha muttering while messing with some stuff on a desk. "No... This won't do..."

"I'm here!" I call out, walking up to her.

"Ah!" She squeals, jumping a bit. "Sensei? You're here. Please wait, I need a little more time. I've come across a small, unanticipated problem."

"With the pencil holder?" I ask, a tad confused. "What's wrong?"

"Normally this doesn't happen, but the machine seems to be in poor condition today." The purple haired meister explains. "I hope we don't have the same issue..."

Utaha and I then watched the 3D printer make the pencil holder. The 3D priniters back home were nowhere near as fast as these. After a short while, it make a 'ding' sound, signifying it's done.

"Wow. It made a damn good pencil holder. Looks perfect!" I say, amazed. "This should-"

"THAT'S NOT IT!" Utaha suddenly shouts, causing me to recoil.

"What's not it?" I ask, eyes wide.

"That's not the pencil holder I was trying to make!" She reiterates, grabbing the pencil holder from the machine.

"Whaddya mean?" I ask.

"Look at it!" She says, dramatically pointing at the pencil holder with her other hand. "The finish is sloppy, and the lamination isn't curved like on the blueprint! And the durability is too weak! This wouldn't even be able to deflect a twenty-two caliber!"

"Utaha, I just want a pencil holder." I stress, deadpan. "It doesn't need to be bulletproof or perfect in every little way, so long as it does what it's meant to."

"No. Even if it's fine with you, it's not fine with me." She argues. "This is a defective product!" With that yell, she throws the defective creation on the ground, shattering it at our feet. "I'd be so embarrassed if all the other students found out I gave you a defective gift... Don't worry, Sensei. I'll create a truly perfect pencil holder for the honor of the Engineering Club. Please come back in just a little while!" She declares, getting back to work.

Sighing, I relent. "Okay. I'll come back by in a few hours." I say, as I leave the club room.

Walking through the halls of Millennium, I still can't help but marvel at how pristine this place is.

"Noooooo!" A girl yells, causing me to tense.

"I told you, if you want to lessen your sentence, you'd better help with this mess!" Another voice yells, this one more familiar...

Turning a corner, I see Yuuka dragging who appears to be Koyuki in a normal outfit down the hall.

The 'White Rabbit' is now wearing a white blazer and undershirt, along with a blue tie and black skirt. Around her shoulders is a white, blue and black hoodie, worn similarly to Noa and Yuuka. On her legs are white leggings which fuse with her shoes, and a single grey kneepad on her right knee. Her hair is now free of yellow highlights and is tied into long twintails. Oh, and she also has grey, fingerless gloves on.

"Ah! Sensei!" Yuuka says, freezing as she sees me.

"Huh? Sensei!" Koyuki excitedly says, freeing herself from Yuuka's grasp and bounding over to me. "Sensei! Long time no see!"

"It's been a day, but hiya, Koyuki." I say, smiling. "I thought she was locked up?" I ask, looking at Yuuka.

"She was, but there's a problem going on and we need her specifically to fix it." Yuuka explains, glaring at the pink haired girl. "She'll even get an ease on her sentence if she helps."

"Oh c'mon! Stuff like this is so boring!" Koyuki argues.

"More boring than being locked up?" I ask, causing her to tense. "All day, no phone, the same old food, nothing fun to do at all?"

With each word, Koyuki becomes more and more nervous.

"Who knows how long you'll have to stay like that?" I muse, sarcastic. "It could be a few months, or, seeing as how you almost bankrupted Millennium, you could be in there until you graduate."

"AAH!" Koyuki finally snaps. "Fine, fine! I'll do it!"

Yuuka merely stares at me in wonder as Koyuki's eyes tear up.

"C'mon now." I say softly, patting the sad girl's head. "It ain't so bad. Just help Yuuka out. It'll be fine."

"...Okay." The pink haired girl pouts, resigned to her fate.

"Sensei... You really are a miracle worker." Yuuka says, relieved. "I didn't think anything could be done to get this brat to help us."

"Hey!" Koyuki snaps.

"No problems." I say, waving Yuuka off, before turning to Koyuki. "Now be good to Yuuka. Maybe afterwards they can let you out for a while and we can hang out."

"You really mean it?!" Koyuki shouts, suddenly gleeful, as she moves closer to me.

"I mean it. Now, go." I say, shooing them away. "And good luck." I add, walking off.

Yuuka merely chuckles, shaking her head. "Later, Sensei."

"Bye bye, Sensei!" Koyuki says happily.

As we go our separate ways, I eventually reach my destination. A... random hallway?

"The hell? Himari said to meet her here." I mutter, looking around for the wheelchair-bound girl. As I look around, I hear something nearby, a kind of whirring sound.

From around the corner, came a Millennium security drone, hovering above the ground. It stops in front of me, before moving it's body towards the hall in a jerky motion.

I guess it wants me to follow?

"Lead the way then." I say. As if on cue, it floats back down the hall as I follow closely behind.

After about five minutes of walking, it stops next to a classroom in the far back of Millennium. Almost no one is in this area. Looking at the door the robot's stopped by, it says 'Breathless NG-Pi Recitation Club'. No idea what 'NG-Pi' is, but breathless recitation means reciting something in a single breath.

...What the fuck is wrong with this city?

Shrugging that thought away, I knock on the door.

"I've been waiting for you, Sensei." Himari's voice sounds out from within the room. "Please come in."

I enter to find a small, empty classroom, devoid of anyone, save Himari. "Fufu~ You're right on time. Welcome, Sensei." She greets, before turning to the drone. "Good job guiding Sensei here. Please return to your post."

Then, the drone scuttles off, closing the door behind it.

"Yeah, I had a feelin' that was you." I admit.

"Indeed." Himari affirms with a soft giggle. "You see, I'm a beautiful, sickly maiden. It's difficult for me to come meet Sensei directly, so I hacked a drone that was nearby. I was merely borrowing it for a little while." She says, proudly. "They're cute little ones, don't you think? I think they make perfect guides." She keeps rambling on about who knows what.

"Anyway, what's with this place? The door had a weird-ass name on the placard." I ask.

"Eh...?" Himari asks, blinking. "I-Is it really so strange?"

"I've no idea what 'NG-Pi' is, but I wonder what it has to do with breathless recitation." I explain.

"W-Well, I needed something good to conceal my true identity, and after three days and nights, I came with with an intelligent, elegant and perfect name." She explains. "I thought it was a great name, just like the beautiful genius maiden Millennium is proud of." She says, pouting.

"Well, it's a weird name. It doesn't really fit you." I say. "You're definitely more beautiful than some club name."

Himari freezes as I say that, her pale face becoming a bright red. "S-Sensei...! This maiden's heart can't take such honest compliments!" She says, a bit frantic.

Sighing, I change the subject. "Anyway, why'd you call me here? Is it something to do with our 'omnipotent' pal?"

"No, this has nothing to do with Decagrammaton. Our new club room has yet to be finished, after all." She explains, easing my concerns. "To summarize, I suppose you could call this my secret hideout."

"Hideout? And not the underground bunker being built?" I ask, looking for clarification.

"No, the Paranormal Phenomena Investigation and Veritas clubrooms, the latter of which I usually use, are under the constant watch of 'Big Sister'." She explains.

I'm getting 1984 feelings again. "I hesitate to ask, but... 'Big Sister'?"

"Rio." She answers, simply. "She's like a ghost in the machine, always watching everyone and everything in Millennium. It's quite annoying to be honest."

"A bit ironic, seeing as how you're a literal ghost in the machine." I point out, earning a prideful smile from the hacker genius. "...I'm totally gonna moon the next security camera I see, just to mess with her." I say, serious.

"Fufufu~ I almost hesitate to admit, but it would be funny to have Rio see something she wouldn't want to." Himari says, hiding her smiling with a dainty hand. "Regardless of that, I hacked into Millennium's system to get a permit for an unused clubroom. This is essentially, my own personal space."

"And you've let me into here?" I ask,

"Of course, you're not going to tell Rio about this, so I have nothing to worry about. A sickly super genius like me needs time to rest as well." She says. "Rather, resting the brain is essential."

"And no one notices the drones and cameras, or you going back and forth?" I ask, eyebrow raised.

"Fufu~ That's nothing for a genius hacker like myself." She explains, proud. "Hacking drones and modifying their security route is very simple. I know all of the blind spots of the security cameras, and feeding it just a little bit of video is like taking candy from a baby. I have no weaknesses, I am invincible! Fufufufu~" She declares.

"And, to reiterate, despite going through all of this trouble to keep this place secret, you've let me in." I point out.

"Yes, there's no problem at all." Himari says, simply. "I should say that I'm glad you came, or that I'd be troubled if you didn't come."

"Hm?" I ask, confused.

"Sensei, as you know, I am always the center of attention. Like a single flower blooming over the clouds. A rising peony, or rather a sitting peony. With every breath, she's known as the most beautiful lily of the valley." She says.

"No hesitation. I'm almost amazed at your levels of pride." I say, deadpan.

"And that's why I believe I left no gaps open." She finishes. "However, even for a perfect girl like me, I can't live life always worrying. The reason I called you here is... Well, uh..." She stutters, a bit nervous. "Occasionally, I'd like time to relax... So having someone I can trust nearby, that won't ask for something in return, would be nice. I remembered someone who would do just that, even when I'm like this. So you see..." She pauses, a bit embarrassed if her slightly red face is anything to go by. "Although I prepared my own secret hideout, I find it boring to spend my time alone."

"If you wanted you hang out, you coulda just said so." I say, a bit miffed.

"But with Sensei, um..." She pauses, her face red. "I was hoping you'd be my conversation partner. It's a selfish reason, but-"

"It's fine." I say, cutting her off. "Still, I'd be glad to hang out with you anytime, Himari." I say, smiling.

"Fufu~ Just as expected." The elf girl says with a giggle. "Then lets have a great day today, Sensei."

I smile and nod in agreement with the sickly girl.

"Hm... I have time alone with Sensei." She muses. "Normally, I'd have a 'smug face' from my achievements as the most beautiful sickly hacker genius around. Unfortunately, there is one potential problem."

"Problem?" I ask.

"It's... not a huge problem, but..." Himari pauses, almost embarrassed. "You may or may not know, but here at Millennium, song requests are broadcast at noon."

"They are?" I ask, a tad surprised. "That's news to me."

"Yes, any Millennium student can request any song they want." She explains. "But FOR SOME REASON, none of the songs I request are EVER selected!" She shouts, clearly upset by this. "Even though I've been applying over and over and over, why the hell aren't they doing this one thing for me?! Sensei, what do you think?" She asks, having lost all composure, but continues before I can come up with an answer. "Maybe my tastes are too advanced, and without realizing it, a wall was formed between me and the other students. Somehow, I've become the heroine of a tragedy..." She bemoans.

"Himari." I say, stopping her tangent. "I think you're just unlucky." I explain, deadpan.

"U-Unlucky?" She asks, stuttering as though she never foresaw this turn of events. "Th-That may be the case... Still, I just wanted to share a great song with the rest of Millennium... But today, I say goodbye to that disappointment."

"...What did you do?" I accuse, suddenly a bit worried.

"To commemorate Sensei joining me in my hideout today, I've decided to apply a little bit of my 'special touch'." She explains, proudly.

As she says that, a high-pitched sound comes from the speakers as an announcement plays. "Hello to all you listeners, this is the Millennium Broadcast!" A feminine voice calls out, likely a student. "It's lunch time again! Let's take a look at today's requests! The first song request is from radio name 'Millennium's greatest beautiful maiden'."

I shoot Himari an accusing look as she nervously averts her gaze from me.

"Huh... This person again...?" The announcer continues. "Eh? Are we going to play this?"

"Nah, we got a bunch of other requests, right?" Someone else asks.

"Huh? The data vanished?!" The announcer shouts.

"Fufu~" Himari lets out a pleased giggle.

"Even still, this is a bit..." The announcer groans, before freaking out. "Hey! What the heck?"

"Somebody stop the radio!" Another shouts. "What's happening? Why won't it stop?!"

Geez, Himari can be spiteful, huh?

That's not to say that I can't either.

The announcement cuts off as a melancholic, modern enka song begins to play from the speakers.

"This is what you wanted everyone to hear?" I ask, suddenly not as worried as before.

"Indeed. This song was recommended to me by the Engineering Club's president." Himari explains.

"Utaha? Sounds about right." I muse. "Though I didn't expect you to be into Enka, Himari. I was afraid you'd play something really niche like drone or somethin'."

"Fufu~" Himari giggles, ignoring my comments. "Relaxing in a secret hideout, sharing my favorite music with Sensei..." She muses. "What do you think? Can you feel the mood?"

"Yeah... It's nice." I say after a moment, listening to the song along with the wheelchair-bound girl.

"Isn't it? Fufu~"

As the nice enka song played, everyone listening was also treated to the comedy routine of the Broadcast Club panicking in the background.

I don't know how to describe my time with Himari, but every time we meet certainly seems to be memorable.

As the song finished and the broadcast ended, I turned back to the elf girl.

"Himari?"

"Yes, Sensei?"

"There's one more thing I need to do before I forget."

"What's that."

pinch pull

"AH!"

"You still haven't apologized for tattling on us to Rio!"

"Sh-Shenshei! D-Don't pulhh my beuutiful cheeksh!"

"Then apologize!"

"SHOWWY!"

After thoroughly reprimanding Himari, I left the red-faced, pouting girl behind.

Utaha SHOULD be done by now, right?

As I head back towards the Engineering Club, I find myself running into...

"Eimi?"

"Oh, hey, Sensei." The scantily clad, pink haired girl greets with a smile.

"You managed to cool down any?" I ask, remembering our conversation earlier.

"No, it's still way too hot." She groans.

This building's pretty cool, right? Is there something genetic that makes this girl feel hotter than she should be?

"It's really getting annoying, too. I should do something about it." Eimi says, before sliding her jacket off and pulling down her shirt.

"Eimi, what the hell are you doing...?" I ask, stopping the girl.

"Hmm? I'm taking my clothes off. Why?" She asks, seeing nothing wrong with it.

"You can't just get undressed in public, even if you feel hot." I chide.

"How else am I supposed to cool off, then?" The pink haired girl asks. "The most efficient way to dissipate heat inside one's body is to undress."

"And you're not, y'know... embarrassed to do this in public?" I ask, a bit confused.

"Embarrassed...?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. "Is embarrassment a valid reason to not successfully carry out a mission?"

"I... Look, just... don't take your clothes off in public, please." I plead.

"Then what would you suggest I do to cool down without undressing?" Eimi asks.

"Why don't you just eat ice cream or somethin'?" I offer.

"Ice cream? Yes, ingesting something cold may work..." She muses. "That should prove an effective way of lowering my internal temperature."

"Fuck it, how about we go get some ice cream, then? It'll be my treat." I offer.

"All right. On the condition that I buy your ice cream." Eimi says.

I let out a chuckle. "All right, then."

Eimi too lets out a giggle. "We should hurry, Sensei. Staying here will only make us overheat more."

After going out and finding an ice cream stall nearby, the two of us enjoyed some and cooled down a bit. After bidding the scantily clad girl farewell, she texted me once I got back inside the Millennium building.

Oh right. Sensei.

I saw some girls from Trinity getting mint chocolate ice cream from the stall earlier.

Do you think that eating ice cream that tastes like toothpaste helps them cool down?

Well, it IS ice cream still.

Though toothpaste isn't sweet like ice cream, so you really shouldn't compare the two.

Fair enough.

The world of high school girls is a complicated one...

After pocketing my phone, I paused, hearing some pained screams from some students.

"Ugh. This is too much, get me outta here!" One yells.

"My head... My ears can't take anymore of this!" Another yells, as they run off, right towards me.

"What's happened to y'all?" I ask.

"Ah!" The first girl says, both of them looking at me with red faces. "Sensei?"

"My savior!" The second girl shouts, grabbing onto my shirt. "I'll do anything, Sensei! Just, please, change places with me!"

"Again, what's the problem?" I reiterate, before Kotori, of all people shows up.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The blonde meister shouts. "We still have a lot left! We're just getting started!"

"AHHH!" The second girl yells, moving to use me as a shield.

"I don't know what we did wrong, but please spare us!" The first girl pleads.

"Spare you?" Kotori asks. "Ignorance isn't a sin! I mean, it's dangerous and could lead to a sin, but that's why we have to fight and always be open to learning!" She declares. "Now, as I was saying! The canned food's manufacturing process didn't start in cans but bottles as a method of military food storage. Later, because of market competition the bottled food era ended and the iron-canned food era began." With each word, the two girls seem to have their brains melt. "If you're wondering why the corned beef can was trapezoidal unlike the other canned flat meats-"

"GAAAAHHHH!" The first girl yells, pained.

"Corned beef?" I ask.

"Oh, hello, Sensei." Kotori happily greets.

"This one's using me as a shield and you just now noticed me?" I ask, deadpan. "Ugh, anyway, why're you lecturing these two?"

"Hm? They asked me why canned corned beef was trapezoidal, so I was simply explaining." The blonde meister explains.

"S-Simply?!" The one using me as a shield roars. "It's already been two hours!"

The first then adds, "You've been going on and on about the history of mining aluminum and the techniques of the miners!"

"Of course I am! That's important historical context you need to know!" Kotori argues. "How can you expect to understand the big picture if you don't know the little details?"

"That doesn't mean we have to know EVERYTHING!" The first girl shouts.

"Yeah! We simply wanted to know WHY it was shaped like that!" The second adds.

Kotori then growls at them, causing the two girls to recoil.

"...Never mind." The second says, no longer using me as a shield.

"We may have gone too far in a few places." The first admits.

"So you were looking for more scientific reasoning!" The blonde surmises. "That's my specialty!" She says proudly, before continuing to ramble. "Then maybe I should start with why aluminum is used in the first place. As you know, Aluminum, or 'Al', is a metal with the atomic number of thirteen on the periodic table. Compared to conventional metals used before it, it has greater resistance from external environments due to the reactivity and passivation of its surface-"

"Ahh! Stop it, stop it!" The first girl yells.

"I'm developing PTSD!" The second bemoans. "I won't be able to look at corned beef for years!"

With that, the two girls run for dear life.

"W-Wait!" Kotori yells. "Where are you going? Stop right there! I said stop!" But the two girls are already gone. Kotori slumps down, "They left before I could get to the important stuff."

"Eh, you'll get 'em next time." I say, hopeful, but also worried for those two.

"I wonder why everybody is so reluctant to learn. Don't you feel happy when you learn something you didn't know before? You understand, don't you, Sensei? You are a teacher, after all." The blonde meister asks me.

"Yeah, but not everyone likes info-overload. Part of teaching people stuff is understanding their pace for learning." I advise. "And sometimes, people just want just want easy answers. That's why everyone just looks up stuff online instead of reading through books and such." I explain. "Plus, I don't think I'm the 'help with math problems' kind of teacher and more the 'help with real-life problems' kind of teacher."

"R-Really? I suppose that's true." Kotori admits. "That's why I tried to start with the basics. Hmm... That reminds me, Sensei. You receive all kinds of questions from students."

"Yeah?" I ask, wondering where she's going with this.

"Then how can I become like you?" She asks, almost desperate. "How can I get people to WANT to learn from me? I want to be a great teacher like you, giving lectures in a hall full of people waiting to learn!" She then pauses, realizing her actions. "Uh, I got a little carried away there, didn't I?"

"A little, but it just shows how important this is to ya." I reassure, smiling. "I'm just glad you like something this much, even if it's something as simple as explaining things."

"Well, you're not incorrect, but there's more to it than that." She explains. "Though, I still can't deny that... But, to be more precise, I like seeing the look on people's faces when they learn something new. I like teaching people new things so that I can have someone to talk about them once they've caught up. I may like explaining somethings, but... I'm really bad at explaining how I feel."

"Truth be told, I feel the same way sometimes." I admit. "I've never been good with expressing my emotions and stuff."

"Do you think I'm... too talkative?" Kotori asks, almost afraid to ask.

"Nah. Like I said, it shows you're passionate about this kinda thing." I say, smiling.

"Really? You think so?" She asks, happily, eliciting a nod from me. "That's fortunate. I was worried I might've made a bad impression. I'm so glad that at least you understand me, Sensei!" She says with a happy giggle.

Kotori then freezes, as though in thought.

"...Kotori?" I ask, a tad concerned.

"Speaking of understanding..." She begins. "For a human to understand something, it presupposes self-awareness, and self-awareness means that one is conscious of their own actions, feelings and decisions, right?" I nod. "So everything we notice and understand about ourselves actually enables us to notice and accept those things in others-"

"Kotori." I interrupt.

"Huh? Ah! Sorry, I stated explaining again, didn't I?" She asks, ashamed.

"It's fine." I say. "Just remember sometimes people don't have time for long explanations."

"Ah, that makes sense..." She muses. "Do you... not have time for that right now?"

"Sorry, Utaha was making me a 'perfect pencil holder' earlier, so I oughta go see about that." I explain.

"Well, don't let me keep you! And, uh... thanks, Sensei." Kotori says.

"Anytime, Kotori." I say, happily.

After that, I went back to the Engineering Club's room to find Utaha, along the 'perfect pencil holder' and about a dozen failures that looked perfectly fine.

Though I wasn't gonna say anything.

I graciously accepted the gift from Utaha and his her farewell.

After spending a fair bit of the day at Millennium, I decided to walk through it and Gehenna's district on my way home.

The weather decided to fuck with me as it started to rain. 10 percent chance my ass.

Fortunately, I always keep an umbrella in the Shittim Chest just to be safe.

As I walked through the city, someone called out to me.

"Sensei?"

Turning to the source, I see, "Kayoko? Hey."

Sure enough, there was the punk Gehenna student, holding an umbrella over her head.

"It's nice to see you, Sensei." She says, smiling. "Are you heading home?"

"Eh, I was just walkin' around. Though, seeing as how this rain doesn't look like it'll end anytime soon, I probably should head home." I say. "Where're you off to?"

"Well... Aside from my klutzy friends, there's someone else who needs my help on rainy days like these." Kayoko explains, the sky beginning to darken as the streetlights come on. "It's not important, though. No need to worry about it."

"You sure? I don't mind hangin' out for a while. We haven't seen each other for some time, anyway." I offer.

"What...? You want to tag along?" She asks, her red eyes wide. "Well, it's not like I particularly mind or anything... But don't blame me if you end up thinking it's a waste of time. Especially with all of this rain."

"Eh, the rain doesn't bother me, anyway." I shrug.

The monochrome haired girl sighs. "You're really not going to let this go, huh? Fine. Do whatever you want."

And so, Kayoko and I walked through the slowly darkening streets of Gehenna, the sky grey and murky. Each of us held our own umbrella above our heads, shielding ourselves from the cool rain.

Soon, we walking into an alleyway behind a convenience store.

Kayoko pulled out a small, sealed can and bent down in front of a cardboard box with a small hole cut out in front.

"Feedin' a cat again, huh?" I ask, smiling.

"You really didn't need to follow me all this way, Sensei." Kayoko says.

"Is it not inside?" I ask, referring to the cat.

"I guess not." She says, almost sad. "I only came here because it was raining. It'll be fine. Cats can look after themselves. I don't mind that I don't have to take care of the cat all the time."

"...But still, I do get a little lonely." She adds, whispering to herself.

"...You really are a nice person, Kayoko." I compliment, smiling honestly.

Her face turns a shade of red, standing out, even amongst the slowly darkening world. "... A part of me can't just leave it alone. That's all." She defends. "I don't know how else to explain it."

Turning away, I look up at the sky.

"Sensei?" Kayoko asks, standing. "Oh, the rain stopped."

"You heading home?" I ask.

"Yeah." She replies. "You too?"

"Yup." I say quickly. "And Kayoko?"

"Yeah, Sensei?" She asks.

"I probably said it before, but come by Schale any time. Especially if you feel a bit lonely." I say honestly.

The punk girl freezes, realizing I heard her muttering earlier. Her eyes then relax as a pleased smile grows on her face. "Thanks, Sensei. I'll see you later."

"See ya." I say, as we part ways, both of us closing our umbrellas.

So ended another day in Kivotos.

AN

Quick and simple chapter.

There'll be a few Down Time chapters before we get to our next event.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!