A Courier for Kivotos

by Unknown Sixth

I'd been many things in my travels. Courier, prospector, trader, mechanic, assassin, lobotomite... you name it. But I never expected to become the teacher of a bunch of bulletproof, trigger-happy angels in a city untainted by the horrors of the Wasteland.

14. Vanguard

Rapidly darting left, Shiroko raised her fist, throwing a punch aimed at my side. In response, I brought up my arms to block the blow, most of the ensuing force subsequently being absorbed by my thick clothing and Pip-Boy. Shiroko wasted no time in raising her other arm for a right hook, which was also promptly blocked. The student exhaled and continued to alternate between using both arms while I kept my guard up and evaluated Shiroko's technique.

It was…rudimentary, being completely honest. From the wasted movements to the easily telegraphed attacks, it was obvious that she had little practical experience in unarmed combat – the expected outcome of living in a city full of gun wielders. Students' inexperience in other types of fighting was a flaw that I was all too happy to take advantage of thus far, and since Shiroko asked me if I'd be willing to teach her about unarmed combat, perhaps she too saw the advantage it conferred.

That being said…

Shiroko cocked back her right arm to build up momentum and thrust her arm forward. I sidestepped the worst of the haymaker, and it merely grazed my side. The student continued to press the attack.

Her technique notwithstanding, Shiroko was pretty darn strong. There was real impact behind her attacks – for instance, if I hadn't dodged that haymaker, it may have actually hurt a bit blocking it. No doubt her strength was the culmination of countless days of physical training. Taking into account the fact that Shiroko was definitely pulling her punches, I roughly estimated Shiroko's [Strength] to be somewhere around 7 or 8, though I had no way of knowing for sure unless I were to have Shiroko wear my Pip-Boy. In other words, her strength may not have been comparable to Wakamo's, who could bend steel with her bare hands, but I'd imagined Shiroko'd be able to make great use of a Power Fist if I showed her how to use one.

I paused. Now that wasn't a bad idea at all.

Noticing my lapse in attention, Shiroko quickly seized the opportunity to nimbly drop close to the ground and sweep her leg outward, in a somewhat crude attempt at mimicking the Ranger Takedown. Though I was somewhat taken aback by the action, I easily maneuvered backward out of range of the leg sweep.

"A good try, but you probably shouldn't attempt that move right now."

"...Why not?" Shiroko asked, blinking as we exchanged our first words since we had begun.

"You have shorter legs, for one. At this range, you're less likely to snag a wary opponent. Second, you should always make sure you know a move before attempting it, or it may come back to bite during battle," I explained. "But we can go over that later."

The student nodded, internalizing my words. However, I kept my guard up - I learned very quickly from the way she attacked that this girl was something of a crafty fighter.

It was surprising, considering how initially she was utterly hesitant to practice directly on me. But when I assured her that there was little chance I'd be actually hurt and that this was simply how people back home learned how to fight, she quickly changed her tune. It was as if she had something to prove - whether to me or herself, I didn't know.

Instead of going back on the attack like I had expected her to, Shiroko lowered her arms and tilted her head at me. "Vance?"

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Didn't I tell you why?"

"You wanted to get my measure, to see where I stood first," Shiroko recalled. "But… it's been almost an hour. Shouldn't that be enough?"

I realized she was right. For the most part, I'd gotten a measure of her fighting prowess within the first fifteen minutes of our little training session. Her physical strength was good, as was her agility. She had been attacking non-stop for the past hour and had only a thin sheen of sweat to show for it, so her endurance wasn't to be scoffed at either. The student's technique was just about the only thing that could use some work, but that's why I was here - to teach her the only way I knew how.

The issue was that the way I was taught was… unorthodox.

When Veronica, who taught me the bulk of what I currently know, was teaching me how Brotherhood Scribes fought, she was very enthusiastic in taking the opportunity to repeatedly knock me onto my ass. "Tough love", she called it. The girl may have been a tinkering bookworm at heart, but when it came to fighting, she was a firm believer that the best lessons can only be learned by experiencing them firsthand. Owing to the progress I'd made since then both physically and technically, I could more than hold my own against Veronica in a spar, but it took many painful lessons and sometimes even broken bones to get where I was now. It would only make sense for me to teach others the same way that I was taught, right?

And yet…

"I'm a student," Shiroko quietly stated, as if she read my mind. "You don't have to hold back. I can take it."

I had no doubt that she could, especially now that I had unequipped the Power Fist I normally wore. But despite having punched the lights out of many students in the name of discipline since arriving in this city, I was mystified to find that I disliked the thought of doing the same to Shiroko, even if it was for the sake of training.

I wrestled with these newfound feelings for a bit. Was this what it was like being a teacher? Or was this place just making me too soft? Both?

Once, Arcade broached the possibility of me teaching, which I dismissed as outlandish at the time. Now, I regret not listening more to his words on the subject. If I did, at least I would've known what to expect.

"...I was just thinking about which style of unarmed fighting would suit you best," I lied, preparing my poker face behind my headgear. Better to be safe around these irritatingly perceptive students.

Shiroko squinted at me slightly, not fully convinced. "Alright," she accepted reluctantly. "So which style do you think would be best?"

Having already considered this, I was in a better position to answer her question. "Rangers, for now."

"Rangers? Who are they?" she asked curiously.

"The toughest sons of guns the Republic has to offer," I remarked, a small smile forming on my face.

"The Republic…" Shiroko mused. "So, you're one of these Rangers?"

"Nah." Maybe in another life, in which I had chosen to hand the keys to New Vegas to the NCR, I may have considered joining up with the Rangers. But that door was forever closed to me now. I didn't regret my decision, but it would've been nice to be able to earn a Ranger Sequoia - those guns were works of art. Sure, I owned one, but taking one off of a corpse just didn't have the same appeal as earning it.

"But I want to learn the way you fight, Vance," Shiroko said, frowning slightly. "Not these Rangers."

Arching an eyebrow, I said, "Did you miss the part where I said these guys are some of the toughest guys around where I'm from?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. They're not the ones who helped us. No…" she amended. "They're not the ones I-we, trust."

Staring back at Shiroko's determined eyes, I found that I couldn't argue with such a heartfelt statement, no matter how biased it was. "Look, it's not like learning Ranger techniques will be useless to you. I tend to use a mix of four styles including that one, anyway."

Her ears stood at attention. "Which are?"

"Well, I mentioned the Rangers. Then you've got the Brotherhood, Legion, and Great Khans," I listed. "There are more out there, but those are the ones I've personally trained with." Though this was not counting the techniques I'd picked up from various issues of Pugilism Illustrated and Boxing Times. Shiroko could go over those in her own time.

Shiroko repeated the foreign names under her breath, then remarked in slight surprise, "You must've had a lot of teachers."

"Yeah, you could say that," I replied, choosing not to mention the fact that a good amount of my "teachers" from the Legion were long dead, many of them by my own hand. It was true that I trained with the Legion's praetorians during my first few visits to the Fort. But after I fell out of Caesar's good graces, I ended up learning just as much from the praetorians I faced in combat and emulating their techniques for myself. "But that's neither here nor there. If you're still good to go, we can start with the basics of Ranger techniques right now."

"I'm ready, Sensei," Shiroko nodded attentively.

"NCR Ranger self-defense places emphasis on the use of the legs as a means of disarming enemies as well as retaliation when disarmed," I explained, recalling what Ranger Andy had taught me back in Novac. "That way, they wouldn't be left entirely defenseless when caught without their firearms." I demonstrated a Ranger's unarmed defensive stance to the student, and she followed along with my movements.

Looking back at the way she fought, Shiroko was an aggressive fighter who didn't hesitate to capitalize on sneak attacks and distracted opponents. So at least in theory, the more aggressive fighting styles of the Legion praetorians or the Great Khans would suit her best. However, the former tended to work best when complemented by a powered gauntlet, which Shiroko did not possess or know how to use. The latter utilized gritty and underhanded tactics to eke out victory, which Ayane and other scrupulous students may disapprove of.

Meanwhile, both NCR and Brotherhood styles tended toward personal defense, but the Brotherhood's style made use of powered gauntlets or Power Armor whenever it was available. Conversely, students tended to rely heavily on their guns, like Rangers, so unarmed Ranger techniques were simply the most compatible with Kivotos' gun-toting culture.

The mostly empty gym was dead silent, save for the occasional sound of shuffling feet and our respective movements as we continued going through the basics. While she wouldn't pick up on unarmed combat right away, with enough practice she'd get the hang of it, especially since she didn't strike me as someone who shirked training.

Once the time came to have a break, I lowered myself to the ground and sat cross-legged, with the student doing the same.

Screwing off the cap to my canteen, I took a long swig, and Shiroko did the same with her sports bottle. We rested for a while, enjoying the silence.

Joining Shiroko on her morning exercises was becoming fairly routine. It came as a surprise when she initially invited me to exercise with her in the wee hours of the morning before classes. Usually she was by herself, as Shiroko's friends were either averse to the idea of waking up that early, like Hoshino, or they weren't in good enough physical condition to keep up with the fitness enthusiast, which constituted everyone else. Not that the other students were unfit physically; according to Serika, Shiroko took the idea of fitness a step further, going so far as to suggest long treks throughout stretches of the city. Which, in terms of Old America, equated to a journey spanning the length of several States… on foot. This wasn't too far off from my old job, so I may have been interested in such a journey, if it weren't for the unfortunate possibility that Kivotos would implode if I left the GSC to their own devices for too long.

Thus, I settled for joining her on her morning routine. Not only was it a good way to stay in shape since I wasn't traveling all that much anymore, but also because I found the image of Shiroko going about her routine alone every day a little bit sad.

Shiroko spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence, pointing a gloved hand at my canteen.

"What does thirteen stand for?"

"Vault 13," I answered. The flask was getting a little light - I made a mental note to refill the container in Abydos' lounge. Irradiated or contaminated water wasn't much of a concern anymore after installing Implant Y-3, but it was still nice knowing that clean water in this city was never very far away.

Eyeing the canteen, I traced a finger along the number printed on its front. Come to think of it, I never did find out the whole story behind Vault 13. The merchant who sold the canteen to me had travelled from a place called Arroyo, and apparently Vault 13 was kind of a big deal over there among the former tribals. Something about a chosen one, or some such. Perhaps Marcus would know more, as he mentioned travelling with a tribal around that area in the past, but I had no way of asking him now.

"Vault?" Shiroko's eyes lit up in a manner that suggested she was thinking of something very illegal again.

"You wish," I replied instantly.

"I didn't say anything yet," she protested.

"I know what you're thinking. Don't deny it."

"…Hmph." She huffed lightly, but the small smile that she sported betrayed her own amusement. "If it's not that kind of vault, then what is Vault 13?"

"I can't speak for 13, but Vaults are places where small, isolated communities of people live in." Owing to how I'd personally experienced Vaults, I felt the need to tack on, "In theory."

"…In theory?"

"…Yeah."

"Why in theory?"

Let's see… We've got Vaults with man-eating plants, ghouls, mutated insects, giant rats, traps, rads, and other assorted hazards. We also have a Vault filled with Fiends who killed all the original inhabitants. Oh, and let's not forget about Vault 21, which was filled with concrete and turned into a gambling parlor-slash-hotel, courtesy of Mr. Not-At-Home…

"They have ups and downs, same as any place," I said with the straightest of faces. To say that I was sugarcoating the reality of how Vaults turned out was like saying Sugar Bombs had a teensy bit more sugar than was healthy.

Shiroko furrowed her brow in thought. "They're like districts, then?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." That…actually wasn't too bad a comparison, seeing how zany and chaotic Kivotos' various inhabitants were. Besides, labeling one Vault as Trinity and another as Gehenna just to see how long it took before they killed each other certainly was on-brand with Vault-Tec's social experiments.

We fell into silence once more before Shiroko spoke up again.

"…Vance?"

"Hm?"

"Once we've dealt with Kaiser, and they're not attacking our district anymore, what will you do?" she asked.

"Decide where I'll head next, probably," I answered. I could roughly guess where this conversation was going. "Abydos isn't the only district in hot water, after all."

"I see…" Shiroko's ears drooped a little, her gaze moving to the ground.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere."

The student looked up at me doubtfully. "But…"

"True, I won't be around here as often. But I'm gonna make sure you guys can stand on your own two feet before I go. And even then, if you ever run into trouble, Schale's doors are open to you."

"...You mean it?"

"Of course. If you think I'm gonna just leave you guys to fend for yourselves, you got another thing coming," I replied, reaching out to ruffle her hair. Her wolflike ears twitched from the contact, but she did not shy away.

"…Thanks," Shiroko said, as soft-spoken and stoic as ever, but her mismatched eyes spoke volumes of how she felt.

Figuring that was enough of a break, I got to my feet, with the student following suit. Might as well try to get in some more practice before the scheduled meeting. Shiroko was pretty insistent on being able to continue her impromptu lessons once I departed from this district, so maybe I could devise a training regimen for her to follow when I wasn't around. But then came the conundrum of finding a sparring partner that was in Shiroko's weight class.

But such issues could wait. While I resumed practicing basic Ranger unarmed techniques with Shiroko, I reflected on the still-novel feeling of teaching, as opposed to learning.

---

"Hmm… Nope. Not feeling it."

"How about now?"

"Nah."

"Here?"

"Nope. Try moving a little bit towards the base."

"Like this?"

"You're not doing it hard enough."

"What? I'm doing it super hard!"

"Eh… Still stiff. Try harder."

"How's…this?"

"Try putting in a little more thrust?"

"Ghh! I…am!"

"Uhe… Harder."

"Harder?! Why, you… There!"

"Ohhh. That's the stuff! Keep at it, Serika-chan!"

"Grrr…"

"Uhe~… Oji-san's starting to feel a decade younger already…"

"You're, like, two years older than me."

"Age is but a number."

Serika shot Hoshino a look of disdain. "You're good now, right? I can stop?"

"Nope! Keep going, the fate of Kivotos depends on it."

"Oh, for the love of…"

"Ah, right there! Right there! That's the spot! Ahh…"

"My arm's tired. I'm stopping."

"Ehhh?" Hoshino said in disappointment as Serika took the butt of the shotgun off Hoshino's back. "But you're so good at it, Serika-chan…"

Serika set down the shotgun on the table where Hoshino lay prone, then crossed her arms. "I'm not a masseuse. And don't get the wrong idea - I only humored you because you're my senior."

"...Does that mean that if you were paid to be a masseuse, you'd do it?"

Blinking, Serika thought about the question. "Uh…probably?"

"Then it's decided! We can get Nonomi-chan to pay you so you'd treat it like a part time job."

"Don't get Nonomi-senpai to waste her money on such stupid stuff!" Serika admonished.

"Oh, I don't mind!" Nonomi chirped.

"...Seriously?" Serika deadpanned.

Ayane looked up from her computer and pushed up her glasses. "If I may make a suggestion, why not use an actual back massager instead?"

Hoshino still made no effort to move from her prone position on the table, and lazily waved a hand in Ayane's direction. "Please, why pay for a back massager when all of us students have guns?"

"I'm not quite sure I follow your logic…"

"But you may be onto something," Hoshino continued. "Maybe there is something better to use than a shotgun."

"We can use Mini No. 5 instead," Nonomi suggested, patting her minigun.

"Oji-san's trying to fix a crick in her back, not leave the mortal plane."

"Well, what about Sensei?" Aru asked.

Ayane hummed. "True, Sensei does seem like he'd have some knowledge of physical therapy."

"I was actually thinking he could use that weird gauntlet of his," Serika said.

"If Oji-san didn't know any better, she'd think that you all are trying to kill her," Hoshino groused. "Didn't you see how many people he's brutalized with that thing?"

"Not like we have much choice!" Serika snapped. "You're the one who said that even your own shotgun wasn't enough!"

"Hoshino-senpai is too durable for her own good!" Nonomi giggled.

"Tell me about it!" Mutsuki, who had paused her board game with Aru and Nonomi in order to watch the spectacle, said. "Haruka-chan used up most of her ammo on her when we fought, and she didn't even look scratched."

"I'm sorry for being so weak…" Haruka quivered. "I'm just a useless burden, aren't I?"

"No, I don't think that's it…" Kayoko commented, shaking her head. "Besides, it's probably for the best that we didn't end up hurting any of them, considering where we are now."

"Hmm… I don't think it's healthy for someone your age to have back pain," Hifumi piped up, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. "Maybe you should see a doctor?"

"Eh. Too expensive. We can barely keep the lights on around here." Hoshino groaned. "But Oji-san's flattered you would say that about her age, Hifumi…chan?" she trailed off once she realized who had just spoken. "Huh?"

"When did you get here?!" Serika exclaimed, swiveling to face the three of us in the doorway.

"Um…around the part where you started thwacking her in the back with a shotgun?" Hifumi replied sheepishly. "Sorry, we didn't want to interrupt you, so we didn't say anything…" She bowed politely. "It's a bit late, but hello, everyone!"

After waving back, Ayane said, "I see. Are you just visiting, or did Sensei invite you too?"

"I invited her," I said. "Shiroko and I saw her on our way back in, so I opened the gate for her."

"Why did you call this meeting, anyway?" Serika asked. "If you called even Hifumi-san, then it must be important, right?"

"Once we get started, I'll explain."

"Then let us begin posthaste," Ayane said. "Er… President Hoshino?"

"Hm?"

"Please get off the table."

"Vetoed," Hoshino immediately responded; her voice muffled due to her cheek being smushed against the table surface. "It's more comfortable than Oji-san thought it would be. Maybe she'll just sleep here…"

Ayane sighed. "Field Captain?"

"Mm." Shiroko nodded. She walked over to the table and grabbed Hoshino, lifting her from the armpits like one would a small animal.

"Uhe~" Hoshino uttered as she was promptly deposited onto her seat at the end of the table.

With the meeting space cleared, we assembled around the central table, though the seating was a bit cramped due to the presence of the Gehenna students and the lone Trinity student. As we took our seats, I noted that the Gehenna students seemed a bit…off today. They were disheveled, as if they had just been in a gunfight or something.

"You guys alright?" I asked. "You look pretty haggard."

"Probably because Hoshino-senpai had them doing her chores all morning," Serika replied.

I whistled, facing the sleepy vice president. "You weren't kidding about the whole 'community service' thing, huh?"

"It's the only way whippersnappers these days can learn respect," Hoshino answered.

Haruka nodded meekly. "I see… so the best way to punish your former enemies is to make them work for free, right?"

Hoshino looked up from her drowsy state. "Hey, stop that. You're beginning to make me sound like a slave driver."

I audibly snickered at that, causing several students to look at me strangely.

"What's so funny?" Serika asked.

"It's nothing," I replied, stifling laughter. If what Hoshino was doing was slavery, then she had to be the shortest, nicest, pinkest slave driver I'd ever met. A far cry from your average legionnaire, at any rate. About the only thing they had in common was a gun and a skirt.

"Definitely feels like slave labor. Dunno how you guys have so many chores around here," Mutsuki complained, resting her head on her forearms on the table.

"I mean, they do have to maintain the place all by themselves, right?" Hifumi said.

"I guess." Mutsuki shrugged. "Well, I can't exactly complain. Can't remember the last time we slept with a solid roof over our heads."

Every non-Gehenna student curiously peered at Mutsuki. Aru stiffened while Kayoko remained neutral.

"What do you mean?" Nonomi asked.

"Oh, Aru-chan didn't tell you?" Mutsuki said casually. "Before this, we used to go around sleeping in tents-mmph!" She was halted mid-sentence by Aru, who frantically reached over and covered Mutsuki's mouth. Too little, too late.

"Tents? You slept in tents?" Serika asked incredulously.

"I-it was a means of cutting unnecessary expenditures!" Aru stammered, attempting to save face. "Sometimes personal luxuries have to be sacrificed for the sake of maintaining your business!"

"I'd hardly call having a bed to sleep in a personal luxury," Hoshino remarked doubtfully.

"You were going to sleep on a table, Senpai," Shiroko pointed out.

"That's beside the point."

"Huh. Now it kinda makes sense why you guys were gonna split a single bowl of ramen amongst yourselves the first time we met," Serika addressed the Gehenna students. "Turns out you guys were almost worse off than us, huh?"

Aru was aghast at the fact that the professional image she was trying to cultivate was being shattered right before her eyes. Personally, I didn't see much issue with their frugal way of living; hell, sometimes I didn't even pitch a tent or make a campfire at all when sleeping in the wilderness. A sleeping bag and someone trustworthy to keep watch were all I needed. But it was obvious by now that Kivotos' living standards were very different.

Guess that's why Yuuka and Fuuka are so adamant about changing the way I was living.

Mutsuki elbowed Aru lightly to get her attention.

"Hey, cheer up, Aru-chan! It's not like they didn't already have their suspicions, right?" she remarked with a wry smirk. "And do you really think these guys are the type to judge someone for being poor?"

Shiroko nodded. "If there's anyone who knows what scrounging for every last yen feels like, it's us."

"Don't worry; you're among friends!" Nomomi assured cheerily.

Mollified, Aru relaxed a bit. "I…I suppose they aren't that type," she replied to Mutsuki.

Hoshino clasped her hands together sagely. "On that note, looking at everyone gathered here, Oji-san's starting to realize that all of us here have something in common."

"Guns," Shiroko suggested quickly.

"Anyone else besides Captain Obvious?"

"Halos," I said, grinning cheekily.

Hoshino groaned as she shot me an unamused glare. "Great, now there's two of them."

"Let's see… How about friendship!" Nonomi offered.

"Facing adversity…?" Haruka ventured, withering once everyone turned their attention to her. "Sorry, that's stupid…"

"A desire for a normal school life?" Hifumi suggested.

"Huh?" Hoshino was taken aback by the responses, then snorted amusedly. "Nah, none of that corny stuff."

"Spit it out, then!" Serika impatiently said.

"Well, you see, everyone here is dead broke!"

Everyone took one long moment to stare at Abydos' vice president.

"…Didn't you guys just rob a bank?" Kayoko replied blandly.

"Sensei took the money, remember?" Serika reminded.

"And he said he's not going to spend a cap of it for himself," Hoshino clarified while winking at me, her word usage drawing confused glances from the other assembled students. "Which means Sensei is still broke too."

"Broke?" Aru furrowed her brow. "That can't be right…"

"You weren't there when they went out for ramen," Serika informed. "Nonomi had to pay for him."

Mutsuki snickered. "Wow, Sensei. You're one of us after all!"

"Now I don't feel so bad for not having a single yen to my worthless name…!" Haruka wore a self-deprecating smile.

"T-that's not true! He's not broke!" Aru refuted. She then turned to me. "Tell them, Sensei!"

Crossing my arms, I merely gave a disinterested grunt. I knew that they wouldn't believe me if I told them anyway.

"Face it, Aru-chan," Hoshino said. "Sensei's dirt poor, just like the rest of us."

"If I may ask, why are you so insistent about this?" Ayane inquired.

"Because I know better!" Aru snapped. "Just wait until you see his gold stash!"

"…His what now?" Shiroko asked.

Aru's eyes widened, as if she realized she had just blurted out what was supposed to be a secret. As it was too late to retract her words, she doubled down. "That's right! You really think that little scene at the Stygian Bank was his first rodeo?!"

"Oh, this story. The one with the ghost people and the mind-exploding radios," Kayoko muttered.

"Don't forget the laser holograms…!" Haruka added, gaining an enthused smile. "That my favorite part…"

"Vance, what are they talking about?" Shiroko asked me.

"Some BS story that Sensei told them when they first arrived in Abydos," Serika answered. "I only caught bits and pieces of it, but you've got to be a three-year-old to believe a story that crazy." Aru flushed upon hearing this.

Hoshino leaned forward in interest. "Whoa, he tells you guys tall tales too?! I didn't think anything could beat the casino story."

"Wait, casino?" Aru tilted her head. "What about a casino?"

"Sensei got banned from several casinos for winning too much," Ayane resignedly answered, as she had long given up on the futile task of trying to get the meeting back on track. "Purportedly."

"He did?!" Aru looked at me with what had to be newly gained respect. "As expected of the famous outlaw of Agua Fria!"

Mutsuki broke into a fit of giggles while Kayoko and Arona facepalmed.

The topic was dismissed as quickly as it came. However, I couldn't help but feel a bit validated.

You know what, Aru? You're alright. Insanely gullible, yes, but you're the only one who believes me, so that counts for something.

"Wait, so why am I included in this?" Hifumi confusedly asked.

"I was wondering about that too," Nonomi said, before something Hifumi was wearing caught her eye. "Wait, is that a Nikolai Locket, Hifumi-chan?"

"Ah, you noticed!" Hifumi exclaimed happily. "I just got this one yesterday! It's limited-edition Momo Friends merch so I had to import it from outside Trinity, but it was so worth it!" She detached the golden locket from her backpack and showed it to Nonomi. "See, when you press his nose, a little space opens up that you can use to store pictures!"

"Wow, so cute!" Nonomi gushed.

"I guess she answered her own question, huh?" Serika murmured while the two girls chatted animatedly.

"Mm. Hifumi probably spends all her funds on Radchicken merch," Shiroko murmured back. I nodded in approval at Shiroko's accurate use of Wasteland terminology.

"I heard that!" Hifumi pouted as she turned to Shiroko. "And Peroro-sama is not a Radchicken!"

"You didn't deny spending all your funds on him, though," Hoshino teased.

Hifumi scratched her head awkwardly. "I may have splurged a bit, fine…" she admitted.

Clearing my throat, I said, "While it's fun debating who the most destitute of us is, we should get started."

Eager to change topics, Ayane, Aru, and Hifumi nodded vigorously.

"Of course. As you all know, Sensei called a meeting between everyone present to discuss a matter of importance. Without further ado, let us begin," Ayane formally announced. "Sensei, if you please."

Nodding, I spoke at an increased volume so as to address everyone in the room. "I have a plan for our next, and ideally last, move."

That got the attention of all the students present.

"Last move…" Shiroko pondered.

"What did you have in mind, Sensei?" Nonomi asked.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a large rolled-up paper. Unfurling it, I laid the paper against the table for all to see, taking a brief moment to flatten out the wrinkles.

Most of the students did not recognize the significance of this item, save for the senior members of Abydos.

"This is…" Nonomi started.

"…The Abydos desert," Hoshino finished, her heterochromatic eyes absorbing every detail before gaining a certain wistfulness. "It looks…different than it used to."

"There's markings all over it," Ayane observed, eyeing the handwriting and symbols drawn on the paper. "Did you make these, Sensei?"

"Sure did."

"Hold up. I thought the Abydos desert hadn't been mapped by district officials since the student council was dissolved," Serika said thoughtfully.

"It hasn't been," Shiroko replied. "Where did you get this, Sensei?"

"Oh, you know…" I casually said. "I paid Kaiser a visit."

There was a moment of silence as the students processed my words. Then the room erupted into a cacophony.

"You did what?!" Ayane exclaimed.

"Sensei…" Nonomi became concerned.

"You went by yourself?" Kayoko asked, frowning.

Hoshino grimaced. "I don't imagine they just let you in all friend-like and gave you a map as a souvenir, did they?"

Out of all the questions and concerns I was bombarded with, I responded to Hoshino's first. "I may have let myself in and grabbed a few things on my way out." I shrugged. "They weren't too happy about it, but hey, sucks to suck."

"Why'd you do that?" Ayane asked.

"We're not gonna get to the bottom of the attacks on Abydos without doing a bit of digging, Ayane."

She shook her head. "No. I understand the need to investigate Kaiser, but there must have been a better way."

"…A better way," I repeated in disbelief. "What kind of better way is there other than investigating firsthand-"

"She means you were being reckless, you idiot!" Serika snapped.

"…Huh?" I was genuinely taken off guard by their words.

"I agree," Nonomi said sternly. "Why didn't you call us to help you before going in?"

"For starters, a group of our size would've been sighted and recognized instantly." I crossed my arms stubbornly. "I don't want to see what happens when a debtor trespasses on a creditor's property. Do you?"

"And what about Schale?" Ayane pressed. "Your appearance isn't the most inconspicuous either. Aren't you worried about legal pushback from Kaiser?"

Smirking, I replied, "Don't you worry about that. I had a disguise all figured out."

"Ugh! It's like talking to a brick wall, only stubborner!" Serika groaned. "Shiroko-senpai, Sensei listens to you! Help us get through that thick skull of his!"

"Disguise…" Shiroko frowned deeply as she tugged my sleeve, clutching her blue ski mask in her other hand. "Vance, you went on a raid without Vikki? How could you?"

"That's what you're concerned about?!" Serika exclaimed.

Ayane continued. "Legal ramifications aside, you could have been captured or worse." She bit her lip. "How do you think that would have made us feel?"

Recognizing the pathos for what it was, I crossed my arms. "Frankly, I'm almost offended your opinion of my fighting ability is that low. We've made it this far, haven't we?"

Nonomi reached across the table and grabbed my hand. Her grip had no strength behind it, so I made no effort to escape it. "Sensei, listen to us. Please?" she pleaded.

Looking into Nonomi's eyes, then at the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force, I saw that they shared the same sentiment.

Wait.

Was I… being reprimanded? For doing what I always did?

In the Wasteland, people were all too happy to send me to do their dirty work without any consideration for my safety or the safety of others, so long as the job got done. I didn't think much of it at the time, as that simply was how things were in the Wasteland.

But being berated for the fact that I did not consider how others valued my safety? This was novel. I didn't quite know what to make of it.

Also, these students seemed to be under the false impression that I went into the Abydos desert alone. But I was in no hurry to correct them. The fewer people who knew I had a get-out-of-shit-situations-free-card in the form of a hopelessly enamored terrorist, the better.

Sighing, I gently removed Nonomi's hand from mine. "Fine. What do you want me to do? I'm not going to apologize, not when we got something this useful out of it."

"I think we're past that point by now," Ayane replied. "Just…please let us know when you're going to do something like that again, okay?"

"Yeah. You're free to do stupid things as long as we have your back," Serika added. "N-not that it's any of my business or anything…"

"Mm." Shiroko simply nodded in agreement.

"…Alright," I relented. Their district, their rules. "If I need to take care of business in Abydos, you'll be the first to know about it. Sound good?"

"Just Abydos?" Shiroko pressed.

"Well, yeah. It's unrealistic to expect you to follow me around Kivotos, isn't it?" Despite my question being rhetorical, Shiroko seemed like she was giving the idea serious thought.

Ayane sighed. "I suppose that's the best we're going to get out of you right now, isn't it, Sensei?"

I grinned cheekily. "You know it. Now, are we gonna get on with this meeting or not?"

"You bet." Hoshino, who had been oddly silent throughout the whole conversation, was the one to speak up first. Her fingers traced across the map markings I had made. "These are the areas of interest, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Managed to snag a map, then marked the locations of interest using data I got from a local server."

Hifumi squinted as she read from the marked areas. "Resupply bases, weapons caches, troop training grounds, storage areas, excavation sites…" She looked up confusedly. "Wait, excavation sites? What are they excavating?"

"Good question," I replied, turning to the Abydos students. "I was hoping you guys could shed some light on that."

"To my knowledge, there are not many natural resources that would warrant an excavation operation as extensive as this one…" Ayane said. "Hoshino-senpai, do you know anything?"

Hoshino frowned thoughtfully. "There were talks about drilling for oil in the desert amongst the old student council, but they never go around to it. That's all I can think of."

Thinking back to the data Arona extracted, I said, "If it helps, Kaiser's excavation teams keep talking about finding a 'treasure' in the desert."

"A treasure?" Nonomi tilted her head. "There were rumors of buried treasure a while back, but I don't think they were all that credible…"

"Like we said last time, if there was something like that in Abydos, the previous administration would have dug it up and sold it to pay off their debts," Hoshino said. "Since we didn't know about it until now…"

"…That means Kaiser must have found something, or someone tipped them off," Ayane finished. "But the question is whom?"

"They're your former employers, right?" Nonomi asked Aru. "Do you know what they're searching for, or who might've told them about a treasure?"

Aru crossed her arms. "Hmph! Even if we did know, Problem Solver 68 adheres to a strict employer-employee confidentiality agreement! We'd never divulge an employer's secrets without their express permission!" she proclaimed proudly.

"Um, I think you basically answered her question…" Hifumi mumbled.

"Does it really matter who or what? We have our targets!" Serika said. "That's the plan, right? Find this treasure and take it from right under their noses?"

"I don't think it'll be that simple…" Ayane replied.

"Why not?"

"There is nearly a dozen of these excavation sites. How do we know which is the right one?"

"Ayane's right," I said. "Plus, we don't know if they've found it yet. If Kaiser still hasn't found it with all the manpower at their disposal, then what makes you think we'll be able to find it while their private army is breathing down our necks?"

Serika's ears drooped slightly as she fell into a frustrated silence.

"Wait," Aru said. "Couldn't you just sneak in using the same invisibility thing you used against us that one time?"

The Foreclosure Task Force members, taken off guard by the question, were temporarily at a loss for words.

"Hey, come to think of it, we never did figure out what that was, right?" Mutsuki raised an index finger to her cheek in thought.

"That's…because…" Nonomi trailed off, wearing an uneasy smile.

"We can only use it for a limited time," Shiroko explained quickly. "The desert is too big."

The rest of her team nodded eagerly at Shiroko's quick thinking. But despite Shiroko, Hoshino, and I showing no outward reaction, Ayane, Nonomi, and Serika's poker faces were, simply put, awful.

"Hmm~" Mutsuki's eyes darted between the Abydos students, then fell on me. "How interesting…"

Kayoko frowned as she also put two and two together, saying nothing.

"I suppose that's unfortunate," Aru commented, none the wiser.

"Anyway," I continued loudly, "I don't know what this treasure is. I don't care what it is. Whether it's an incredibly valuable natural resource, or a superweapon, it doesn't matter. But what I know for certain is that I don't want them getting their hands on it."

"So how do we keep them from getting it?" Nonomi asked.

"Easy," I answered, leaning forward. "We kick them off your land."

My suggestion caused the students to glance at each other.

"I understand how you feel, Sensei, but they do legally own that land," Ayane said.

"Only so long as they abide by your district's laws. Last I checked, your student council is technically still in power," I said, gesturing at a surprised Hoshino, "so your laws are still in effect. And while Kaiser's been pretty good at covering their tracks, they aren't perfect."

"Sensei? Are you saying…" Ayane trailed off.

"Remember the data you decrypted from the weapons merchant?" At her nod, I continued, "I cross-referenced the suppliers with the data I acquired from Kaiser. Turns out, the Abydos desert is a linchpin in their unsanctioned weapons distribution network." Well, it was Arona who cross-referenced the data, but I'd rather not have to explain that I'd had an AI in my pocket this whole time.

"So not only can we prove they're behind the gang attacks that are behind the attacks on our school…" Shiroko began.

"We now have a legitimate reason to seize the desert from them, even it's not the reason we're actually doing it." Hoshino whistled. "That's pretty devious of you, Sensei. You sure you're not a politician?"

I gave a humorless laugh, choosing not to respond further. There were undeniable perks to ruling a nation, but there were some parts of it that I'd rather not have to deal with ever again. Politics being one of them.

"Okay. You've got a good excuse to kick them out, and you also got enough dirt on them to make sure they don't try to come after you afterward," Kayoko said. "How are you gonna go about kicking them out in the first place?"

"Lemme answer your question with another question. What's the most important commodity to an army like Kaiser's PMC?"

"If we're talking about logistics, since a good portion of Kaiser's forces are mechanized, I'd argue for fuel, followed by ammunition, then water," Ayane attentively answered.

"Great answer. But I'm deducting points because you answered Kayoko's question." Ayane flushed while Kayoko smirked amusedly. "It's well-known that the Abydos desert is mostly empty space, so even an army of their size is going to be stretched pretty thin. That's where this comes in." Using an index finger, I pointed out a cluster of installations around the center of the map.

"A central base?" Shiroko guessed.

"More like a resupply station. Apparently, this is where they refuel their vehicles and stockpile supplies. They've even set up a drilling rig for oil, so looks like Hoshino right on the money about that."

"A place that vital has to be heavily guarded…" Ayane mused.

"Correct. Which is why I'll be joining the Foreclosure Task Force in creating a diversion," I said. "We're going to need to display a massive show of force to make them redirect the bulk of their forces to us. While we have their attention," I looked to Aru and her crew. "Problem Solver 68 will move in through the neighboring districts and cause as much damage to Kaiser's central resupply station as possible, then retreat. Any questions?"

"Whoa, I've always wanted to blow up an oil rig!" Mutsuki gleefully said. "That's the kind of stuff you see in video games or movies! Right, Aru-chan?"

"Didn't Sensei say it was a drilling rig? I thought oil rigs were only on the ocean…" Aru mused, before shaking her head. "Regardless, you've chosen the right fixers for the job, Sensei. Demolitions just happens to be one of our fortes!"

"If we do this right, it'll effectively cripple Kaiser's large-scale operations in the desert, correct?" Ayane clarified.

"You got it. Ideally, they'll be forced to retreat to cut their losses."

The key word was ideally. While Kaiser's weaknesses were a little bit different than the issues plaguing the NCR, I was reasonably certain that if we pulled this off, they'd have no choice but to abandon the area. But that all depended on one area I was unfamiliar with – their leaders. If Kaiser's leaders were as glory-hungry as General Oliver, then they might begin to devote the resources and manpower for a long, protracted war with Abydos, though given that Kaiser was a corporation first and foremost, this was unlikely. But we could worry about the aftermath when the time came.

"You said we'll be moving through neighboring territory, not Abydos?" Kayoko clarified.

I nodded. "Chances are they've got all eyes on the border with Abydos right now. An assailant entering from another district would be the thing they least expect."

"That certainly makes sense, but what about the Prefect Team?" Aru asked.

Kayoko nodded. "Good point. The Prefect Team has likely been waiting for us to leave Abydos so they can try to apprehend us. Wouldn't this just be playing into their hands?"

I chuckled. "Don't you worry about the Prefect Team. I've got it all worked out with them."

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked.

"You'll see."

Serika rolled her eyes. "There he goes being all cryptic again."

"Anyone else have questions?" I asked, ignoring Serika's remark.

"Um…I've got one." Hifumi raised her hand. "What's my role in this?"

"Ah, you've got a real important role too, Hifumi," I said, grinning. "Do you still have it?"

"Have what?" she asked in confusion before her eyes widened in dread. "No, you don't mean that, do you?"

"I'm not sure what your definition of that is, but judging from your reaction… probably, yeah."

"Oh, no… Not again…" Hifumi lamented. "How can I ever show my face around the Tea Party ever again…?"

"Simple, really. Just don't tell them," Mutsuki advised with a smile.

"Tea Party?" Haruka asked. "T-those are the leaders of Trinity, right? S-should trash like me even be breathing the same air as a celebrity?

"Celebrity? No, I'm nothing like that, I just know Nagisa-sama…"

"Don't you think you're downplaying your relationship a little bit?" I asked curiously. "Considering what you offered just earlier?"

"W-well, I just thought that it might make things easier for you if you had some fire support, that's all…"

"Fire support?" Shiroko asked.

"Yeah, from Trinity. Nagisa-sama's quite proud of our artillery units! They score among the highest in proficiency drills out of most other academies!" Hifumi informed with a bright smile.

I shook my head in disbelief. Unless there was some aspect of Kivotos culture I wasn't understanding, this went beyond simple acquaintanceship. Acquaintances didn't agree to bombard an enemy army with howitzers just because one asked nicely, after all.

"Ooooh, playing friends with a top dog at Trinity just so you could get her to blow up someone you don't like?" Mutsuki smiled deviously. "Our leader Faust is even more coldhearted than I thought."

"You mean Vance. Vance is our leader," Shiroko argued, but her interjection fell on deaf ears.

"P-p-playing friends?!" Hifumi looked horrified just by the thought of Mutsuki's insinuation. "N-no! It's not like that at all! And I'm not trying to blow anyone up; it was just an offer!"

"Wait, so Sensei refused the offer?" Serika was dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Probably because he doesn't want us to owe the Tea Party," Hoshino surmised. "Am I wrong?"

"Nope. You get top marks," I replied to Hoshino, who grinned sleepily. True, having firepower on par with that of the Boomers would have been a tremendous help in the upcoming battle. But given Abydos' situation, accruing more debts was the last thing they needed. "So while I appreciate the offer, Hifumi, I'm still have to decline. I'd much rather have your support, if you're willing."

"O-of course!" Hifumi nodded vigorously. "You're all my friends too, so I'll do what I can to help!"

"Awesome! We're glad to have you, Hifumi-chan!" Nonomi beamed at Hifumi, who returned a warm smile.

"Sounds good," I said. "Just sit tight for now; I'll brief you on your role after our meeting."

"O-okay…that's not ominous at all…" Hifumi said, sighing as she took out a wrinkled paper bag. "I was wondering why I even kept this thing to begin with. Guess it's a good thing I did, huh?"

"C'mon, you're not looking forward to your comeback?" Mutsuki leaned an elbow on the table casually. "You looked like you were really enjoying yourself at the bank…"

"Mm. You even kept the Radchicken we got for you," Shiroko added.

"You guys didn't really leave me with much of a choice," Hifumi replied. "I mean, I couldn't exactly go back and return it…"

Seeing that no one had any more questions, I nodded at Ayane, who promptly brought the meeting to a close. "Then if there are no more concerns to address, then this meeting is adjourned. We'll use an encrypted channel to share further details about tomorrow's plan. Please take this opportunity to stock up on ammunition and rest."

"That means no slavery today, Hoshino," I joked.

"Drat, foiled again," she replied sarcastically.

With that, the students in the room dispersed. Some hung around in the club room while most of the others departed to go about their day.

"I'm staaaaarving," Mutsuki said to Aru as they exited the room. "Hey, you know who's on cafeteria duty today?"

Aru held a hand to her chin in thought. "They said they're taking turns, so I think… Nonomi?"

"Oh…she makes really good oyakodon…" Haruka began to drool. "Is…is it really alright for me to have a full meal every day like this?"

"I already told you – none of that. As long as you're not attacking us, we don't have any problems with you," Serika scolded. "So come on, let's get the cafeteria set up for later."

"R-right!"

The last of the students made their way out of the room, leaving just Ayane, Shiroko, Kayoko, and me.

The lone Gehenna student approached me and Shiroko, her hands in her sweater pockets. Shiroko watched her curiously.

"Sensei," Kayoko addressed.

"What's up? Not going with the others?" I asked.

"In a bit." She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "I just wanted to say…"

"…?"

"…Sorry," Kayoko murmured, barely audible. She hung her head in apparent shame.

"For what?" I asked in confusion.

"…For shooting you."

I stared at her dumbly for a moment before I finally remembered what she was talking about. Right, she took shots at me during our first fight. She didn't know it was me until now, so I guess she must have felt guilty about firing at a non-student, even if it was self-defense.

In the spirit of keeping up the façade Shiroko put up earlier, I played dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about. That wasn't me."

Kayoko sighed in exasperation. "Whatever. I know it was you and I think Mutsuki does too, even if you don't want to admit it." She pursed her lips pensively. "Just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings. …It won't happen again."

I hummed. "Like I said, I wasn't there. But I get it. It's not your fault."

"But…"

"There was a threat you couldn't see, and you took the shot. I wouldn't begrudge you for that - it's common sense. Heck, I would've done the same if I were in your shoes."

Unbeknownst to her, I had done exactly that during my first run-in with the Nightkin in the basement of the REPCONN test site. Panicked gunfire on my part was just about the only thing that saved me from getting my skull caved in by a rebar club in the hands of a cloaked Nightkin. That, among countless other close brushes with death, eventually culminated in my development of a finely honed sense of danger that had served me well ever since.

Veronica called it paranoia to the point of neuroticism. I called it being alive. Likewise, Kayoko shouldn't have to apologize for having good instincts.

"Really?"

"Of course. I wouldn't lie to you," I responded facetiously, causing her to her to give me a flat look.

"…Right."

"So try not to lose any sleep over it, alright? We're working together now, after all," I said, grinning.

"Okay." Kayoko gave a small smile. "Thanks, Sensei." She departed to join her friends, leaving the room quiet once again.

Now that that was settled, there were a great many preparations that had to be made for tomorrow. Ayane needed some input in order to finetune the plan for tomorrow, I needed to introduce Hifumi to a certain somebody, and there was a ton of ammunition that needed to be made to supplement our current stock, though fortunately I had a helper for that. All in all, pretty busy. But I wasn't perturbed.

I can't believe I'm doing this again… I thought as an ironic smile made its way onto my face.

The students may not have known it, but there was no one with more experience at kicking large armies out of deserts than yours truly.

---

According to ghouls who'd lived in the Mojave Wasteland for a long time, Nevada was once beset by sporadic nuclear winters brought on by the fallout of the Great War. Being a desert, the Mojave was thankfully not as prone to radioactive precipitation as the rest of the post-war United States, but that didn't stop the more insidious threat, which was the blistering cold billowing in from the cooler States. Owing to this, it was apparently not uncommon to happen across the hapless corpses of inexperienced or underequipped Wastelanders who had succumbed to the frigid temperatures. Decades upon decades later, once the fallout had lifted and the land gradually began to heal, the climate of the Mojave Wasteland began to more or less even out. Today, temperatures in the Mojave Wasteland tended to be mild, with the harshest temperature drops usually only occurring in the winter.

Curiously, it was the opposite for Abydos district. Its once sizable population flourished in an agreeable, stable climate…until it didn't. Seemingly overnight, the district was buffeted by unrelenting sandstorms, which, despite the best efforts of its student council, overtook much of the usable land in Abydos. As if this weren't enough, the climate itself shifted, completing the desertification.

It was dubious, to say the least. It took a literal cataclysm to drastically shift the climate on Earth, yet Abydos was effectively terraformed over the span of but a few years. Such an abrupt ecological shift could not be natural to Kivotos, otherwise Trinity may as well have been a jungle, and Gehenna a swampland, for instance.

Could there truly be a mechanism for altering the environment at such a large scale, is the question that I now considered. Apparently, in anticipation of a nuclear holocaust, Vault-Tec had created items called G.E.C.K.s, or Garden of Eden Creation Kits, which were intended to allow a Vault to effectively jumpstart civilization. But I had doubts as to the actual capabilities of such an instrument – if a G.E.C.K. truly worked on as grand a scale as Vault-Tec advertised, then why did the Wasteland still exist? Surely at least one Vault with a functioning G.E.C.K. would have revitalized the worn-torn ruins of America by now.

Alternatively, were the Think Tank to put their collective brains into creating technology that could terraform the Earth for the benefit of post-war humanity, they could probably do it. I'd seen a few of their proposals for terraforming prototypes that operated on the scale of Abydos, but the good of humanity was assuredly not at the forefront of their minds when they drafted those proposals.

…Irrelevant.

There was no use debating as to whether such a thing was possible, as the proof of its validity was right before my eyes. Abydos existed, its foregone glory existing only in the memories of its vice president. The only questions at the forefront of my mind were…

Why? And whom?

As in, who would terraform the district? And what would they get out of it? And since terraforming was possible, could it be reversed?

Just one more to add to the pile of the very many things that don't make sense around here.

A light gust of wind brushed against me. Despite barely feeling it, it carried with it a chilling edge that might've been cause for concern if it weren't for my thick clothing. Now that the sun had set, the members of the Foreclosure Task Force began to depart from their school one by one. With Problem Solver 68 staying (read: squatting) at the school to deter possible intruders, they left only one student, Serika, to stay overnight instead of the usual two.

The last student to leave the building slipped on an overcoat and made to depart. Hoshino barely made it past the gate when she caught sight of me.

"Sensei?" The student addressed once she made her way to my location.

"Howdy."

"What are you doing up there?"

"Thinking about some stuff, enjoying the view. Take your pick," I replied from my vantage point atop the school gate.

"That so?" Hoshino replied unconvincedly, obviously suspecting something.

In reality, Ayane had revealed to me some slightly worrying news that Kaiser had been amassing a large force on the border between Abydos and its desert. She said it's probably a precaution against another attack, but I decided to stay a little longer at the school today and make sure everyone was accounted for, just to be on the safe side. We didn't need another attempted hostage situation on our hands.

"Yeah," I replied simply. "How about you? Going out on patrol again?"

She averted her eyes briefly and gave a laugh. "Patrol? What do you take this old timer for?"

"The kind of person who likes to take it easy during the day and pretend it's because she's lazy," I replied knowingly. "Rather than tell everyone that she stayed up all night to patrol the streets."

A flurry of emotions passed over Hoshino's face before she sighed. "How'd you find out?"

"I have my ways."

"Well, since you know now, guess it can't be helped." Tiptoeing in front of the stone gate, she extended a hand toward me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Help me up."

Arching an eyebrow, I said, "I've seen how agile you are in battle. Pretty sure you can climb up here easily."

Hoshino conveniently ignored what I said, instead crying, "Refusing a request from one of your adorable students… It looks like Faust isn't the only coldhearted one around here…"

Rolling my eyes, I reached down and grasped the student's hand, easily hoisting her up onto the gate alongside me. With an exaggerated groan of effort, Hoshino pulled herself onto the gate and righted herself, settling in a seated position with her legs dangling over the edge.

"Ahh, much better." She shot me a smug sideways glance. "Always knew Sensei was a big ol' softie on the inside."

"If you prefer being on ground level, I'd be happy to oblige."

"Harsh," Hoshino laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I like it up here; out of all places to nap, I'd give this spot a seventy."

"So, you have been up here before."

"Of course. Oji-san knows every napping spot on school grounds. Every. Single. One."

"What was the point of me helping you up, then…?"

"Just to see if you'd do it." Hoshino grinned.

"I suppose I should've expected that."

"Aye, you should have." Hoshino nodded sagely. "Anyway, as I was saying, we don't have much in the way of law enforcement out here anymore. At the end of it all, somebody's gotta keep the district safe."

"And the task falls to you." I nodded. "But why the secrecy? Your classmates would be a lot more sympathetic if they knew what you were doing all night."

Hoshino closed her eyes. "They don't need to worry their pretty little heads about that. They've got enough on their plates as is."

I considered this for a moment. "I don't agree with the way you're going about this, but who am I to say anything? Your classmates were ready to tear me a new one for trying to go off on my own."

Hoshino briefly snickered at the euphemism. "Tell me about it. I don't think I'd ever seen them get so worked up about anything." She turned pensive. "It really makes you think…"

"About?"

Hoshino bit her lip as she debated something in her head. "Can I…tell you a secret?"

"Hoshino has a secret?" I asked in mock surprise. "Say it ain't so."

Hoshino suppressed an amused smile. "Serious."

"Alright, then. What's eating you?"

The smile fell from her face. "Kaiser has been making me offers."

"…Go on."

"They started off as negotiations for the property to the school building and the surrounding areas," Hoshino confided. "But they've been upping their offers ever since. This most recent one is just…"

"What's their offer?" I asked intently.

"They told me they'd forgive half of Abydos' debt if I resigned from my position and joined up with Kaiser's PMC."

My eyes widened. "Half?"

The student nodded. "No ifs or buts about it. Half."

"For how long do they want you to join?"

"Indefinitely," she stated.

Signing a contract that forgave debt in exchange for life employment… Hina mentioned Kaiser's contracts being akin to indentured servitude, but I had no idea it'd be this bad. Even the NCR's contracts with its service members were nowhere near as permanent. In terms of legalities, it seemed the Wasteland had some advantages over Kivotos after all.

Not liking what I was hearing, I inquired, "And what did you say to their offer?"

She sighed. "I said no at the time, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it. I mean…half of Abydos' debt, gone, just like that."

"You said last time that if there was a way for you to solve Abydos' debt problems without endangering your classmates, you'd have taken it in a heartbeat," I realized. "Was that…"

"Yeah." Hoshino winced. "That's around the time they made the offer."

Suddenly it made sense as to why Hoshino was so quiet when I was being berated by her classmates. I imagined their words hit a bit too close to home for Hoshino.

"There's just one thing that I don't get," I said.

"Oh?"

"Why would they want to hire you specifically?"

Hoshino shrugged. "Maybe they need skilled personnel?"

"That doesn't make sense. An army that big, in need of skilled personnel? Please." I shook my head. "Don't get me wrong. You're pretty good, but worth hundreds of millions of yen? Dunno."

"Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence," Hoshino replied dryly.

"You know what I mean."

She grinned. "Don't worry, I get it. Just joshing ya."

A pause.

"…Are you going to take their offer?"

"…"

"We're almost at the point of no return. It's hard to say whether the offer will still be standing after we're through."

"What's with you, Sensei?" You sound like you're trying to get me to go through with it." Hoshino shot me a strange look.

I raised my hands defensively. "It's obvious you're still having doubts, right? When making a major decision like this, you gotta take a moment to lay out your options. Consider the pros and cons," I advised, as I was all too familiar with the feeling of being torn between two choices with potentially earthshaking consequences.

"Pros and cons…" she pondered.

"What would you get out of it if you took the offer?" I coaxed.

"You'd have more than enough money from the bank to pay off the other half, and using what's left over, you could start buying back the territory around in our district," Hoshino said, gaining a cloudy look in her eyes. "…Then Abydos would be free. They'd be free."

"At the expense of your freedom."

"Weren't you just saying how I'm good but not good enough to be worth hundreds of millions of yen?" she joked, veiling her self-doubt.

"To them, I'd say you're worth more than that."

"…I don't think…"

"I've seen many small, tight-knit groups like yours. They tend to lean heavily on their leader for support," I reasoned. "Take that away, and group cohesiveness ceases to be."

"You're not giving them enough credit."

"Coming from the one who doesn't trust them enough to burden them with things they don't need to know."

Hoshino recoiled as if physically struck.

"Plus," I continued, "with the way things are going, it's entirely possible you'd be deployed against your friends in combat. Could you fight them?"

The student's expression hardened, as if she'd given the prospect much thought already. "I'd have to."

"…And could they fight you?"

"They'd have no choice. If they wanted to survive, they'd be forced to destroy my halo. It'd be for the best." Hoshino gave a strained smile. "And if they can't do it… I know you can go through with it, Sensei. You've been through a lot worse."

I made no external indication of it, but Hoshino's words shook me to my core.

Halos… can be destroyed? Aren't they holographic?

Putting aside the conundrum of how such a thing would even be possible, what effect would destroying one even have? Would it permanently render them susceptible to harm? Or temporarily? Perhaps it'd render them comatose instead?

…Or would it kill them? Out of all possibilities, this seemed the most likely, based the context of Hoshino's words. If this was the case, did she realize the implications of what she was suggesting?

I did not expect for the first mention of death in this city to come from Hoshino, of all people.

"Well, it's not likely to happen anyway." Hoshino shrugged. "If we take the debt out of the equation, then you'd have no need to continue your war with Kaiser."

"…Do you think that would made them happy? Your friends, I mean."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Picture it. Suppose that we pay off the remaining debt after you're gone. Then we miraculously managed to buy back all the property. I dunno, Serika won the lottery or something." Hoshino snorted at my words. "The Foreclosure Task Force is able to establish themselves as the new student council. They carry on with their lives in peace, students start enrolling in your academy again, people begin moving in. Now that money is flowing, they can start rebuilding your district, slowly but surely. All is well."

Hoshino adopted a faraway look in her eyes as she imagined the possibility. "Alright…"

"Then, sometime during their peaceful lives, they remember. They remember there was a student who gave up everything including her life to labor away for a corporation she hates so that they wouldn't have to. This student went behind their backs to make a sacrifice they never asked for nor would they have condoned. Their district would be all the better for it, true, but they'd never be whole again without their leader, or more importantly, their friend."

"..."

"I'll ask again. Do you think they're happy?"

"I…" The student's eyes turned misty.

"They're not," I bluntly answered for her. "Given all you guys have been through, your group is absolutely not going to take your solution lying down. They'd go through hell and high water to bring you back. As for me?" I faced the student beside me, the red of my glowing visor refracting off her in the dark of night. "No, Hoshino. I refuse. I'm not gonna destroy your halo. What I will do shoot the hell out of you and drag your unconscious body back to Abydos if I have to. Not just for your sake, not just for your friends, but also because the world has given good people the short end of the stick for far too long and I, for one, am sick of it." I unconsciously clenched my fist, causing the powered gauntlet I wore to hiss as it automatically primed itself for collision. Using my other hand, I quickly switched it off, lest I risked accidentally damaging the school gate.

After considering my words, Hoshino looked down from where she sat, smiling ruefully. "Good grief," she said quietly. "You can be real scary sometimes, you know? How did someone like you even become a teacher?"

"I ask myself that question nearly every day. I'll let you know when I have an answer."

We were silent for a moment, the only sound being the rustling of the wind. That is, until a loud groan from Hoshino broke the silence.

"Aagh!" Hoshino turned sideways and let her upper body fall toward me, the back of her head coming to a rest on my leg. "I was on the fence about the whole thing to begin with, but now you're making me feel like a huge jerk for even considering it! Why'd you have to do that, Sensei?!"

"It's only fair," I retorted with a wry smile. "I got chewed out by everyone, and what I did was nowhere near as bad as what you were thinking about doing. Just be glad I'm not going to rat you out."

"Not like some of them don't suspect something's up already. I caught Shiroko-chan snooping around my stuff earlier today," Hoshino groused. "Good thing I didn't end up drafting that resignation letter I had been cooking up, or else she'd have definitely raised a stink about it."

"Good for her," I said approvingly. While I didn't teach Shiroko to rifle through others' belongings (pockets don't count), it was a good way to investigate persons of suspicion. Her only mistake was getting caught.

"Geez, Sensei." Hoshino sighed. "With all the weird ideas you're putting in her head, it's only a matter of time until she starts acting and dressing like you."

"Huh." It was an interesting idea to consider, but I hoped Shiroko didn't take her emulation of me too far. While she certainly had the guts to make it as a Wastelander, she didn't need that kind of life.

I became aware of a very faint sound of snoring from the Shittim Chest. Seems that Arona had conked out once the conversation calmed down.

Looking down at the student, who shifted herself into a more comfortable position so that she could lie down, I said, "You should come clean to them."

"Maybe," she muttered after some deliberation. "…But not now. It'd only distract them from our mission."

"I agree," I replied. "Does that mean we can still count on your help tomorrow?"

Hoshino angled her head questioningly. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Figured you might still have some reservations."

"Pfft. Not after the lecture I just got." The student smirked. "Besides, wouldn't want Sensei and Shiroko-chan hunting me down, now, would I?" She paused. "Hm, on second thought, I might have one reservation."

"And what's that?"

"Now that you know I've been in contact with Kaiser, you don't really have to go through all this trouble for us, Sensei."

"What do you mean?"

She glanced at me furtively. "I mean that I can score you a meeting with Kaiser's executives. No need to go around blowing up their bases to get their attention."

I considered her words for exactly one second before shaking my head. "Nah."

"That was quick," Hoshino commented in surprise.

"Establishing ourselves as a superior fighting force is crucial in getting them to take us seriously," I explained. Hoshino's offer, while diplomatic, wouldn't do anything for Abydos' situation. Walking into Kaiser's HQ to bargain with their boss would be similar to me walking up to General Oliver without my Securitrons and asking politely for Hoover Dam. "That, and I really, really want to blow them up."

"Yeah, well, get in line," Hoshino amusedly responded. "Just don't want you to feel like you're being railroaded into leaping into danger with us, is all."

"Hey, you said it yourself. I've been through worse, haven't I?" I replied.

Hoshino said nothing, appearing to be deep in thought.

"…Though, just in case we run into them, why don't you tell me about Kaiser's leaders?"

Her ruminating interrupted, Hoshino looked up at me. "I can't tell you much since I've only ever met with the PMC director, but sure. The director is an adult like you. Big guy, maybe a little taller than you. The way he looks down on students kinda makes you wanna put a hole in his circuits," she recalled with a sour expression. "Dresses nice too, so he should be easy to spot among the full security detail he takes around with him."

I nodded, taking in her words. From the way she described him, it was likely he was one of the many sentient robots populating Kivotos. From there, it'd just be a matter of identifying him from his formal wear and either negotiating with him, or… subduing him.

"Then there's this other guy," Hoshino continued, scrunching up her face in uncertainty.

"Other guy?"

"Yeah. I don't know who he is, so I've just been calling him Black Suit."

"Black Suit?" I raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty vague."

The student shrugged. "I can't really find any other way to describe him, aside from the fact that he's also an adult. I'm not even sure if he's a part of Kaiser or not. But one thing's for certain – he's definitely not from Kivotos."

For the second time today, Hoshino presented me with unprecedented information.

Not from Kivotos? Could that mean he's from the Wasteland?

A brief spark of hope lit up from within me before I tempered it. Even if he was from the Wasteland, there was a very good chance that he wasn't anybody I knew. The only person that came to mind upon thinking about a conniving man in a black suit was Dean Domino, who, from what I knew, was still drowning himself in drink and prostitutes in New Vegas.

"Anything else you can tell me about this guy?" I asked.

"Not really. Kaiser had been making me offers for a while, but usually they offered money in exchange for more territory. Black Suit was the person who made this most recent one," Hoshino said. "As for why? Beats me."

So, it's this Black Suit guy who wants Hoshino…

I wasn't coming up with anything else and Hoshino said she didn't know any more, so I figured I'd just have to wring the information out of Black Suit if I ever came across him.

"Thanks, Uncle," I said. "That helps. At least I know who to look for now."

Hoshino flashed a small grin as she lazed about. The silence permeated the air for several minutes after that. I would've thought that Hoshino had fallen asleep if it weren't for her bright pink halo illuminating our immediate surroundings.

"Say, Sensei?" Hoshino suddenly spoke up as her thoughtful expression returned.

"Yeah?"

"Your home really isn't a nice place at all, is it?"

"What makes you say that?" I replied neutrally.

"It's in the way you move, the way you act…" Hoshino pondered. "The guns, armor, and the fact that we've never seen you without either… Also the fact that you hated Kaiser right off the bat. Almost as much as we do, which is pretty crazy."

"…" I patiently waited for her to finish.

Slowly, Hoshino raised a hand to point at a spot on my head. "And most of all, that scar on your forehead."

"…How'd you see it?" I asked after glancing around surreptitiously to make sure no one would overhear.

"Let's just say Oji-san has special eyes and leave it at that, yeah?" Hoshino winked, the moon briefly reflecting in her open blue eye. "Real injuries may not be too common in this city, but I know a gunshot wound when I see one."

"That so?" I asked rhetorically, unsure of what to say.

Hoshino merely gazed at me from where her head rested as she waited for an answer, her mismatched eyes expectant.

"…I guess you can say that it's not a nice place," I admitted. "Too many people willing to climb over each other to reach the top, not knowing or caring that it only brings us all back to square one. A never-ending cycle. It never changes."

"…"

"Back before I knew better, I got caught up in some business that I had nothing to do with. It… changed me. Once I saw that I had a unique opportunity that'd allow me to try and change things for the better, I took it. I like to think we were doing alright once the dust settled." Despite knowing better, I stared off into the distance, half-expecting to see the shimmering gold light of New Vegas on the horizon, only to see the singular glint of the Sanctum Tower deep within the Academy City. "Can't exactly speak for the present, though, since I'm here."

"'Cuz you got tangled up in our mess, huh…" Hoshino mused with a trace of guilt.

"Through no fault of your own," I replied. "None of us saw this whole 'teacher' business coming."

"True," she admitted. "And I know it's selfish, since it really sounds like your home needs you, but… I'm glad we have you here."

"…You're right, that is pretty selfish," I joked. "But you can stand to be a bit more selfish and a lot less self-sacrificial, so I'll forgive you this once."

"Sensei, stop bullying me already!" She jabbed me with her hand playfully.

At that moment, a moderate gust blew over us, causing several strands of Hoshino's absurdly long hair to billow along with it. Swiftly, she caught the pink locks and shifted them underneath her head to force them to stay put.

"You aren't cold?" I asked, noting that she only had her overcoat and her uniform to protect her from the frigid winds.

"Meh, I'm used to it," Hoshino said as she relaxed, clasping her hands together over her abdomen. "Plus, isn't there an appeal to curling up against something warm when it's cold outside?"

"You may be onto something," I agreed, glancing at the student resting against my leg. "But my idea of something warm tends to be a campfire."

Hoshino let out a yawn as she closed her eyes. "Same difference…"

The doors to the Abydos gate suddenly slid closed, activated electronically by Serika from the school building. She'd likely been waiting for every student who was not staying overnight to leave, but she probably didn't expect the vice president to be lazing around on top of the school gate. One by one, the remaining lights in the school building blinked out as the students within hunkered down for the night.

Now that every student accounted for, I made to get up, only to find Hoshino fast asleep against my leg. Or so I thought – though it was barely visible, her halo still lazily floated above her. A light nap, perhaps? That sure was quick.

Just because, I ran my hand through the pink structure several times, my hand phasing through on every attempt.

Nope. Still holographic.

"Uheee…" she mumbled, on the cusp of lucidity. "Stop it…"

"Hoshino," I said.

She shifted in her sleep. "Nn. Five more minutes… No, fifty…"

Despite knowing that there was much to be done before our task tomorrow, I sighed and let her be -assuming she went on patrol like usual, this would be the only sleep she'd be getting for the rest of the night.

I guess I can stay for a bit longer.

---

"Sensei, I made omurice! Would you like some?" Fuuka asked, poking her head into the room in which I was working, causing me to look up from my terminal.

The hell is an omurice?

"Sure, in a bit," I answered, figuring she was probably talking about some kind of dish.

"...Have you been up all night?" she asked, worry evident in her eyes.

"Probably…not?" I scratched my head. "What time is it? Three?"

Fuuka looked at me blankly. "It's morning, Sensei."

Huh. Could've sworn it was still early.

"Gotcha. A few more minutes, then."

"Sensei…" Fuuka sighed, clear disapproval in her voice. "Do I need to call Yuuka-san?"

"Bold of you to assume Yuuka can do anything about it," I snickered and resumed typing away at my terminal while the student glowered at me.

Though Fuuka was good company, it seemed I erred in giving Yuuka a copy of the key to the Sink, since she almost immediately made another copy and shared it with Fuuka. It was like they had formed a coalition whose sole purpose was to annoy me, in spite of my repeated assurances that I was not going to starve to death down here.

The Gehenna student had even taken it a step further in repurposing one of the empty rooms to use as a kitchen. Personally, I didn't see the need for a kitchen here, since Schale had its own fully equipped culinary facilities, but I supposed that having a place to store some of my Pre-War foodstuffs was nice.

…Though I'd need to hide said foodstuffs well, lest I'd get another earful from this nosy student. Perhaps I could hide them on the top shelf where she couldn't reach? Preferably in a locked cabinet or safe whose lock only I could pick?

Man, what's the point of a secret underground base if it's not secret? I thought, realizing the lengths I needed to go through just to hide my own food from Fuuka.

"By the way…" Fuuka began. "You aren't going to Abydos today, Sensei?"

"I am, why?"

"Well…I took a look at your schedule, and it said that you were scheduled to leave fifteen minutes ago. Since you were still here, I assumed that you canceled your plans…"

Blanching, I glanced at my Pip-Boy.

Damn.

Suddenly standing up, I began typing away at my homemade RobCo terminal at a renewed pace. "Fuuka. Are you ready to head out?"

"Huh? Me?" Fuuka asked in surprise.

"You don't have classes today, right? Then I could use your help."

"Um, okay…" Fuuka said with apprehension. "What should I bring?"

"Whatever you need for a fight," I replied.

"I see…" Fuuka nodded determinedly. "This isn't the kind of support I'm used to, but I'll do my best."

With that said, the Gehenna student scampered off to prepare. Even if she wasn't used to combat, having another student on board would really be a huge help.

Accessing the specifications for my newest project, I began running the numbers, looking for possible errors. Antigravity module, weapons systems, chassis integrity, sensor arrays, radio transmitters, AI subroutines, language processors… All checked out. I'd have liked to initiate a few test runs, but there simply wasn't any time for that.

Eventually my gaze fell on the specifications for one of the more experimental additions I had made - a self-repair system. Once I got the AI programming out of the way, this was arguably the most difficult thing I'd had to implement. Miniaturizing a Mark II Securitron's self-repair system to fit within an Eyebot's chassis was a task which I initially wasn't sure could be accomplished, but after studying Kivotos' heavily compacted electronics, I was given the idea to trim down the Eyebot's more vestigial components to accommodate the necessary hardware. This proved extremely time-consuming to implement and manually program; the latter could have been circumvented, as I possessed the Platinum Chip, but building a terminal capable of reading the Chip's data necessitated time and resources which I did not have.

I grimaced slightly, then nodded. This would have to do. There wasn't any way around it - a Duraframe Eyebot's chassis, even with its characteristic hardiness, wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against Kivotos' heavily armed inhabitants. At least this modification, rushed as it was, would ensure that he wouldn't be disabled by a few .308 rounds this time around.

Seeing the light blue flicker of a hologram spontaneously manifest next to me, I jumped briefly, only to find that it was just Arona.

"Sensei!"

"Arona." I sighed. "Please don't do that."

"Do what?" The AI hologram cocked her head innocently.

"Never mind."

Seeing me return to surveying the data, Arona sheepishly said, "Sorry I didn't remind you about your meeting with Abydos, Sensei. I was going to tell you, but you just looked so…absorbed."

"You're fine. It's my fault," I said, waving a hand dismissively.

Indeed, I was absorbed in what I was doing. So absorbed that several hours passed in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, it was morning.

I couldn't help it. This was probably the hardest I'd ever worked on a project in my entire life. One might call it excessive, but to me?

I spared a glance at the inert Eyebot, his newly constructed chassis free of the bumper stickers and license plate his original self used to have. This little guy had saved my bacon countless times, both in the Mojave and the Divide. And thus, I devoted my full, undivided effort to make damn sure everything went right with his reconstruction. He deserved nothing less.

"So…" Arona's projection walked over to the robot and squatted down to examine it. "This is an Eyebot, huh?"

"Yeah. Had to improvise a bit for parts, but I can always modify him later." I chuckled and shook my head. "Replicating Dr. Whitley's crown jewel with less than a week to work with is tough, even for a [Robotics Expert]."

"Dr. Whitley?"

"His original creator. His father, if you want to get sentimental," I explained.

If only Whitley could see his son now. I liked to think he would be ecstatic that his kiddo was about to experience sights never before seen in the Wasteland. Or maybe Whitley would have been cursing me for imitating his life's work without permission. Unlikely, as I didn't get the impression that he was that kind of person from his audio recordings, but you never know with Enclave scientists.

"Um…" Arona shifted on her feet, unusually pensive. "Can I ask a question?"

"I can't stop you."

"Well, I know you told Yuuka-san that this robot is special, but you built him from scratch here, right?" Arona carefully said, as if she were afraid of possibly offending me. "So is he really the same robot?"

A good point. Indeed, since the origin of the robot's parts was different, it would have been questionable as to whether this ED-E was the same as the one from the Mojave. From a philosophical standpoint, the existence of one's true self, or soul, beyond physiological or technological hardware was a whole different can of worms that I didn't quite want to open right now, so I disregarded the notion as I answered her.

"He's the same old bot. Specifically, because of this." I held up a holodisk adjacent to the terminal for Arona to see.

Arona stared at the storage device uncomprehendingly for a few moments before her eyes and halo lit up in realization. "A backup?"

"Exactly." I nodded. Though the materials that made up his body were of Kivotos origin, with his memories and personality intact it'd be as if he moseyed on over from the Wasteland.

"Ohhh," Arona remarked, impressed, before asking confusedly, "Wait, why are you carrying around a backup?"

"Long story. Let's just say that he's real prone to danger and leave it at that." Arona gave the Eyebot a slightly worried look but didn't press further.

In truth, I feared the possibility of the Mojave's ED-E meeting the same fate as the Divide's clone of him, especially given his tendency to be reckless in combat. Thus, prior to the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, I accessed the US military databases in the Divide and downloaded a copy of ED-E's personality module and memory bank. As a result, the ED-E here would likely be closer to the Divide's ED-E than the Mojave's in terms of intellectual complexity, though from his perspective, there'd be a significant lapse in his memory from when the backup was made all the way to the current year. That was fine - I could always fill him in on the details of the Wasteland's happenings myself.

I checked my Pip-Boy, grimacing once I saw the time. The Abydos crew was probably waiting.

It was now or never.

I exited the page on the terminal detailing specifications of ED-E's newly installed language processor. After running a quick diagnostic, I was directed to ED-E's primary system. I scrolled over to the command which would begin booting up his primary system.

My finger hovered over the button. I took a deep breath, then pressed the command.

- Initializing… -

- Please enter system password. -

{Fly far, fly fast.}

- Password accepted. Beginning primary system startup sequence. -

Arona watched in fascination as the Eyebot's internal mechanisms powered up, producing a nearly inaudible whir. Once its primary system was online, I set out to activate its secondary and auxiliary systems.

{Companion Protocol::Begin}

The robot jerked as it came to, tugging against the wires connected into its back. Quickly, I reached behind ED-E and detached the electrical wires connecting him with the terminal. Not a second later he sprung into the air as his antigravity module went online and he stayed suspended in the air, in apparent incongruity with the laws of physics. He swiveled around, taking in his surroundings, before stopping as he registered the sight of Arona and me.

"ED-E?" I asked in trepidation. ED-E, being a robot, didn't need to sleep like organic beings needed to. But whenever he needed to be taken offline for maintenance or repairs, he tended to wake up pretty violently each time. This behavior was consistent with what I had seen just now, but I needed to make sure this really was him.

The Eyebot beeped in affirmation and bobbled up and down, in ED-E's characteristic version of a nod. He swiveled towards Arona slightly and beeped in abject confusion, as if to ask what the hell was up with the hologram girl with the halo and the hair that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be pink or blue.

Laughing merrily, I grabbed the robot out of the air and held the Eyebot close. "ED-E! You magnificent bastard! You made it. You made it!"

"Sensei…?" Arona gaped, flabbergasted by my uncharacteristic reaction.

ED-E's beeps of confusion merely deepened, but I paid them no mind as I hugged the robot tighter, with enough force to suffocate a person. It was fine – Duraframe, especially when fortified with Kivotos' high-quality materials, could handle it.

After a few moments, I reluctantly let go of the Eyebot to let Arona speak, and ED-E returned to hovering in midair.

"Arona, meet ED-E," I introduced her to the robot.

"H-hello, ED-E-san!" Arona greeted, evidently still thrown off by my prior display. "My name is Arona! I'm the OS of the Shittim Chest and Sensei's trusty secretary!" She extended a hand toward ED-E, then embarrassedly retracted it, likely realizing two things – one, she was a hologram. Two, ED-E had no hand to shake hers with.

ED-E took one moment to process her words, then let out a long stream of clicks and warbles in response.

Looks like his language processor is working just fine. Good. A language processor was yet another necessary addition to his hardware I installed, as I figured ED-E being able to understand and communicate with Kivotos' denizens would prove immensely useful for his sake and mine.

Though it was a funny thing, that. Originally, pre-war Eyebots were outfitted with hardware which let them process a wide array of languages, East Asian languages included, probably for the purpose of spying on suspected communists. But the Duraframe model did away with that hardware, perhaps because the Enclave viewed such a function as vestigial. It was ironic that the removal of "useless" hardware ended up being detrimental to the point that I needed to reinstall it. In spite of this setback, I didn't fault Dr. Whitley for not being able to foresee ED-E visiting a place as nonsensical as Kivotos.

Arona scrunched up her face as she attempted to parse ED-E's "speech".

"Do you understand what he said, Arona?" I asked.

"I…think?" Arona replied unsurely. "He's confused about what the Shittim Chest is, about where we are, and who 'Sensei' is…?"

"You got the gist of it." I nodded. Arona was still new to Termlink as a language, but once she got the hang of it then she'd probably find it easier to understand ED-E's speech.

"{Inquisitive beeps}?"

"That's what they call me around here, I guess," I replied to ED-E's question.

ED-E let out a series of clicks while Arona attempted to follow along.

"Of course I didn't choose it," I responded matter-of-factly. "Does that really sound like something I would think of?"

Arona furrowed her brow, muttering, "'Sensei' isn't a weird title…"

"I beg to differ," I refuted while ED-E voiced his agreement. Finally, some common sense in this backwards place! Arona simply pouted, as she was woefully outnumbered now.

"{Curious beeping}…"

I shuddered. "No, I haven't thought about what everyone back home would think of the name, and frankly? I don't want to." That'd be a disaster of proportions I didn't even want to think about. I could already picture Arcade's smug 'I told you so' face and hear Veronica's sarcastic teasing.

But honestly? I think Boone's silent judgmental stare would hurt the most.

I cringed. Nope. They must never learn about this. Never. No matter how tempting it would be to take Wakamo or other powerful students back with me to unleash against all of New Vegas' prospective enemies, my pride dictated otherwise. They must never find out that I willingly accepted the title of "Sensei" to a bunch of technicolor Japanese-speaking not-angel schoolgirls with guns who liked to micromanage their teacher's living expenses and fawn over Radchickens.

"…{Mischievous beeping}."

I paled. "No. You wouldn't dare."

ED-E merely tilted his chassis, as if to challenge me. Arona snickered at our exchange.

"Wait, who am I kidding? It's not like you could tell them anyway," I grumbled as soon as I realized the depressing reality.

ED-E looked between me and Arona and beeped inquisitively.

"Because as far as I know, there's no way back to the Mojave right now," I answered.

"{Worried clicks}."

I sighed. "Trapped? I guess you can put it that way."

Arona frowned at this but said nothing.

"It's a very long story. I've got so much to tell you, and you're probably not going to believe a lot of it. I know I didn't, and I was there." I smiled ironically. "But that can wait. Right now, we have a job to do. That is, if you're game."

ED-E nodded.

"Good." I already felt more at ease. Despite the sobering topic we just discussed, I found that I simply couldn't remove what I was sure was a stupid-looking grin on my face.

Because now, there was someone who understood as well as I did the sheer improbability of a place like this existing. Who could empathize as I confronted reality-defying revelations that students here merely accepted as facts of life. Who remembered that there was a Wasteland somewhere out there far away from here, serving as proof that I did not, in fact, lose my marbles like the Think Tank did.

I may have been a simple package courier who kept getting into situations way above his pay grade, but at least now I could take solace in the fact that I wasn't the only wayward Wastelander in this fantastical, utterly confusing place.

Turning to my AI secretary, I said, "Arona, cover your ears for a sec."

Arona cocked her head in confusion but nonetheless did what she was told.

Walking over to the corner of the room, I whipped off the tarp from my newest project. Like ED-E, this one was also a rushed job, but it was nonetheless perfectly functional. I reached over the side of the hydraulic lift and pressed a button, causing the chains suspending my project to rattle as they lowered their load. The feet of the Power Armor clanged as they met the ground, the suit casting an imposing shadow in the relatively dim light of my workshop.

I flashed ED-E a malicious grin that would've put Wakamo's to shame.

"Ready to fuck some shit up?"

---

"Last target down," Shiroko confirmed.

"Looks like that's all of them," Hoshino evaluated, her eyes sweeping over the battlefield. "Check your equipment and ammo – they'll be sending more troops our way soon enough."

Shiroko wasted no time in pilfering ammunition and grenades from the fallen Kaiser mechs and soldiers. As she did so, she keenly listened for any sign of more enemies. Ayane had warned them of increased Kaiser presence on the outskirts of the desert, but the area was more guarded than any of them had been expecting.

"Sensei should've been here at least thirty minutes ago," Nonomi said worriedly.

"What should we do? Do we proceed with the plan?" Serika asked.

"Give him time. Maybe he overslept," Hoshino speculated.

"But he knows we'd be sitting ducks out here!" Serika bit her lip, disheartened. "You don't think…he'd abandon us, do you?"

"He would never," Shiroko assured. That much, she could say for certain.

"I agree," Hoshino said. "But while optimism is well and good, we'd better hope he gets here before Kaiser's backup does."

That was a fair point. Their plan relied on the fact that their squad was small and mobile. Sitting in one place for too long would give Kaiser time to box them in, which would be…bad. If that were to occur, Shiroko wasn't even sure if the Foreclosure Task Force would last long enough to give Problem Solver 68 a window to attack.

Shiroko's ears twitched as they picked up the sound of a helicopter approaching from behind them. Her classmates soon turned as well, readying their arms.

"Reinforcements?" Shiroko wondered aloud.

"Nah, too quick. And they wouldn't just send one." Hoshino replied. "Ayane-chan, you picking up anything?"

"IFF has it tagged as friendly…" Ayane observed. "It's from Schale!"

The Foreclosure Task Force members all breathed a sigh of relief. Shiroko nodded. Now they could get this operation under way.

Sure enough, a white helicopter emblazoned with the emblem of the Federal Investigation Club closed in from the horizon. They waited as the air vehicle came to a stop right above their position but did not descend. The side door of the transport vehicle slid open, to the bafflement of the students on the ground.

Is he going to rappel down? Shiroko mused.

Her expectations were soon shattered as a hulking mass leapt out from the vehicle, descending toward the ground at an impressive velocity. Though the students were well clear from the anticipated point of impact, they still widened their eyes and unconsciously took a step backward.

With a resounding crash, the object impacted the ground, the force from the impact causing the pavement to crack while it kicked up a cloud of dust. Now that it was at rest, Shiroko could identify the object as human-shaped. It was hunched over, possibly due to diverting the force from the fall to its legs. The figure was encased from head to toe in very thick metal, painted over with a chrome finish. On one side of its breastplate was an emblem similar to the one the helicopter bore - S.C.H.A.L.E.

A robot? Shiroko guessed. It didn't look like any models native to the city or any of the surrounding districts. That left only one feasible option.

"Sensei…?" Nonomi asked unsurely.

"Sorry I'm late to the party," Sensei's voice blared from a speaker on what was now evidently a helmet, sounding akin to an intercom. The dust cleared, and the Foreclosure Task Force watched with awe Sensei slowly rose to full height - more than a head taller than he normally was. A black horizontal stripe on the helmet, presumably his visor, glinted in the light slightly as he turned to face the vehicle he dropped from. "I was… getting the help of a friend."

Friend? Shiroko had a million questions going through her head at the moment, and she was sure her classmates felt the same. However, another figure exited the airborne vehicle, and unlike Sensei, this smaller figure lazily drifted down the gap between the ground and itself, openly defying gravity. The metal sphere reached Sensei's side and stayed, where it hovered a few feet from the earth. Angling its "face" toward the students, the robot wobbled up and down energetically, its antennae undulating.

Lastly, a rope extended downward from the helicopter, and from it a student rappelled. Once her feet touched the ground, she let go of the rope, and followed behind Sensei. A Gehenna student, from the looks of her. She waved sheepishly at the Foreclosure Task Force and unstrapped an SMG.

"A friend, huh?" Hoshino arched an eyebrow, the corner of her lips hinting a ghost of a smile as she peered at the robot. "This little guy is your friend, I take it?"

The robot let out a series of high-pitched beeps, causing Hoshino to crane her head as she pondered its meaning.

"ED-E says he's pleased to meet you all," Sensei interpreted for 'him'. She found it surprising that Sensei was able to understand what, at least to her, sounded like a bunch of senseless beeps.

"Aww!" Nonomi clapped her open hands together and held them against her cheek. "Isn't he a cute one?"

"He sure is," Sensei readily agreed as he patted the robot on the head (or was it his body?). To Shiroko's knowledge, this was, remarkably, the first time Sensei had ever called anything cute. Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel a little envious. "But let's save the pleasantries for later. Are you all ready to move out?" he asked as his gaze swept over their group.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Hoshino responded, stifling a yawn. "Same plan?"

"For the most part," he said. Sensei reached behind his back and hefted a very large gun which, at a glance, vaguely resembled a minigun. However, upon closer inspection, the boxlike firearm was evidently not meant to fire ballistic rounds. Not only was there an absence of a place to load conventional rounds, but the tubes leading up to the barrel of the gun glowed an ominous green, like that one weird gun Sensei took out during his first visit to Abydos. Seeing this, ED-E swayed to and fro in a manner which Shiroko interpreted as enthusiastic.

Sensei nodded to ED-E and the Gehenna student, then at the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force.

"But this time, leave the vanguard to me."