"My nightmares are getting worse."

Shua sat up in his bed, grasping his head in agony. The throbbing from yesterday had not yet settled. The lights were not yet on due to it being an hour or so from Arona's usual wake-up call. In the midst of the idle darkness of his room, only lit mildly by the dwindling light of the laptop upon his table, he couldn't help but think.

It spoke of how he had not yet come to terms with his past, or even himself.

He grasped his water bottle from the side of his plain bed, and stared at the painkillers that he could barely make out on his dresser. He had avoided using any of them due to the vast amounts of caffeine he had in his system over the last few days, which would only react badly with his stomach in tandem with the pills and exacerbate the problem. He was honestly quite surprised that he was still alive and somewhat well, as 'well' as a man like him could be.

Popping two pills into his mouth from the pack, he drank it down with the assistance of his water bottle. A hefty gulp was heard from him, and he wiped his mouth with his shirt whilst deep in thought.

Today was a day off, sanctioned by Hoshino and Shiroko. They would come over later today to settle any and all of his work. Considering that yesterday they had more or less stalwartly gone through everything that he needed to do with a brisk yet accurate pace, he knew it was in good hands. Arisu, too, had learned quite a lot of the ins-and-outs of his work as a result.

Hell, he was incredibly impressed at Hoshino. She was a whiz at doing paperwork and typing up reports at speeds he couldn't even compare to. Maybe it was a thing she picked up from wanting to do things quicker so she could get to sleep all the sooner. Probably. Maybe he could even ask for advice there.

Rin would probably take offense to him offloading his work onto his students, but Shiroko would probably tie him down to his bed and make him dry swallow sleeping pills if he didn't listen. Considering what he knew of the girl, he wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps that could be his excuse.

But nevertheless, knowing that he had nothing to do today made his anxiety thicken. An idle mind made for the devil's playground.

A red halo flashed before his mind's eye. Knives, stars and letters defining the name of God. Decagrammaton. The enemy he undoubtedly needed to face in the future. Were these prophetic dreams? He had once heard from Black Suit in passing, during a particularly strange grocery trip, that the world of dreams in Kivotos were 'not as it seemed' and 'had bearing on reality'.

It was strange, then, how he was dressed in the dreams in a way he used to in the past… or more aptly, what he had come to this world with, albeit devoid of the blood that seeped through his gloves and onto his skin.

If he was here and well, he was most definitely alive. That cyanide pill that he had hidden in his pen was lethal, but he wouldn't discount the possibility of having survived it through some form of care. Kivotos was a strange place, after all. Magic could've been the cause. There was no other possible reason why his clothes seemed to have gone through a full dry cleaning when he first arrived.

But he knew that feeling, that sinking in his heart. Of nothingness. It was paradoxical. How could one know nothing? But he knew of it, within the last vestiges of that life he led. He felt that feeling over and over whenever he slept. It was one of the reasons he liked to stay up.

Was he alive, or was he dead? It was funny asking that question, since he was thinking, and thus alive. What was it again? Cogito, ergo sum? That sounded about right.

Shua sighed in relief, now feeling the painkillers do their work in numbing the pain. A day off. A strange notion, admittedly. He had been avidly working from dawn to dusk for what he perceived to be an eternity now, and now suddenly having a day off meant he could do other things.

"Hmm." Shua let out a noise in thought. "What can I do?"

Now he was talking to himself out loud like an insane person, he noted with some clarity. Sane or not, he had a job to do… but not today, he mentally added.

It was exceedingly awful how work was ingrained to him at this point.

He really didn't know what to do. Some part of him just felt like laying back down and staring into the ceiling. His mind ran miles upon miles within a void.

Unfortunately, it seemed that was all he could do for today. If he was disallowed to work, then he simply had nothing to do. On the other hand, Arisu would be heading off on a trip to Millennium to help Yuuka out with a request, alongside handing her some of his papers for her to manage.

Shiroko would supervise her. He wasn't quite sure about it, but he now held a small bias within his heart for her and Hoshino, as they had come out all the way out of concern for his well-being.

But that left him with nothing to do. Without work, he had nothing.

An unwitting grimace came to his face. This was a conundrum beyond any measure. He had dived deep into work, and when he finally was at the water's surface, he somehow missed the feeling of the dark depths encompassing his entire being.

It was best not to think too much about it. Considering his head was no longer aching as much, it was probably good to head back to sleep.

He closed his eyes, taking a rehearsed deep breath to rid himself of unwanted thoughts. A habit he found to be useful. He focused into nothingness, purging his awareness.

A quaint, non judgemental void.

Devoid of life. Devoid of substance.

Therein, lay the depths of sleep.

A blue haired girl smiled.

"Welcome home."

"Was it really okay to just head out without saying goodbye to Sensei?!" Arisu shouted out as she held on, her hair flowing with the wind as the world went swiftly by.

Arisu grasped onto Shiroko's uniform tightly from behind, but not so much that it would hurt her or tear her clothes. She knew to control her strength, though with how fast Shiroko was going on the bicycle, she wasn't quite sure how much she needed to stay on.

"I… can't really hear over the wind." Shiroko grunted out with her legs pedaling furiously, though she didn't seem winded one bit. "Leave what you want to say for later."

Arisu pursed her lips in thought. She heard Shiroko loud and clear due to her audio processors filtering out the noise. That aside, they should be reaching very soon at the swift pace that they were undertaking. Her thoughts were quickly cut, however—

"It's okay." Arona softly replied from her earpiece, speaking up for what she knew to be the second time of the day. Arisu couldn't see it, but she knew she had a smile on her face. "He needs some rest today, you see."

"I… see." Arisu muttered. "Alright."

It made sense to her. Sensei had been under the weather recently, so it seemed only natural for him to take a break during his day off completely. Arona had forbid her from going into his room that morning after her daily gaming session, so she simply acquiesced. Nevertheless, she held doubt in her mind.

Wasn't it disrespectful? Sensei would always greet her and say goodbye when he needed to. Not saying it back just seemed wrong. A simple 'goodbye' wouldn't have been too straining either.

Perhaps he was merely making up for lost sleep at this point, and had just passed out in totality. That was probably it. But she felt something deep within her metaphorical gut.

The ride came to a sudden stop. "We're here." A monotonous voice muttered out.

The familiar sight of Millennium greeted their eyes, though for Shiroko, she just stared at what she saw impassively. Whether she felt impressed by the sprawling height of the Millennium tower and the integration between the greens and the technology was only for her to know.

Arisu fingered her Schale lanyard slightly, looking down at the ground. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Sure, she had her directives given to her by Sensei, to meet up with Yuuka, hand her the tax documents that she'd return on a later date, and help her out with something that she'd elaborate on when they rendezvous.

She glanced over to Shiroko, who had parked her bike and was beginning to lock it with three U-locks she had pulled out of her bag.

"...Shiroko, wouldn't just one lock be enough?" Arisu questioned, tilting her head in confusion.

"There are plenty of students who hold skill in lockpicking. Me included." Shiroko tilted her head too, staring blankly at Arisu as she continued locking her bike. "These three U-locks require speciality tools to pick, each lasting about 5 minutes to an experienced picker with said tools, and beyond that, have pressurized tear gas inside of their shackles."

Shiroko gave a thumbs up as she was done. "This is Millennium, after all. I bet they'd have the power tools to circumvent the locks just laying around, so I figured it would be best to use a trap lock."

"I… see." Arisu nodded slowly. She understood what Shiroko said only due to her glossary. No kill like overkill, she thought as she gazed upon the three locks, one on each of the wheels and one on the bike frame. Shiroko seemed proud of her handiwork, with that small smile of hers.

"I see you're here. Perfect timing." Yuuka walked around the corner, waving at them. "Hello, Arisu… and Se… huh?"

Yuuka looked confusedly at the gray haired girl with wolf ears that she had never seen before. "Who are you?"

Shiroko pointed at her Abydos identification card hanging from her student jacket, whilst pulling out a Schale Staff(Temporary) card that Arona had printed from her jacket, letting Yuuka gaze upon it.

"Sunaookami Shiroko. Abydos High School. Acting as temporary Schale staff due to Sensei being incapacitated."

"Abydos High? Wait, i-incapacitated?" Yuuka looked relatively alarmed, her eyes widening. "What?! I didn't hear about this?!"

"Um, she means that Sensei is on break. He's been working too hard recently." Arisu smiled sheepishly, poking her index fingers together. "It was on short notice."

Yuuka placed her hand over her chest, sighing in relief. "Phew. I thought he had fallen deathly ill or something… Had me worried there for a bit. Was about to rush ov-" Yuuka coughed, blushing as she did. "I mean, go over to help him out."

Upon hearing that, Arisu glanced to her left and noticed that Shiroko had narrowed her eyes slightly at Yuuka, her gloved hand twitching slightly.

How strange. Her database said that was simply a response that spoke of suspicion and that she was calculating how much of a threat Yuuka was. Arisu shook her head. She was probably overthinking it. Why would Yuuka be a threat if she was so trusted by Sensei to handle his documents?

"I see." Shiroko soon closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Let's get to business then, Yuuka. You lead."

"Alright." Yuuka smiled and nodded, walking away and motioning for them to follow. Shiroko's animosity seemed to have gone unnoticed in her shock. "You guys know what you're here to do today, right?"

"You're handling Sensei's expense documents, right?" Arisu questioned as she followed Yuuka's pace. "Sensei didn't really fill us in on anything else because he was so tired."

"Yes, but that's not all… Sigh, I'll let the fact that he didn't fill you guys in slide this once." Yuuka seemed to have expected this, judging from her lack of surprise. "No, you're helping me hunt for a student on campus grounds."

"Hunt?" Shiroko's wolf ears seemed to perk up at the word. "Details, please."

"It's the leader of a club. She hasn't really been participating in the club leader meetings and as a result, she's been shirking her responsibilities." Yuuka shook her head in exasperation. "Her fellow club members have been tight-lipped about her location, and threats to cut their budget even further haven't made a dent on their determination."

Yuuka seemed to mutter something under her breath that Arisu heard only minutely. Something about cease and seas being unavailable. Whatever that meant was unknown to her. Why would there be mention of a sea when the nearest port was in the District of Utnapishtim, where Schale was?

"Interesting." Shiroko's mismatched pupils dilated in excitement. "Do we have any details on how she looks, her hobbies, and haunting locations?"

"That's an interesting way to put it…" Yuuka had her index finger over her lips in thought. "She's got long red hair that's usually not styled at all, wears a white Millennium trench coat covering her entire body, and usually wears slippers. One hundred and fifty centimeters tall. She doesn't really pop up anywhere beyond her club room. Her name is Hanaoka Yuzu, the leader of the Game Development Department. Her hobbies are as you expect."

Shiroko seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing the information, for she was silent for quite a bit during their walk.

Eventually, Shiroko spoke up. "How experienced are you with interrogations? Torture included." Shiroko asked innocuously, with her usual underlying fervor.

"...What a strange thing to ask." Yuuka seemed to grow ever more perturbed by Shiroko the more words that came out of her mouth. "Not at all."

Arisu felt that she had to say something, because she had an inkling that the mood was turning into something quite strange.

"Wait, why did you want Sensei to help you with this?" Arisu questioned, the thought suddenly coming to her.

"He has a knack for getting to the bottom of things, and it's compensation for helping him with his papers. In addition, I made mention of these girls to him recently and he seemed quite interested in learning more about them, judging from his reaction. You were there, weren't you?" Yuuka said, as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah." The lift ride. "Wait, you knew he was interested just from that?"

"He plays a lot of games, doesn't he? I've seen his computer desktop quite often, and the girls who have made the supposed 'worst game of all time' are bound to pique his interest." Yuuka seemed to blanch at what she said, slowly looking away in embarrassment. "I mean, well… I just saw his desktop in passing."

Shiroko's hand twitched again, this time somewhat more violently, Arisu noted. What a weird phenomenon.

"Anyway," Yuuka clapped her hands together. "We're going to stop by their club room. The other two members should be in, as usual. I'll wait outside, since my presence will most likely go unwanted…" Yuuka paused, before a disgruntled look overcame her face: "Please don't hurt them physically in any way."

"Tch." Upon hearing that, Shiroko clicked her tongue and looked away in disappointment.

"Oi. You were being serious about wanting to torture and interrogate them?" Yuuka stopped walking, and stared exasperatedly back at Shiroko, folding her arms.

Shiroko stopped and stared right back, a glint of intrigue within her eyes. It was an unspoken challenge.

Eventually, their staring contest ended, the loser being Yuuka. She let out a sigh, before shaking her head. "Sensei must have his hands full dealing with you, huh."

Shiroko simply continued staring, a small foreboding smile framing her face. Somehow, Arisu knew that Yuuka was starting to grow more anxious with regards to Shiroko.

Soon after, they continued walking amidst a strangling silence. As they walked, Arisu couldn't help but feel that these two probably didn't get along that well. It was truly a wonder that Sensei could connect with all of these students to such a great extent.

She wondered to herself, would she be able to do the same as he did? She had only just recently awoken, and there was still so much to learn and do. She doubted it.

She gazed up to the cerulean sky as she walked. Truly. So much to learn and to do.

Perhaps this simply just was life, as her database entailed.

Somehow, there was a warm feeling within her where a heart should've been.

Perhaps, this was what determination felt like.

"Uweehh… What's with all of this work…"

Hoshino sat at Shua's desk with her face planted flat upon it. She ruffled her pink hair in annoyance, messing it up even further than it usually was. The sun shone softly behind her from the window, filling her with a light warmth that only annoyed her further, considering her circumstances.

What a perfect time and place to take a nap, she thought as she raised her head and breathed in the cold air expelled by the AC unit, beholding a nice flowery and calming scent. If only she could.

But she knew she signed up for this. She let out a long sigh of exasperation. In truth, this was her self-imposed repayment for breaching Sensei's privacy so avidly, even if he didn't know it.

It made her conscience sing, and that wasn't something that happened all too often. A lax life led to less moral dilemmas, which was a quote she had ruthlessly stolen from her senior. She wasn't even sure if that girl even came up with it on her own.

She raised the sleek black ballpen in her right hand, sniffling mildly as she pondered the lost sleep she would eventually have to repay… to herself! What a tragedy. Owing things to yourself meant they'd never be repaid in full. It was simply a logistical nightmare of epic proportions.

Hoshino couldn't help but smile wistfully as she handled more papers, these thoughts passing through her mind. That girl really came up with the strangest ideas, and she had adopted them in memoriam. Perhaps it was her way to cope with the loss, but it was okay as long as she kept her memory alive within her.

Even if it overtook her very being.

If anything, the girl she was in the past could lay forgotten.

She sniffled again, staring at her handiwork that lay before her.

Another stack done. Logistics were truly a nightmare.

A few more to go. Approval papers for developmental plans for the residential districts. Sensei had marked out issues already for her, and all she needed to do was double check and finalize them.

If this was what Sensei went through daily, then she understood just why he was always so exhausted, and required so much coffee.

Doing this for one day, she had to admit, was fine. But for several days? Weeks? Months? As Sensei did? She'd have shot herself in the face twenty times just to render herself unconscious to never have to stare at paperwork again.

It was a marvel that depressed her. That man would run himself to the ground and into the very core of the planet if he could.

She knew. She was the same back then, after all.

"Ugh…" Hoshino stretched her arms over her head, distinct cracks being heard from the exertion of her back echoing across the room. "I'm really an old lady… reminiscing this much…"

She closed her eyes, slowly thinking about the past few days. Somehow, today, the feeling she felt uncomfortably rippling upon her skin was gone. The everpresent gaze that had been plaguing both herself and Shiroko had left no trace of its existence.

It was befuddling. Just what caused it? What was staring at them that entire time? There was no way it was Arisu either. She had observed her and while that mild discomfort in her gut that she originally felt in conjunction with her plastic-like existence was still there, that gaze wasn't from her whatsoever.

Honestly, having worked with Arisu in the kitchen to provide food for Sensei, it was hard to see her as a threat. She was akin to a lost child that held book knowledge, yet hadn't the experience to apply it completely. Her movements when cooking were stiff and had no finesse, like she was merely following someone else's instructions.

Though, she had to admit, her sight was something quite special, being able to measure liquids accurately just from glancing at them. It certainly made balancing ingredients much easier.

Her instincts and better thinking screamed at her to never take her lightly, though. Considering the damage she had done with just a coin, it was warranted. But looking at her from an unbiased perspective, she seemed to be the sort that would never do harm intentionally. A stunningly pure girl, despite uncertain origins.

That plastic-like feeling just felt incredibly wrong, though. It felt artificial, much like Binah, that damned white whale-snake.

She couldn't help but let out another sigh. That snake had been a thorn in Abydos' side in terms of reclaiming land. If they left it be, it wasn't really a problem, but to restore Abydos to even a fragment of its former glory, it needed to be taken out of the picture.

It was certainly a surprise to see Arisu deal with it so quickly and efficiently. But knowing the mechanical beast, it would most likely never underestimate Arisu ever again. It usually dealt with heavy artillery and specialized strike teams, after all, not a two man squadron.

But what gave her the heebie-jeebies to such a grave extent when she first saw Arisu wasn't that plastic-like feeling. No, it was something else.

A dark haze was the only way to describe it. It felt and looked… wrong. Unnatural. An incredibly low amount of it stuck to Arisu like a coating upon her skin, though she seemed completely unaffected by it. The last time she had seen that was when she had found it stuck to Yume's corpse, and it had scalded Hoshino's arm when she tried to touch it.

It was not a peaceful death, that was for certain. That was the only thing she could say when thinking about the scene. She could feel herself disassociating.

But there was a strange thing she couldn't help but note.

No one else seemed to be able to see it.

No one else… but Shiroko.

They had come across another student's body, bereft of any identification, while investigating some rumors before Sensei had arrived to his position in Schale, and Shiroko had pointed it out to everyone else when the investigation had been going underway in tandem with Valkyrie.

While that investigation went nowhere, it was the turning point for her, and why she entrusted so much information to Shiroko. She was already a trusted comrade in many ways, and this only sealed the deal.

Shiroko didn't get burned by it, though.

That was one thing that set her apart from Hoshino, and cemented her decision even further.

Well, that was enough reminiscing for one day, she thought. What a depressing life she led.

She couldn't help but grin deprecatingly. There was a reason why she called herself 'old lady', after all.

"Back to work." Hoshino sighed, staring at the papers, now feeling concerned for everything that was going on in the world around her.

Just what was going on in Kivotos…?

Would Sensei be alright, dealing with it?

She couldn't help but gaze worriedly out of the window behind her at that thought.

"...Tap, tap."

Were those footsteps?

Hoshino turned back to see—

"SLAM!"

Arisu turned to the door where the sound came from, where an absolutely terrifying monster stood. A dark aura formed around it, or was that merely her imagination speaking? The monster's mane seemed to float like tendrils seeking its prey, affronted that there would be such an idiotic intruder would even attempt to encroach upon its territory.

The monster stalked closer to her demonic compatriot, who was staring proudly at her handiwork and focused on the knots that bound the two girls in front of her. They were bound by the hands and legs on the floor, unable to move, with duct tape covering their visages.

"MMPH!" The blonde haired pair with matching headsets struggled out to speak, writhing on the floor like snakes attempting to crawl away from their captor.

As they gazed upon the gray haired demon with wolf ears with terror, their eyes widened further as they slowly came to a realization. There was another demon behind this one, with a navy blue mane and a menacing aura to match its imposing figure.

"...Shiroko." The monster grasped the demon by the shoulder. "What did I say?"

"...Ropes and duct tape aren't torture. Sensei was okay with them." A monotonous reply from the demon only served to scare the two upon the ground. They shook in fright. Had this demon no fear of the monster they knew? Was this their end?

Honestly, Arisu found that perhaps she was reading a few too many books, if she was thinking of this scene in such a fashion. These were merely extrapolations that she had been inspired from a supernatural mystery novel Sensei had recommended.

She hadn't the chance to stop Shiroko either, since she went right to work the instant they walked in. No hesitation whatsoever. Arisu had the feeling that perhaps, this girl lacked any semblance of common sense.

Somehow, she heard Sensei's voice saying, "...You're one to talk."

"Shiroko!" Yuuka shouted in annoyance. "You may have Schale's authority at this moment, but I cannot stand for you to hurt Millennium students like this! Do you want me to file a complaint against Sensei, and to Abydos High School?"

A pause.

"...Please don't tell Sensei."

Shiroko slowly raised her hands in surrender.

"Well I– wait, what?" Yuuka's anger gave way to confusion. "It was that simple?"

"Please don't tell him." Shiroko reiterated, some semblance of fear coming to her eyes. Her wolf ears drooped down, making her look like a terrified animal.

"...No wonder he was okay with you coming here. For now, stand in the corner." Yuuka shook her head in exasperation as she saw Shiroko immediately follow her instructions, before kneeling down to the pair to remove the duct tape from their mouths. "Hold still, you two."

The sickening sound of duct tape being ripped from a surface filled Arisu's ear for a brief moment. Again, it occurred, and the two captive girls now found their mouths free.

"Yuuka…!" The one with the pink headset whimpered out as she wiggled to Yuuka's feet, tears pouring from her eyes. "That demon…!"

"I know, I know." Yuuka couldn't help but grimace, as the tears were soaking into her socks. "I'll make sure she gets admonished. You okay, Momoi?"

The now named Momoi just whimpered out gibberish that Yuuka simply couldn't understand.

"We're fine." The one with the green headset murmured out finally. "That was scary."

"She didn't hurt you two permanently, I hope? Midori, glad you kept your wits about you at least. Please hold still…"

Yuuka pulled out a combat knife from her jacket, and began sawing at the rope that binded Momoi's hands.

A brief moment of sawing later, Yuuka grunted in annoyance.

"Ugh!" She pulled her knife back, seeing that it was now dull and scratched up. She sheathed it back up into her jacket. "What is this darn rope made of…?"

"...It's rope lined with metal filaments to dull knives at any attempts of cutting through." Shiroko said sheepishly, with her hands still raised above her head.

"I don't trust you to untie them," Yuuka said accusingly to Shiroko, before turning to Arisu. "Arisu, do you have any way of getting through them?"

"Yes!" Arisu nodded. "Give me a second."

Arisu walked over and ripped the ropes right up with her bare hands, as she knew she could.

"..." Yuuka stared blankly at Arisu.

"...Yes?" Arisu stared right back, smiling as she did. It was only right and kind to treat everyone with a smile, after all.

"I…" Yuuka fingered the remnants of the ropes on the ground, grasping one in her hand. She absentmindedly pulled at it, to not much avail.

"..."

"Yuuka, are you okay?" Arisu questioned, concerned. She looked around.

Momoi and Midori were staring blankly at her as well, with their jaws slack at differing lengths. Shiroko held no visible reaction, still with her hands to the sky.

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that unfolded. Arisu couldn't help but feel embarrassed as there were three faces looking blankly at her.

"...Umm…" Arisu poked her fingers together. She wasn't sure what to do with all of this sudden attention.

"CLANG!"

Arisu turned her head to the noise. A metal locker at the side of the room fell to the ground.

Out came a mop of red hair. The girl they were looking for, who fit Yuuka's original descriptions.

…Though, judging from the foam that was pouring out of her mouth, she was unconscious.

"...What do I do here, Sensei…?"

Arisu questioned, as she crouched on the ground in total silence.