A/N: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR (as of the time of publishing, available only in the JP server) VOLUME 2 CHAPTER 2.

If you haven't read the story or a translated version of the story and care about spoilers, stop reading now.

This story takes place in a timeline where Rio kills Aris in volume 2 chapter 2.

The security cameras at Schale displayed a live video feed of a girl walking towards Sensei's office. She was carrying a plastic bag in one hand. When she reached the door, she pushed the button to the side of the door to activate the communication device.

"Sensei, it's Midori. May I have a moment of your time?"

The speaker replied, "Come on in," and the door opened.

Midori stepped into Sensei's office with a smile on her face. Her hair was reaching just below her shoulders, and her blue hair ribbons, green cat ear headphones, and cat tail were nowhere to be found on her. She was sporting a blazer, giving her the appearance of an office lady.

"Sensei, I got you food from a new restaurant in Shanhaijing. I wanted to try something different today. I've been getting a little tired of the burgers and burritos. Maybe try something healthier?"

"Thanks Midori!" Sensei smirked and looked away from their computer screen and directly at Midori. "You're getting a little bit more health conscious then? Any particular reason why?"

Midori pouted. "Sensei, I can assure you, it is NOT what you're thinking. I just think eating healthier is a good and safe long-term investment!"

"Whatever you say. I'm interested to see what you bought."

"Here." Midori pulled out a foam box and placed it on the desk. She then opened it to reveal the contents hidden inside.

"Midori?"

"What is it?"

"I thought you said this was supposed to be healthier."

"It is."

"It's a plate of fried chicken."

"I watched a documentary last night about how fast food burgers are made. And I don't think I ever want to eat a burger patty ever again. Compared to that, yeah, fried chicken is healthier. What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, a salad or something. Fried chicken isn't towards the top of food items I would eat if I wanted to be healthy."

"If you don't want to eat it, I'll happily take the entire box home for leftovers."

"No, no, it's fine."

Sensei stood up from his chair.

"Actually, I was just about finished with my work for today. How about we visit Momoi?"

Midori nodded and picked up the box.

One elevator ride later and Sensei and Midori arrived at the Schale infirmary. They found the location of a specific patient's bed and pulled up chairs to sit around it. The patient had blond hair that was just below her shoulders and was currently sleeping. Before they could begin their feast, they were joined by one more girl.

"Sensei, did you bring food into the infirmary?"

Serina, pink haired volunteer nurse of Trinity General School's Remedial Knights, poked her head through into the room that Midori and Sensei were making themselves comfortable in.

Midori replied with a question, "How do you know?"

Serina sighed, as if the answer was obvious. "I smelled it from across the floor. It's very noticeable."

Midori broke eye contact and blushed. "Well, yes. It's fried chicken."

Serina wore a frown of disappointment. "How many times have I told you to not bring outside food here?"

"Aw come on! We always leave here cleaner than when we get here."

"It's not that you eating here is a problem, it's just that we don't want the infirmary to smell like a fast food place."

Sensei's stomach growled. Serina sighed again.

"I'm not going to make you throw it away or eat it outside. But today's the last day you can bring in scented food. Next time you should bring something healthier that doesn't have an aroma."

Sensei asked, "Like a salad?"

Serina answered, "Like a salad."

Midori nodded. "Understood. Thanks a lot, Serina."

Serina smiled. "Okay. You three can just take your time, okay? Call me over if you need anything."

Serina then left the room and closed the door.

Midori opened the box of fried chicken, took out a wing, and gave the box to Sensei.

Midori giggled. "Sorry about that Momoi. I forgot just how much a fresh hot box of fried chicken can stink up a room."

"..."

"Bet you're jealous huh? This isn't your normal everyday fast food fried chicken. This is certified restaurant quality!"

Midori took a bite out of her wing.

"Mmmm!" she squealed.

"..."

Sensei took a bite out of a leg and asked Midori, "So, does Momoi like fried chicken?"

"I guess. We usually never went out of our way to get it, but sometimes she'd get some serious cravings and we'd go grab some KFC [Kivotos Fried Chicken]."

"Ah, I'm the same way. You can never go wrong with some fresh fried chicken."

"I usually only eat chicken if it's freshly cooked. I hate leftover fried chicken. It loses its crispiness."

"Like a normal person?"

"Momoi can chow down on anything though. When you're doing a strenuous activity like gaming, you need all the sustenance you can get!"

"Ah yes, gaming, famous for physically straining me."

Midori and Sensei both chuckled.

"Sensei, competitive gaming can actually be pretty intense. You need a lot of concentration for it."

"I'm joking. I know all about how tough gaming can get. If you ever need somebody to help you beat a game, just ask me!"

"Tsk. You're the one who's always begging me for help. I practically played through all of Eden Ring for you!"

"That was only for a few bosses."

"You couldn't beat any of the main bosses without me co-oping you. All you ever do is hide in the back and let me deal with them!"

"If I died, then all of your work would have been for nothing. See, I look out for my partners."

"Sounds more like you need to get good."

"Oh don't you say that to me!"

"Hey Momoi! Sensei sucks at Eden Ring. You probably already knew that though."

"..."

What followed was an uncomfortably long silence. Midori stopped eating her chicken and left it on the plate on her lap.

Midori's eyes were looking at the ground and she started speaking quietly. "Momoi was really looking forward to playing Eden Ring. Whenever we were done with our game dev tasks for the day, she'd spend all of her free time looking up any and all info about it."

Sensei stopped eating too and set aside their plate.

"Oh. I'm sorry if- I mean, this entire time I thought-"

Midori shook her head.

"No, it's okay, Sensei. That was on me. I showed you the game because I wanted somebody to play it with. At first, I wanted to hold off on playing it so I could go through it with Momoi, but after a few months passed and it looked like she wasn't getting any better-"

Midori's voice started wavering and her eyes began to swell.

"- I wanted to- to… I wanted to play through it. For her. I wanted to tell her all the stories I had in my adventures. When she woke up. But when she didn't, I hoped that maybe if I told her about the fun I had in Eden Ring, it would spark her writer's imagination or something. And she would wake up. But-"

Midori began openly sobbing.

"I couldn't do it on my own! I always felt like I was missing somebody to share it with! That's why- That's why I showed you the game."

Sensei stood up and walked towards Midori. He crouched down and extended his arms. Midori reached into his embrace and hugged him back.

"I thought if you were there with me. I'd forget about her. Just long enough to finish the game. Just so I could tell her about what she's missing out. So I could tease her about playing Eden Ring. That I was playing co-op with Sensei! I thought…"

Midori cried into their shoulder. Sensei said nothing but hugged her tighter.

"I'm sorry! Sensei, I'm sorry! Sorry for being so selfish! It's- I- Well…"

Sensei finally spoke up.

"It's fine Midori. It's really fine. I had a lot of fun playing together with you."

"No. No! No, it's not fine, Sensei! I used you!"

"Midori, it really is fine. Weren't you having fun too? Momoi might not be able to play right now, and she might not even be able to talk to you right now, but she can definitely still hear you. She probably appreciates all the stories you've told her. Through you, even she can play. And she wouldn't want you to be sad, especially right in front of her."

Sensei looked over at Momoi. She was lying peacefully in the bed, unaware of the noise in front of her, the deep sleeper that she is.

"Sensei! Sensei! I'm sorry! For being such a failure!"

"You're not a failure." Sensei, realizing that Midori wasn't listening to anything they were saying, then whispered. "It's okay. Just let it all out."

"What happened to the Game Development Department… To Momoi, Yuzu, and… if only I knew! If only I wasn't so dumb! I wish! I wish I was as smart as Yuuka. She would have known what to do. I can't even do anything as your secretary but bring you food! I'm not good for anything! It's all my fault"

"It's not your fault, Midori."

"Sensei!"

"I'm here for you. Don't worry, Midori."

Midori kept crying into Sensei's shoulders for several more minutes.

Momoi was sleeping as comfortably as ever.

Midori finally calmed down and wiped her eyes. She looked out the window and saw the sky was orange.

"Sorry about that, Sensei. It's getting late now. I should probably head back home."

"Want me to walk you back? It can take a while to get back to Millennium."

Midori tried uttering a word: "N- N-," but she couldn't quite vocalize the entire thing.

She sighed and looked at the ground. "Okay."

Sensei and Midori began to clean up Momoi's room.

Sensei broke the silence between them by asking a question.

"So how's Yuzu doing lately?"

"Oh, she told me a few days ago that she found a job! Crazy, right?"

"Really? Yuzu with a job. Where at?"

"She said it was a restaurant. She didn't tell me the name though…"

Sensei and Midori talked for a few minutes while they were cleaning the room. When they finished wiping down the entire room so it was sparkly clean, they left.

Serina was waiting just outside the door. She was looking away in the distance but quickly regained enough composure to smile and wave at Sensei and Midori as they were preparing to leave.

"Bye! Take care of yourselves, okay?"

Midori and Sensei both waved goodbye at her. Midori replied, "You too!"

When Sensei and Midori were out of sight, Serina felt moisture in her eyes. She wiped them off with her hand then clenched her fist in disappointment at the results of her greatest failure as a nurse-in-training.

A girl stood in front of a large building. She patted her navy blue blazer to get rid of any sand that was there. First impressions are important after all.

She read the sign above the door.

"Abydos High School."

She inspected her uniform again to make sure it's perfect and free of dirt and debris. She walked through sand hell to get to where she was. Literally. Her calculations were perfect, but she still didn't like the result.

She opened the door and entered the building.

She heard the sound of thuds and metal screeching coming from a classroom on the other side of the hallway. She made her way over.

"You're up earlier than usual. It's so strange to see you this worked up over school."

"Ehehe. You think? I'm just excited and all. I think it's strange to see all of you here so early too."

"The newbie's coming today after all."

"Of course we'd be here early! We have to make sure everything looks nice so we don't scare her off!"

"Will all of you stop talking and help me move this table? There's too much on it so I can't lift it up."

The new girl took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

The loud noises stopped, with only whispers remaining.

"Hey, was that her?"

"Who else would it be?"

"I don't know!"

"Why is she here so early?"

"Who knows?"

"Quiet everyone! Get seated. Hoshino, open the door."

The door opened and a short pink-haired girl appeared on the other side.

She looked at the new girl from top to bottom and asked her, "Hello, how are you? Would you happen to be the new student at Abydos?"

The new girl smiled and bowed. "Yes. My name's Hayase Yuuka. Starting today, I'm a second year transfer student at Abydos. It's a pleasure to meet you all."