Chapter 1: A matter of perspective
"Heed my words carefully as I deliver to you one final warning."
The sky swirled in deep red, as the world turned into a sea of blood crimson.
"Your status as the protagonist of the story… it was made possible only by its professed genre. Within the bounds of such genre conventions, the story demanded that you be the underdog, one that despite all odds would emerge victorious."
A humanoid figure stood clad in an open brown trench coat, a miasma-like substance cascading down from its entire body, obscuring its shape, the substance drifting and mixing eerily into the red.
"But what about now? The story has been overturned. Context, structure, genre, intention, interpretation, all met with utter destruction. Its meaning entwined, confused, scrambled, and tarnished beyond control."
The humanoid figure spoke on despite having no mouth to do so, its voice warped and distorted yet clear in enunciation and pronunciation, like an erudite narrator. The voice came from a disturbing portrait in place of its head, held by two black-gloved hands.
The portrait, marked with an elegant dark gray frame, pictured a disturbing facsimile of a face, corroded, worn and warped into a horrific visage through putrid browns and black oils.
"You would do well to forget the entire story up to this point, for it will bear no similarity to what you are about to experience…No, perhaps it will resemble something only because it's you." The figure seemed to second guess itself. "Something you thought you could escape from, a memory you tried to forget."
The face in the portrait was entirely unmoving. It was locked in a perpetual screaming expression, one of complete distress and despair.
"To you, who had been the protagonist of the story, you will become a tool, a slave of your wielder's hand doomed to sow demise." And despite the absence of any kind of gesture, the figure's words managed to sound taunting. "Ah, but isn't that how it was always for you?"
"You must have simply forgotten your true nature."
"Yes, I understand she is very busy, but if I could talk to her I-hello? Hello?" The Trinity student behind the speaker had hung up, leaving the caller stammering to herself like a fool.
Releasing a deep sigh, Naganami Rin smashed the telephone down on her desk and proceeded to throw herself in her chair. She remained in that state for a while, contemplating the ceiling of her office in complete silence.
The setting sun bathed her office in a pensive orange glow. Rin placed her glasses down only for a moment in the sterile white desk in front of her. She gazed at herself in the reflection of the window, wondering who was staring back at her. Her uniform, pristine white as always, with the usual gloves, tie and blue accents were all in place, same with her stockings and heels; the only real difference to her usual getup was that her coat hanged at the wall behind her today. Her hair was clean and combed as usual, but even she noticed a lack of luster to it. Her eyes lingered for a moment towards the halo that firmly stood above her head, and she couldn't help but feel like her eyes didn't match its glow anymore.
To say that she was stressed out would be an understatement. Between the steep rise in crime, the Valkyrie police force being constantly overwhelmed in the streets, and Trinity and Gehenna's recent hostilities, it was a miracle that she had kept herself together these days.
Everything had gone downhill since the disappearance of the president. A long and tortuous year had passed since then, and no one had been able to fill her place. Even when Rin had done her best to succeed the missing president in her absence, the damage was already done; most schools didn't recognize the authority of the General Student Council anymore, and the worst part was that she couldn't blame them. Everyone was expecting the president to return, Rin included, but it became more and more unlikely as the months passed.
Rin rubbed her eyes one more time.
Having lost control of the Sanctum Tower and without enough manpower to intermediate between schools, Rin had begun to wonder for how much longer the Student Council would be able operate before any of the schools tried to take its place.
Knowing Makoto of Gehenna, she would be the first to boldly proclaim the Pandemonium Society as the new General Student Council. Or perhaps it would be Nagisa of Trinity? Even Millenium could take advantage of the chaos to step up.
No matter how much she thought about it, their future… no, the future of the entirety of Kivotos didn't look anything but bleak.
Rin slapped her cheeks as if to erase those thoughts from her mind. She wasn't the type that dwelled in sentimentalisms after all.
"Enough self-pitying." She picked up her glasses and placed them on her ragged face again. "One step at a time, one step at a time." She repeated as she began to plan another way to meet the Tea Party. Perhaps if she went personally to Trinity she could-
Her train of thought came to a sudden halt as an unknown figure appeared in her field of view the moment her eyes were on her office again. The figure was wearing a long white coat and had short messy black hair; though Rin couldn't see its face due to it having its back turned, she noticed the distinct lack of a halo on top of their head.
"Who…? How did you get here?" She asked, her tone inquisitive and perhaps too defensive. She was sure she had been alone just mere seconds ago, and more importantly, she had not heard anyone entering the room, let alone opening the door. Her eyes darted to her handgun, waiting in its holster right next to the documents on top of the desk, finding its white handle ready and waiting.
"Hmm?" The figure raised its head. "My apologies. I didn't mean to barge in."
He turned around, and Rin could finally see his features: he was an adult male, that much was clear, though he appeared to be on the younger side, perhaps around his twenties.
Rin inspected the intruder closely. He wore a dark and simple yet tight fitting nylon turtleneck that did little to hide his broad chest and toned waist, and gray straight slacks that though clean had clearly seen better days, finishing the outfit with scratched but polished black dress shoes. Though his getup was by no means fancy, he looked tidy and sleek, and Rin might have even called him dapper had she not been so wary. His jacket was a long, white parka that reached his knees, and made him seem… ghastly, which only added to the girl's wariness.
"The door was open, so I just walked in. I hope you don't mind." He wore a charming smile, and his blue eyes, which were not so different from her own cerulean ones, stared back at her warmly.
"What are you…?" Rin's voice trailed off as she noticed that he had something in his hands, a framed photo she knew very well.
"I should introduce myself first: My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka." He gave a small bow. "I know this might be sudden, but I need to talk to the Student Council President." He lowered his gaze towards the photo depicting the entire Council, back when the president was still with them. "Though I heard she's gone missing."
"I am Nanagami Rin, acting president of the GSC." The girl said, fixing her glasses and regaining her composure. "What business does an adult have with the General Student Council?"
She ran through several scenarios and answers in her head, analyzing his demeanor to the last minute. There weren't many adults in Kivotos to begin with, and the rumors surrounding those few weren't exactly reassuring to begin with.
"I am here to offer my services."
"Excuse me?" Rin's pointed ears perked up.
"I have been told that despite having a lot of schools here in Kivotos, you are lacking in actual teachers." The man turned back and returned the framed photo to the wall, taking care to set it straight up. A finger remained on the edge for a moment. "I have some experience, so I believe I can fulfill that role decently well."
Rin narrowed her eyes, they had been in fact expecting a "Sensei" to arrive for a long time, but that person never came. Could it be…?
"Did the president send you?" Rin asked, still clinging to a fleeting hope.
"No. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her." The man shook his head. "It's a shame, I heard she was quite a unique individual."
"She is." Rin quickly corrected him.
"My mistake, she is." He conceded easily.
And with those words, the room fell silent as the two exchanged glances. Rin didn't miss what the man was trying to imply, but she refused to consider that possibility.
Still, his words and presence set her on edge. Who was this man if he hadn't been sent by the president? How did he arrive in Kivotos, and why did he want to be a teacher? She would have to be blind to not notice how suspicious his offer was, but at the same time, she felt that something really bad would happen if she refused him right then and there.
Her fingers were reaching tensely for her handgun when the man spoke again.
"I know this is a lot of take in, and that I probably look a bit suspicious." A wry half-smile appeared on his face. "You don't have to decide anything right now. Think about it and let's meet again whenever your schedule allows it."
With a quick nod, the man turned around to walk away, only to stop at the door.
"I'll be waiting for your visit, Rin." With those enigmatic words, the man left the room without looking back, leaving a confused Rin alone once again.
After a few seconds had passed and she was sure he had left, Rin couldn't help but release a deep sigh, one she didn't know had been holding, collapsing back onto her chair.
"What the hell was that?"
Night had fallen, and the streets of Kivotos were unnaturally quiet. The sounds of the treads of heavy tanks ruining the pavement and the constant gunfire that was so common in the city, it was odder for them to be absent. Most shops had also closed their doors, and the only illumination around came from the scattered traffic lights at the sides of the road.
"I think I messed it up."
"She was afraid of you. I could sense it. I recommend a more relaxed approach next time."
Two 'men' calmly walked on the dark streets of the Kivotos' outskirts, as if they were the only ones currently in the world.
"I am not sure if I can." Ritsuka lamented. "I feel my default mood has been 'slightly-to-completely on edge' since I first set foot in Chaldea."
"To be wary is to live another day, Lord Mage. These kids could learn that from you."
A tall individual walked alongside Ritsuka. His entire body was almost entirely hidden by a long dark cloak, and his gait was as unnerving as the rest of his movements, with an erratic twitching that made his walk more of a crouching stride, but perhaps the most bizarre portion of his appearance was the bone-white mask shaped like a skull on his face. If one looked closer, they would have also noticed the stitches that embedded it to the odd man's unnaturally dark skin.
"I won't be training soldiers, Hassan." Ritsuka rebutted. "They shouldn't be wary of their lives, they should be doing things like…like…" He seemed at loss for words for a moment. "Things that kids do at that age…" He couldn't finish.
"I had assassinated more people than I could count with both hands before turning eighteen, Lord Mage."
"And I was fighting to save humanity at seventeen." Ritsuka brought a palm to his face, hard. "I spoke confidently before, but I am not sure if I am the right person for this job."
"You have done it once, Lord Mage, things like that aren't easily forgotten." Contrary to what his aspect would seem to indicate, the masked man's voice was calm and collected. "This time, the roles just happen to be reversed, but you know what must be done."
"I wonder about that…" Ritsuka murmured hazily.
"Never show hesitation. The young ones might pick that up, and a slow hand could cost them their life when facing the target."
"For the last time, I am not sending my future students to assassinate anyone."
To anyone that could hear, that morbid exchange would have been disturbing, but the pair spoke easily to each other, there appeared to be an unspoken confidence between them.
They continued their talk in good spirits until they reached their destination: an old building that was seemingly abandoned at first glance. However, various dim lights coming from some of the windows showed that people still occupied it.
"Here we are." Ritsuka looked carefully at building exterior, mentally counting how many lights could be seen. "This must be quick, their numbers shouldn't matter as long as they are taken by surprise."
Ritsuka toyed with a sharp object on his hand, too small to be a dagger but also too impractical for a knife. The blade and handle were almost entirely black.
"Hassan." He turned to look at his companion. "I know it might be too late to ask, but are you okay with this? A lot has changed since then."
"It matters not to me. I swore to follow you, Lord Mage." The tall man knelt on the ground and bowed to Ritsuka. "And I intend to honor that vow, just like I did back in Chaldea, and always will, my Master."
Ritsuka couldn't help but avert his gaze for a second, even if he could recognize the man's loyalty in his words, he couldn't help but feel sadness by hearing them.
"I am not your Master, Hassan." He said dryly and turned towards the door. "Not anymore."
With a strong kick, Ritsuka sent the door flying and entered the building. The entrance hall was a mess, the floor was littered with garbage and debris, and the walls were painted with graffiti. A small fire was alight in the center of the room, and a group of girls dressed loosely as thugs were around it.
Dozens of eyes immediately fell on Ritsuka as he entered.
"Huh? Who the f-!?" A girl with a mask tried to speak, but Ritsuka immediately cut her off.
"Now, hear me out!" He began, but stopped himself as he remembered what had Hassan told him. He needed to relax and not repeat what happened with Rin. He was going to teach kids after all, and the last thing he wanted to do was to scare them away.
So, before the confused stare of the thugs, Ritsuka paused for a moment to breathe deeply and address the gang in a calmer tone.
"Excuse me, can you all take your belongings and leave this building immediately?" He forced himself to smile. Though he did his best to appear disarming, all he managed was a pathetically strained grimace. "Please?"
"Get him!" One of the girls shouted, quickly reaching for her rifle.
Or she would have, but a sharp black projectile suddenly hit her hand, making her retract it in pain.
"I will take that as a 'no'." He brought his fists to his chest, and between each of his fingers appeared black dirks like the one he had just thrown. "We'll do it the hard way, then."
"So much to do…" A long yawn escaped from Momoka's mouth as she rested her head on the control panel. "And so little time…"
It was another busy day in the General Student Council, and everyone was doing their best to attend to the various tasks they were assigned. Even the pink-haired girl who often dozed off in her workplace was putting in her utmost effort, having ditched work only a couple of times today, setting a new record of productivity for her. Surely she deserved some rest for it, right?
Or at least that's how she convinced herself to continue slacking off.
"Rin is out visiting Trinity… Ayumu is busy with paperwork… no one is going to come here." Momoka muttered as she brought her arms together to make a pillow for her head. "A two or three hou-minute nap would be great, yes, I am sure no one would…" Another yawn interrupted her. "…complain about it."
And with those words, Momoka began to slowly sink into the land of dreams.
BEEP! BEEP!
Up until a loud and irritating piping noise woke her up, that is.
"Wha-?" Her head shot up in a flash, switching in confusion among the multiple computer screens in front of her until she noticed a single red blinking dot appeared on the monitor depicting a large map of Kivotos. "Ultra-dense energy mass?" She read aloud the words flashing on the screen as if trying to understand them. "Huh? How weird. Where is that?" She inputted the coordinates, and a live recording appeared on another screen. It was a sky view, probably from a drone on an old building. She double checked the coordinates to make sure she had it right. "Isn't this… Schale? Didn't it become a den of outlaws?"
She pressed a few more keys, and the camera began moving, entering the building through a broken window. Momoka blinked twice and then rubbed her eyes in case they were somehow showing her the wrong image.
To her surprise, they weren't.
"What… what am I looking at?"
"This place truly has seen better days." Rin said, observing the sorry state of the old Schale building before her eyes.
About a year had passed since the assault on Schale from the Fox of Calamity, and the club that once stood as the president's last legacy was now on the verge of complete ruin, with only the main building still standing.
Walls cracked, windows broken an occupied by outlaws with no better place to take shelter from the rain, Schale was but a shell of its former self. Truth be told, Rin had long since deemed it irrecoverable and had abandoned all hope to ever see Schale in action, whatever its objective might have been. However, she had found herself at its doors once again due to a certain man today.
About a week had passed since she had last seen Fujimaru Ritsuka despite his promise of meeting again. She had not heard from him until that very same morning when a strange energy reading was detected in the ruins of Schale, followed by pictures of a strange man coming and going inside the ruined building.
Normally, a Valkyrie squadron would be needed to even navigate through the outskirts, but most gangs seemed to have mysteriously disappeared from the area in the last two to three days. Thanks to that, she was now able to be here, meditating about her next course of action.
"What are you doing here? How do you even know about this place?" Rin muttered to herself. Curiosity had won her over, and against her better judgment, she had decided to pay him a visit. She didn't know anything about him, but that was all the more reason to come. Her investigations hadn't turned out completely empty, but the very few leads she did get had proven dead ends, leaving the only real outcome to come for answers herself. There was all that and…
"We could use a teacher, but…" She couldn't put it into words. It wasn't that there was something specifically bad about him; he seemed like a normal person aside from suddenly intruding in her office and invading ruined buildings.
But something was telling her that there was more to it, something that unnerved her.
"No use overthinking it." Rin shook her head and finally decided to enter the building.
Even if that man was or wasn't going to become their 'sensei', she still had a lot of questions for him, and she was ready to get as much information as possible.
But she wasn't quite ready for what she saw.
Contrary to the deteriorated and decrepit façade on the outside, the main entrance seemed to be undergoing some kind of remodeling, platforms, hoses, wires, paint cans and all kind of tools were scattered around. The walls appeared to be recently repainted, and the floor was covered with hundreds of old newspapers to avoid paint stains. Rin's eyes scouted around the reception as she walked in, careful not to get herself dirty. Her high heels clicked as she moved on, and eventually turned her gaze to a corner, where she saw a single person.
"Yo, Rin!" Fujimaru Ritsuka greeted her with a sunny smile from atop a ladder, clad in dirty overalls and with a paint roller in his hand.
In contrast to his cheerful greeting, Rin wasn't smiling.
"I am sorry that I can't offer you more than this." Fujimaru said as he placed a glass of water on a table before Rin. "I have been busy."
"So it seems." The acting president of the GSC looked around the nearly empty office room. There were just a couple of chairs, with a table between them, and a desk, but it was in fact clean, and in a better condition than she had expected. Had he fixed this place first? "It must have taken quite some time to clean all of this."
"Not enough to finish, sadly." Fujimaru casually sat in front of her. "Truth be told, I wanted to surprise you."
"…surprise me?"
"This was the building that used to house the last club created by the president, Schale, wasn't it? I thought that you would be happy seeing it restored to its former glory." He chuckled. "Turns out I underestimated how much work is needed to remodel a building."
"Is that so?" Rin gaze pierced him. "I hope you didn't do this thinking that it might affect my evaluation of you."
Ritsuka gave her a knowing smile.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Very much so."
He laughed.
"Well, did it help or not?"
"It's unorthodox, and most wouldn't go this far just to get hired by the General Student Council." Especially when it had lost most of its power, but Rin purposely didn't add that part. "But I can recognize your efforts."
"Then, have you thought about my proposal?" The man leaned forward expectantly.
She had, but was still undecided. While her early impression hadn't been a very positive one, seeing him again in such cheery spirits and unassumingly almost made her forget that eerie feeling he gave her. Almost.
"Let me ask you a few questions first." At the very least, it was clear that he really wanted the job. The question was why. "Think of it as a job interview."
"Of course." He said, seemingly at ease.
"Alright then." Rin took a small device from her pocket and put it on the table. A blue light emitted from it and projected a holographic keyboard in front of her. "Let's start with something simple." She adjusted her glasses and placed her fingers on the keyboard. "Full name?"
"Fujimaru Ritsuka."
Rin typed at surprising speed and followed up with the next question.
"Age?"
"…"
Silence. The man didn't answer immediately despite being asked such a basic question.
"How old do I look like?"
"You are answering my question with another question." Rin retorted.
"Hmm." He still hadn't answered. Was it really that difficult for him to say his age? "I am around my twenties…maybe twenty-one? Yes, let's go with that."
Rin's stone-cold gaze moved to the keyboard as she typed 'Age: Unknown.'
"Marital Status?" She continued, regardless.
"Single."
"Previous work experience?"
"Six months as a combat instructor."
Rin raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of combat instruction?"
"CQC, mostly. Though you can add gun safety as well."
"Hmm." Rin nodded. "Why do you want to work as a teacher in Kivotos?" She asked the pressing question as naturally as she could.
He didn't answer again, though this time he seemed to be thinking through his answer carefully. He wordlessly got up from his chair and walked towards the restored window. He stood at the edge for a moment, gazing upon the city.
"As I told you, I was already teaching a group of students. It wasn't something that I initially chose. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that the job fell on my lap one day, and I couldn't just refuse it." So he said, but there wasn't an iota of bitterness in his voice. "In spite of that, it grew on me. Passing my knowledge to the next generation felt unexpectedly cathartic. I enjoyed it a lot more than I first thought I would." He turned towards Rin again. "But then the assault on Trinity happened, and that girl was murdered."
"Yurizono Seia…" There was a deep grief in Rin's words as she spoke that name. "The conflict between Arius and Trinity comes from long before our generation. The Arius district had rejected the GSC's support even before the president's disappearance, but no one knew what they were capable of until it was too late."
The death of Yurizono Seia kickstarted the current reclusive state of Trinity. No person unrelated to Trinity could enter their district. Even Rin had been denied access when she tried to visit them in person.
"I couldn't remain passive after that. I didn't want to be someone that taught kids how to kill each other better, that's not…the legacy I wanted to leave behind." His words felt heavy, as if it was difficult for him to say them. "That's the reason I came to you, Rin."
Then, all of a sudden, the man bowed his head to Rin almost at ninety degrees.
"Please let me be someone that can bring hope to my students." He begged her. There was passion in his voice. "I can teach anything you ask me to as long as it helps to avoid another tragedy."
"P-please raise your head, Fujimaru." Rin was utterly unprepared for that sudden gesture. "You don't have to do that. I understand your feelings but..." She lowered her gaze. "The reality is that the General Student Council is not in the best position right now, in fact, we are struggling even to keep ourselves afloat, and we really can't offer you anything in exchange for your services."
"In that case, may I take this building?"
"Pardon?"
"I have already started working on it, but there is still much work to be done. We still need to finish cleaning and disposing of the debris, check and redo the wiring for all the power in the building, and to furnish most of the rooms. If you allow me to, I want to finish fixing this building and make it my workplace."
To see Schale back to its former glory, that would have been a dream come true to Rin.
"That can be arranged, but are you sure? That sounds more like you are helping the GSC than the other way around." Rin admitted. "And once you are part of us, you will be bombarded with requests from every school in Kivotos. Are you sure you are ready for such a workload?"
"I work hard, don't worry about me." He reassured her. "Besides, aren't you a student as well? What I said includes you as well." He gave her a warm smile. "I don't claim to know your feelings exactly, but I too had been in a position where I felt that the entire world was on my shoulders." His words gave off a mysterious feeling, something far removed from his apparent age. "So please, allow me to share some of that burden, Rin."
He extended his hand.
Rin stared at it for a moment. The man in front of her seemed like a completely different person from the one she met in her office a few days ago. She still didn't know where he came from, but his eyes… she could feel in her that his feelings were entirely genuine.
"Yes." She took his hand firmly. "Welcome aboard, Sensei."
"F-forty cups-Sorry! I mean, f-four cups of noodles!" The girl behind the counter trembled as her shaking hands scanned each one of the cups with a barcode scanner. "T-that'll be o-one thousand and sixty yen…please." She stuttered while refusing to look at her only client.
Ritsuka was beginning to worry.
Was there something about his face that scared children? Perhaps it was his gaze even though he wasn't particularly angry? Or was it because men were rare in Kivotos? He didn't understand, but it was starting to get troubling. He would never be able to teach anything to his future students if they were scared shitless of him.
At least, not what he wanted to teach them.
He was opening his wallet to get the money to pay for the noodles when he got an idea.
He took two five-hundred-yen coins from his wallet and raised them in front of the girl, eliciting a confused stare, only to suddenly throw them in the air.
"Waa-" The girl gasped in surprise, but Ritsuka wasn't done.
While the coins were still in the air, he raised both hands to show her that there was nothing in them and then caught both coins as they were falling in a single clap that seemed to startle her even more.
But when he separated his hands, the coins were nowhere to be found, and in their place was a one hundred yen note.
"For you." He said as he presented the money to the small girl.
"Ah…" The clerk slowly moved to take the note. "Thanks, but…"Her expression alternated between bewilderment and embarrassment. "This is…huh…not enough."
"You are right, how careless." Ritsuka gave her an apologetic smile. "The rest is here." He then brought a hand behind the girl's right ear to take two more fifty-yen coins and drop them in her hands.
"…"
So many different emotions must have been going through the girl's head because she froze in place with the money resting on the palms of her hands. At least she didn't seem that terrified of him anymore, so that was a win in Ritsuka's book.
Having finished his improvised magic trick, Ritsuka took the bag with the cup of noodles and began to leave.
"W-wait!" The girl reacted just as he was crossing the automatic doors. "Mister, your change!"
"You can keep it." Ritsuka just waved his hand as he walked out of 'Angel 24'. The store was pretty close to the Schale building. It was better if he got along with the clerk, as he was probably going to come back regularly.
Also, he may or may not have been a bit hurt that small children were scared just by seeing his face.
"Should I wear a mask like Hassan?" He entertained the idea of going around jumping between rooftops clad in a dark cape and a skull mask. "While cool, I don't think that would help my public image."
He skulked through dark alleyways and stopped walking at seemingly random places at irregular intervals, crossed highways only to turn back and retrace his steps. Every move he took appeared to belong to someone lost.
"Alright, seems like no one is following." But he wasn't.
Having made sure no one was tailing him, he turned once more and moved onto his real destination.
Kivotos always had an active criminal side; an entire district supported entirely by an organized black market existed even before the president's disappearance, and while it was previously kept under wraps due to the Valkyrie police interference, it had long since expanded to new areas employing anyone that wanted to operate outside the law, having become far easier to commit crimes without interference after the GSC's loss of the Sanctum Tower.
In one such abandoned district, away from the prying eyes of Valkyrie was a certain abandoned house, old but not decrepit, farther away from the most contended areas among those that wanted to live hidden, so much so that getting everyday necessities like electricity and water proved to be a challenge.
In front of that house was now Ritsuka.
He felt a slight change in the air as he crossed the bounded field he had previously set around the house before taking a key out of his pocket and opening the door.
He was only welcomed by darkness however, all the lights in the house appeared to be turned off. Ritsuka released a deep sigh.
"Were the fuses stolen again…?" He muttered as he entered the house. For a while only his steps on the ceramic floor could be heard as he walked in the dark, feeling around the wall until his hand found a switch.
Two 'clicks' reached his ears the moment the lights were turned on. One belonged to the switch, while the other to the assault rifle that was being pointed at his forehead.
A girl was holding the gun. She wore a blue cap that did nothing to hide her long black hair, or its navy blue streaks. A long white coat loosely hung from her shoulders, not at all covering the dark blue sleeveless crop top and blue leggings under it.
Her pale eyes, of a piercing shade of bluish gray-the same color as her cross-shaped halo floating above her head, bore a hole in Ritsuka's forehead.
"Have you done it?" She asked coldly.
"I did, Rin just gave me the okay. As of today, I am a teacher employed by the General Student Council." Ritsuka answered calmly. "Though they don't seem as useful as we first thought, not even the acting president could enter Trinity. Seems like infiltrating that school will take more time."
The gunslinger didn't answer, though her gaze showed a degree of disappointment.
Ritsuka slowly raised his right hand.
"Also, I brought food." He said, showing the woman the bag with the cup of noodles. "You hungry, Saori?"
Saori sighed and lowered her gun.
"You didn't have to. We can't pay you right now."
"Let me treat you this time. It's not like it's anything fancy anyway." He moved towards the small kitchen in the house and opened the fridge. It was full of nothing but water bottles. "You are eating, right?"
"We are, don't look at me like that." Saori shrugged. "We just eat the food the moment we get it. No use storing it."
Ritsuka grimaced.
"Next time, I am bringing something to cook, even my crappy cuisine is better than always eating store food." He made some space and put the cup of noodles in the fridge. "Where are the rest anyway?"
"Misaki still hasn't returned from her day job yet, and Hiyori said something about hunting for old magazines."
"Is that so…?" Ritsuka's eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for a certain someone. "What about Ma-?"
"Atsuko is out in the backyard." Saori interrupted him. "She has been waiting for you for a while, so you better not make the princess wait."
"Did something happen?"
"See for yourself." Saori said, not giving him much detail to work with.
"Alright." Fujimaru closed the fridge and walked towards the sliding glass door at the back of the house but stopped just before putting his hand on the handle. "Saori."
"Hmm?"
"I will have to stay in Schale from now on. There is much work to be done if we are to get access to Trinity." He turned to look at her, his gaze more serious than usual. "I don't think I can come as often, so I'll be leaving things to you, okay?"
For a second, Saori didn't answer.
"Do you what you must." She said simply, not bothering to look at Ritsuka. "We'll be fine on our own. It was always like that before you came, after all."
"I know." Ritsuka wanted to tell her that they weren't alone anymore, but he knew Saori didn't need that kind of patronizing. They had survived without him before he entered their lives, and they will continue to do so after he disappears. "What I am trying to say is that I can follow my orders because I know you are here for her, Saori." He made a meaningful pause. "I wouldn't trust that to anyone but you."
Saori didn't answer, and Ritsuka didn't need a response. In the six months they had spent together, they had learned that sometimes words weren't necessary.
Both of them wanted the same thing, after all.
Ritsuka stepped out into the backyard to see a lone girl kneeling on the garden soil. Though 'garden' was probably too big of a word for a backyard that was almost completely bare aside from normal-looking grass and a few small plots of plowed land.
Despite that, the hooded girl seemed to be focused on something, as she didn't notice Ritsuka even when he approached her.
"Good morning." He said, despite it being quite late in the night.
The girl raised her head upon hearing his voice and stood to face Ritsuka. Like Saori, she wore a white coat over a white dress accompanied by a breastplate with a skull and the name 'Arius' emblazoned on it. Her skin was pale, with long lilac hair cascading in front her, braided with pretty yellow ribbons. Her halo was a pale white in the form of an elongated cross formed by thin lines.
Behind her, Ritsuka could see what she had been looking at. There was a single immature flower peaking from the brown soil, its light blue petals not yet fully opened.
"Good morning." She said, despite her seemly neutral expression, her red eyes felt serene. "Welcome back, Assassin."
The girl's hands were dirty from working in the garden, but even with it marring them, three red marks forming a three-shaped star shone in the moonlight.
Ritsuka kneeled on the soil, and bowed his head towards the girl, towards one Hakari Atsuko.
"I am glad to be back, Master."
END OF CHAPTER 1