Well, okay, now that Duke took a closer look at them, calling them 'demons' was fucked up; they were only demons in the sense that they were the cutest devil-themed girls he'd ever seen. If one ignored the fact that they were heavily armed, of course, but Duke was starting to realize that there was some weird culture of guns actually making you look hotter, like some sort of violent mating display.
Fuckin' weird, man.
"Hey there, folks," Duke casually remarked, adjusting his shades and putting a hand in his pocket. "What brings ya to Schale today?"
The group looked to one girl, her long white hair framed by a dark purple halo and a crown of horns that just screamed 'demon queen'. Her uniform, framed by a large coat almost double her width and adorned with medals, was militaristic yet refined and gave off a sense of power that Duke carefully acknowledged.
Her eyes closed, she took a gentle sip from her tea before setting it down onto a small plate, which was almost immediately collected by a girl in a blue uniform with the most obscene side cutouts he had witnessed. In his younger days he probably wouldn't have been able to resist ogling, but now he just silently prayed that the girl discovered what a working shirt was. Standing behind the sofa was a dark-skinned girl with grey hair in a different uniform who scowled at him and a blonde-haired elf-eared girl who wore her own conservative outfit, sending him a polite smile that he acknowledged with his own.
The girl's eyes opened, looking up. And up. And up.
Holy shit was she tiny. And deadly, given that big fuckoff MG42 strapped to her back, but really fuckin' short.
"Good day to you, Sensei. I hope we are not intruding on important business...?"
Miniature, even.
"All good," Duke shook his head. "Students are my important business."
"I see," Hina gave him a tiny nod, her expression remaining as frigid as ever. "I'm glad to hear it. I am Sorasaki Hina of Gehenna, leader of the Prefect Team. A pleasure to meet you."
...
Holy shit.
"...Sensei, are you well?"
Holy shit.
Hinature.
Duke nodded, face carefully set in stone even as Arona laughed herself to tears. "Sorry there, Hina. Was just crunchin' the numbers in my head, if ya catch my drift, wondering why someone as...fierce as you would travel over to humble ol' Schale."
Hina blinked, caught off guard by Duke's casual, way of speaking. Sure she'd seen the videos, but she had figured adults, especially the lauded Sensei of Schale, to be something more... inscrutable. Perhaps that would make the next proceedings easier.
"We're here for those troublemakers, Problem Solvers 68," the grey-haired girl sigh, brows furrowing as if the mere thought of the ragtag group was enough to ruin her day. "Rumor has it that those morons were holed up here in Schale, so we're here to pick them up. Interfere, and we'll simply move past you."
Hina's eyebrow twitched, and she was about to politely remind Iori of her place before Duke took a step forward.
One step forward that echoed around the room.
"Well, ain't this a treat. Alright," Duke responded, casual stance at odds with the sense of primal danger that seemed to radiate off the man that managed to make everyone but Hina tense up. That it was ridiculous for a man without a halo to make them do it on instinct registered only faintly in the back of their minds. "First off, don't call students from the same academy as you 'morons'. That's rude, kid."
"K-Kid?! You-"
"Did I say," Duke cut her off, voice a notch louder now. "That I was done talkin'?"
Iori flinched, face turning a shade of humiliated scarlet and shooting an incredulous look at Hina. Clearly, she wanted her leader to say something in her defense. Unfortunately enough, Hina only looked upon the unfolding lecture with both intrigue and a hint of surprise.
"You come into Schale, you talk to your fellow students like you're equals," Duke crossed his arms and stood tall, towering over the Prefect Team. "And you talk to me with the respect I deserve. Capiche?"
"...Y-You, I..." Iori sputtered, casting wild looks at her fellow Prefect Team members and getting nothing in response. Ako looked vaguely disinterested, Chinatsu couldn't look her in the eye, and Hina simply raised a brow that said that this was her doing.
Her fault.
"This is ridiculous!" the field captain shouted, anger and embarrassment fueling the tears pricking at the edge of her eyes. Duke fought to keep his discomfort from showing on his face. "This is an execution of official duties, the hell do we have to explain it you?! And anyone who interferes with official duties is an enemy, that's the rules!"
Sensei sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Official duties. Outside 'a Gehenna, in a neutral district. Look, ki- uh..."
"I-Iori," Chinatsu squeaked, obviously not excited to have the intimidating Sensei's attention on her. "Shiromi Iori."
"Chinatsu!"
"Iori. Listen. It feels good when you're the biggest badass on the block, right? You can say whatever ya want, do whatever ya want," Duke walked towards her, passing Hina without a glance. "And hurt as many people as ya want, too. I get it, I've...I've been there."
"They are delinquents! Don't pull that shit on me, they'll never learn! The fuck do I care if we throw the lot of them in jail, we are the ones who keep the order!" Iori's voice cracked as she stomped towards Duke, dangerously close to crying as she bared her teeth at him. First this damn Sensei starts lecturing her on how to get along with the deadbeats of all people, then the rest of the Prefect Team just leaves her to get roasted like this, and then even fucking Hina just sits back and lets it happen! What the fuck?! How was this fair?!
"Hm."
Iori glared viciously at Ako, who had turned away with a hand covering her mouth. That fucking prick!
"No, Iori, listen," Duke sighed again, having not heard her. "I ain't talking about them right now. You come into my building, okay? You come into my damn building and you threaten me. And then - now we talk about them - you threaten operatives under my authority."
"...No," Iori croaked, fury giving way to disbelief and despair. It made him feel like absolute shit. "Bullshit, no, you can't be serious...!"
"I damn well am," Duke shrugged, looking around and taking a quick note of every member of the Prefect Team. Ako had clicked her tongue quietly as if it were a minor annoyance, Chinatsu really looked like she didn't want to be here anymore, and even Hina's brows furrowed at the complication.
"Every member 'a Problem Solvers is a member of Schale. That means they're under my protection, with all the power vested in me by the former President 'a the GSC with the backing of the current acting president. You say you're here to pick 'em up and deport their asses to Gehenna so it counts as 'official duties'?" Duke looked her right in eyes. "Nope, you're not. If you want to try and move me outta the way, keep walkin'."
Iori, at this point, had nothing.
Her team had betrayed her, and she could hear that smug bitch Ako giggling about it behind her damn hand. Then this asshole just pulls some bullshit card out of his back pocket and completely invalidated the reason they came out here, so she's here getting put on blast for NO REASON. He condescends to her about how she was wrong for following orders. And then he caps the whole thing off by challenging her to a fight that she knows she can't win because then she'd get the Prefect Team in trouble because of course she would it's all her fault like it normally fucking is according to Ako and they'd just throw her to the dogs again because FUCK IORI RIGHT-
"Oh," Duke breathes, hands hovering around Iori's shoulders as fat tears begin to roll out of her eyes. Taking a panicked look behind him, he finds that Ako simply rolls her eyes and shakes her head, Chinatsu is looking absolutely miserable wringing her hands, and even Hina is staring at the two with some measure of shock and guilt in her purple eyes.
He gets the feeling that the leader of the Prefect Team had some sort of plan in mind, and contributing to the mental breakdown of her subordinate clearly was not fucking part of it.
Iori, as Duke finds out, is not a dramatic crier. Not a lot of people are, the movies just like to portray them like that for profit-driven emotional impact. She cries quietly, as quietly as she can, so nobody can hear her. Her fists are balled and shaking, she tries her absolute best to hold back anything that isn't a shuddering huff or a small whine, and she refuses to look anyone in the eye with a desperate amount of energy. It's a gut-wrenching experience, and Duke sits there knowing that it's all his fault.
Y-You...you really couldn't do anything about it, Sensei! Arona's voice, nervous and tinny, rings out in his mind. You weren't wrong in what you said, per se, b-but...maybe there's something going on with Iori or the Prefect Team that runs way deeper than we know...
I...sure, Duke mentally agreed. But maybe if I was more...gentle. Or something. I don't fucking know, anything! I'm the adult here, I gotta take care of these kids!
And sometimes you have to hurt them to help them, Arona responded sadly. You're not planning on just leaving her like this, right?
Of course not.
"Hey, Iori?" Duke started softly, getting down on a knee so that he was at eye-level with the girl. She still absolutely refused to look at him, staring down at her boots as tears dribbled down her cheeks and onto the tile. "I'm sorry."
Schale remained distressingly quiet, and after listening to a couple more seconds of Iori's crying Duke continued.
"I didn't mean to make you cry. I was tryin' to impart a lesson on to ya...but I fucked up. You were doin' what you're supposed to do, your job, and I shoulda respected that a little more. Heh, ah, my wife said I always did a shitty job tryin' to be gentle..."
"...Who would marry you?" Iori rasped, trying to reflect her hurt back onto him. Duke sadly laughed and scratched his head, completely unphased by the attempt.
"Dunno. She had to have a couple of screws loose or the patience 'a God to marry some hopeless, washed-up asshole like me that takes a random job offer and makes girls cry. But she's gone now, gone somewhere I can't follow her to just yet, so I've gotta try 'n do all this myself. So, Iori..."
Duke reached for his breast pocket and pulled out the handkerchief that normally adorned it. It was mostly for decoration, really, but it was fully functional regardless. "You don't gotta forgive me right away. Maybe ya won't ever, and that's...well, that's somethin' I gotta live with. But I wanna teach you lessons that you need ta know."
He extended the blue handkerchief out to Iori, whose eyes flicked up to stare at it like it was made of lava. "And I'm sorry I hurt ya in the process. I don't want to be that kind 'a man."
Iori took in his words. Let them roll around in her head a bit. And slowly took the handkerchief from him with shaking hands. However, she didn't use it.
"I-I...I don't want some apology from you."
"...Who do you want it from?"
Iori, for the first time since she began crying, looked directly up at her team members...before settling straight on Amau Ako, who startled at the laser-focused rage in the girl's eyes. Chinatsu and Hina looked between them, clearly unsettled.
"Well, not what I expected today to be like...or what any of you did, for that matter," Duke sighed and got up, putting a gentle hand on Iori's shoulder. The girl flinched, but ever so slightly relaxed when she realized that it was a show of support rather than condemnation. "But I think a long-overdue discussion between the Prefect Team is in order, eh?"
"Oh man that was such a good job!" Mutsuki cheered and twirled as Problem Solvers 68 ambled down the sidewalk, cheery mood amplified by the beautiful sunset.
"Yes, indeed! Fantastic work shooting out the lights, Kayoko, it was just the distraction we needed!" Aru tittered, strides bold and confident as she basked in another great success.
"Yeah, yeah, no need to make a big deal out of it," the girl muttered, unable to hide a small smile of her own. "We should thank Haruka for keeping the reinforcements off our back. That was some good work."
"Oh, well...y-you're all precious to me, so..."
"D'awww, you lil' charmer!" Mutsuki cooed, hugging the youngest member and swinging her around. "I just wanna pinch your little purple cheeks!"
"My cheeks are purple?!"
Aru playfully rolled her eyes as she soaked in the banter. Ever since they had moved in with Duke-sensei, everything just seemed to be going right. Whether it was from the bountiful supplies they were able to access, the study materials Duke-sensei regularly procured for them (they had an idea for a gift in mind, all they needed was time and gift wrap), or the three square meals they were able to enjoy every day, Problem Solvers 68 had gone from laughing stock to big name players almost overnight.
Their team cohesion was also never better, amazingly enough. They were close friends before, and of course they worked great together, but after Duke-sensei helped them out, they were like family. Haruka was just a pinch calmer and happier (she's improving every day!), Kayoko was coming out of her shell, and even Mutsuki was being a lot more physically affectionate with them recently. And that just made Aru giddy whenever she woke up in the morning, kind of understanding why Sensei was the way he was.
So when she stylishly pushed open the glass doors of Schale, of home, ready to announce the return of PS68 to their dear Duke-sensei, she completely froze on the spot with a muffled squeal as she beheld the Prefect Team. On their sofas. With Sensei! Looking completely, heartbreakingly miserable while arguing amongst themselves!
...
Wait, what?
"T-That's-! President Hina, you have to believe me!" Ako sputtered, a panicked look in her eyes as she desperately waved her hands. "I had no intention of- of- hurting our dear Iori like that! I have no clue w-what 'gaslighting' even is! I, well, I-"
"Ako," Hina grunted, "enough. I apologize, Iori, please continue whenever you wish."
...She sounded exhausted. Chairwoman Sorasaki Hina, sounding beaten and tired and sad as Duke-sensei looked on with Field Captain Iori by his side. An Iori that looked outraged and vindicated and just as sad as Hina did, clutching a blue handkerchief with shaking hands.
She- had Iori been crying?
Quickly looking behind her, Aru found that the rest of PS68 was just as frozen silent as she was, alternating between looking at the heated discussion and looking to Aru for their next move. What they were witnessing was an alien world, completely unknown to them and almost completely incomprehensible. The Prefect Team was perfect, everyone in Gehenna knew that. They kept the law in a lawless land, they worked together like a perfectly oiled machine, and nobody could break them.
Nobody but themselves, it seemed.
Aru was just about to slip away, herding her team away from the door, before Duke-sensei cleared his throat very loudly and very deliberately.
"I know that was you, kids. Come on in, we're...you're not in trouble."
Oh shit.
Even Duke-sensei sounded exhausted...the Problem Solvers squad looked amongst each other uncertainly. It took Kayoko gently shoving past them and entering the threshold to get them to move, and although Aru felt herself quivering, she moved within the light of the doorway to stand beside her employee, staring at the haggard Prefect Team and Sensei.
"...Hey," Kayoko began, nodding to each of them as the rest of Problem Solvers gave their own lukewarm greetings. She found that she couldn't really blame them for being a bit timid; the Prefect Team had a (justified) rep in Gehenna as being the group you did not fuck with. If they were coming after you, you were getting the shit beaten out of you and the book thrown at you. You were done, end of story.
That Problem Solvers were able to run from them for so long was a goddamn miracle. Miracles never lasted, Kayoko knew that by heart.
But what Kayoko didn't know was that the Prefect Team could look like this. Frayed. Tired. Human. The oldest member of PS68 coolly swept her gaze across the assembled group and found nothing of the old Prefect Team. It was tragic, not surprising.
"Hate to interrupt your...conversation," Kayoko began carefully, keeping her usual monotone. "But I think I can piece together why you're all here. Or rather..."
Iori looked at her with the dulled embers of what was once rage along with quiet resignation. Hina didn't even bother, staring down tiredly at her hands. Chinatsu...well...she never did look intimidating. Didn't need to. But she just looked pathetic now.
"...Why you were here. Sensei, is everything alright?"
"No, well, hoo..." Duke-sensei sighed heavily, sagging like he actually was the older man he claimed to be. "We were just having a...discussion...about some issues going on between the Prefect Team. Look, if you kids could just go to yer rooms, I'll-"
"Kayoko."
She looked to Hina, who pulled her gaze up from her hands to look her straight in the eyes.
"To rule by strength and fear...how long would you say a system like that would last?"
Despite everything, Kayoko swallowed a lump in her throat. The answer she gave now had the chance, no matter how small it may be, to shake the foundations of Gehenna as she knew it.
"Please, old friend."
"I..." Kayoko sighed, weathering the surprised stares her club members were giving her. Later, she'd deal with it later. "I think...it works. But it won't last forever. A cycle of the strong stomping the weak, and the strong eventually becoming the weak...you get where I'm going with this, right? You're doing good."
Kayoko once again locked eyes with the Prefect Team. "But the list of punks and bastards who want you all beaten and broken? It's getting longer and longer every day. Whatever's going on isn't any of my business anymore, I'm just an employee and Aru's my boss..."
Kayoko rolled her eyes as Aru hissed 'not me, not me, don't bring me into this!' out of the side of her mouth.
"...But I really recommend talking it out. If not for your sakes, then everyone else's. Who knows?"
She gave them a grin, letting all those twisted emotions in her heart play out across her face. It wasn't the time. It wasn't the place. But they had history.
She wasn't going to let them fucking forget it.
"Maybe you lot can become something resembling friends."
As he pictured Aroma gaping like a fish in his mind, Duke came to terms with the idea that this situation was very, very, complicated.
First, he was dual-wielding therapist and mediator to a limited amount of success. Ako and Iori unsurprisingly hated the shit out of one another and made it clear this meeting, poor Chinatsu was completely in the dark about any of this and was nearly inconsolable when she found out that she was unwittingly sitting back and just letting her team fester, and Hina...
Hina was negligent at best and willfully ignorant at worst over the whole thing, reasoning that it was something of an inter-member rivalry and being done with it. Being the leader of a peacekeeping force in a district like Gehenna was a near round-the-clock job, not helped by the needless harassment her bosses heaped onto her, and Hina was just too tired at the end of the day to look further into things that weren't immediately on the radar. This was just as much a failure on her part, she had quietly admitted to a stunned Prefect Team, and Duke had honestly thought he'd deal with two crying girls today.
And now there was one more dimension added to the mix that he never expected: his lil' Kayoko, who had her own beef with the Prefect Team that seemingly went way back. Wonderful.
Duke sighed and clapped his hands, shouldering the burden of all eyes on him. "We've clearly got a lot ta talk about. However, it's late-"
The Prefect Team sluggishly looked towards the window, the sun dipping below the horizon to paint their world a ruddy red and purple.
"- you're all exhausted as hell, and...well...we all got some things off our chest today that we need ta think over, yeah?"
The Prefect Team sans Ako nodded weakly. Problem Solvers 68, awkwardly milling about the other end of the room, tried their best not to glance too much at how meek they were all being.
"We got more than enough guest rooms, if you all want to stay the night."
"No, that's..." Hina sighed, rubbing her face with a gloved hand. "That's quite alright. We're needed back in Gehenna, those dirty raccoons calling themselves the Pandemonium Society will doubtlessly notice if we are gone for too long. Sensei, would you mind if we used your helipad to...?"
"Go ahead," Duke shrugged.
Muttering her thanks, Hina got up on unsteady feet and ambled away, sliding her phone out of her pocket with practiced ease and scrolling through her contacts. Thus, Schale fell into an odd quiet once more, the atmosphere near indescribable as the only sounds were the occupants' breathing and Hina's muted conversation with their pilot.
Until, surprising everyone, Igusa Haruka stepped past the invisible line separating both groups. Audibly swallowing a lump in her throat, she skittered across the room and sat on Iori's other side, sandwiching her between Duke. For a couple of seconds, Haruka did nothing but twitch as her team and some members of the Prefect Team stared uncomprehendingly at her...before turning to Iori and attempting to grin at her.
"U-Um, hi."
"...Hey."
Gaze darting away to the nearly untouched snacks on the table, Haruka took a fortifying breath and continued. "A-Are you okay...?"
"No," Iori replied lamely. "Or...yes. Maybe."
"...That, okay, that's good. I, uh...!" Haruka looked back at the Field Captain, down to the floor, and then down at her hands before jerking one of them forwards, hovering over Iori's. When the girl didn't make to flinch away or glare at her, Haruka gingerly lowered her hand to rest on Iori's.
"I-It's going to get better!" she squeaked. "I-I, um, even if it f-feels like you want to die sometimes, uh...d-don't? Because, um, it can always get better tomorrow. I-It did for, uhm, for me, a-and I'm me..."
Iori stared uncomprehendingly at the hand squeezing hers, looked up at Haruka's nervous expression, and slowly nodded.
"I don't want to...you know. I just want to do my job. But...thank you."
Letting out a relieved breath, Haruka let herself relax a bit. Neither of the two noticed Duke watching them. "N-No problem. I'm, um, Lady Aru says I'm a good listener, so...yeah, whenever..."
"...Okay."
And just like that, an understanding was reached. Problem Solvers, seeing the tentative success Haruka had achieved, were inspired to leave their corner and slowly disperse amongst the Prefect Team. Mutsuki went over and plopped herself down next to Chinatsu, Kayoko casually slid in next to Ako, and Aru hovered nervously neared the couches while shooting glances at Hina, who was still on the phone.
"Hey, Miss Four-Eyes, how're you holdin' up?" Mutsuki asked, putting a gentle hand on the girl's back to show that she was just playing around.
"...N-Not good," Chinatsu whimpered, aimlessly picking at her gloves. "Not good at all..."
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. C'mere, c'mere," the little imp cooed, pulling at Chinatsu to rest her head on her shoulder. The girl did so without a fuss after fiddling with her glasses, Mutsuki sighing as she felt her shoulder dampen. "Hey, Chinatsu. What's black, white, 'n read all over?"
"...?"
Mutsuki snorted. "Not those rags from Kronos, I'll tell ya what."
Letting out a surprised, watery bark of laughter, Chinatsu started shaking for entirely different reasons as Mutsuki began her usual routine, rocking her gently all the while. Meanwhile, Ako and Kayoko simply sat together, neither looking at the other for as long as they could.
"...Kayoko."
"Ako. Guess those neuroses of yours finally caught up, huh?"
"I don't want to hear that from you."
Kayoko raised a brow, thoroughly unamused. "Oh? And why ever not, dear friend?"
"You know what you did," Ako hissed venomously, and Kayoko simply laughed and looked away from her again, clearly not intimidated in the slightest.
"Sure. What I did. I didn't cause all of this."
Ako sharply inhaled, turning to Kayoko again before realizing that the other girl was simply uninterested in whatever she had to say next. And so, Ako settled back against her seat with a furious expression. She didn't need any more trouble, after all: it was more than certain that she would be having words with President Hina soon enough.
And speaking of Hina, it seemed she was done with her call, walking back towards the main group. Her wings dragging across the ground, Hina took one look at the now intertwined groups, nodded, and sat back down in her own armchair to put her face in her hands. Aru, witnessing the entire thing, looked back at everyone's quiet conversations and then at Duke-sensei, who simply smiled at her.
Do what you think is best. I'll be here.
And so, Rikuhachima Aru approached the scariest student in Gehenna like she was both a live viper and a kicked dog.
"...Are you well, Hina?"
"..." Aru gulped at the lack of reply, followed by a small inhale from Hina. "Our chopper is coming in roughly 15 minutes, high priority. We are no longer capable of...'reclaiming' you or your team, so you can relax. The Prefect Team will be out of your hair soon enough."
The boss of PS68 scratched her head. "No, I...t-that's not what I meant."
"...I am aware. No, Aru, I don't think I am."
"If...you'd like to talk about it, leader to leader," Aru began, walking over to stand at Hina's side. "I would be more than happy to help. I-If you even need me, I mean-"
"Why..." Hina began. "How...do you care about each other so much?"
"...Um?"
"We are the Prefect Team. If we do not present a united front, we will be crushed," Hina bitterly muttered, a spark of fire in her eyes. "if not by the pests nipping at our heels, then by that damnable wretch Makoto. So how..."
The spark dulled, and Hina slumped against her seat. "How did I let it come to this...? Iori and Ako...they hated each other and I..."
She scrubbed her eyes then, and Aru was suddenly struck by how foolish she was being. In Schale, every student was equal to one another, and here she was quivering in her boots like some fresh newbie taking her first job. Someone needed help, and she was too busy being afraid to give it!
This wouldn't stand! She was a hard-boiled outlaw, damnit!
"Do you care about them?"
"...?"
"Well?"
"I do," Hina admitted with little hesitation. "Iori is a bit reckless, but she's strong, straight-laced, and hardworking. Ako's loyalty is unmatched, yet marred with paranoia. She keeps my workload from becoming too demanding and sees to my needs with...fervent enthusiasm. And Chinatsu...she keeps us patched up. Her kindness is a boon that may be...wasted, on me."
"I see. Then, if I may..."
Aru straightened and pointed at Hina, the sheer bravado of the action leaving Hina flat-footed. "The first thing that comes to your mind when you think of your subordinates is their loyalty and strength! Those are all well and good," Aru crossed her arms, "but how do you interact with them as friends?"
"...Friends..."
"My employees are my everything, and I make sure to let them know it whenever I can. That's why I can trust them with my life! For example, whenever we cross an empty street, Mutsuki likes it when she's in-between me and Kayoko because we can swing her hands back and forth!"
"Hey, Aru?!" Mutsuki squawked, face turning bright red as Chinatsu laughed for the first time today. "That's- hey, s-she didn't need to know that!"
"Ohoho!" Aru chortled, clearly on a roll, and suddenly Kayoko was filled with dread. "That's not all! Sometimes, whenever Haruka feels like she disappointed me, she'll sulk around the office and refuse to meet my eye, like she's unworthy or something! Complete nonsense! The trick here is to cradle her in your arms like the precious gem that she is and say things like 'don't worry, you're doing great'!"
Iori blinked, giving the blushing girl next to her an odd look. "Is she your mom or something?"
"...No comment?"
"Ah, geez! How could I forget!" Hina got the sinking feeling that this was no longer a leader-to-leader advice session. "Always keep on top of what and when your employees eat! Sometimes when the going got really rough Kayoko would tighten her belt-"
"Boss."
"-and give her portions to us. As a leader, it tore me up inside, so I'd always splurge a little on the side to make her a sandwich with one fried egg-"
"Aru!"
-and a little ham if we could spare it, just one slice because it was already salty enough. I'd have to cut it into halves or she'd feel guilty," Aru rolled her eyes. "But she ended up eating all of it anyway, so it worked out."
Kayoko groaned, sinking into the couch cushion with the hopes that it devoured her. Ako very politely decided not to say anything in case the girl next to her decided to clap back with abyssal ferocity. That, and the idea of President Hina pampering her like that was a bit too tantalizing to discount.
"I...think I understand," Hina stated unsurely, the whirring of a helicopter now audible. "I need to be more available to my team members. How I do so may be a bit...different from your methods, but I believe we can manage. I can change," Hina closed her eyes. "And I wish to."
Aru's gaze softened as she stared at the head of the Prefect Team. Suddenly, such a title wasn't so scary anymore.
"That's good. Remember, as they have a duty to you, you have a duty to them. Give, and they will return. Even though you're strong, you'll stumble, and that's okay."
Aru smiled at her, and Hina tried to smile back. The whirring of the helicopter was louder now. "They will have your back, as long as you have their hearts. Godspeed, Sorasaki Hina."
"...Today was trying. But I suppose it was not entirely without benefit," Hina stated, bowing to all of them. "Thank you, Problem Solvers. Thank you too, Sensei. Prefect Team, let's move out. I believe I have many things I wish to say to you all."
Hina knew that this would be a long process, and all of their overarching problems still existed. But it was...nice, talking to another student like this. The old Prefect Team revered her, every other student either respected her too much or was too scared of her to even bother...and then Rikuhachima Aru and her team of misfits obtained the protection of Schale and rearranged her entire world.
She wondered if they could talk again some time.
Slowly getting up, Problem Solvers and the Prefect Team exchanged well-wishes and contact information, and Duke had the feeling that he was witnessing something extraordinary. Hugs were given and received, a blue handkerchief was gently pushed back into a certain someone's hands, and the Prefect Team's helicopter lifted off into the air and disappeared into the night.
Soon enough, it was only Problem Solvers and Duke Nukem who remained in Schale, as it had been for a week and a half. Plodding up to his office as a group, they all milled about for a second before basically collapsing on the sofa.
"What the hell even was today?" Mutsuki groaned, head lying across Kayoko's lap. "First we have a banger of a job, then we come back and see the Prefect Team here, and then we find out that they had some big fight and then we're making friends with them? Weren't we just some low-level fixer team a little while ago...?"
"Yeah. Apparently," Kayoko droned, leaning her right side into Duke's left as she idly twirled a strand of Mutsuki's hair around her finger.
"What got me was that you had history with 'em," Duke casually commented, having stretched his arms out across the back to comfortably lie back. "Were you some sorta big shot, kid?"
Kayoko sighed as everyone shot her curious glances. "I'll explain it to you all later, alright? Enough talking for today."
Duke snorted. Like she had to tell him.
"Maybe we could just...order takeout and watch a movie," Aru mumbled, her cheek pressed into Duke's right shoulder with careful consideration of her horns. "That sounds like a cool evening idea."
"A great idea as always, Lady Aru!" Haruka cheered, snugly fit into her boss' right side. "W-Would you like me to raid the DVD section? I swear they won't find me, and if they do, ehehe..."
"...You know, it's actually been a while since you offered to do something zany for us and we'd tell you no," Kayoko thoughtfully hummed. "It's almost nostalgic."
"I-I'm sorry...!"
"Hi, Sorry," Kayoko grinned at her. "How're you?"
"...Ew."
She flicked Mutsuki's forehead then, causing the girl to yelp and curl up to avoid further mistreatment. Chuckling, Duke grabbed his phone from his pocket and began searching up places that would deliver.
Idly, he wondered how the rest of Kivotos was faring.
"Well, isn't that something?"
Himari hummed into her hand as she wheeled around the Super Phenomenon Task Force club room, reading up on the latest news from across Kivotos. Kronos might have been prone to produce sensationalist dreck, but they were also on pretty much every story - including one sighting of a Gehenna helicopter picking up Gehenna's Prefect Team from Schale.
"It seems that our dear Sensei has been very busy as of late, Eimi."
"That's nice, President."
"It's a proper shame that we could not truly part ways, but I'm glad he's alright. To have the heartfelt concern of a super-genius such as I...oh, woe betide the man! I am sure he is positively guilt-ridden! How I wish I could be by his side to assuage him...ah, wait, Schale is accepting applications. I wonder..."
Himari swooned, face warming as she remembered Duke Nukem's dashing visage as he carried her to safety (conveniently ignoring the disarmed bombs, the fact that he put her down in pretty much the same spot within minutes, and then immediately conking out as soon as he turned that GSC tablet on).
"Go get 'em, President," was Eimi's dry response, face currently glued to a graph transmitting live data.
"Oh come now, Eimi, you can entertain me for just one...sec..."
Himari's eyes widened as she wheeled herself closer to the same graph her club member was staring at.
"...Do you know what this implies?" Himari physically turned to face her, no trace of her earlier ego in sight.
"I can make a couple of theories," Eimi nodded. "But I believe we should begin compiling a report right now."
"Efficient as always, Eimi. Let's get to it. Sorry, Sensei," Himari muttered, wheeling herself away and quickly clearing her desk.
"It seems that things are about to get strange very soon."
Wakamo slid through the shadows of Kivotos with deadly precision. There was but one question on her mind as she flit between buildings, staying out of light with practiced ease.
How?
How did this so-called 'Sensei' save Schale?! He was one man! One man against an army! One man against a tank! How? How?! HOW DID THEY WIN?!
Her bombs were meticulously crafted to be incredibly difficult to disarm once activated! One wrong move and the entire building would have been up in smoke and flame!
...
...
The answer had hit Wakamo like a bullet to the skull.
AKEBOSHI HIMARI.
That pest! That absolute insufferable bitch had ruined her plans in return for what? Not entertaining her inane babbling?! She really was that desperate for companionship, it was laughable! She almost felt like rampaging through Millennium just to get her hands on that scrawny neck of hers and wring it until breath had left her body! It'd been a glorious thought, sending shivers down her body that refused to abate-
(I hope your destruction-)
(NO)
(STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT)
(GET OUT OF MY HEAD)
(-happiness at last.)
Snarling, Wakamo slammed her fist into the side of her current cover, cracking the brick. She had a target, there was no need to complicate things just yet.
Schale was in view, and Wakamo could not help but bare her fangs in a wild grin.
The Fox of Calamity hated loose ends.
Elsewhere, deep where even the light of the moon struggled to reach, a princess wept silently.
Every day it was getting tougher to breathe. She was kept pure, but her hands were stained regardless.
Her dear knights were frayed, crumbling apart in her hands and there was nothing she could do.
She who disowned her heart, giving up a better tomorrow for today's cruelty. Oh, how the princess wished she could gently grasp her hands and give her back the hope she once had.
She who had lost her will to live, held together by bloodied gauze and empty promises of 'someday'. Oh, how the princess wished she could fill her with sunlight.
She who only knew pain, who slept and woke with tears rolling down her cheeks. Oh, how the princess wished she could soothe her soul and take her pain.
And she who held onto a vain scrap of hope, who agreed to a plan that would ruin the light in her eyes if only for them. Oh, how the princess wished she could save her from her fate.
But she could not.
She could not because she was weak.
She could not because they would give everything for her, including their lives.
She could not because she was 'chosen'.
But she could always choose. She was just too scared to do so before. But what is death in the face of freedom? Is sacrifice taboo if you do so for the ones you love?
There was an adult out there. An adult who fought for students, who roared and fought and ripped and tore and was invincible. He could do it. He could save them. Even if she had to die, he'd save them, and that was enough.
And so, driven by desperation, the princess writes a letter. It is hasty, rough, and sullied by more than a few tears staining the torn scrap, but it will do. She gives it to a trusted courier, a girl who has similar dreams of freedom as her and the Squad, and sends her off after a fiery distraction draws Her eyes.
The die is cast. The princess can wait no longer. She wants freedom for her and her own, wants it so badly that she bites her lip so hard it bleeds.
Your move, Sensei.