I can no longer look at Rin without thinking of macaroni.
A long time ago, years before heroin hijacked his life, Jasper and his buds planned a week-long trip to Las Vegas after the last guy in their friend group reached the golden age of twenty-one. Gambling, strippers, and all the outrageously overpriced drinks they could stomach – what wasn't there to like? Sin City, USA promised to be the best vacation of their young lives. They'd booked their hotel and made the early morning drive to the nearest airport to catch their flight.
Jasper learned something new about himself that day. Truth be told, if he'd known beforehand that he had severe aerophobia, he would've bailed on the whole trip.
He couldn't precisely pinpoint what it was about flying that sent him into panic mode. Most likely the realization that he was trapped inside a cramped, airborne space with no means of escape – where the slightest malfunction could end with him blown up or reduced to a red smear on the surface – didn't kick in until they lifted off the runway.
Whatever the reason was, it didn't change the fact that he'd spent the majority of the flight crying more than the omnipresent fussy baby. At least the kid tuckered itself out after a while; Jasper was inconsolable until the group reached their taxi. His friends made sure to get him properly stoned before the return trip, otherwise he would've traveled home on foot.
Cruising through the midwestern skies had been, without question, the scariest fucking experience of his entire life, and he'd sworn nothing else could ever compare to that level of terror.
He'd been wrong. The helicopter ride to Schale was worse. Much, much worse.
"RPG! RPG!"
"Pilot, bank left!"
Jasper kept his eyes tightly shut, biting his tongue and fighting back the urge to scream as his center of gravity suddenly flipped diagonally. He heard a hissing whoosh over the background cacophony; the rocket-propelled grenade sailing harmlessly past their bird. He wasn't sure how close it came to blowing them out of the sky and he didn't dare ask.
Two of his new students wasted no time returning fire; the steady, semi-automatic crack, crack, crack of Suzumi's assault rifle periodically drowned out by the massive bang of Hasumi's bolt-action.
The gunshots made him wince in pain. Too loud. He would've covered his ears, except his fingers refused to let go of their white-knuckled grip on his harness.
Oh yeah, did he forget to mention the helicopter Momoka provided came with no weapons, armor, or side doors? The stripped-down piece of shit was more exposed than a naked clown in the middle of the Mojave. One lucky shot from an anti-materiel rifle and they were toast.
At least Yuuka had enough common sense to realize how much danger they were in. The Millennium student was currently on a video call with Rin, and he singled out her nervous question through the din of combat: "Um, Vice President? Not that I'm ungrateful for the ride, but isn't the MH-6 a little… barebones?"
"Speed is of the essence here, Miss Hayase," he heard Rin's firm reply from the tablet's speakers. "Reaching the Schale building is our main objective; we can't afford to waste time engaging every random miscreant we run into."
Yuuka huffed. "What do you mean, 'we'? You're nice and safe back at the Sanctum Tower!"
Yeah, the politician stayed behind while he and the girls were sent into the hot zone. Go fucking figure. Officially it was to monitor communications and coordinate the local police response in the area; unofficially, Jasper suspected she couldn't stomach the thought of getting her pristine coat dirty.
Gunfire from below cut off Rin's retort. He shrieked when a stray bullet impacted the helicopter's side, inches from where he was seated.
"It's okay, Finch-sensei! You're okay!" Chinatsu rubbed his arm reassuringly from the seat next to his. The Gehenna girl was doing her best to keep him functional during the ride, which he really freaking appreciated, but it was ultimately an exercise in futility. "We'll be at the Schale club room before you know it. Stay strong for a few more minutes, alright?"
Jasper hiccuped and exhaled a shuddering breath. He didn't understand how this little elf girl managed to stay so calm. How were all of these girls keeping their cool? They were teenagers going into a fucking warzone! They should've been worrying for their lives! Instead they showed nerves of steel while he sat there sobbing like a bitch!
In retrospect, how the hell did Rin expect four high schoolers and a felon to retake this Schale place anyway? Why wasn't the National Guard handling this?
No, for real, where was the goddamn military?! Did the GSC lack the authorization to deploy it? Or did Kivotos just not have one?
In a world where almost every person he'd met openly flaunted their Second Amendment right, he found that incredibly hard to-
BOOM!
Something exploded way too close to him. Jasper felt the helicopter rattle, screaming as it violently rocked from side to side.
"Airburst grenade!" Suzumi helpfully identified the latest weapon of war to nearly kill them all.
"The delinquent gangs' arsenal is more diverse than I'd anticipated." Hasumi's observation preceded another bang from her weapon. He heard the fallen angel grunt as she fumbled for a fresh clip. "Dammit… they must've looted the local gun stores!"
There was thinly veiled displeasure in Rin's voice. "It's clearly becoming more and more dangerous the closer we get to Schale… Very well. Have the pilot go in for a landing; I'll see if I can redirect the Public Security Bureau to provide reinforcements." She paused, then added, "And make sure the chosen LZ won't put Finch-sensei in harm's way."
BOOM!
"P-Please!" Hot tears streamed down his face. "Please, for the love of God, just land this fucking thing! I-I can't take it anymore!"
Someone's fist knocked against metal, immediately followed by Suzumi shouting out commands. "You heard the Acting President! Pilot, get us groundside! Watch out for power lines!"
"See, Sensei? It's almost over! You made it!" Chinatsu comforted him.
Words couldn't describe the sheer relief Jasper felt at that moment. Finally, finally he wouldn't have to ride this flying deathtrap any longer. Soon they'd be back on the ground, where he'd be… thrust into a battle to the death between teenagers… which was just as likely to get him killed…
…
…
…
He missed the days when boredom was his biggest issue.
The Little Bird descended on an empty street in a quieter section of the district's outskirts.
Although currently deserted, Kivotos' dire situation left its mark on the place: Storefront windows were smashed, the interiors picked clean. Food, jewelry, ammo – everything not nailed down was swiped from the shelves, either by desperate citizens who feared the coming anarchy, or opportunistic thieves reveling in it.
Even the Momo Friends merch store got ransacked, for some unfathomable reason.
Crude graffiti squashed any lingering doubts about the outskirts' gang presence. Most of it was vulgar slurs and threats against the General Student Council, though a handful of delinquent graffiti taggers chose to go with tongue-in-cheek humor. The funniest was spray painted on the wall of a half-demolished coffee shop; it depicted a cartoonish drawing of Rin at her desk surrounded by burning buildings, completed by a speech bubble captioned "THIS IS FINE".
Jasper would've applauded the artist's creativity if his face wasn't smooshed against the pavement. He'd made it two feet away from that bargain store helicopter when bam, his jelly legs failed him.
It was fine. It wasn't like he'd secretly plotted to run away as soon they landed or anything. Nope, definitely not.
"Are you okay, Sensei?" Chinatsu's worried voice was almost inaudible over the roaring rotors.
If by 'okay' she meant 'internally debating slamming his head on the asphalt so he could knock himself out and avoid participating in combat', then yes; he was perfectly okay.
A fist closed around the fabric of his jumpsuit. "Get up," Suzumi ordered, hauling him upright with unnecessary roughness. "We're on an important mission here. You can lay around after we secure the club room."
Bold of her to assume they'd survive. Jasper admired her suicidal overconfidence, if nothing else.
"No doubt some roaming delinquents saw you land," Rin informed them, still on video call. She said that as the Little Bird took off, effectively stranding the group in enemy territory. "The Schale building is still 3.2 kilometers away. Keep moving, people – we're on the clock."
"Do we know what this item in the basement is, or why it's so important?" Hasumi probed.
Rin was silent for a moment. "...I do. It's highly classified information."
The fallen angel shook her head; her long, dark hair rippling behind her. "With all due respect, Chief Officer, what you're asking of us is ridiculous. We're supposed to escort a foreign criminal to an unknown object you can't tell us about?" Her eyes darkened. "This is a waste of time. I should be back in Trinity dealing with our own gang problem, not running vague operations in DU!"
"You're welcome to leave if you want, Miss Hanekawa."
"...I am?" Hasumi's expression changed from annoyed to surprised.
"Of course," the pointy-eared girl said sweetly. "Though I'd have to pen a letter to the Tea Party explaining why the Justice Task Force's vice president refused to participate in a critical GSC-sanctioned operation."
The tall student flinched like she'd been shot.
"I've rerouted a Valkyrie platoon southwest to cause a diversion. With any luck, they'll be able to keep the majority of enemy forces occupied until you reach Schale." Rin continued on like nothing happened. "I suggest using this valuable window of time to get moving rather than waste breath complaining. I'll keep you updated."
She ended the call before anyone could protest.
A long, awkward silence descended on their little group. Jasper wasn't sure what to say or do. Judging by the looks of it, neither did the girls.
Hasumi acted first. She approached him, scowling, and poked his chest with a manicured finger. The hostility in her red eyes gave him chills. "You," she growled. "You will not speak to me. You will not distract me. You will not get in my way when the fighting starts. Above all, you will not die. Otherwise this will have been for nothing."
She turned and stormed off, her enormous wings fluttering in her wake. Jasper watched her go, standing there like a dumbass for a good five seconds, unsure if she was always this bitchy or if it was just her… uhh… time of the month.
His eyes were torn away from the angel when Chinatsu inserted herself in front of him. "Don't let her get to you, Sensei. Trinity students can be… difficult to work with, especially ones from the Justice Task Force. How are you feeling, by the way?"
"...Scared," he confessed.
He wasn't the right man for this job; not by a long shot. No point denying it when Rin practically said so to his face not even an hour earlier. In hindsight, he should've told her to shove her Deagle up her ass.
But he hadn't. He'd chosen to follow her lead and gotten himself stuck at the edge of a district crawling with heavily armed gang members. His security detail consisted of four high school-aged girls with guns. At least two of them hated him for existing. No matter how he looked at it, his odds of survival weren't good.
And he still didn't know why Rin or her missing president wanted him to find this mysterious basement thingy.
Chinatsu gently grabbed his forearm. He lowered his head to look at her; the medic met his eyes with an understanding smile. "I'm not much of a fighter, but I promise on my honor as a member of the Prefect Team to protect you, Finch-sensei. Keep your head down and stay close to me, no matter what happens."
Jasper nodded, and her smile grew a fraction. With a light tug on his sleeve, she led them after Hasumi, deeper into the outskirts of Kivotos' capital.
Minutes passed. Despite the Gehenna student's repeated assurance, he still felt like a soldier marching to his doom. Or maybe a death row inmate headed to the lethal injection chamber.
They moved in a roughly oval formation. Hasumi had already taken point, and it seemed none of the others were eager to replace her. Chinatsu was to his right, close enough that he could poke her if he reached out, while Yuuka walked slightly behind to their left. Suzumi brought up the rear – he figured it was as much to keep him in her sight as much as it was to guard their flank.
In Jasper's humble opinion, they were all going to die within the first minute of combat.
Seriously, did no one else see the problem with Hasumi being their pointman? Besides being an easy target with her huge proportions, that bolt-action wouldn't do shit in a frontal assault against modern weapons. Yuuka would've been a far better choice with her dual SMGs (assuming she didn't break her wrists as soon as she pulled the triggers). The dark angel belonged in the back, not the light one.
Even though they all carried firearms, and even though he'd never served himself, he was beginning to suspect none of these girls had real military training. It was such an obvious tactical error that even he'd noticed it. Him! Jasper fucking Finch!
Then again, mobile RTS games were a great way to kill time when spending a night at the police station.
Going back to Hasumi… there was no denying the fallen angel hadn't exactly endeared herself to him. However, he didn't want to see her get mowed down gangsta style either.
Fuck her rules, he needed to say something.
Bracing himself, he opened his mouth, ready to speak up-
-when he was suddenly pulled aside by Yuuka. "We need to talk."
"Wha…?" Just like that, all thoughts of Hasumi were forgotten.
"Listen, I've done a lot of thinking. About you. N-Not in any weird way, though!" the purple-haired student insisted. She sighed. "It's just… I don't understand. You're obviously not a real teacher – or at least not a competent one – yet the GSC President still chose you of all people to run Schale." She shook her head, grimacing. "Where's the logic in that? It doesn't make sense!"
Jasper scratched the back of his neck. "I don't get it either, but it's not like we can walk up to her and bitch about it, y'know?" He looked at the sky, taking in the clouds and ethereal rings far above them. "I'll admit, part of it's my fault. I just wanted out of prison. Never thought I'd end up… well, here."
She eyed him curiously. "Is that so…? Hm. I guess neither of us expected to play hero today, huh?"
"I guess not."
In all honesty, he would've run in the opposite direction if he wasn't afraid of the angels executing him for desertion. He kicked the thought to the back of his mind where it couldn't torment him.
"Mm." Yuuka idly inspected one of her submachine guns. "...For the record, I have nothing against you personally. I simply have a hard time believing that a newcomer, especially an ex-convict, will be the one to save our city." She glanced back at him. "No offense."
"None taken. I wouldn't trust me either." Jasper was just glad she didn't seem interested in his criminal history. "So, how much further?"
The longer they traveled, the more signs they found that a fierce battle had taken place before their arrival. Concrete barriers, burnt-out car husks, shards of broken glass, and innumerable bullet casings littered the road. The street was uneven in places; shallow craters dotted the asphalt, most likely the aftermath of an artillery barrage. The eerie quiet wasn't helping his anxiety.
He noticed something strange, however.
If an armed conflict was recently fought here… then where were the casualties? Where was the blood and gore?
Yuuka hummed in thought as she did some mental math. "Hmm, let's see… the Acting President said Schale HQ was 3.2 kilometers from our LZ. That equates to just under two miles. The average person's walking speed is three miles per hour, and we've been walking for about ten minutes, so I estimate we'll be there within… a half hour or so."
"Wow, you did all of that in your head?" Chinatsu interjected, peeking around Jasper to look at her. "I'm impressed. Most students would've needed a calculator."
Preening at the compliment, the purple-haired girl shot her a smug smile. "The treasurer of Millennium's student council needs to be an expert at mathematics. That was nothing, trust me."
"Nerrrrrrrrrrrrd!"
What? She made it too easy. Sue him.
"Sh-Shut up!" Yuuka stammered. "Don't act like a jerk when I'm trying to be nice to y-"
A muffled crack pierced the air.
Time slowed down. Yuuka's head snapped backward, and in his mind's eye he saw what happened next: A crown of blood erupting from her skull; the thud as her body hit the ground; her youthful face frozen in shock, staring forward as the life faded from her eyes-
"Ow!" She yelped, rubbing an angry welt on her cheek. "That hurt!"
"Contacts! Up ahead!" Suzumi yelled.
"Grrr… Who do these punks think they are, attacking a member of Seminar?" The thin, metallic halo over Yuuka's head shined brightly, and Jasper went slack-jawed when a hexagonal blue barrier manifested around her from absolutely fucking nowhere. She leapt into the fray with Suzumi in tow, laying down a hail of automatic gunfire at their aggressors.
Jasper blankly stared after her, trying and failing to process what he'd seen. What.
The.
Fuck.
What the fuck. What the actual fuck. He just- He just saw her get capped in the face, and all it did was make her angry. How did that even…?
"Sensei, get out of the open!"
Chinatsu's warning shout snapped him out of his dazed state, reminding him that oh yeah, he was standing at the edge of a firefight with his thumb up his ass. The elf girl motioned him to follow her and sprinted to the left side of the street towards an empty bakery, somehow vaulting over the shattered front window in spite of the huge bag of medical supplies she was lugging.
He mimicked her entrance, letting out a pained "Argh, shit!" when he accidentally pressed his palm on a jagged piece of glass.
They took cover behind the front counter, relatively hidden from the mayhem. The medic gasped when she saw blood dripping down his fingers. "Your hand…!" She unzipped her bag and rummaged through it. "Don't worry, Finch-sensei. I'll have you fixed up in a jiffy."
Jasper shakily exhaled, his eyes glued to the cream-colored wall as Chinatsu gingerly removed a couple of glass fragments with a pair of tweezers. "Chinatsu… how? Yuuka, she- she was shot in the head, but… she…" He swallowed. "She just shook it right off…!"
"Of course she did. Her halo protected her."
"...You've officially lost me."
"Oh, has nobody explained this to you?" Chinatsu sounded mildly surprised. She put the tweezers away and began cleaning the wound with a cotton cloth. "Halos gift their recipient with incredible durability – it would take a tank round to cause any serious injury. They can also grant additional abilities in certain cases, like strength, speed… or in Yuuka's case, it seems, a one-way force field."
She smiled. "Every human in Kivotos is born with a halo."
So basically, it wouldn't matter if he had a weapon and training – he'd be fucked in a gunfight no matter what.
Part of him wanted to laugh hysterically. Bulletproof teenagers. Somehow that answered both everything and nothing. But wait…
"Then why do you fight with guns if you're immune to bullets?" Jasper asked.
Chinatsu shook her head. "Resistant, not immune," she corrected. "Enough concentrated gunfire will knock a person out. The only known way to actually kill someone with a halo is to destroy it, though it's just as durable as the rest of them."
As if to drive her point home, the volume of gunfire and explosions outside increased. He hoped it was the thugs and not his meat shields- err, precious students shouting in agony.
She poured some antiseptic onto a fresh cloth. "Sit still, Sensei. This might sting a bit."
Jasper scoffed. "Oh please, I'm an adult. Just because I'm not a human bullet sponge doesn't mean I can't handle a little- HOLY BALLS THAT HURTS LIKE A BITCH!"
"Not so loud!" the medic shushed him, peeking over the countertop. She quickly yet thoroughly wiped the remaining disinfectant away and applied some antibiotic cream before bandaging his hand. "Wait here and keep pressure on it. I'm going to check on the others."
Stuffing her medical supplies back in her bag, she drew her pistol and cautiously crept around the counter, out of sight, leaving him to once again ponder how he'd gotten into this mess.
He wasn't alone for long. She returned after less than a minute and sat down beside him, staring into space with an unreadable expression.
Jasper hesitantly spoke up. "Are we winning?"
"..."
"...Chinatsu?"
"I don't know," she said in a monotone. "I honestly don't know."
Okay, now he was curious. He exited their hiding spot as quietly as possible, brushing off Chinatsu's hushed plea to stay where he was – as well as his instincts telling him this was a terrible idea. Crawling to the windowsill past overturned tables and chairs, he lifted his head and took a peek at the battle raging outside.
He noticed Hasumi first thanks to her wings and towering frame. The fallen angel fought more like a crazed rhino than a soldier; she was getting peppered front and sides by bullets, though she pushed through it as she charged down a street thug wearing a skull bandana.
A shot from her rifle hit the thug square in the chest, staggering her. Hasumi cycled the bolt and fired again; her opponent's halo flickered, then disappeared as she collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious. More gunfire drove the tall student back however, and Jasper caught a glimpse of fury on her face at being forced to withdraw.
Yuuka was faring slightly better. Unlike Hasumi, the purple-haired teen regularly took cover, and her magic barrier gave her some added protection whenever she moved to a new position.
The problem was that she focused more on offense than defense. She was steadily advancing forward, engaged in a shootout with a fellow SMG user, which meant the enemy gang was free to send some of their troops straight past her while she was distracted. Worse, with Hasumi away from the frontline, the punks she'd been occupying turned their attention to the Millennium student. Whether she realized it or not, she'd boxed herself in.
Knowing her teammate was in trouble, Suzumi unclipped a grenade from her belt and expertly lobbed it between Yuuka and a trio of thugs who'd ganged up on her.
Hold on. He'd seen that type of grenade before.
Oh crap, not again-!
Jasper averted his eyes and covered his ears a split second before the flashbang detonated.
"See what I mean?" He heard Chinatsu sigh when he lowered his hands. The Gehenna medic joined him by the window, laying her bag to the side. "No coordination or teamwork whatsoever. It's almost embarrassing to watch."
Seeing Yuuka flail around in panic, spraying bullets till her submachine guns went click, he had to agree. She managed to take one of her assailants down in a stroke of literal blind luck; Suzumi finished off the other two, dumping half a magazine's worth of firepower into each of their heads.
Their only saving grace was that their opponents were somehow even dumber. A lanky girl toting a medium machine gun climbed onto the roof of a car, opened fire for about two seconds, then promptly fell off when she succumbed to the weapon's massive recoil. Another exploded her friend doing trick shots with a grenade launcher.
Hasumi took advantage of their blundering to rejoin the fight, having licked her wounds clean behind a concrete barrier. Jasper hoped the fallen angel wouldn't behave so recklessly this time. She had to have learned from her earlier mistakes, right?
Right?
Yeah, he wasn't all that shocked when she channeled her inner Leeroy Jenkins and threw herself back in guns blazing. Apparently she was determined not to let some random punks out-stupid her.
"This looks more like Call of Duty multiplayer than real life," he grumbled.
Mark once said an idiot with a gun is more dangerous than a professional. Jasper brushed him off at the time, thinking he was justifying why he never let his younger brother touch his preeeeecious pistol. He realized now that it hadn't just been a snide remark at his expense.
"On the bright side, they're making progress." Chinatsu noted. "There were sixteen delinquents at the beginning. They're down to half that number."
In that case, it was probably best to keep hiding behind the counter until the battle finished up. He'd seen enough.
Jasper wasn't sure how many more minutes passed before the shooting finally died down. Could've been five, could've been fifteen. Time stopped being important when the bullets started flying. Regardless, it was safe enough for him to step outside the bakery with Chinatsu.
"Oww…" Yuuka hissed, rubbing her arm where she'd taken a few shots. "Were those JHP rounds? That's cheating!"
"They're technically not illegal," Hasumi said, lightly panting as she stood triumphantly over a fallen delinquent with her rifle in hand. A thin sheen of sweat matted her black hair to her forehead.
"Yeah, well, they're illegal in Millennium as of right now! That could've left a mark!"
"Care if I take a look?" Chinatsu offered.
Yuuka nodded silently. The medic wasted no time getting to work administering first aid, leaving Jasper with Hasumi and an approaching Suzumi.
"Area's clear. No reinforcements detected," the latter reported.
"Who are these kids, anyway?" Jasper nudged the unconscious girl with his foot. A black facemask covered her mouth, and her powder blue uniform was dirty and pockmarked with bullet holes. He didn't see a student ID or anything similar on her.
Suzumi sighed. "Dropouts, expelled students, failed influencers… You know the type. They often turn to crime after failing to take their education seriously, or when they can no longer afford it. We live in an academy city, after all."
"Do you know if Elm Ridge offers any type of educational programs? If they do, I think you should look into them."
His older brother's words resonated in his mind. Was this what people in first-world society were doomed to become without an education? Lowlives forced to scavenge, steal, and intimidate just to scrape by another day?
Yes. The answer was yes. Jasper knew painfully well what it was like to be 'the dumb one'. A smart person never would've taken an illegal, addictive substance on a dare, solely to prove that it 'couldn't be that bad'.
Even though they would've killed him given the chance, he felt sorry for these lost children.
Hasumi, on the other hand… didn't.
"They may not be enrolled in any school, but we taught them a valuable lesson about picking a fight with Trinity's finest," she boasted with a smile. "Also, did you notice how they didn't have snipers? Hmph. The art of sniping must be far too difficult for everyday criminals to grasp." She proudly hefted her weapon for emphasis.
"Says the girl who mistook a bolt-action for a fucking automatic shotgun," Jasper sniped metaphorically. He steeled his nerves, not backing down at her furious scowl. "Yeah, you heard me. What the hell was all that? I've seen cockfights with more finesse!"
Hasumi's eye twitched. "You…" she seethed. "How dare you insult me like that! Do you think you could've done better?!"
He pointed above his head. "Uh, hello? No halo, remember? Chinatsu was right; you really are ignorant."
"Watch your mouth, 'Sensei'!"
"Uh, guys?" Suzumi tried to interject.
"Or else what?" he snapped, too pissed off to care that he was riling up a bulletproof angel with a gun. "What are you gonna do, shoot me? Have fun explaining that one to Rin!"
"The General Student Council won't shield you forever. They'll cut you loose as soon as they see what a worthless scumbag you are!" The fallen angel drew closer, jabbing a finger into his chest. "And when that day comes, I will make. You. Pay." Her finger pressed deeper with each word. "It shouldn't be a long wait."
"Guys?"
Jasper swatted her hand away. "Who're you calling a scumbag? I haven't said or done a damn thing to you! You're the one who's been treating me like a pile of shit!" He shook his head, breathing out a frustrated sigh. "Also, don't change the subject. This isn't about me, Hasumi. It's about you girls and your piss poor performance!"
"I don't need to listen to a fake teacher!"
"What you need is to stop fighting like a dumbass!"
"You didn't even participate and still managed to hurt yourself!"
"GUYS!" Suzumi bellowed. "Can we please put this on hold and get a move on?! Every second we waste arguing is another second the gangs can use to destroy Schale!"
They stared at her, then turned to face one another. The message in Hasumi's red eyes was clear as day: This isn't over.
And so their ragtag team continued the death march to Schale HQ. Hasumi took the lead again, violently rebuffing Chinatsu when the medic insisted on checking her for injuries. Yuuka, still upset at the flashbang incident, got into a squabble with Suzumi, though it fortunately didn't come to blows.
As for Jasper, he wondered if Rin would get angry at him for hightailing it out of the district if or when shit hit the fan – assuming he had enough energy left to flee. Dealing with teenagers was exhausting.
A gloved hand closed around his uninjured one. He looked to his side and saw Chinatsu smiling up at him, though there was doubt in her visage of confidence.
He weakly smiled back, unsure what he would've done without her.
It didn't matter if he was in a different world with different laws – ingrained in Jasper's DNA was a BBQ loving, truck driving, red-blooded Ameritard. He didn't know what a kilometer was and he was proud of that.
Okay, maybe that was somewhat of an exaggeration, but it didn't change anything. The point was that his status as a citizen of the greatest (also shallowest) country on Earth meant he had a constitutional right to bitch, moan, whine, and complain whenever politicians made stupid decisions that made his life unnecessarily difficult.
It was a right he was currently exercising to the fullest.
"Y'know Chinsatsu, the more I think about this whole super important mission, the less it makes sense," he mused aloud. "Rin said the GSC needs the Sanctum Tower in order to govern the city, right?"
"She did," the elf girl confirmed.
"So I'm assuming this miracle device in Schale can fix whatever's wrong with it, otherwise she wouldn't have made such a huge stink about retaking the place." He paused to scratch his nose. "What confuses me is, why would the president leave the answer to their problems in some abandoned building on the outskirts of town? Wouldn't it have been smarter to just, I dunno, keep it in the tower? Y'know, in case this exact scenario happened?"
He let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. "Seems like politicians are always doing shit as inefficiently as possible, no matter where you go."
"You should see the Pandemonium Society," Chinatsu tittered. She rested a finger under her chin, friendly face turning contemplative. "Though you may be onto something. Perhaps it's a test of character?"
"For who? Hasumi? 'Cause I'm totally failing her."
"For you, Finch-sensei," she clarified. "Call it a hunch, but I don't believe you'd be in Kivotos if getting the Sanctum Tower up and running again was the beginning and end of it."
He tore his attention away from an overturned semi to look at her. "You think so?"
"I'm nearly certain," she nodded.
Jasper wasn't so sure. If Chinatsu was right – if this was a test from the GSC President – what was he being graded on? His ability to not die in gunfights? He'd be passing with flying colors in that case, though he still wondered if there was a way to cheat and make it easier.
Heh. He was literally doing his best to cheat death. It was kinda funny, in a twisted, morbid sort of way.
God, he was so fucked.
One crisis at a time, however. Jasper would lament his status as a teenage tyrant's personal plaything once he'd holed himself up in Schale's basement, away from Kivotos and its bullshit. He just needed his merry band of escorts to get him there safely first.
A task easier said than done when one of them was a non-combatant and the other three fought with the grace of a drunken hippopotamus.
And on that note, he really needed to get a firmer grasp of his students' prior combat experience, assuming they even had any. He didn't count Chinatsu – she was a healer first and foremost, and besides, she'd already said she wasn't good at throwing hands with the enemy.
He could feel Suzumi's red eyes watching him from behind like a hawk, ready to swoop in the moment he strayed from the straight and narrow path. Now that he thought about it, other than the flash grenade incident, she'd handled herself incredibly well against the delinquents. Girl probably lived through some similar shit before. He made a mental reminder to avoid incurring her wrath at all costs.
As for Hasumi… he recalled Rin saying she was the VP of a 'Justice Task Force', though the way she recklessly conducted herself in battle cast doubt on whether she earned that title legitimately. Jasper half-suspected she'd slept with her club advisor for the position, then coped with the shame by picking on defenseless targets like him and Chinatsu.
That just left one outlier…
"Hold that thought," he told Chinatsu before calling out to another student. "Yuuka!"
The purple-haired girl ahead of him glanced over her shoulder, slowing her pace until she was walking side by side with him. "What's up?" she asked.
"Dumb question: do you fight much?"
"Not before today, if that's what you mean," she answered with a shrug. "Most of my time is spent in the Millennium campus' main building paying bills and looking over budget requests. I've had to use my weapons more as violent crime increases, but I'm not cut from the same cloth as, say, the Maid Club."
She briefly holstered one of her SMGs and rubbed her forehead. "Ugh, I'm getting a migraine thinking of all the damage they'd cause if they were here…"
The… what? Had the gunfire and explosions damaged his hearing, or did she just say...
"Maid… Club…?" Jasper repeated slowly.
"Cleaning & Clearing," Yuuka specified as though that explained anything. "You'll meet them someday. Preferably in a spot where you won't have to pay the repair bill."
Her weary sigh clued him in that he probably shouldn't look forward to that day.
He was ready to ask what household helpers in frilly skirts had to do with terror bombers when Yuuka's tablet suddenly rang off the walls. Looked like Rin had an update. Jasper hoped against hope it would be good news.
Of course it wasn't. That would've been convenient.
"We have a problem." The General Student Council's VP sure wasn't sugarcoating anything. "The gangs' leader wizened up to our distraction; she's making her way to Schale with a portion of her forces as we speak. How close are you to the tower?"
"About five minutes away if we run. One left turn at the next intersection and it'll be within view," Yuuka reported. "Has the General Student Council finally pinpointed who's behind this riot?"
"We have. Her name is Wakamo."
The purple-haired treasurer furrowed her brows. "I've heard of her before… Last year a student by the same name went on a rampage through Millennium until C&C chased her out." She groaned at the memory. "It took a whole week to calculate the insurance costs!"
"She's indiscriminate about where she wreaks havoc, that's for sure," Rin added unhelpfully. "Wakamo is one of the fugitives that escaped the Corrections Bureau after being suspended from the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy. She's a repeat offender, so I'd advise that you don't let your guards down."
"Do we have any details on her current location? …Hello? Vice President Nanagami?" Yuuka tapped the screen furiously before looking up in disbelief. "She- She hung up on me!"
Chinatsu closed her eyes and sighed. "Typical GSC, never providing more than the bare minimum of assistance…"
Yuuka leaned into Jasper's vision, frowning. "Hey, um… are you feeling okay?" she asked cautiously. "You're starting to look a little pale…"
What was she blabbering about? He was fine! Totally fine. They just had a mad anarchist en route to grind their sorry asses under her heel, that was all. Nothing to get worked up over.
It wasn't like he didn't trust his students to win a fight against Whack-A-Mole or whatever the fuck her name was. Then there was the other itty-bitty issue of her cronies with their stolen tank (because fat chance he'd forget about something like that) and okay, yeah, they had to get to Schale right fucking now or else Rin would have to leave the cozy confines of her office to dig their graves.
"Hello? Anyone home?" He became acutely aware of Yuuka waving her hand in front of his face. "Chinatsu, I think something's wrong with- HEY! Where are you going?!" She hollered when he suddenly broke into a run down the empty street, breezing past a startled Hasumi in the process.
Jasper heard lots of rapid footfalls and unintelligible squabbling behind him, as well as a handful of threats directed his way, though he paid mind to none of it. His sole concern at the moment, the only thing that mattered, was reaching the Schale building before the girls (and him!) were sucked into a battle they couldn't win.
They could not afford to be caught in the open when the gangs' head honcho came calling.
He made a hard left at the next intersection a couple minutes later, making a beeline down the road with his entourage in tow. Schale's street resembled the aftermath of a Super Bowl block party: a cursory glance around the area counted more vandalized cars than craters, and while he did see sandbags, police barricades, and concrete dividers, their numbers were scarcer than before. The rioters had largely skipped this part of town, it appeared.
He would've been happier if he knew which office skyscraper was the Schale building. Happier still if his lungs weren't burning like he'd just inhaled some strong-ass marijuana.
"What's… *pant* gotten… *pant* into you…?!" Hasumi huffed and puffed, scowling as he leaned to rest against an SUV halfway down the block. "First you take off by yourself… and now you're relaxing?!"
"Lay off me," he wheezed back.
What was she even bitching about, anyway? Not his fault he wasn't a goddamn superhuman. He'd gotten more exercise these past two days than he had in three years!
"Hasumi's right. That was irresponsible battlefield conduct," Suzumi scolded, and oh god the irony of that statement nearly made him die of cringe on the spot. The smaller angel pointed in front of them. "Get those legs moving, prisoner. The Schale club room is just up ahead!"
Jasper wiped the sweat from his eyes and followed her finger to the ugliest piece of modern architecture he'd ever laid eyes on. The white-colored structure's uneven layout and curved surfaces were probably meant to evoke a sleek, clean, and modern image; he personally thought it looked like a bootleg Sanctum Tower conjoined with a greenhouse.
"Cool place," he muttered sarcastically. "Just gimme another second to catch my breath, 'k?"
He wouldn't get it. The huge bang came fast and out of nowhere, shattering the SUV's front window.
"JESUS FUCK!" He reacted immediately, taking cover on the car's opposite side as the girls started scrambling and shouting over one another. He managed to pick out a few words – sniper, ten o'clock, up high. It seriously worried him that they hadn't returned fire.
Also, uh, what was that loud, ominous beeping noise? It sounded like it was coming from inside the SUV…
Yuuka must've heard it too. She must've known what was making that sound, and it must've been really, really hazardous to Jasper's well-being, otherwise she wouldn't have suddenly materialized at his side screaming "GET DOWN!" and tackled him to the ground.
She threw up her barrier seconds before a massive fireball engulfed them.
Jasper learning that setting your students to auto-battle is never a good idea lol. Got inspired after watching Hasumi's AI charge a boss once.
The original "updated" version of Chapter 3 was just shy of 20k words, which is way too big for the average reader to process, so I'm splitting it into two parts.
The prologue finale's gonna be goooood. And hectic. Very hectic.