Right, this chapter takes place the day after Cain and Hoshino come back from setting up the district. Now, we get a few unusual perspectives, including my favorite member of Problem Solver. And for all her popularity and the coincidental fact that I share her birthday… No, it's not Aru. See if you can guess before she comes up! Which you can start doing… Now!
*Chapter 20: Starting Again*
He woke up the next day looking at an unfamiliar ceiling, in an unfamiliar bed. He blinked as he did, feeling a strange emptiness within him that he couldn't quite place.
"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling, sir?!"
The nurse at his side was equal parts relieved and excited, a feeling he definitely didn't share. He asked a single question, even though he felt he knew the answer.
"What happened?"
Her face falling answered him even before her words did. The retelling of yesterday's events sealed it.
Explosions. Fire. The vague memories of shouts, jostles and fired bullets.
All of it eclipsed by the fact that his beloved store was now gone.
"... I'm so sorry, sir. Do you need anything?"
"... No need. Thank you for your care. Please inform those you feel necessary of my awakening. No reason to keep them anxious."
"Of course sir. I'll be here with some food soon enough."
… Not that he'd feel like eating it. But best not to let them know that.
He didn't know how much time he spent quietly staring at the walls when he heard grunts outside his door, and somehow, he wasn't surprised at all. Of course, that old bastard was here.
"Let him in already. He'll just make a bigger nuisance of himself if you don't."
As soon as he gave his begrudging permission, the door burst open despite the nurse's protests, and who else was here other than a certain, black-haired pug?
"Well, well, look who it is, sitting his lazy ass while mooching off a hospital bed."
"Good morning to you too, coal-face."
"Right back at you, shithead."
They'd had this song and dance for years now. He and old black hair were never able to share a room without also sharing a harsh word. They'd be spitting insults and barbs at each other till the sand finally overtook this empty district if they had the time now.
And yet, he hadn't seen him in his store for months now. And something never felt right.
"Gods, you look miserable there," he grumped as he slammed the door and took a seat beside him. "You look like a dunce. I imagine you feel like one too. Understandable, given the circumstances… But still."
"Buzz off," he said hotly. "I'm not in the mood."
"You've not been in the mood for god knows how long," coal-face growled. "Everybody keeps calling you 'Master', but you haven't been worth that for years now, and you know it. You feel it."
He fell silent, the bite in his bark gone as the truth was laid bare. He didn't let up. "Make no mistake. I can still feel that you love your job. The taste and the effort are there. You were still trying hard for every fool who wanted to sample your slop. But it had no soul. When was the last time you thought up a new dish? Set up something new? Or did you think there was no point in any of it?"
The only sound that remained for the next few moments were the electric fan on the ceiling, which didn't do nearly as much to cool him as the arctic void opening up at being read.
"... Is there any?" He said, finally. "I've been trying for who knows how long to keep my head above the water, but it's over now. The old place is gone."
"In case you haven't noticed, you're not the only one who feels like shit about that," came the infinitely patient reply. "I helped you build that damn place with my own two hands! I probably don't feel as crap as you do, but it feels like another part of this sandblasted place just got ripped away from it again, but you're not even going to try to get it back!"
Once again, he couldn't even muster up the words to deny it. Somehow, that old black-faced bastard still hadn't given up. He ran a construction company and back when he was new, he even helped him build the old place, but the moment he couldn't pay the workers anymore, he let them go without hesitation, with recommendations and everything they needed to set up somewhere else, telling them to find greener pastures to support themselves. But despite those setbacks, he knew he was itching to get to building again.
He was different. Between his own debts and the debts of Abydos itself, the emptiness of the district reflecting his own heart, he wasn't sure if he could go on here.
But if he couldn't go on here, then…
Whatever thoughts he was about to have, were cut off by the sudden knocking at the door. Both he and his counterpart snapped their heads towards it as it opened to reveal… One of his customers?
"Oh… Am I interrupting something here?" As it turns out, it was that elegant girl from Gehenna, one of his last patrons before it all ended.
"You're fine," he quickly assured her, partly out of tact, a very good part so the conversation couldn't continue. "What is it?"
"I wanted to give my condolences for the loss of your restaurant," she said as she moved inside, contrite and forlorn. "You helped us out immensely over the past few days and in the end, you got caught up in our mess. We may not have been the ones to destroy your store, but they only did so because we were there. However peripheral, we were partially responsible for your store being destroyed."
"Blaming you for that would be stupid," he said gruffly, but he knew that determined look in her eyes. She wouldn't be taking no for an answer. "But I suppose you won't listen. So what are you giving me?"
"Consider it a payment for your food. With interest appropriate to its quality." She smiled as she dropped a startlingly heavy bag that couldn't possibly be what he thought it was. "Thank you Master! May we meet again someday!"
Whether it was nervousness or craftiness he didn't know, but the girl bolted literally the moment she stopped talking, leaving him unable to protest her gift. Coalface couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her unusual behavior.
"Odd girl. Now what did she give you?" He unzipped the bag and he had to admit, seeing his eyes bulge for the first time in years was a treat. "Now THAT is a load. Where did she get all this?"
"I don't want to know, and I don't care. I'm not using it."
A cold silence fell at his reply, and the withering glare sent his way almost made him flinch. "Why in the hells not?"
"This is dirty money. I can feel it. I knew she was a fixer the moment I laid eyes on her."
The glare abated, but not by much. "You helped her out anyway, and she's paying you back with… Hell, probably everything she has. She looks dumb enough to pull a stunt like that."
Harsh, but considering she barely had 500 yen to her entire group's name when trying to beg for food, he couldn't exactly deny it.
"But most of all… Despite all that, she seems like a good kid, and she's putting out everything for you. Are you really going to throw all of it away?"
His own silence was an answer in itself. And it wasn't a good one, not for this stubborn bastard in front of him. With a frustrated growl, he stood up and made for the door.
"Damn it all." He placed a paw on the handle and practically threw it open.
"Do whatever you want with that cash. But you better not be wallowing there feeling sorry for yourself the next time I come."
The impact echoed through the empty corridors, just as his words did through his mind.
Oasis Cross Hospital wasn't exactly a first-class hospital, but it was honestly better than I expected from how dilapidated Abydos was in general. Being a medical facility, much more effort (and of course, money) was expended on making the place clean at any rate, so there was a far lower volume of sand, and what little there was, wouldn't be seen at first glance due to the wise decision of coating walls and halls with yellows and browns instead of the usual white associated with medical facilities (or the city in general). Its staffing would be questionably low under normal circumstances, but it was depressingly adequate for this case.
Just like yesterday, I only had Hoshino for company, since we didn't want to overwhelm the Master with a full entourage of well-wishers in his tiny hospital bed. She insisted on wanting to go first due to not being able to join us yesterday. Naturally, I had a far better idea as to why she wanted to apologize, but I didn't voice it.
Not much need to spread gloom around. Yesterday's events had done much of that already.
Despite the fairly early hour, I was surprised to see that we weren't the only visitors he had. The same black dog we met yesterday was stomping angrily through the halls with shaking paws, a particularly displeased expression on his furred face that barely let up when he laid eyes on us.
"Oh, it's you lot. Here to see the pansy in bed?" He motioned back. "He's up, but he ain't feelin' right."
"Given what happened yesterday, I'm not surprised," I hedged, though I intuited that that wasn't the real problem the moment I saw him. Hoshino's face fell even more at the Master's sorry state. He sighed and shook his head.
"Way back when he would've been raring to get back on his feet and start over. Now, he looks like he doesn't even wanna move."
Disappointment then. It seems for how rough this dog was, he was concerned about his old friend in his own way.
"We'll try to see if we can change that," I said after a moment's contemplation. The sooner the Master felt better, the sooner he could make me feel better with a round of ramen. And repaying his kindness, of course, was somewhere on my list of priorities.
The old dog looked me over, considering the validity of my words. He seemed to like what he saw, so he snorted. "Well, you seem like you know how to deal with crap like that. Give him a swift kick in the behind for me to get him moving. Maybe you'll finally experience just how good he actually can be."
So all this time we weren't even eating his best? That certainly motivated me to try and cheer him up. The old dog walked past us with a wave of his paws, leaving us to make our way to our charge.
Once we arrived at his ward, we knocked on the sliding doors, waiting for permission to come in. The moment I heard it, I knew that even if we didn't meet his old friend, we would've instantly known just how badly the Master was feeling.
"... You can come in."
He sounded so lost, so defeated. So unlike the chef who could see an absolute greenhorn at handling chopsticks and recommend a good dish and a good word for him with nary a thought.
We went in without another word, and found the Master staring at the blank walls like a broken drunkard staring at his filled glass, as though the empty stone or the dizzying liquid would provide answers he would never see.
"... It's good to see that you're up," I said finally, what with asking for his state of mind being a needless question with a rhetorically bad answer.
"Somehow," he said, finally turning towards us. Seeing him without his characteristic towel revealed his head, only slightly blackened from yesterday's events. His ears were folded down, though whether from his depression or from years under that towel, I wouldn't know. "I imagine I have you to thank for that."
"Only partially," I admitted to him. "I was there to get you out, but someone else was there first, finding you in your rooms upstairs and getting you down. Purple outfit, pale skin, low self-esteem… Ring any bells?"
"Ah. That one. One of… those girls." He subconsciously glanced towards the other side of the bed, then quickly snapped his head back to us. "I suppose I'll have to thank them for that. But I can start with thanking you." He inclined his head downward in gratitude. "Thanks for fighting for us again, Sensei. You, and all your students."
"Just doing my job," I said quietly, my usual dissembling coming out without a thought, knowing that a far bigger one was coming soon after. He snorted in derisive humor.
"If only everyone else in this city could do their jobs, maybe so many of us wouldn't be out of ours." When his eyes went to Hoshino though, his face fell.
"I don't deserve that," she said painfully. " I wasn't around to help. For that… And so much more…" she bowed her head, lower than ever before. "I'm so sorry, Master."
The dog looked at Hoshino like a ghost, phantom pains from long ago seeming to well up to the surface at her self-flagellation. "Please… Don't do that. What's done is done. You don't have to apologize to me."
There was history there, I cottoned on instantly. I wonder if he knew the truth behind yesterday's events as well. I wonder if he even cared, with how much both of them were putting themselves down.
"So what are your future plans?" I cut in to stop their mutual contrition and because the atmosphere was becoming as suffocating as the void of space. I already knew how he felt, of course, so no need to ask useless questions.
He looked from Hoshino to me, unsure of what to say, until he shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I've been here for who knows how many years." He let out a forlorn sigh. "I'm not sure what I can do now. Hospital bills aren't too bad, but I probably can't set up a new place… Not with all the debt I have."
"... To Kaiser Construction," I said clinically.
The Head Prefect's little tip and Ako's annoyingly specific words that they attacked NEAR our district yesterday, revealed that Abydos was already in far worse straits than I ever thought, as Ayane's research appallingly revealed. But we could think of that travesty later. We had other priorities now.
Last night's meeting was a difficult one in so many ways, and that was only one of them. The desert sun wasn't the only thing heating up in Abydos, that was for sure.
"... Perhaps you aren't going to open the store again," I conceded, though something within me convinced me to push onward. "So do you have other plans instead?"
"Nothing else comes to mind, sadly," he answered, much to my lack of surprise. "Cooking ramen's what I'm best at. Don't have much else worth putting my nose to the grindstone for."
"Perhaps you might find something," I encouraged half-heartedly, knowing just how much devotion was required for mastery of his craft, and understanding how little time was left for aught else. "Do you have anything saved up?"
"Not much," he continued, only cementing how desperate his situation was. He then looked back over the other side of the bed, before looking back and inclining it to us. "This might be good for you though. You can have it."
I looked towards Hoshino in confusion, wondering what exactly he had in mind, before doing as he bid. I went around the bed and practically had to tamp down my eyes to prevent them from shooting up to the atmosphere in shock. Hoshino followed me and had to forcibly suppress a double take.
An unassuming bag… But a familiar one. One that, if I surmised quite correctly, was filled with the very money we stole naught but two days before.
So that was what that short-sighted red-head was planning to do with it.
"That red-haired girl passed by just a bit before you did and dropped that off," he said. "It's got a lot of cash inside, but I don't want anything to do with it."
Canny and principled. An exhausting combination. You didn't have to be an Archmagos to divine that Aru wasn't an upstanding citizen, and he wasn't completely wrong about the unscrupulous methods of getting that money.
But something didn't track. That didn't explain why the money was practically repellant to him, as if it physically pained him to consider even looking at it. He was afraid of it.
"... Listen, Master," Hoshino spoke up after seeing the old chef's reluctance. "Some things might look too good to be true, but maybe you ought to take that chance. Not everyone can be as lucky as you are. Especially when somebody is giving up so much for your sake."
The dog slowly looked Hoshino in the eye, the young girl looking at him with infinite melancholy, maybe even a little envy, before she turned to me.
Looks like this was up to me now. Still, at least I had an idea of what to do. "Wait for me outside. I'll follow."
She nodded and tried to put on a small smile. "Don't take too long now." Oh, so you're leaving all this to me, then? Thanks for nothing, sleepyhead. What do you want me to say?! I obviously couldn't ask those questions, and she left me with a grin before giving me any answer.
Great. So now I had to play counselor to a damned noodle chef dog. How did I even end up here? I sighed inwardly as I took the seat beside him, deciding to start with sating my own curiosity. "You know something about her?"
"She was… different back then," he answered me, still staring at where Hoshino had left. "Not as nice as she was now, as she demonstrated to me before. Didn't quite like me." A qualifier that was quite a bit closer to the Head Prefect's estimation of her character, it couldn't be ignored. I filed that away for later as he shrugged and sighed. "Can't completely blame her for that one."
"And what exactly did you do?"
"Nothing," he replied softly. "And that was the problem. She went around blaming everybody for everything. Which was why she really laid into me back then." He shook his head. "But look at her now. Encouraging me. I wonder why?"
I wonder indeed. She did sound a little envious at the luck he had. But she didn't resent him for it. "Because your ramen is worth it."
He snorted. "Hah! As if. It ain't worth it. None of this is." For the very first time, he looked at me, and there in his canine eyes he looked so lost, so tired. "I've lost the place I've poured my blood, sweat and tears into. I've got nothing left here now. What am I supposed to do?"
At that very moment, I didn't see an abhuman, a xeno, or a walking dog… Whatever he was.. He looked so very, very human. More than that, I saw a man wearing a commissar cap, hunched over an empty can of beer, drunk and dizzy over more than the haze of alcohol.
"A single moment." The dog stared at me, tilting his head in confusion. "All it takes to change someone is a single moment… But if they never stop what they're doing, it might not even matter." I shrugged at him. "Heard it from someone around here. Might've said it wrong."
For a moment, he looked utterly confused, then recalled our conversation just mere days before and had to hold back a grin. "Cheeky bastard. Don't go throwing my own crap back at me."
"If you can't take it, don't say it," I riposted amicably. "Still, am I wrong? Are you really telling me that you want to give up on the art you lived for after all this time, when you have the energy and the opportunity to go on as you always have, even if it's not entirely the same?"
I will admit, I wasn't being completely gentle with my words. After all, he was getting the choice to continue doing what he loved. Me? I just had to get dragged around by whatever conspiracy or madness this city had for me everyday. But the dog in front of me did at least set my head on straight to just suck it up and deal with it, so even in my own small way, I wanted to do the same for him.
"... I guess I'm afraid," he said finally, an admission that had me raising my eyebrows at the fact that it wasn't coming from me. "I might work so hard and lose it all over again. I'm not even sure I deserve the chance to try again."
Deserving. I silently wondered just what exactly conspired between him and Hoshino years ago, before realizing that, at the very least, she wanted him to try again. "Well, she wants you to try again, if that counts for anything. Perhaps you owe it to her to do so." As he was contemplating those words, I continued on. "And maybe you might lose it all over again. But maybe you won't. Wouldn't it feel better to try finding out? Giving it your all until it's all over?"
Because that was how I did things. Not necessarily the whole "giving it your all," I much preferred sitting back and letting the world go by if I had the opportunity, but when it came to a fight? I'd rather go down kicking and screaming than letting the galaxy take me. And I imagine this old dog would feel the same about the life he lived.
"... You might be right about it all," he acknowledged. Now, he was tempted to look at the bag once more, though I could still see flickers of guilt dance about. "Still, much as I hate to deny that girl's conviction, I don't feel like I can use this money. There's no way it's clean."
One last obstacle. And there was only one way to clear it.
I looked around, wondering if there would be anyone trying to hear us. My palms weren't tingling, so maybe there wasn't. Still, it couldn't hurt to be sure. "Arona? Is there anyone or anything around?"
"As far as I can tell, there aren't any bugs or people that could spy on you nearby. You should be safe."
"Good." I then closed down the blinds on the window, just to be a little safer. The Master looked at me a little cautiously at my behavior. I didn't return the favor, simply staring at the closed window.
"Consider this a hypothetical then," I mused. "Imagine that there was a group of students working hard to save their district. They work part-time jobs, take on contracts, try to clean up the neighborhood and get paid."
"Hmmmhmm. Hypothetical. I'm sure," he snorted.
"A simple thought exercise, precisely," I answered, my own humor not nearly matching his. "Imagine if they have several months where they dutifully settle their obligations to their debtors and struggle to the next month before doing it again, and wonder why things never seem to change. And then, when trying to find things out, they realize that their debtors have been using their hard-earned money to make things harder for them. Paying for thugs, delinquents, gangers and the like to go after them and their home, in the hopes of making sure they won't ever pay their dues, excusing them to take everything they have."
I could feel his mouth go dry at my story, and didn't have to look at him to hear the way his paws clenched.
"So in retaliation, they steal the money in order to hide the fact that they also investigated this whole operation. Contacts, transactions, the works. And then they gave the money to someone else, because they could never possibly use it. Whatever happened with that money?" He shrugged. "What a mystery for the ages."
"... Quite a story you have there," the Master said quietly.
"Consider that the money was earned through honest work, and only made dirty by those who deceptively asked for it. Would you say then that this money isn't worth taking, especially when it was willingly given to you? When some of it could, hypothetically, be yours?" Which, given that Serika worked here part-time, made that more than a little likely.
I opened up the blinds once more, my story finished. "We won't be the only ones disappointed if you never cook again. You have a chance most others don't have. Honestly? I'd suggest you take it."
I then left the room, leaving the Master to ponder his own future, as I breathed out a sigh, wondering about my own.
That was a risk, but considering that the old dog got caught up in this mess because of me and the rest of my students, I couldn't help but try to convince him to get back on his feet as soon as he could. Plus, with how ridiculous my life was going, I'm sure the Emperor was keeping a keen eye on me and would surely give me a break for my good deeds.
If nothing else, it'd expedite the process of getting some high-class ramen again.
Thankfully, the trek back to the school was uneventful. Ayane and Serika were having their turn with the Master while buying food for us afterwards, leaving Shiroko and Nonomi to hold down the fort. Once we returned, they were there to meet us, with Nonomi enthusiastically waving at us as she walked up to our parked van.
"Ah, welcome back you two! How's the Master?"
"He's getting better," I answered as I locked the van. "He's up without any serious injuries. He should be ready and raring to go sooner rather than later."
"Oh wow, that means he really wants to get back to cooking!" She said happily, though a small bit of sadness entered her eyes. "I don't see how that will work out for him though… He probably doesn't have much money left…"
"More than you might think," I clarified for her, much to her confusion. I couldn't help but smile. "Once Ayane and Serika get back, I'll tell you everything."
"Oh wow!" With the possibility of one of her well-known neighborhood acquaintances being able to get back on his feet, her mood was lightened considerably. "That's great! Thanks for your help, Sensei!"
I raised my eyebrow in confusion. "Why do you think I had anything to do with it?"
"Obviously you would!" She chuckled. "Am I right, Hoshino?"
"Yup, you're right," she replied with a conspiring grin. "He definitely helped him out when we couldn't."
I remember when I had to actually work to get all the credit. I'd usually just bask in all the kudos on my own, but for the sake of the upcoming operation I had to be a little more ambiguous here. "That's not the entire story, but I suppose I did play my part in lightening his mood."
"Knew it," Nonomi said, clapping her hands together. "You've really been doing a lot for us around here. It's obvious that you'd do your best for the Master too. So thanks for everything Sensei, really."
"Of course." It felt distinctly uncomfortable knowing how much these girls believed in me and relied on me, especially in this particular case when I didn't quite do everything, but I hid my discomfort behind my usual easygoing smile.
"That being said, I'll be going back to the rooms for a nap," Hoshino said, putting her hands behind her head. "Call me when you need me!"
Hoshino swiftly left for the academy rooms, any trace of her depressed behavior gone. Shiroko silently stared after her, before looking back towards me. "I'll go back inside. You should relax until our work starts, Sensei."
"Of course. You as well, Shiroko."
As she followed Hoshino into the building. Nonomi's smile became strained once more. "She's been like that the whole morning, Sensei. I don't know what's going on with her."
I did, unfortunately. I was probably the only one among the group who knew, because she talked to me about it personally. And just like it wasn't pleasant for her to figure out, I figured it wouldn't be any comfort for the rest. So of course, I told Shiroko to keep it under wraps, for everyone's sakes. "It's been difficult. She just needs time to adjust."
Of course, she didn't buy it, looking at me with worry, but relenting in the end.
"We've been able to do so much since you came by, Sensei," she said once more. "Fending off all those gangers, rescuing Serika, getting those files from Kaiser… It's been so much." And yet, for all those accomplishments, she knew they were still, ultimately, not much closer to saving their district than they were before, a conclusion which revealed itself in the uncertainty that tainted her final question. "But do you think we can keep moving forward?"
I let out a deep sigh. When there was no reason to act confident or brave, there was little reason to hide what little truths I could show.
"We can only try our best."
When she finally laid eyes on Abydos, she had to say it was looking far worse than she expected.
"Wow, this looks less like a school and more like a dig site."
A little crass, but frankly, she couldn't say Mutsuki was wrong. Sure, she could expect a little sand in a desert, but for the supposed largest and wealthiest academy in the city, she expected it a little more outside the building rather than in. It seeped into the rooms, covered places that definitely didn't need to be covered, and dusted the whole building inside and out. With how much it weathered the structure, it looked less affluent and way more ancient.
"To think we were charged with attacking this place…" her boss said mournfully.
And yet, they only laid eyes on it when they were invited as contacts, after failing to attack its students. The irony wasn't lost on her, though whether her boss cottoned onto it was a bit of a coin toss.
"It's so dusty that it looks like it could suit the likes of me…" Haruka whimpered, only to realize how that sounded as she cupped her face in shame. "Augh, that's so impolite! Should I just bury myself to make up for that…?"
"That won't be necessary!"
She shook her head in resignation of her team's usual antics as she continued to look towards the academy. Truth be told, she wasn't really sure of being invited here. Admittedly, Sensei making sure they didn't starve yesterday after their boss decided to give away all their (dis)honestly earned cash, did warm her a bit to the idea, but she still couldn't get a read on the guy. And now, they were meeting on former enemy territory, and if that little qualifier was gone, they were going to be in real trouble. And after everything Mutsuki thought about yesterday's case, she wondered if that was only going to be a matter of time.
Still, as it usually was with Problem Solver 68, there was little else for Onikata Kayoko to do but stick her hands in her pockets, follow her boss, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
"Welcome, Problem Solver. Thank you for answering our invitation."
There to greet them was none other than Sensei, along with most of Abydos. They were complete this time, their President finally here and their operator no doubt watching from a hidden drone. She likely alerted the rest of the group of their arrival, and came outside to greet them, guns and all, demonstrating that there would be no funny business allowed. If they were lucky, none of it would be needed.
There was an unusual tension in the air between the Abydos students, though as far as she could tell, none of it was directed towards them. Whatever the case, she took her left hand out of her pocket while the other lazily remained where it was. She could draw her pistol from her holster if need be, but she didn't need to give off the impression that she was ready too.
Not that that little secret was kept. Cain-Sensei's casual smile didn't hide the sharp movements of his eyes on her hands, and she wondered if he was failing at subtlety, or letting her see so her hands wouldn't be tempted to go for her weapon. It was with a sinking feeling that she wondered if she would notice if he actually tried to be subtle.
"Of course, of course!" Her boss said proudly. "After how you treated us, how could we not?"
"Plus, it's not like we have any other plans anyway!" Mutuski added bluntly, the opportunity to torpedo her childhood friend's confidence impossible to pass up.
As usual, Aru flinched at the suggestion and snapped towards her supposed subordinate in embarrassment. "Y-you didn't have to say that!"
"Good to see you're as energetic as always." That cat girl, Serika, seemed almost happy to see them. Certainly an improvement from every other time they met, especially last time. If Sensei visited the Master after their boss handed over the cash this morning and told the rest of the girls, that would probably be why.
"Eh, you know us. You gotta see the bright side of things while working for a boss like ours!" Mutsuki said happily. "Then again, looking at this place… I guess you'd understand, wouldn't you?"
"... Fair enough," Serika sighed, conceding the similarity of their circumstances.
"It's good to have so many people over to the school!" That jubilant minigunner, Nonomi, said with a much brighter (though slightly strained) smile. "Come on in! We can have brunch!"
"Food!" Mutsuki said happily. "Well then, if you'll let us in…"
"Just don't cause any trouble now!" Their missing member, Hoshino, said. "Little ol' me doesn't want to strain herself after waking up…"
Considering that she was a match for Haruka in a frontline fight, she hoped she wouldn't have to. Still, Mutsuki was right. Food was tempting encouragement for everyone, and they followed them inside.
As expected, it was sandy all the way through. Even the building interiors were yellowed from the utter profusion of sand, the only exceptions being the rare few rooms that were cleaned. The ones they used, probably, because they could only really spare the effort of cleaning what was necessary in between their work for paying off their debts. That included the cafeteria, and only barely. Most of the scant tables and abandoned booths still had sand on them, and even if food wasn't served on it and the remaining student of the FTF wasn't there, she could easily see where they would eat by virtue of it being the only place that was clean. As it was, their meal for the brunch (another smattering of bento boxes, which was practically luxurious by their standards) and the one who served it being there only signposted their eating area all the more.
"Oh, it's you, four-eyes! Still watching us from all your other peepers, eh?" As usual, Mustuki couldn't resist ribbing on a new face she liked. "Maybe four-eyes isn't enough for you anymore, huh?"
"That's already too much for me, but I can't exactly stop you, can I?" Kayoko couldn't help but feel for the poor girl, already resigned to her new nickname. Still, at least she wasn't too offended, and the rest of her crew seemed to take it in good humor.
"None of us have eaten either, so we can save the discussions after all of us have filled up." He graciously motioned them towards the seats. "Please, have a seat so we can all eat together."
In the interests of hospitality, the Sensei bid them to sit first. They did as he asked, and the Abydos students followed, ending with him. With one bento box each set in front of them, they all readied themselves to eat, clapping their hands together for the customary thanksgiving before the meal.
"Itadakimasu."
Even Cain-Sensei joined in, though she could clearly see that he was new at doing it. Probably wasn't a custom where he came from, which wouldn't be surprising. What was surprising was that, while everyone quickly began opening their boxes and digging in, Cain-Sensei took off a glove before he did so.
Just one glove. The other one, he left behind.
"You know Sensei, if you wanted to keep your gloves clean you should've taken both of them off," Mutsuki interrupted her meal to state the obvious, though naturally she was just fishing for answers.
"Less about my gloves, more about the injury it's covering," he said matter-of-factly, a little piece of trivia which definitely caught everyone's interest.
"An injury?!" Of course, it was her boss who was most interested. "What happened?! What could possibly hurt you so badly that you'd keep the results of it hidden from others?! It can't be anything normal if it debilitates someone of your constitution!"
Her interest was quite warranted. He shrugged off her bullets like they were nothing, and while 9x19 Parabellum wasn't exactly a heavy hitter in Kivotos, it could at least provoke a reaction out of most people. What exactly could hurt someone as durable as him this badly?
He silently pondered the question, seeming quite reluctant to answer. "Well… I'll give you that. It's not a weapon you girls are used to."
"You mean like your laser gun and your chainsaw sword?" Mutsuki continued, eyes shining with interest.
"Laspistol and chainsword," he corrected. "And no. It was something worse. Far, far worse than my own humble arms."
Yes, those humble arms which he used to counter-snipe a target two stories and a street across from him in a quick draw, and scythe through a tank. "Really? Like… What?"
"Something I'd rather not talk about."
Given how accommodating he was with them, the gentle request to not pry was one they couldn't really ignore in earnest, and despite her team's curiosity, they relented on that front. "Wow. For someone who managed to no-sell Kayoko's panic bullets like they were nothing, you really don't wanna talk about this one, huh?"
"You must understand that it was my job to keep other people from breaking and running away from our foes," he explained. "So naturally, I was trained to steel my resolve to encourage others to do the same. I could hardly keep others from fleeing if I bolted at the first sign of trouble, could I?"
"Of course, of course…" Aru said with fond admiration. "Leaders must set an example for their subordinates, shouldn't they?"
True enough, but Aru had a bad habit of pretending she had everything under control, while being one mistake away from curling up into a ball. She liked her moxie, she really did, but a better head on her shoulders would do all of them favors.
Sensei seemed to raise an eyebrow at Aru's reaction before sighing. "Of course, that doesn't mean I just act recklessly and charge straight ahead. Prudence and caution are just as important as valor. Even fear is good. We feel it for a reason. So long as you can control it instead of letting it control you, you'll be all the better for having it."
OK, that was good advice. That was really good advice for their leader. It probably wouldn't stop her from trying (and failing) to keep up appearances, but it would encourage her to think straight at least. Aru seemed to take the idea as a revelation, her eyes brightening and widening. "You… You feel fear too, Sensei?"
He could only chuckle at the words, finding it incredibly funny for reasons only he knew. "Of course, just like anyone else. For all my achievements, I'm no invincible paragon or omnipotent god. At the end of everything, I'm simply a normal person." He shrugged amicably. "In fact, it was because I'd felt it before that I could fight so well under Kayoko's influence."
Now this was something even she could latch onto. "What do you mean?" This was something that involved her own powers. She couldn't afford to ignore it.
This time, he turned to her as he spoke, realizing why this was important to her. "Fear can be a bane or a boon at any given moment. At worst, it can make you catatonic, unresponsive, paralyzed with terror. At best, it can push you further than ever before, as your panic heightens your senses and reflexes to deal with the threat, and the spectrum can range from anything in between." He cupped his hands together as he continued. "So far, the enemies you've faced have either been disabled by the terror you've inflicted on them, or resisted its effects. They've never used it to their advantage as I have. Someone else might. To that end, you ought to consider the caliber of your targets before you terrorize them. You never know when they might turn it against you, intentional or not."
Enlightening indeed. Obviously, her bullets didn't work on everyone, but she never considered it ever being a problem if they did work. Now that she thought about it, nobody ever went buck wild berserk under her horrifying powers, but as his own performance showed, there was a first time for everything.
"I'll keep that in mind," she told him sincerely. "Thanks for the advice, Sensei. I didn't think I'd get to learn from you today, but I guess you got your job for a reason."
"It's no problem," he said humbly and amicably. "Most people tend to think of me leading soldiers and fighting battles rather than teaching students." A small smile crossed his face. "Dealing with troublesome pupils and advising classes hardly stimulates the mind compared to war stories, after all."
"Well, we like both parts of you," that soft-spoken girl, Shiroko, commented earnestly. "We like you because you're just as great off the field of battle as you are on it, Sensei. We wouldn't have it any other way."
Quite earnest, that girl was. It was a touching compliment, one that seemed to catch even Cain-Sensei off-guard. "Thank you, Shiroko. I'm trying my best."
Unfortunately, she gave it while Mutsuki was around. "Oh, how adorable! Could this be the start of a little student-teacher romance?"
Oh boy… Seems she hit the mark on that one, Shiroko flinched at the accusation, her head snapping towards the Sensei (who, for his part, was keeping a completely unimpressed straight face) before immediately turning back to Mutsuki. "That isn't it. I was just… being honest in how I saw him."
"Yeah, I'm afraid you're wrong about that one," the sleepy president replied sagely, crossing her arms and nodding her head… before a teasing smirk blossomed on her face. "She started that quite a while ago. Practically love at first sight."
The wolf girl stared at her companion in utter betrayal. "N-no, that's not it-!"
"Hahaha, what a show!" Mutsuki guffawed. "Well, what about you Sensei? Have you ever tried teaching your students more… intimate lessons back home?"
It was supposed to be a joke, but for some reason the atmosphere in the room seemed to electrify at the question. This was an interesting enough topic, and most of the Abydos members seemed to think of it as just something funny to think about, but Shiroko and Serika seemed incredibly distressed at the question, and when she looked back at her own troupe Aru and Haruka's eyes were bulging out way too much for them just to be taking it in a stride.
Oh dear god, if Cain-Sensei answered wrong, he might as well be digging his own grave here. Still, he seemed not to mind, looking blankly around at all the stares directed at him before sighing.
"My students trusted me to teach them how to fight and survive, and such relationships would only take away from that." He then gave a conspiratorial grin. "Of course, they were a little more busy with each other rather than me, so I wouldn't know."
"Well-well now!" Mutsuki laughed. "Deciding to pair off your students so you wouldn't take any of them for yourself? Pretty sly, Sensei. I have to approve." The dangerous atmosphere was about to subside, but her relief came far too early, because Mutsuki of course had to throw her own bag of explosives to the fire. "And if somebody were to try and go for you now?"
She had to pity Sensei here. The atmosphere felt suffocating as it felt like the entire table stared at him, and everyone who was deadly interested before were practically boring holes through him with their eyes. Incredibly, the man didn't seem to sweat under the attention, merely giving Mutsuki a displeased frown.
"We can think about that later. We have much to discuss, so eat before the food gets cold."
The crushing sense of disappointment was palpable, with most of the girls merely groaning at Sensei's non-answer, while Shiroko, Serika, Haruka and Aru confused themselves between relief and dissatisfaction. As for her, she was just relieved she could breathe again.
"Aw, come on, Sensei. That's lame," Hoshino whined.
"Coward," Mutsuki muttered, though the chaos she nearly brought about was enough to bring up a small grin from her.
"Perhaps," he said dramatically, "but one that's still breathing, which is good enough for me."
"Haha, fair enough!" Her mischievous teammate accepted with a chuckle as she started digging in once again.
As the rest of the table moved on from the conversation, either sating their appetites or focusing on other topics, she had to give it to him, that was an enlightening start to the day.
She'd only seen glimpses of it before, but he was one smooth operator. A lesser man might've panicked under that death flag, but he was completely calm under pressure. Not surprising, for a guy who has led them to casually take apart the Prefect Team like a broken toy.
No doubt about it, this was a job that suited him down to the ground.
It took a while, but in a little under an hour, they finished their meals. She was honestly getting a little wary of how good things were going, the majority of their time here wasn't spent tightening their belts and enduring pangs of hunger. They were actually being productive, and now here they were. She wondered where all of it was leading.
"Thanks for another good day of treating us, Sensei!" Mutsuki thanked him after the meal, practically patting her belly in contentment. "This is the longest we haven't been really hungry in a while now!"
"Consider it partial payment for everything you've done for us so far," he said. "Reckless as it was, your rather…" and here he smiled and turned to Aru, "extravagant donation…" a flinch from their boss later, and he continued with a chuckle, "was not unappreciated. This was the least we could do."
"I'll admit that it was a bit much…" Aru said nervously. "But I didn't know how else to use the money. I was afraid that it could be traced to me, I didn't know how to spend it and honestly? I felt bad for using money that I hadn't really earned."
"So if you had actually robbed that bank yourselves, you would've used it?" Serika followed, sounding like she wasn't entirely sure whether she supported using it or not.
"That's-!" Aru broke out into a sweat. Well, if they robbed it, they'd be robbing Abydos' money, come to think of it. How that'd work out for them was a question she didn't bother dealing with right now. "Well… I might have…"
"That will be a story for another day," Cain Sensei declared, cutting off the discussion. "After all, we have a much more important one to be getting to. Isn't that right?"
Right, the main reason why they were spared a trip back to Gehenna in handcuffs (alongside Sensei, probably) and treated to a meal. The investigation.
"What happened yesterday," Aru answered him. "Honestly? There isn't much to say."
"We didn't know what else to do for the day, so we just decided to have lunch at Shiba Seki Ramen," Kayoko said. "It was closed, but the Master wanted to treat us to food anyway."
"Yeah… He's like that," Serika said wistfully.
"We talked for a bit about…" Aru's eyes flickered towards Sensei before pointedly looking away from him. "Other things, and just as we were about to eat, the place blew up."
"I didn't really get hurt too badly. I didn't get thrown outside either." Haruka continued, because of course she didn't, she was their juggernaut. If she was as strong as she became shortly afterward thanks to Cain-Sensei, she probably wouldn't have even flinched from the entire thing "I decided to search for the Master, because I didn't know if he was still inside. I found him unconscious and trapped under some broken furniture, so I had to dig him out and carry him down."
"And you know the rest," Aru finished. Yup, a near confrontation with Abydos, saving Haruka and the Master, an actual confrontation with the Prefect Team… And now, here.
Aside from other possible plans (none of which sounded good in her eyes), she talked about the whole case with Mutsuki yesterday, reviewing what they knew. And their conclusions didn't seem very nice. Not that she wanted to voice them.
"It was a pretty clean job," Mutsuki began, her proficiency with explosives coming to the fore. "Only one explosion if I remember correctly, and the entire thing went up in flames. Either you had really good equipment, or you had someone who knew the place and knew what they were doing, placing the C4 in places like pipes or vents to cause maximum damage and fire spread."
And wouldn't you know it, there was someone in this room that fit that description, one who didn't have an alibi. Someone who was missing from their sight for way too long.
She couldn't understand what motive she could possibly have. But she fit far too well.
She had a pretty good poker face today. She didn't change her expression at all upon hearing the story, and she wasn't sure how many would believe her story. But that little President was the most suspicious one here.
She scanned the faces of everyone else among the Foreclosure Task Force.
"Damn. Someone else we have to keep an eye out for," Serika snarled, angry but completely oblivious to the idea.
"We just have to be careful. We never know what else they might do." Nonomi said, looking at them with worry.
"The best I can do is increase surveillance. I have a few more drones that I can float around." Then there was Ayane, who was recording the information in her tablet, and probably looking over anything else she could how smart she was, this was no doubt a blind spot of hers.
But then she saw Shiroko, looking utterly crushed at the information, yet trying very hard to hide it. It didn't escape her, but it might be missed by someone else.
And of course, Cain-Sensei, whose eyes met hers. She had to school her expression to not look surprised. There was a cold sharpness in them that practically froze her in place.
He knew far more than he let on. And yet he didn't say a thing.
Why?
"Well, this is quite interesting indeed," Cain Sensei finally announced, the words breaking the spell she was in. "We'll take this advice into account once we start investigating this. Thank you for your cooperation."
"It's no problem Sensei," Aru said proudly. "We're happy to help."
"But obviously, thanks won't be enough," he replied, his hands going to his pockets, "which is why I have this."
He fished out a humble white envelope from his pocket and handed it over to Aru. Her eyes rose in curiosity as she received it, and practically shot up as she opened it.
"Whoa, what is i-" Mutsuki sidled over to take a look and whistled as she laid eyes on it. "Wowee, that's a lot of cash!"
"Yesterday's engagement was difficult, and you served admirably as I conscripted you to act as part of SCHALE," Cain-sensei began. "You need to be compensated properly."
Kayoko took a look and couldn't help but feel grateful and elated herself. A cool 15k. This would be enough to tide them over for a bit, get themselves back on their feet before working again.
"Wow…" Aru's eyes were practically shining. "This… This is incredible."
"Well, you helped us out quite a lot," Ayane said with a tiny smile. "It's just about right."
"Yeah, you did alright," Serika allowed a small compliment, imperiously crossing her arms. "So that sounds good for a day job."
"Wow… We did good! Maybe we can have more bean sprouts?" Haruka suggested, lowballing everything as she usually did.
"We can have more than that Haruka!" Aru said proudly. "But in moderation, of course!"
"It's so weird to end up getting paid by the marks!" Mutsuki laughed, enjoying the irony quite well.
"I can't believe it…" Aru said, closing the envelope and holding it close like a precious treasure. "Thank you, Sensei, really."
"If you wish, we could end things there," he said with a smile. "Our initial objective for calling you over is completed. You can pack up your things, prepare to leave the district, and we'll let you go without raising a fuss."
"Aww. Just when we were starting to get along." Mutsuki crossed her hands behind her head as she ribbed him, sounding honestly sad that they had to go.
The way he worded that however, she knew that there was more to say. "And if we don't?"
The table was silent at Kayoko's question, the rest of her team staring at her, and then slowly turning towards Sensei. He paused as he looked at her, not saying a word. He remained silent as he put his hand in his pocket and, to their surprise, brought out another envelope.
"This is a down payment," he said. "for exactly as much as that one."
The rest of the team gasped. A chance to land 30,000 yen in their pockets. It was incredibly tempting.
It was also, very likely, incredibly dangerous. She wasn't sure she wanted to try and take it.
But her boss might. A chance to work with Cain-Sensei again, plus the opportunity to fill their coffers more? She sincerely hoped her boss would at least ask!
"... What does it entail?"
Incredibly, her hopes were answered. She couldn't believe Aru wasn't jumping at the bit to accept this task "for the glory of Problem Solver 68". She was actually being careful!
Despite the hesitation, Cain-Sensei seemed to smile at Aru's question, almost seeming proud. "Nothing less than the betrayal of your old employers, and, if things go wrong, facing a significant detachment of their armed forces."
Bad odds to face. But at the very least, these were odds they knew they were facing. Sensei continued on. "Accepting this money means I'm conscripting you again for something even more dangerous than the engagement we had yesterday. It's also an agreement of confidentiality. You'll be provided with everything you need to work with us once more, including why I'm asking you for help. But I will not say a word of it unless you're absolutely sure you want to join us. Are you absolutely sure?"
She was respecting him even more now. It would be painfully easy to simply ask Aru to help them, cashing in on the goodwill he had with them, but he was doing this on their terms. It felt less like conscripting them for SCHALE, and more like hiring them as fixers. Not only that, he was far more professional about it than their last client, treating this like a real business discussion rather than throwing out recruitments and acting like they should be thankful they were dignified to work for them at all. They could back out right now, and there wouldn't be anything wrong.
Aru looked at them, her team, her ragtag company of Problem Solver 68. "Well, girls? What do you think?
"I'll do whatever you wish, Lady Aru!" Haruka declared her loyalty as she usually did.
"If nothing else, it'll be interesting to stick it back to Kaiser," Mutsuki agreed, already seeming quite eager for payback.
And as for her? Well, she had some doubts, and this would be hard and painful work, but if she couldn't deal with that, she wouldn't be sticking with these absolute lunatics. Not that she had any right to talk, heavens help her, she liked being with them.
"It doesn't seem like a bad deal. But in the end, I gotta follow the boss."
"Well, if Kayoko says so, then it's decided! Problem Solver 68 is happy to accept this job!" Aru said proudly. "We'll be happy to work with you, Cain-Sensei!"
The realization slammed into her like a rocket, and she suddenly realized exactly why Cain-Sensei seemed to keep an eye out for her. If he wanted this to be really, really easy, he could've proposed this plan yesterday when he was alone with Aru, and she and the rest would have little choice but to follow. If she was around to vet the decision, between her own opinions and Aru's own sudden bout of caution, there'd be a greater chance of saying no. But now, they were in unanimous agreement. The deal was set in stone, one way or another, and unlike their deal with Kaiser, they'd have far less room to complain.
She already knew he was a shrewd one. She didn't expect this much.
"Very good," he said as he shook their boss' hand with a magnanimous smile. "We're all looking forward to working with you, Problem Solver."
"Yay! We get to work together again!" Nonomi said happily, as open to more friendship and cooperation as she expected. The rest of Abydos seemed to be quite encouraged as well. If nothing else, 8 students was better than 4.
He looked over each and every one of them with the same smile, finally landing on her, showing that he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Well? Do you have any questions?"
"Several." If he was giving her the stage, then she might as well take to it. "Why us? You could probably call any of the other academies for this. Even the JTF and the Prefect Team would be glad to help you."
Because they were just a group of fixers he met when they tried to deal with the students he was protecting. Surely the military forces of other academies would be a better fit for this. He could probably get better manpower and materiel from them too. It was, after all, part of his privileges of being a Sensei.
"A fair assessment," he allowed. "While I do genuinely believe that the threat posed by Kaiser is worthy of an inter-academy response, I'm trying to be more subtle. This first job will be reconnaissance of the Abydos Desert, trying to survey the state of their armed forces and discerning what their objective for being in the desert is."
Reconnaissance? And he was bringing along all of them? "Isn't that sort of thing generally better for smaller teams?"
"Under normal circumstances," he agreed. "But depending on the strength of their detection protocols, we may need diversions. And depending on how spread out they are… I might try destroying individual bases as well."
OK, this was way bigger than she expected, but she couldn't say she was unprepared. Still, this was a surprise. "So you've learned that they have bases in the desert? Where? Were those in the files you stole from the bank-"
No. Wait a minute. That was one idea. The other idea suddenly came to her, the overwhelming presence that could have annihilated the day before smashing into the forefront of her mind.
"You learned that from Hina, didn't you?" she said, divining the agreement between her and Sensei the moment she connected the dots. There was absolutely no way that he'd let Gehenna leave scot free without something important, and given that Ako said that the Head Prefect was gone, only for her to suddenly appear in Abydos of all places? It was entirely possible she just might have come from the desert herself. Quite a business trip, she had to say.
"Wow, this girl's a sharp one!" Hoshino said in surprise. "Gotta say Ms. CEO, you really know how to pick 'em!"
"Really?" Caught off-guard by an unironic compliment, Aru stared in shock before puffing herself up as usual. "But of course! She's part of Problem Solver for a reason!"
Even Sensei was surprised at her realization but chuckled for reasons known only to him. "In a manner of speaking. She did indeed offer us that information. Along with other more urgent problems." He shook his head. "In particular, the state of the district. Do you find our pace a little too fast? A little too reckless?"
Undoubtedly. Going from finding out about massive company operations in the desert to thinking about taking out individual bases once you learned of their strength was unfathomable. So why was he doing this now of all times?
He continued after her nod. "That's because she tipped us off to how dangerously wide Kaiser's grip is. Technically, the Prefect Team wasn't trespassing onto Abydos territory after all."
That little clarification took a second to figure out, but she flinched once she caught on.
"Oh hells," she said quietly. "Kaiser's bought off most of Abydos already, hasn't it?"
Her team gave off various sounds of shock and dismay at her answer. The Abydos girls only looked more forlorn, while Cain-Sensei merely gave a grim nod. "Between the debts of individual citizens and collateral handed over to pay off little more than the interest, practically nothing but the school itself is under the district's ownership."
Which was an utter travesty. Land and buildings within a district's territory were under academy ownership, but things were so awful in Abydos that most of it was given away to the ownership of a single company.
It was absurd how bad things were here. She couldn't help but feel pity for the flagging spirits of its citizens and the desperate few students left.
"But that's just…" Aru didn't have the words to describe it. None of them did really. "Why would they give away everything like that?"
"Tale as old as time," Hoshino answered her, dichromatic eyes full of sorrow. "People do stupid things when they get desperate."
And are you one of them?
That one statement was forming the beginnings of a motive there. But she could shelve that for later. This was far more important, because things were starting to connect. "You didn't know about this?"
"No I didn't," the team president answered sadly. "That was done by the Student Council before me. Even back then things were bad. The student body was in single digits, all non Blu-Ray classes were canceled due to lack of faculty and the Student Council was just me and the girl with the lowest grades in the academy. And SHE was the President. Imagine that!" She tried to pass it off as a joke, but it was a desperate attempt at some good humor that she knew wouldn't work, especially when the mere mention of this unknown girl caused her to wince ever so slightly. "Our own school records of those transactions were lost in the move here. This isn't the original Abydos Academy, just a satellite school."
She should've known. Even if it wasn't a sandblasted ruin, there was no way this was the academy of the largest and most affluent district. And now, she could understand their haste. "And Kaiser didn't tell you any of this, did they?"
"They've certainly never told us, for all the time they've reminded us of SO many other things," Serika answered with a nasty glare.
"But incidents like yesterday's might make them know we know now," Ayane truly answered for her. "How they'll use that knowledge is a subject we'd rather not learn."
"But why didn't the General Student Council do anything about this?!" Aru said, appalled. "This just doesn't make sense."
Who knows? Maybe they didn't want to get involved. Maybe Kaiser was too big for them to deal with.
Or maybe…
"... This is why you called for us, didn't you?" Kayoko said faintly. "You aren't sure you could trust them."
The rest of Problem Solver was once again aghast at her supposition as Cain Sensei stilled. then clasped his hands together and motioned for her to continue.
"As a federal investigator and an agent of your governing body, it isn't exactly good form for me to tell you not to trust my technical superiors," he said with an air of clinical distaste. "But why they haven't done anything about this is… questionable, in my eyes."
Understandably so. One could make an argument for the other academies trying to stay out of the way. But not the GSC.
"I was wondering why you called for us instead of the bigger academies," she said, her curiosity finally laid to rest. "Even if not them, if you had any other choice, you'd probably call for SRT."
"SRT?" Haruka perked up in curiosity, with a few of the Abydos girls joining her. "What's that?"
"The Special Response Team," Kayoko said offhandedly. "It's a special academy formed under the direction of the GSC President, made exactly for this sort of investigation. They're skilled in infiltration and espionage, and acted with the President's authority, which meant investigating a gigantic corporation like this would be right up their alley, and if things turned loud, well, they're the ones who arrested Wakamo." Cain-Sensei also had the achievement of fending her off, but having another squad with that feather under their cap would be nothing if not helpful. She shook her head. "Unfortunately after the President disappeared, they've… sort of been in limbo. The GSC have been arguing on what exactly to do with them, whether they should be dismantled and spread to other academies or keep operating as they are." And between the chaos of the President's disappearance and the anarchy that gripped Kivotos for the past few weeks, she doubted they were reaching a consensus anytime soon. "Technically, Sensei could break the deadlock and force the issue just so he could recruit them now, but trying to deputize them would mean talking to the rest of the General Student Council, which, obviously, Sensei doesn't want to do."
Imagine having some of the highest authorities in the city, and yet being unable to truly use it because of suspicion of the very people you work for. For all his power, it seemed Sensei had his own burdens to carry. She didn't envy him even a little.
"Your intuition is just as impressive as I expected," Cain Sensei said, in surprise and honest respect. "Yes. We need to work with measured haste, before Kaiser starts to overstep its bounds and throw their weight directly at the academy. Is everything clear now?"
She nodded, her burning questions finally put to rest. "There's nothing more Sensei. It's you now."
He nodded. "Anyone else?" No one interrupted him. "Very well. Here is our mission." All of the students readied themselves for Sensei's words, his voice hardening into the tone of a true military commander. "Our enemies have put an unfathomable amount of effort into taking over the district, and with your Head Prefect's intel, we can only imagine what fell designs they have. So our objective is to head out into the desert, observe their operations and find out why. And should we find the opportunity… We put a stop to them. Understood?"
"Yes, Sensei," they all said together.
"Very good. We leave today." He checked his watch. "We leave at 2:30 PM. Prepare for at least four days of travel. You can draw from our supplies, so long as you allow Ayane to inventory everything you take, down to the last bullet. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Sensei."
He clapped his hands together, the sound echoing through the sandy halls. "Then the meeting is adjourned. Prep time starts now."
Just as they were about to make for the storage rooms though, they could hear the whoosh and whir of propellers through the roof. She snapped her head upwards, her hand ready to draw her pistol when Sensei asked her to calm down.
"Good reflexes," he complimented her, "but no need for that. This is planned."
She wondered what he knew as he led them outside, laying eyes on a cargo helicopter touching down in front of the academy. From within its confines, she was overcome with surprise as the unwelcome sight of a certain blue-haired administrator came into view.
"Goodness, the reports were an understatement, this place IS in dire need of help. No wonder they fought so hard…" She shook her hands as she went down to meet them, as though pained. Her curious expression darkened into a frown as she laid eyes on them. "Oh. It's you. Not a pleasant sight."
"Right back at you, Senior Administrator," she deadpanned.
"You seem to be making yourselves at home here," came the flat reply. "You aren't going to be causing any trouble, are you?"
"Once again, that's a question we ought to ask you," she riposted with equal flatness. "We were asked to come here, and we agreed. I'm guessing YOU were forced to come here."
"Your presence among troublemakers like them is, once again, a waste of your potential."
She and Ako continued to glare at each other, each daring the other to open their mouths and continue their verbal spar, before they heard a rough throat clear behind them.
"Are we going to have to leave you alone, or can we come in?" She whipped her head back to see Cain Sensei with an almost straight face, his amusement betrayed by eyes shining as he looked at her, and she had to tamp down her embarrassment. Hard to do when the Abydos students weren't even bothering to conceal their amusement while her friends were either panicking (Aru and Haruka) or laughing (Mutsuki).
"Sorry, Sensei," she grumbled in slight shame as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. "That was… Unprofessional."
"No harm done," he said. "We all had… Troubles from our last meeting, didn't we?"
"The Prefect Team is here?!" Aru gawked. "But I thought that they weren't allowed to come!"
"Unless we let them," Sensei clarified for them. "And for now, we did. Though it is true that it's a case-by-case basis."
"Of course," the Senior Administrator sighed. "We're here to make our delivery, as agreed."
She nodded towards the hull, and at her request, a group of Prefect Team members carried two gigantic boxes outside.
"10 Flak 41 artillery shells, five to make up for the ones you fired, plus another helping for apology by the Head Prefect's request." Ako listed off for me. "And… A little more."
Sensei raised an eyebrow as Ako withdrew a small sheet of paper from her pockets and handed it to him. He unfolded it, and his eyes lit up at the contents.
"A rudimentary map. Very helpful." A map of the desert? Sensei handed it over to her to look it over, and yeah, rudimentary was right, but no less a boon for it. Nothing more than simple pencil sketches by Hina, but now they knew of at least three bases, with a large central base. She motioned for that drone operator, Ayane, to come over, and she was just as excited at what she was given. "Your aid is welcome, Senior Administrator. Is there anything else?"
"Quite," she began, sounding rather hesitant, before groaning and steeling herself. "Upon reflection, I realized that I committed a grave mistake yesterday that would have been to the ruin of us all. For that, I apologize."
Was she dreaming? The idea of Ako apologizing already sounded absurd, but to her complete and utter surprise, Ako bowed her head before Sensei in contrition. "I am sorry, Cain-Sensei. Please, do not let my offense affect your opinion of the rest of the Prefect Team."
This was unprecedented. Ako never really apologized, and had a habit of stubbornly ignoring opinions that weren't Hina's. That was probably WHY she apologized. There was no way she came to this conclusion on her own.
"Raise your head, Senior Administrator," Sensei replied firmly, but not cruelly, encouraging the girl to face him with a hopeful face. "You've apologized and while you haven't QUITE made up for it just yet, you're on the way there. Continue on this path, and I might work with you again."
But she was making the effort. Hina probably gave her a tongue lashing and a little exercise of her own, if the state of her hands was any clue. She could give her that much.
"Sensei's pretty accommodating, Ako," she told her, her hands in her pockets once more. "We caused a lot of trouble for him, but things are working out with us. Just don't make a habit of it and things ought to be fine."
Ako was quite taken aback that she made an effort to reassure her. To be fair, she didn't expect that to come out either, so she wasn't sure between either of them who was more surprised. "Well, if you say so, then I suppose I'll just have to work as hard as I can for the next time we meet. Till next time, Sensei."
The Prefect Team members who lifted the shells inside briefly looked in awe at the sight as they moved back, which meant they froze over completely when Sensei noticed. "Thank you for your efforts as well. Is there anything else?"
Panicked like deer in headlights, they could find no other reaction other than to instinctively salute. "N-nothing else sir! Till next time!" And then they scurried away to the shelter of their vehicle.
As the helicopter powered on and eventually took off, soaring back to Gehenna, she couldn't help but understand their confusion. There were good odds that these girls were there yesterday, as part of the contingent that Ako shanghaied into trying to abduct Sensei, and after utterly dominating them in battle, they saw the same man treating them nearly affably.
"They aren't to blame for their superiors' orders," he said plainly, as though he could read her mind, like he seemingly did with nearly every other thought she had. "They fought well, and when they didn't need to, they quickly stopped. I can't resent them for that."
The cool, objective experience of a veteran commander. Probably one who experienced frustrations just as bad as the rest of the Prefect Team too.
This little brunch meeting was filling in more ways than one. She had a lot to eat and a lot to think about now, all due to the man who was their enemy, and now their employer.
Life was strange like that. But that was life as a member of Problem Solver, as a student of Gehenna and citizen of Kivotos.
It was strange, but she couldn't say it was too bad at all.
*Chapter 20, Starting Again, END*
Both this chapter and the last were edited by Doc43Souls. A big thank you.
I honestly had doubts about putting in more about the Master and his friend in the beginning and whether it would serve the story or not, but I think I have a way to connect things later.
So now PS68 is coming along for the ride on the first trip through the desert. How about that?
Something about Cain that was present even in his younger years is that he can be guilt tripped into doing a little good.. Remember, young Cain is more selfish than he was in his later years, and yet he feels guilty about his friend Divas losing a potential girlfriend because he found a nest of genestealers, leading to a purge of the general area. He wasn't even there at the purge that got her killed, and killing off a literal infected and mind controlled human host leaves very few moral quandaries even if he did land the killing blow, yet he still felt guilty enough to go with him to a play, despite him not really wanting to. Many of his accidental exploits came about because he was trying to stay out of the action, but him managing to find the source of the genestealers on Keffia was due to him just trying to be a good friend and console somebody who generally annoyed him. Obviously he didn't WANT to be a hero, but the cause was pretty different, you have to admit.
Now, centuries later as a much better man, I do believe he'd be open enough to risk his own secrets getting out just to console a demoralized person, especially when said person helped him out as well.
And then, of course, there's Kayoko. The girl is incredibly perceptive. She constantly manages to figure out subtext and seems to be very-well informed. She was the one who first mentioned Saint Nephthys in the entire story, and she's from Gehenna. And with SRT having originally been public, I have little doubt that she knows about both them and the problems they're going through.
Not of the conspiracies they're taking part in though. I can't have Kayoko be THAT well-informed.
In the OG Blue Archive, the exposition was the Abydos girls finding out about the very, very big problem of Kaiser's takeover of the district on their own. Now, it's them explaining it to Problem Solver to catch them up on it. They've had time to take it in, but one night isn't exactly an eternity to calm down.
And finally, the most minor of all things, is setting up Cain's relationship with the Prefect Team. Not the big wigs, the little girls on the side. While he's no average grunt, having fought beside such people for decades, he understands their perspective and their side more than most, so he'll have no problem building rapport with any of them.
So when will the next chapter come out? Difficult to say, I'm working out all the details of the desert trip, hopefully it won't take too long.
And speaking of time… Has anyone noticed? It's been a year already. I originally posted this on Space Battles on January 24, and look at us now.
This crossover was nothing more than a whim, and it's blossomed even more than I thought possible. I'm floored by all the support you're giving this story, even through all the delays. Thank you so much for everything.
Till next time! Here's to another year!