"I'm going to hack into their power grid. Please get into position!" Ayane informed.
Nodding to one another, we prepared to breach the doors to the Stygian Bank, the guards posted outside already taken care of. The Foreclosure Task Force members' facial features were largely hidden, but their eyes belied varying degrees of excitement, or apprehension, in the case of some. Hifumi, for her part, seemed terrified at what we were about to do.
As for me? I could barely contain my excitement.
An actual bank, like those that had existed in pre-war America. And we were about to rob it, akin to mobsters and criminal gangs from those ancient stories and comic books. I didn't even have to feel bad about it, since the money I was about to take was the same money that was stolen from the Abydos students.
My time in Kivotos had its ups and downs, but pulling a fast one on these grifters would be one of the highlights. I was sure of it.
"Now!" our operator exclaimed.
Time to break the bank.
Shiroko and I kicked open the doors to the bank at the exact moment the lights in the bank went out. We rushed in, and I caught only a brief glimpse of the building's occupants before total darkness took over, the only things visible now being the TV screen faces of the robots present, and haloes of our group and the bank's occupants. Sounds of concern and irritation came from a good majority of the bank's customers, but they were none the wiser from our presence.
Smooth sailing so far. Time to proceed with the rest of the plan.
My current helmet lacked any low-light vision, sensory amplifiers, or any of the other fun widgets my usual one had. I quickly took a dose of Cateye to counteract this, with Shiroko doing the same using the Cateye I had provided beforehand. Hoshino, apparently, had excellent low-light vision to begin with and thus did not need one. The three of us would more than suffice for this phase of our plan.
The Cateye took effect, and my scant vision was augmented by the pale outlines of objects in the darkness, which was enough for me to identify our targets.
The bank's main area consisted of several kiosks, which were manned by three robots. Forming lines in front of the kiosks were customers of various races, ranging from dogs, cats, robots, and a few students. On the side in what looked like a consultant's area was another robotic employee in front of…the Problem Solver 68 students? What the hell were they doing here?
Aru confusedly looked around, as did the rest of her group. I raised an eyebrow at their presence but I had no intention of attacking them unless they tried assisting the enemy. I'd keep an eye on them, just in case.
For now, I set my sights on the real targets – the armed guards who, true to Shiroko's word, were posted at specific portions of the bank. Easily approaching one under the cover of the darkness, I swept her legs out from under her in one smooth motion using the Ranger Takedown. The helmeted guard yelped as she fell on her back. Before she could brandish her weapon to fire, I unstrapped my hunting shotgun, Dinner Bell, and repeatedly bashed the guard with the butt of the weapon until her halo disappeared and she went limp. Shiroko and Hoshino each got to work on dispatching their guards, easily overpowering the blinded guards in melee.
One of the guards' guns fired during the struggle, causing the small crowd of customers to recoil from the abrupt gunfire. Some of them brought out their cell phones and attempted to light up the room, while some others tried to leave, only to be stopped by Nonomi, who stood closely in the way of the exit.
Ayane mentioned that we had less than a minute until the bank's automated generators kicked in, and about five minutes until the black market police caught wind of what was happening. We needed to be quick.
I lowered Dinner Bell with my right hand and held up my Lucky revolver with the other, firing at the remaining guard. Shiroko moved to my side and assisted me with her rifle fire, and though the guard blindly tried to fire back, she fell to our combined effort.
The lights suddenly turned back on, and once they did, pandemonium ensued.
Some customers screamed and began panicking as they saw us; others loudly gasped. Several even stopped to stare at me, evidently flabbergasted by me, or rather, my halo. So far none of the students present drew their weapons, perhaps out of fear or shock.
Before the chaos could escalate further, Shiroko raised her weapon into the air and let loose a stream of bullets, quieting the small crowd and causing their attention to snap to us.
"Nobody move!" she commanded, the loudest I've ever heard her speak.
"This is a stick up! So you get any funny ideas, and we'll turn you into Swiss cheese!" Serika announced, scowling as she pointed her gun at the onlookers.
"Y-yeah! Swiss cheese! What she said…" Hifumi shakily pointed her pink rifle at the crowd.
One of the incapacitated guards began to recover and slowly attempted to get to her feet. Intent on making an example of the guard, I swaggered over to her, stowing my guns.
"Get back on the ground, fucking profligate!" I shouted to the guard who was on one knee.
I've always wanted to say that. And since we were the villains this time around, might as well play the part.
"Profligate?" she repeated, baffled. "What the hell does that mean-gurk!"
The guard was interrupted mid-sentence as I reared back my right arm and uppercutted her in the jaw, triggering Two-Step Goodbye's wrist-mounted shotgun. The force of my punch plus the force of the point-blank shotgun blast sent the guard flying several feet into the air above us. At the crux of her ascent, the guard beeped thrice before she exploded, damaging the roof of the bank and causing the onlookers to scream in terror. Even my teammates seemed momentarily stunned by the lightshow.
The Two-Step Goodbye wasn't a terribly practical weapon. The wrist-mounted shotgun packed a punch, but the ensuing close-quarters explosion tended to be a liability in enclosed spaces. But right now, I had plenty of room, and the weapon was flashy enough to leave a strong impression on those watching, which, in a world where everyone was bulletproof, was exactly what we needed.
And the weapon was just plain satisfying to use, so there was that.
Shiroko nodded, as if that was what she was expecting all along. "Mm. See what happens when you make Vance angry? You end up like-" she pointed at the unconscious guard who, at that moment, fell to the ground with a thud, "-her."
Hoshino butted in, amusement in her mismatched eyes. "And if you think Vance is vicious, you don't wanna see what Vikki is capable of," she said, before tilting her head in Hifumi's direction, grinning mischievously. "Or worse. Faust."
"Faust?" Hifumi dumbly reiterated, before realization dawned on her. "A-are you talking about me?"
"Vance may be a mean sonofagun, but Faust is a living, breathing death threat," Hoshino continued, paying no mind to the latter's question.
"Nobody messes with Faust!" Nonomi added, giggling.
"B-but…"
While Hoshino and Hifumi kept watch over our impromptu audience, Shiroko and I approached the robotic bank tellers. One of them was frantically pressing a button behind the counter. Shiroko trained her gun's sights on him.
"You. Step away from the counter," I ordered, threatening him with Dinner Bell.
"We've already disabled your communications, so it's no use anyway," Shiroko informed.
"Eek!" the robot raised his arms into the air. "Whatever you want, it's yours! Cash, gold, anything!"
I perked up at the mention of gold before I tempered my inner avarice. It would be lovely to have a stock of gold to fall back on here in Kivotos, but we didn't have time to lug around sacks of gold. We were already almost halfway to five minutes.
Shiroko tossed a leather bag onto the counter, then returned her hands to her weapon.
"We'll be taking all your cash," I stated.
"And throw in your transport logs while you're at it," Shiroko ordered.
"Okay! Okay! Just please don't hurt me!" The robot took the bag and hastily walked to the back of the room, opening a chute from which he took out stacks of cash and began shoveling them into the bag.
"You got another bag, Vikki?" I asked.
Shiroko smiled, her eyes twinkling at the pseudonym, though she never removed her eyesight from the bank teller. "Of course, Vance." She handed me an identical bag. "Have fun."
Intent on doing just that, I walked over to the second bank teller. He shook in his boots at the sight of me. I threw the bag onto the counter.
"Alright, shitbag. You know the deal."
The robot glanced at Shiroko, then at his fellow robot who was filling up her bag, then back at me. "But…" the robot bravely started to protest.
Without a hint of hesitation, I activated V.A.T.S. and targeted the robot's left arm. I fired, the 12 Gauge pulse slug embedding itself in the robot's arm, sending sparks and metallic parts flying into the air as the robot fell to the ground screaming. The pulse slug had quite a lovely side effect in that the EMP sent the bank teller into what looked like a robotic version of a seizure. The spectators from the crowd gasped.
Ignoring the thrashing robot on the floor, I moved to the third bank teller, who fearfully watched his coworker's plight.
"Don't worry, he'll probably live." I aimed Dinner Bell at this robot. "Can't say the same for you, though, if you don't put the damned money in the bag."
The robot didn't seem to hear what I said, as he was still transfixed and wide-eyed at his fellow banker.
I took a few menacing steps toward him, and he finally registered my advance.
"Wave to your little synth buddies!" I said gleefully. "Because I'm sending your ass to the junkyard!"
"Don't you think he's enjoying this a bit too much?" Serika muttered to Hoshino, who shrugged.
"Wait, wait!" The robot held out his hands in surrender, then took the bag. "See? I'm filling it up!"
"Attaboy."
I waited impatiently as he did as he was told, finishing nearly around the same time as Shiroko's did. Fear was a powerful motivator. As he returned it to me, I took one glance at its contents before I looked back at him.
"You trying to rip me off?"
"What? But I filled it up, just like you asked!" he refuted.
I took the bag in my hands, and after a few seconds of reorganizing its contents, gave it back to him. "No, you haven't."
The robot looked into the bag and, seeing that nearly half the bag was empty again, widened his eyes in shock. If he had a jaw, I'm sure it would have dropped. He profusely apologized and returned to filling up the bag. I rearranged Shiroko's bag as well, freeing up room in the bag to fit more money in, and her banker got back to work as well.
Being a [Pack Rat] had its perks, although I didn't expect for the value of careful packing to extend to bank robbery.
"Thanks, Vance," Shiroko said, though the look in her eyes suggested that she was going to ask about what I did in detail later.
"There, you got what you wanted. Could you please let us go now?" the bank teller whimpered as he handed us back the bulging bags of cash.
Almost a minute left. At this point I was just being petty, but it's about sending a message, damn it.
"Nope. Because you haven't filled up Faust's bag as well," I replied evilly.
"Eh?" Hifumi turned to us.
"That's right. You need to pay your dues to Faust, you profligates," Shiroko said with a straight face, causing me to snicker.
Serika nudged Hifumi in our direction, and the Trinity student walked to us.
"A-ah, um…" Hifumi stuttered in front of the bankers, who looked at her like how one would look at a Yao Guai.
"Oya, see the way she's shaking? Faust can barely contain her bloodlust, so you better hurry," Hoshino added, noting Hifumi's disposition, though I sincerely doubted it was bloodlust that was making her shake.
Upon Shiroko's insistence, Hifumi removed her Radchicken backpack and handed it to the terrified bankers, who promptly began filling it up. Once they were finished, Hifumi redonned the backpack, the hapless Radchicken bulging from the excess cargo.
I would've liked to optimize her backpack's storage to fit more money in, but as it so happened, we were out of time. Nodding to one another, we decided it was time to make our getaway.
"Let's ride into the sunset together, Vance," Shiroko said in heavily accented English as she hoisted her bag over one shoulder. Had she been practicing the language?
"Um…" Hifumi began nervously. "Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone. Have a good day!" she bade to the bank employees and customers, bowing politely.
"So polite and proper, even to your enemies…" Nonomi announced theatrically. "As expected of the leader of the Masked Swimsuit Gang!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Nonomi.
Wait, what?
"Hey, I never agreed to that dumb name!" Serika complained.
Neither did I. What the hell was I doing in a group called the Masked Swimsuit Gang, anyway? My "swimsuits" tended to consist of whatever I usually wore. Going around in an actual bathing suit in the Wasteland was just asking to get killed or worse.
Now, if we were named after something like The Kings, I would have been more on board. Then again, I supposed The Kings wouldn't make much sense, given the lopsided gender distribution of our team members…
Shiroko, meanwhile, had different concerns.
"I thought Vance was the leader."
"Nah, just look at that paper bag on Faust's head. If that doesn't scream 'leader', then what does?" Hoshino argued.
"Vance has unique headgear, too."
"But you can't see his eyes. Meanwhile, just look into Faust's soulless, dead-to-the-world eyes, and tell me there is a god, Vikki."
"I beg your pardon?!" Faust was offended.
"Can we please save the internal power struggle for later?" Ayane reminded us.
Kicking open the doors leading out of the bank, we made our way out of the building, with Nonomi watching the rear. Hearing the distant sounds of police sirens, we began to make a run for Abydos district.
We barely made it onto the street when several portions of the Stygian Bank exploded.
It was hard for Aru to admit, but Problem Solver 68 was on its last legs.
They had no money, the mercenaries they hired had abandoned them, and Aru's chief of staff was still recovering from her injuries from her mishandled bomb (though Mutsuki insisted it wasn't hers). They couldn't even turn back to Gehenna, since it was more than likely that the damnable Prefect Team were keeping a close eye out for them.
The operation at Abydos was an abject failure, no thanks to the Abydos students' invisible benefactor. If only Problem Solver could remove them from the equation, that'd at least tip the scales more in their favor.
But how does one fight something they can't even see?
Numbers did not help - they were whittled down slowly but surely despite their numerical advantage.
Contrary to their employer's intel, the Abydos students were decidedly not low on ammunition like they should have been.
An outlandish idea came to Aru's head that, given the lack of viable options, she was forced to consider. There was one movie that Aru saw when she was still in middle school, involving a commando that used mud to help fight off an invisible alien. Maybe they could do the same?
Then again, Aru wasn't a commando, nor was the invisible person an alien. At least, she thought so.
In any case, something had to be done. Kayoko had been on the alert back at base, even more so than usual. But she could only sacrifice her own sleep for so long.
The thought caused Aru to feel pangs of guilt. Her treasured employee, no, her friend, was ensuring that their group stayed safe in a foreign district, at personal cost. Meanwhile, Aru was supposed to lead Problem Solver 68 to become the greatest outlaw group in Kivotos.
And what did she have to show for it? Their group was penniless, hungry… And their targets still roamed free.
But she wouldn't let herself stay discouraged. She owed it to her friends to ensure they made a name for themselves. And she had promised a certain true outlaw that they would succeed.
To that end, they found themselves in the Stygian Bank in the infamous black market, seeking its illicit financial support.
Aru wasn't entirely sure what they'd do with a loan. Mercenaries were not as effective as she had hoped, so perhaps they could acquire a combat vehicle or a piece of cutting-edge Millennium tech to even the odds. They could always figure something out once they had the backing of the black market.
"Denied."
"W-what?!" Aru was stricken at the robotic consultant's immediate response. "But you haven't even heard the rest of our proposal!"
"I don't need to. This job of yours has 'unprofitable' written all over it. What are you going to do with that much money against one target?"
"W-well…any good plan always has insurance…"
The robot sighed. "Look, we aren't running a charity here. Before we allocate capital to your little group, we need to know that you'll have the means to pay off the loan once you're done." The robot flipped through a few pages of what were probably their records. "And judging by your credit history, I sincerely doubt you will be able to."
"We will!" Aru insisted. "Our employer has us slated for the biggest payout you've ever seen!" she blustered. It wasn't necessarily a lie - the money that their employer had promised them was significant, especially for a group of their size.
The robot gave Aru one long look. "Well…if you're certain you'd be able to pay it off…" He clasped his hands together. "Why don't we discuss terms? The black market is a reliable creditor, but only to reliable debtors."
Aru gulped.
Debt. The word evoked unpleasant ideas, especially when the black market was involved. Problem Solver 68 did not deal with them directly very often, but they made it clear what happens to debtors who default on their payments.
Did Aru want to shackle Problem Solver to debt even when their success in this mission wasn't guaranteed?
Aru bit her lip and looked at her employees. Mutsuki was fast asleep on a couch in the waiting area, her head resting on her bag. Kayoko boredly swiped on her phone, wearing A-pods that blasted death metal at the highest possible volume. Haruka was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she went to the bathroom. They had been waiting for several hours, after all.
In the absence of counsel, Aru searched inward for an answer.
What would Texas Red do? Aru found herself thinking.
Aru turned back to the consultant, who expectantly awaited her answer. Before she could give an answer, however, the lights abruptly shut off.
"Hey, what gives?" one patron complained.
There were loud thumping noises, followed by gunshots, making Aru recoil. What was going on?
The lights turned back on, and Aru couldn't believe her eyes.
There were six people, and all of them had their faces hidden behind some manner of disguise. Four of them wore ski masks, while the other two wore a paper bag with eye cutouts and a motorcycle helmet with jail clothing, respectively. Either the menacing one with the bag on her head or the helmeted one just had to be the leader.
As Aru looked more closely, however, the latter was a male with a halo! She hadn't ever heard of such a thing in Kivotos.
Mutsuki and Kayoko quickly went to Aru's side, looking unsure of what to do. The consultant she was just speaking to watched in abject shock as the new arrivals started barking out orders at the bank's patrons.
Aru could only watch as number 6 punched a guard into the air, making her explode. The crowd and employees cowered, and from what the masked gang members said, their intentions became clear.
They were robbing a bank! And not just any bank, but the black market bank!
That was…so…badass!
These guys were real outlaws, to the core! Utterly fearless of the black market, who had influence in every corner of the city. Tied down by no one – not the GSC, not Valkyrie, not even their fellow criminals in the black market.
They were everything that Aru aspired to be.
Straining her hearing, she picked up the names Vikki and Vance. Were they a criminal duo, like those in the movies? But then why were they part of a larger gang? Aru just had to know. She was eager to get a closer look into the lives of true hard-boiled outlaws.
"Those uniforms…" Kayoko mused. "They're from Abydos. Why are they here?"
"You think this is why we were hired to take them out?" Mutsuki asked.
"Doubt it."
"Wait a second, that guy, Vance…" Mutsuki squinted. "Is that Sensei?"
Kayoko shook her head, though she also looked like she didn't quite know what to make of him. "Don't think so. This Vance guy has a halo."
Her friends' words caused Aru to watch Vance closer as he held up one of the bankers at gunpoint. He even injured one, just to show that he wasn't to be messed with.
There was something about Vance. The way he carried himself, the way he moved, the way he acted…
It was crazy, and she knew none of her friends would believe her, but Aru knew in her heart…
…That this had to be Texas Red.
Who else would have the sheer guts to rob the largest, most organized criminal hub in the city? Given Texas Red's exploits in the past, such a thing would surely be nothing to him.
Aru even felt a bit of envy well up in her at the sight of Vikki. To be able to assist such a seasoned outlaw as he did what he did best… Aru could only dream of having the courage to vilify the entire criminal realm.
"Um…" Haruka had evidently returned at some point, finished with whatever she had been doing. "So, what are we going to do?"
"I don't see any reason to get involved, so let's just stay put," Kayoko said.
Vikki and Vance finished their business with the bankers, even ensuring that the bank paid tribute to the enigmatic Faust. As they departed, Vikki got into an argument with another gang member about who the leader of the Masked Swimsuit Gang (they even had an official name!) was.
A power struggle between the merciless Vance and the bloodthirsty Faust… Aru shuddered to think of such a confrontation. And yet, it made sense. Such powerful, overbearing personalities were bound to clash over the leadership of a gang of the hardest criminals known to Kivotos.
The gang made their getaway, and the bank descended into chaos immediately after. Patrons were crashing into each other trying to leave the premises, and bank personnel frantically worked to bring their communications back online.
Aru knew that the Masked Swimsuit Gang was about to face the combined might of the black market police force, which was said to eclipse that of Valkyrie by several orders of magnitude. She was sure that, with Texas Red and Faust on their side, the gang could escape. Helping would be hypocritical of her, as she refused Texas Red's offer of help the other day. The smart thing to do would be to lay low until the chaos dies down, then resume gathering resources for another assault on Abydos.
And yet…
"We should help them," Aru blurted out before she could stop herself, immediately regretting it.
Despite her volume never exceeding that of a murmur, her friends heard her through all the surrounding commotion.
"Why?" Kayoko questioned. "We don't have any ties to them. And do we really want the Prefect Team and the black market after us?"
Mutsuki shrugged. "I mean, I don't mind, but…" She sported a mischievous grin. "That would make us really outlaws. Are you sure about this, Aru-chan?"
Aru's bravado faltered. It was just a whim to begin with; she never had much stake in the idea anyway. "On second thought, maybe we shouldn't…"
"Heheheh…" The members of Problem Solver 68 turned to the source of the creepy giggling. "Heheheheheheh…"
"…Haruka?" Aru said.
"So that's what you want, Aru-sama…"
"…Huh?"
"They were insolent. Unforgivable…" Haruka's normally downcast features warped into an unhinged smile.
"What are you talking about, Haruka?" Aru started to become very nervous.
"I didn't like how those bankers were talking to you, Aru-sama. So, I decided they wouldn't ever talk to you like that ever again. Or to anyone. For the rest of their lives."
Haruka reached into her uniform and pulled out a detonator.
Aru's eyes widened, as did the rest of the group's.
That was what she was doing all along?!
"Haruka, wait-"
The detonator beeped, and all hell broke loose.
The market stalls soon came into sight. The black market was huge, so while that meant that we had a lot of ground we had to cover, that meant the police did too.
And fortunately for us, the explosion at the bank (which, to the surprise of my team, I had nothing to do with) seemed to have bought us a bit of time – more time until the police caught up to us, that is. Any guards or police we had come across were not the bulk of their forces, so they were easily dispatched.
Letting the heavily fortified Hoshino to lead the vanguard, I brought up the rear. I was wearing very light armor, so I'd have to let Hoshino take the bulk of the fire.
Hifumi lagged behind as usual, but for some reason she stopped completely, something that Shiroko and I were quick to notice. We signaled to the gang to stop as we ran to Faust.
"Faust, what's wrong?" Shiroko asked.
Hifumi didn't immediately respond, as her gaze was transfixed on one merchant's wares. "That's the one…" she muttered forlornly.
"The one what?" Shiroko asked before she followed Hifumi's gaze. In the merchant's stall were several toys on display, one of which was the merch Hifumi showed us on her phone earlier.
"The scalper from earlier…"
I wasn't well versed in Kivotos' economy that well yet, but even I could recognize exorbitant prices at a glance. I wasn't sure if we could afford one of those plushies even with all the money in Faust's backpack.
While Hifumi's gaze was longingly fixated on the plushie, Shiroko and I shared a look, then nodded to each other.
I've misjudged you, Hifumi. You truly are worthy of the mantle of Faust, I thought humoredly.
"Mm. Don't worry, Faust. Vance and I have you covered."
"What do you mean?"
Shiroko raised her weapon at the merchant, a stocky-looking robot. "Put the Peroro merch in the bag!" she barked, gesturing at the bag I held out.
"Eh?!" Hifumi looked at us in shock, while the merchant shat his figurative pants.
"You heard Vikki! Hand over the Radchicken and nobody gets hurt!" I shouted.
Everyone, including Hifumi, turned to me in confusion.
"The what now?" the merchant asked.
"Are you deaf? I said for you to give us the Peroro thingie!" I yelled while pointing Lucky at him, causing him to flinch.
"Tell him which one, Faust," Shiroko said.
"A-ah… The limited-edition collector's item from the Peroro and Ice Cream franchise collaboration…"
"Here! Take it!" The merchant dropped it into my bag. "Just don't hurt me!"
"You're lucky that Faust is in a good mood," I said ominously, before Shiroko and I turned and ran. Hifumi took some time before catching up, presumably because she apologized to the merchant.
"Um… Did we have to do that?" Hifumi tentatively asked.
"Nope. But it felt good, didn't it?" I grinned.
"Ah…" Hifumi looked conflicted. "I mean, I don't like scalpers too much, but…"
"Look at it this way. We're liberating your bird from the clutches of the criminal enterprise," I offered.
"I guess…" Faust was mollified a bit by that, before she sternly rebuked me. "But he's not just a 'bird'! Or whatever a 'Radchicken' is. He's Peroro-sama!" I couldn't see her mouth, but I was willing to bet caps she was currently pouting.
I didn't reply, instead choosing to ruffle her hair. Due to her disguise, I just ended up awkwardly wrinkling the bag on her head. "Whoops."
The group resumed running, getting good distance, while black market patrons and passerby wisely gave us a wide berth. We continued until the sound of sirens got too close, and the Masked Swimsuit Gang got into formation.
Several armored cars obscured the way forward, and police armored in black exited from each one.
And so, we fought the law.
Hoshino was pelted by the initial wave of bullets and, despite several of them hitting her in the head, her disguise was unaffected, just like how Serika's clothing was mostly intact from the artillery shell. It was only a preliminary assumption, but I theorized that a halo's protection extended to their clothing as well.
I didn't have any such luxury, as a round ripped into my sleeve, thankfully stopped by the ballistic fibers woven underneath. I took cover behind a stall as several enemies saw me and concentrated fire on me.
It was then I realized something.
Gunfights here were exclusively between students. Whenever I, a halo-less human, entered a gunfight, there was always some degree of surprise at my presence, followed by a hesitance to shoot at me.
Now I knew why – they knew I didn't have the same protections they did.
The notion that my enemies were holding back on account of my safety was a new one, and I found their self-imposed handicap to be infuriating at worst, and demeaning at best. I had survived much worse than teenagers with guns, though to be fair they had no way of knowing that. Nevertheless, this gave me an advantage in Kivotos gunfights, so I was happy to exploit it.
However, now that I was disguised as a student…
Not only did I stand out in my jailhouse clothing from the rest of the team, but I was also taller and larger than the others. This meant that I was an intimidating target, and thus a priority to take out.
Several of the enemy straight up ignored Hoshino to focus fire on me. My cover was destroyed, so I rolled to nearby cover to weather the hailstorm of bullets. Hoshino and the others looked back in concern before they pressed the assault to give me breathing room.
"Christina, Karyl, give me cover! I'm going in!" Hoshino ordered.
"'Kay!"
"Alright!"
Serika and Nonomi suppressed the enemies closest to us while Hoshino approached them head-on. Hifumi stuck with Serika, taking shots with her pink rifle and finishing off whatever enemies she could. Shiroko stayed close to me, giving fire support and trying to draw the enemy's attention away.
With my firearm choice in my disguise limited to Dinner Bell and Lucky, I drew Lucky and began picking off targets from long range. Even with hand loaded rounds, the firepower wasn't the greatest, but around two clips were enough to finish one enemy. Retreating back into cover, I used a speed loader to reload another six shots, then I resumed firing.
"Be advised, enemy air support incoming!" Ayane notified.
As soon as we finished off the first wave of black market police, a black helicopter descended to rain machine gun fire on our group, with Nonomi returning the favor. I took out Dinner Bell, which was still loaded with pulse slugs, to combat the new threat.
Suddenly, the telltale crack of a high-powered rifle pierced the commotion of the battle. Something glowing attached itself to the underbelly of the flying vehicle, and, after two seconds, the explosive round detonated, decimating the helicopter and raining fiery debris on the remaining black market police.
Surprised, I turned to the source – Aru, holding out her sniper rifle with one hand, smirking confidently. She blew the smoke from the barrel of the weapon while the members of Problem Solver 68 caught up with her.
Whatever kind of explosive round she used to do that, I wanted some.
"Problem Solver, we're assisting the Masked Swimsuit Gang!" she proclaimed.
Kayoko sighed, took her hands out of her pockets, and reluctantly unholstered her weapon. "Seriously, Boss?"
"Kufufu…" Mutsuki held a hand to her mouth, stifling giggles. "This is what Aru-chan planned all along, right?"
"O-of course!" Aru blustered, arrogantly putting a hand on her hip. "Ever since before we attacked Abydos, I had everything figured out!"
Mutsuki gave an expression of mock surprise. "Wow, leave it to Aru-chan being able to predict that she'd be helping Abydos rob a bank!"
"Naturally, I would-" Aru proudly said, before she realized what Mutsuki said. "Wait, what was that about Aby-" Several rounds from the police hit her in the face, interrupting her sentence.
"Ghh! Problem Solver, let's show these small timers why we're known as the best fixer agency in Kivotos!"
With the acknowledgement of her team members, Problem Solver 68 spread out to assist the gang against the black market forces.
"Heya, Faust!" Mutsuki greeted as she sidled up next to Hifumi. "Nice weather we're having, huh? Perfect for explosions."
"Ahahah…right…" Hifumi awkwardly said to her unexpected fire support. "Um, who are you?"
"They're those Problem Solver students!" Serika said, mistrustfully regarding Kayoko, who joined her. "Why are you helping us?"
"Dunno," Kayoko said simply as she fired her suppressed weapon at an enemy, taking them out of commission. "Boss said so, so ask her."
Hoshino watched with a raised eyebrow as she was joined on the frontline by Haruka, who harassed opponents with shotgun fire.
"Please die, please die, please die, please die, please die!" Haruka begged as she relentlessly fired her weapon into a single enemy's face, as if the weapon were an automatic.
Aru crouched as she laid down sniper fire, then she joined me in cover as she reloaded.
"Texas Red!" she said excitedly.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?
"Vance, what is she talking about?" Shiroko asked, sizing up Aru.
How the hell did she see through my disguise?! Not even Aru's teammates could figure it out earlier, and they were perceptive enough to figure out the Abydos students' disguises.
I checked to see if my halo was on right. It was.
So then how?!
"Look," I said neutrally. "I think you have the wrong guy…"
She shook her head persistently. "No, I'm certain it's you! Nobody could have pulled that off except for the legendary Texas Red!"
"Texas Red…" Shiroko repeated.
I groaned in exasperation, then leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to Aru. Shiroko's ears perked up as she tried to listen in, but given the chaos of battle, she probably couldn't hear.
"Aru, what do you think you're doing?!" I harshly whispered to her.
"Huh?" Aru was taken aback. "I-I'm helping you…"
"And I appreciate your help," I replied, causing her to beam. "But you can't just go around calling me by that name, you know? Gonna raise questions."
A look of horror spread across her face. "I-I'm so sorry, I never realized! How could I be so careless, giving out your true name like that…"
"I forgive you. Everyone makes mistakes. But just call me by my other names in front of other people, alright?"
"Got it!" Aru appeared as if I let her in on a secret no one else knew. "…Vance!"
With that, we returned to combat, though I occasionally caught Shiroko eyeing Aru with suspicion. With both our teams combined, we made short work of the remaining forces.
Before we could catch a breather, however, another wave approached from the front. Several black market police exited out of one armored vehicle and used it as cover.
Sensing an opportunity, I left cover and approached the front, taking cover near Hoshino.
"Hey, Uncle!"
Hoshino wrinkled her nose a bit at the nickname. "What's up, Vance?"
"Your shield big enough for two?"
A rifle round bounced off her head, which she didn't even acknowledge as she gave me a perplexed look. "Should be if you lay low, why?"
"I'm going in."
She stared for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "Feeling punchy, eh? Alrighty then. Buckle up, kiddo!"
Hoshino unfolded her shield, holding it in front of her. I quickly took up position behind the student, leaning down a bit to take full advantage of the shield's protection. Hoshino slowly approached the group and fired her shotgun in quick succession in a similar vein to Haruka, with the curious additional effect of disorienting enemies that were hit by her shells. Once we were close enough, I gave her the signal to stop. With the enemy briefly stunned by Hoshino, I quickly leapt out from the side toward the closest enemy and punched her, Two-Step Goodbye blowing her backward as she slid toward her teammates. I took some small arms fire from the enemy before I rushed back behind Hoshino's shield. The enemy I punched detonated, encompassing all her teammates and, as a bonus, wrecked the vehicle. I unstrapped Dinner Bell and loaded in normal shells, then assisted Hoshino and the rest of our teams in mopping up the enemy, Haruka working alongside us.
There was no time to celebrate, as the sound of sirens alerted us from behind. As we were in the heart of enemy territory, we needed to lose the enemy before we got surrounded. Problem Solver was still raring to go, but the Masked Swimsuit Gang could use a breather. The small arms fire I had taken was blocked for the most part by the Arona's timely barrier plus the ballistic vest I wore underneath the outfit, except for one stray round, which had penetrated my side. It didn't go very far, nor did it hit anything vital – in fact, it was already healed. The Monocyte Breeder synergized well with the regenerative effect of my halo.
"Gang! We're moving!" Hoshino announced.
The Masked Swimsuit Gang strode forward, flanked by Problem Solver 68. Mutsuki had taken it upon herself to deploy mines in the way of the incoming forces, which should ideally slow down, if not cripple, their vehicular advantage. Satisfied with her handiwork, I rejoined the Abydos students as they sought a place to lie low.
"So…" Mutsuki asked casually, leaning against a wall. "Why swimsuits?"
"Ask 'Christina'," Serika said flatly, sitting down on an adjacent crate in the dark alley.
"I don't see why not," Nonomi said. "Aren't you tickled by the idea of pop idol superstars by day, and evil-punishing outlaws by night?"
"No," I quickly said.
"Not really…" Hifumi added.
"There you go," Serika replied, crossing her arms. "And you didn't answer her original question."
"Well, every idol group has to have a gimmick, right?"
"We're not wearing swimsuits, though," Shiroko said.
"Not yet, Vikki. Not yet," Nonomi responded cryptically, looking at each of us, as if sizing us up for swimsuits. Her gaze lingered on me for a bit before she moved on.
Oh, hell no. I'd sooner fight Nonomi than let her put me in a swimsuit.
Ayane cleared her throat as her projection appeared in front of us, lighting up the dim alley we hid in. "So, it seems that we've lost the black market police for now. I've also submitted a few anonymous 'tips' concerning your location, so they're probably searching completely different areas right now."
"Mm. Good work, Number 0," Shiroko said.
"So…smooth sailing from here on out?" Serika asked hopefully.
"Ideally, yes. I've already sent you an ideal route of escape. The only issue now is…" Ayane glanced at the bags Shiroko and I held.
"The money," Hoshino said neutrally.
"What about it?" I asked. "We're not having any trouble carrying it."
"Well, it's not so much about carrying it, rather, what we're going to do with it," Ayane hesitantly remarked.
I scoffed. "What's there to discuss? We're using this to pay off the debt, aren't we?"
The looks on Hoshino and Ayane's faces said otherwise.
"Sensei…" Hoshino began.
"Wait, Sensei? You're saying that Vance is Sensei?" Mutsuki asked, confused, to which she received no answer. Problem Solver 68's presence was but an afterthought to the Abydos students, given the topic at hand.
"Don't tell me that you're getting cold feet now, of all times," I said irritably, crossing my arms. "We have exactly what we need now, don't we?"
Hoshino nodded. "Yeah. The transport logs, that is. Weren't you saying you wanted to gather evidence? Now we have it."
You gotta be shitting me.
"You're saying that, after all the trouble we went through, you're not even going to use this money?"
"…"
"…I…agree with Sensei," Serika said after a moment. "It's some criminal scumbags' money anyway, right?"
"This money would have just gone into funding more criminal activities, so why can't we use it for a good cause?" Nonomi tilted her head.
"That's beside the point!" Ayane shot back. "If we sacrifice the academy's integrity for this, we're no better than the ones who stole it!"
"Bullshit," I growled, causing the students to look at me in surprise. "Aside from today, do you students go around extorting? Threatening? This money is yours to begin with! Why would it suddenly make you 'as bad as them' if you're just taking back what's rightfully yours?!"
"Because we have to draw a line somewhere, Sensei!" Hoshino frowned. "If we just close our eyes and justify to ourselves that we're doing it for the greater good, what's stopping us from committing atrocities in the name of saving the academy?"
The other students stepped back as the argument became somewhat heated. Problem Solver 68 was understandably confused by the conflict. Shiroko looked conflicted between the two sides, each of which consisted of people she greatly respected.
"Your own morality, for one," I pointed out. "You don't seriously believe that defending yourself against people that have it out for you would suddenly make you a bad person, do you?"
Hoshino snorted. "Of course not. What we did today? I'll say that taking those guys down a peg was worth it."
"I don't see the issue, then. Why would you be opposed to using your own money?"
"…" Hoshino pursed her lips, then finally sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you." She took a step closer to me. "I don't want them to go down that path." Hoshino didn't specify, but I knew whom she was referring to.
"Do you think sheltering them from the realities of your situation is going to make it any better, Hoshino?" I asked softly.
She shook her head. "No. Believe me, if there were a way for me alone to solve our situation without having to put them on that path, I'd take it in a heartbeat."
"Senpai…" Shiroko murmured.
…I see…
The situation was reminiscent of the Sorrows Tribe in Zion Canyon. For the sake of preserving her underclassmen's innocence, Hoshino wanted to take the high road, like Daniel wanted to all those years ago. Sure, the decision would leave the members of Abydos with clean hands and clean consciences, but sentiment alone wouldn't rebuild their district. Against an opponent that was hellbent on taking everything they had, they'd have to fight fire with fire eventually. Ergo, the destructive yet effective path of Joshua Graham.
My gaze swept across these misfortunate students.
The hardworking Serika. The caring Nonomi. The conscientious Ayane. The sometimes questionable, yet determined Shiroko. And lastly, the secretive Hoshino, who hid her concerns about the future behind a lackadaisical veneer.
If these students wanted their home to flourish once again, sacrifices would have to be made. But…was there another way? One that didn't involve these students sullying their hands?
From a Wastelander's perspective, the choice was clear. Someone wrongs you, and in turn you do everything in your power to make their life hell.
But this wasn't the Wasteland. These students had options beyond perpetuating an endless cycle of retribution and hate.
…They had a teacher, one who didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
"…You're not going to use it, then?" I finally said.
"…No."
Resignation flashed across the students' features.
"Then…you wouldn't mind if I took the money, would you?" I asked as I patted the bag I was carrying.
Their eyes widened momentarily, as if they were surprised by the brazenness of what I just said.
"I guess," Hoshino shrugged. "Not like we can stop you. We helped take it, after all."
"Well, at least it's going to somebody we trust, rather than back to that bank, right?" Nonomi smiled weakly.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, to which Nonomi tilted her head in confusion. "This money's going straight to your debt."
"Didn't we just go over this, Sensei?" Hoshino replied in exasperation. "We're not going to-"
"Right. You're not going to. I'll make your payments on your behalf."
Hoshino and the others looked at me incredulously.
"Wait…" Hifumi said. "You can do that? I mean, you're not a part of Abydos' student council, so do you have the authority to make financial decisions for their academy?"
"Sure I can. After all, I was appointed as an advisor to the Foreclosure Task Force," I said, smiling fiendishly. Their club may not have been an official one, but Hoshino, even without the rest of the student council, still held enough power as vice president to enlist an advisor for the school itself. Thus, making payments for the school was very much something within my purview.
"But…isn't that dangerous? It would implicate Schale if you were to be caught…" Ayane worriedly said.
"Then I won't get caught," I stated matter-of-factly.
"You're gonna move that much cash without raising attention?" Serika noted, her inner treasurer coming to light.
"Yep. Shouldn't be too hard to move it in a way that doesn't implicate any of you."
"You kind of make it sound like you've done this before, Sensei," Nonomi commented.
"…I might have," I said dubiously, receiving questioning stares from the rest of the group. Aru gave me a knowing look.
After all, illicit business transactions were a dime a dozen in Vegas and even in the NCR. It was true that the abundance of advanced technology in this city may add an extra layer of difficulty, but I had Arona to help with that anyway. Frivolous as she was, she still had access to much of the city's cyber infrastructure.
"But why?"
I turned to see Hoshino scrutinizing me, as if I were a puzzle to be solved.
"Why go through all that for five students and their nearly abandoned district? What do you get out of it?" She furrowed her brow. "Heck, you could even take the money for yourself and not one of us would say anything about it."
"Oh, yeah," Serika spoke up, remembering something. "You couldn't even pay for ramen back then, so it's not like you don't need it, either."
Ouch. Way to hit below the belt.
Still, their words had not a hint of falsity to them. I very much did have a use for this much money. Just thinking about how many weapons and fancy Millennium tech I could acquire practically made me salivate. Hell, I could probably rebuild my Securitron army here with that much capital. To say that I was tempted with the prospect of becoming even richer here than back home was an understatement.
However…
I couldn't, in good faith, take this money. At least, not from Abydos.
I was fine with stealing, looting, pillaging - but only from those who deserved it. I'd long lost track of how many times I'd robbed the Legion or Powder Gangers blind, for instance.
But these students, at least to my knowledge, had done nothing that'd warrant that.
As for the "why" of things?
Thinking about the time I'd spent in this district so far, I found that I'd become attached to their merry little band. Furthermore, my investment in their plight now went beyond just sympathizing; I wanted them to be free. Free to live, not under the looming threat of Kaiser and a debt that the students had no hand in accruing.
The freedom to live as you pleased without fear was a commodity in the Wasteland. I dedicated much of my time in the past to the principle - I wasn't about to stop here.
And also…
"…You don't deserve to be saddled with the mistakes of your predecessors," I quietly finished.
"Sensei?" Ayane said. The students seemed taken off guard by the sudden somber shift in my tone.
I understood their situation like many Wasteland-born people would. I'd go as far as to say that anyone born into the shithole that was the post-war Wasteland, with few exceptions, understood on a visceral level what it was like to pay for the mistakes of your ancestors every single day. Be it the average Wastelander with their wanton death and violence, the New Vegas citizen with their depravity, the Vault Dwellers and their inhumane experiments, or even the Brotherhood with their unending confinement.
If keeping Abydos away from that kind of hopelessness meant using underhanded means, I would. I refused to stand idly by like the GSC.
Hoshino thoughtfully eyed me for a few moments before saying, "I'm guessing even if we refuse, you'll find a way to do it regardless, right?"
I grinned. "Maybe."
She sighed. "You're unreasonable, you know that?"
"When did I ever claim to be reasonable?"
"Fair." Her mismatched eyes glimmered as she gave a small smile. "Thanks, Sensei. For caring, I mean."
Hoshino still seemed on the fence on the whole thing, as did Ayane, so I suspected the thanks was regarding the fact that I was helping, rather than how I was helping. Nonomi and Serika agreed with the idea to begin with, so they noticeably brightened. Once Shiroko saw that Hoshino more or less accepted the plan, she smiled and nodded in agreement without hesitation.
The money wouldn't cover all the debt, and Kaiser still controlled the majority of the district, but it was a good start.
"Um…" Aru voiced out, interrupting the moment.
The Abydos crew plus Hifumi swiveled their heads to Problem Solver in surprise, as if they had completely forgotten their presence.
"Oh, right," Serika said. "They're here."
"D-did you really forget we were here?!" Aru asked indignantly.
"Yes."
"Yup."
"A-ahahah…"
Serika, Hoshino, and Hifumi replied, respectively.
Before Aru could repond, Haruka hesitantly spoke to her team. "U-um…they're our targets from Abydos, right? S-should I take them out?"
The entire group immediately tensed, but no one took out their weapons just yet. I didn't either, since I was confident that I could close the gap and disarm them if they tried anything. Though Haruka would be a tough nut to crack – she shrugged off as much punishment as Hoshino back there, and her weapon was ideal for close quarters.
"Try it and find out," Serika aggressively threatened.
"P-please don't provoke them, Serika-san…" Hifumi weakly interjected.
"Why not? They attacked us first!"
"W-we're not going to!" Aru claimed. "Out of respect for Vance, of course! A-and Faust, of course!"
Shiroko narrowed her eyes. "What's your relation to Vance?"
"You spoke to Sensei for like ten minutes in the ramen shop, and now you're saying you're all chummy with him?" Serika shot back in suspicion.
"N-no! We go back a long way, isn't that right, Vance?!" Aru lied, looking at me.
Before I could answer, Shiroko went to my side and pulled on my sleeve. "He already has a partner in crime, so you're unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?!" Aru exclaimed.
"Ahaha!" Mutsuki laughed. "Aru-chan's finally had a taste of the real outlaw life and immediately gets rejected!"
"Don't worry, Aru-sama! You'll still have me, for what little I'm worth…" Haruka tried to comfort her.
"S-shut it, both of you!" Aru sputtered, red in the face.
The tense atmosphere dissipated, Ayane uneasily smiled. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about fighting on two fronts at once…"
"I doubt we'd have been able to attack you even if we wanted to, anyway…" Kayoko muttered.
"Huh?" Ayane tilted her head. "Why not?"
"Because now that we helped you, both the Prefect Team and the black market are gonna have it out for us. Nowhere in Kivotos is safe now." Kayoko sighed.
That…was a very good point. They didn't wear disguises, either, so now everyone knew to look for their faces. Given the reach of the two factions they just pissed off, it didn't bode well for them.
"What about Abydos?" Mutsuki suggested.
"What about them? They're our failed contract," Aru replied bitterly.
"No, I mean the district. What if we hid there?"
"The black market has a lot of reach in our district, due to the absence of proper law enforcement," Ayane informed. "The only conceivable safe place would be the school…building…" she trailed off as she realized Mutsuki's intent. "Oh."
"Oh, no." Serika shook her head. "You aren't really suggesting-"
Mutsuki laid down her bag and weapon and happily started skipping over to me. She wrapped her arms around my left arm, ignoring Shiroko on the other side.
"Se~n~se~i~," Mutsuki cooed as she hugged my arm. "You wouldn't throw a delicate maiden like me onto the cold, hard streets, would you?"
"Delicate…" Aru began in disbelief.
"…Maiden?" Kayoko finished.
"Vance, Vance," Shiroko said, still tugging on my sleeve as she glared daggers at Mutsuki. "It looks like a parasite has attached itself to you. Let me remove it – by force, if necessary."
Mutsuki stuck her tongue out at Shiroko, causing her to bristle.
"The cat's out of the bag, you know, Shiroko-senpai?" Serika said emphatically, her cat ears twitching. "You can stop calling him Vance now."
"I refuse," Shiroko immediately stated, causing Serika to facepalm.
"So, how about it? Let us lie low for a while, pretty please?" Mutsuki asked again, giving her best puppy dog eyes. She wasn't as good at it as Arona or Rex, though.
The Problem Solver 68 students weren't bad people, contrary to what their leader believed. But unlike financial matters, security of the school was something I had limited influence over. Ultimately, it was up to Hoshino whether she wanted to let them in.
"Uncle?" I asked the vice president.
Hoshino put a hand to her chin. "No blowing stuff up, okay?"
"Aw…" Mutsuki wilted, straightening up when she was elbowed by Kayoko. "I mean, fine…"
Aru didn't look like she was very pleased at the prospect of accepting shelter from her former targets, but when faced with the idea of being hunted down by both the black market and Prefect Team, decided to bite the bullet. "That is…acceptable." She turned to her friend. "Haruka, no randomly setting up explosives, understood?"
"Okay…" Haruka shrank a bit. "I'm so sorry about the bank, Aru-sama…"
"Wait, the bank?" I asked. "You're the one who was responsible for blowing it up?"
Shaking, she nodded.
I walked over to her and raised my hand to her. She flinched, as if I was about to strike her, only to look up confusedly when I patted her on the head.
"Good work."
"You're…not mad?" she tentatively asked.
"Why would I be? I don't like them," I replied, to which she brightened and smiled somewhat creepily.
"Other than that," Hoshino continued, "you can stay for a bit. But fair warning: I'm gonna put you kids to work."
"You're just planning on offloading your share of the chores to Problem Solver, aren't you?" Serika blandly asked.
"Oji-san prefers the term 'community service', thank you very much."
Serika sighed. "First, they wanted to take our school and now we're just letting them in. How's that for irony...?"
With that settled, we picked up our belongings and prepared to move out. And with our escape route mapped out, all that remained was the legwork.
As I skimmed the map, I remembered one stall we had seen, which was incidentally right on our escape route. I smiled wickedly.
We'd already liberated one Radchicken. Time to liberate some fish.
"I've got a direct visual on Problem Solver," Iori's voice blared from the comms. "They're entering Abydos territory from the west."
Ako took a seat in the empty office, crossing one leg over the other. "Good work, Field Captain. All four are accounted for?"
"Yes. Should me and my team engage?"
"Hmm…" Ako reviewed a clipboard detailing their current intelligence on their little 'operation' in the foreign district.
Iori took a team of four Prefect Team members to conduct reconnaissance in Abydos. Initially, Iori had questioned as to why such a covert mission was not left to the Intelligence Committee.
The reality was that Ako was not expecting for the mission to remain covert for very long. Conducting a military operation to apprehend Problem Solver in Abydos district was bound to result in the remnants of Abydos' student council taking notice. And with Abydos' student council involved, it would inevitably involve Schale, which had thrown its lot in with them for whatever reason.
In other words, it would draw the attention of the true target of the operation – Sensei.
He was elusive, illusive, and, though it went without saying, dangerous. Going by what they knew of the man, he would not be an easy one to capture. Thus, Ako assigned their most competent officer, Iori, to lead the operation, backed by several platoons of reinforcements at the ready. It was also child's play to clandestinely allocate several artillery pieces for fire support.
This much, in Ako's mind, would surely suffice. The only issue was whether they'd be finished with their mission before President Hina caught on.
The operation would no doubt forever sour the relations between Gehenna and Abydos, so the head prefect would not, in any foreseeable scenario, agree with Ako's methodology. But Ako was sure she'd approve of the results. After all, what were the grievances of five people in a failing district compared to ensuring the Eden Treaty came to fruition?
Plus, it was better for the Prefect Team to bring Schale under their yoke, as opposed to those snakes in the Pandemonium Society.
"Very well, Field Captain, you are clear to engage-"
"Hold on," Iori suddenly interrupted.
"Oh?"
"There's more of them."
Ako furrowed her brow. "Go on."
"They look like a bunch of burglars. They're carrying sacks and are wheeling around something covered. And their outfits look familiar…"
Burglars? Could it be? Several of the Prefect Team's informants in the black market just reported that the Stygian Bank had been robbed, and that the perpetrators had made a clean getaway. None of the informants had been physically present during the robbery, so the Intelligence Committee was still waiting for solid information pertaining to the suspects' identities.
Did that mean that Problem Solver was colluding with actual criminals? Ako didn't think they had it in them.
"Do they match any known gangster profiles?" Ako asked, recording the new information on her clipboard for intelligence gathering purposes.
"Not that I know of," Iori replied, before her voice faded into the background. "Wait…Chinatsu, are you seeing this?"
The other line devolved into muffled chatter between Iori, Chinatsu, and the rest of the squad accompanying them.
"Field Captain, do keep in mind that I'm still on the line." Ako was somewhat peeved at being kept out of the loop.
The comms made a sound as if they were being adjusted, and Iori's voice once again became audible. "Sorry. But we've just confirmed the presence of an adult male among the robbers."
Ako sat up attentively. "Is it Sensei?"
"No. Because this one has a halo."
"…What?" Ako froze. "My apologies, Field Captain, but I must have misheard you. You said that there's a haloed adult male among the criminals?"
Iori didn't immediately respond, the sound of footsteps being the only indication that the other line was still active. Once they had presumably caught up with their targets, Iori resumed speaking at a low volume, so as to not give their position away. "Yeah. Light blue halo, wearing a gangster's helmet and some jail clothing," Iori replied incredulously, like she didn't even believe her own words.
Ako's head spun at the implications. Not only did that description not match Sensei's attire at all, but the fact that this criminal had a halo meant that the likelihood of this character having a connection with Sensei was dim.
She supposed that it may have been some elaborate use of Millennium technology to generate a disguise, but hologram tech alone wouldn't be sufficient to fabricate a convincing enough simulacrum of a student's halo, especially one that'd fool someone as sharp as Iori. And Ako had never heard of any sort of invention such as a fake halo – what would be the point of such a redundant creation?
Ako regretted not having the foresight to equip video feed on Iori before she embarked. She'd just have to rely on her and Chinatsu's reports when they returned.
For now, it was time to see what this haloed criminal was capable of, and whether he'd be a person of interest to the Prefect Team like Sensei.
"Iori, you are to engage whenever you deem the most opportune. Please prioritize apprehending the male target, if you would."
"Understood," Iori confirmed in a professional tone. "And when we have them? What then?"
"Bring them back to HQ for questioning," Ako said, then muttered to herself, "Hopefully we'll get what we need to know before President Hina-"
"Before I what, Ako?"
Ako's words failed her as her blood turned to ice. Slowly, she turned her head to face the door. Gehenna's head prefect stood in the doorway, arms crossed, her expression a perfect mask of neutrality.
"P-P-President Hina!" Ako whirled around to stand at attention, nearly knocking over the chair she was just seated at. She surreptitiously shifted her clipboard behind her back, plastering a smile onto her face.
"President Hina?" Iori repeated with a hint of fear. "But you said she was-"
Ako quickly turned off her comms. "I thought you were on a business trip…" Ako began nervously, hoping against hope that Hina hadn't heard Iori.
Hina continued staring at Ako, then narrowed her eyes just a smidge, causing Ako to begin sweating.
"…I was," Hina started as she walked into the room. "But something that I couldn't ignore came to my attention, so I postponed the trip."
Ako's fear gave way to concern. "Something you couldn't ignore? Did something happen?"
Hina nodded. "Ako, are you familiar with the reports regarding the Helmet Gang?"
The Helmet Gang? The Intelligence Committee reported recently that a large influx of displaced gang members was sighted entering Gehenna territory. But other than that…
"I am, but…" Ako tilted her head in confusion. "Aren't the actions of a few troublemakers beneath you, President Hina?"
"That's the thing," Hina continued, shaking her head. "They haven't done anything but lay low since they arrived. Rather, if I didn't know any better, I'd say they've been on their best behavior."
That was unusual, to say the least. But Ako still didn't see why that warranted the President Hina's precious attention.
Maybe it showed on her face, as before Ako could voice her doubts, Hina sighed. "Perhaps it will be better if I were to show you, instead."
"President?" Ako murmured.
Hina turned to the door, and in a commanding tone, said, "Enter."
Ako opened her mouth in surprise as a helmeted gangster stumbled into the office. Her facial expressions were hidden behind her helmet, but judging by her shaky knees and quivering form, she was terrified beyond belief.
"I-I already told ya! I haven't done anything yet!" the thug defensively stuttered.
Hina raised an eyebrow. "Of course you haven't. That is why we are here, speaking civilly, after all." Hina took one step closer to the thug. "As of right now, you are a guest of the Prefect Team. Am I understood?" she asked, her tone perfectly cordial, though the statement was laced with the insinuation that the thug was in no position to refuse.
"B-but…I don't wanna…" the thug began, before she withered under Hina's sudden glare. "I-I mean, crystal! Crystal clear!"
Ako almost felt bad for the thug. Almost. In her opinion, being subjected to a glare from the head prefect herself was like a badge of honor. Though Ako would keep that to herself, so as to not complicate the situation further.
"Good. Then tell Ako what you told me earlier."
Quickly, the thug began recalling a tale that roughly lined up with the Prefect Team's intel. From being hired to harass Abydos High School, to receiving contraband from the black market to assist in the task, to their foiled plan to abduct an Abydos student to use as leverage… Ako was considering berating the thug for wasting Hina's precious time with useless information.
Then the thug began spouting what Ako could only describe as nonsense.
"Hold on a moment," Ako interrupted. "You said that an adult male just…appeared? Then shot your tank with a revolver, destroying it, before vanishing?"
"While playing the guitar," the thug helpfully added.
For the sake of her sanity, Ako ignored that part. "And you're sure this wasn't just Sensei? He wears a coat too."
"No way." The thug shook her head. "Sensei was on the second floor of the building when this happened behind us."
"You're certain it was an adult male?" Ako pressed.
"Dead certain. No halo, zilch. I didn't get a good look at his face, but he didn't have no robot parts, either."
Hina raised a hand to her chin, deep in thought. "Ako, what's your stance on this?"
Ako wanted to be respectful in Hina's presence, but it was her duty as Hina's right hand to let her know what she truly thought. She bit her lip. "It's…crazy, President. How do we know this isn't just one Helmet Gangster's delusion?"
"I've taken the liberty of corroborating her story with others in her gang. They match, down to the finest details. Whatever happened, all of them saw the same thing."
That got Ako thinking. If these events truly transpired, then it brought up the question: how? Ako knew that Millennium had some success with experimental teleportation technology, but how could this stranger have gotten hold of it? Furthermore, not many people in Kivotos could destroy a heavily fortified vehicle with such mundane weaponry so quickly.
…Well, Hina could do it, but she was Hina. There simply had to be some explanation as to how some halo-less individual could achieve similar results.
First the anomalous black market burglar taking refuge in Abydos. Then this mysterious stranger. All within mere days of Sensei's arrival. Three powerful individuals, each with motives unknown.
Just what in the world was going on in Abydos?
"Do you have any pictures of the stranger?" Hina suddenly asked, turning to their guest.
"Uh, no." The thug was startled by the abrupt question. "He was gone before any of us could pull up our guns, much less our phones…"
"Can you draw him?" Hina persistently asked.
"I'm not too good at drawing…" the thug replied hesitantly. "Oh, but one of my buddies in the gang likes to draw manga. I could ask her to do it…"
"Do so. We will pay you a commission if we find your work satisfactory," Hina offered.
"President?" Ako confusedly said.
Mollified by Hina's seemingly harmless offer, the thug slowly nodded. "Okay, sure."
"Then you may go."
Wordlessly, the thug turned and rushed out of the office, eager to put some distance between herself and the scariest person in Kivotos.
"Why the commission, President?" Ako tilted her head.
"To increase the chances of her coming back with something useful," Hina offhandedly replied as she took her seat at her desk. "Obtaining more information is vital, as this is our first encounter with yet another individual not native to Kivotos." She paused. "Aside from that bank robber."
"Ah…" Ako tried her best not to wince. "You know about that?"
"Of course."
"…How did you find out?" Ako ventured.
Hina took off her glove and dusted it off, then slipped it back on. A habit of hers, one that Ako knew by heart. Hina tended to default to the habit whenever she was irritated or found something bothersome.
"When Iori told you," Hina replied disinterestedly.
"I…" A pit formed in Ako's stomach. "I see…"
Hina barely glanced at Ako as she withdrew a dossier from her filing cabinet. "We can discuss your punishment for conducting an unsanctioned operation in another district some other time."
"Yes, President," Ako acquiesced, bowing. She had no choice but to accept the head prefect's judgment. And, frankly, Ako wouldn't have it any other way.
"For now, you are to stay in contact with the Intelligence Committee for more intel regarding the black market incident," Hina ordered, taking out a pen. "They should be issuing a report sometime this afternoon."
"Does that mean you're assuming direct control of this operation, President?" Ako tried her best not to sound hopeful.
"No. Withdraw Iori and her squad for now. If we are to gather intelligence in a foreign district, we cannot do so under official Gehenna pretext."
"At once." As she took out her tablet to relay Hina's orders to Iori, Ako curiously regarded Hina. "May I inquire as to what you're planning to do?"
"Simple." Hina briefly looked up from her work. "I'm going to Abydos."
Truly, it had been a long day.
That's not to say it wasn't productive, however. The two bags of cash that Shiroko and I acquired, plus the money Hifumi got, totaled to around 712,000,000 yen – more than half of Abydos' debt. While the students were still some way off from paying off the entire loan, this was still a hell of a lot better than where they were before today. Though I'd have to wait some time before submitting payments to the loan company, as it'd be suspicious if Abydos were to turn up with a huge sum of money right after the black market's bank was burglarized.
Problem Solver 68 took up refuge in the school, occupying one classroom to use as their base of operations and resting place. According to Kayoko, it was likely that they'd be blacklisted from the criminal enterprise for some time until the heat died down. In the black market district itself, however, it was probable that they'd forever be unwelcome. Fortunately, there were other bastions of illicit activity that they could use for business purposes.
Hifumi, surprisingly, cheerfully departed from the district on good terms with Abydos. One would think that being roped into a bank heist with a bunch of strangers would sour your outlook on them, but Faust was evidently made of sterner stuff than that. It was slightly worrying that she had connections to Kirifuji Nagisa of the Tea Party, given that Hifumi referred to her by first name. But it was unlikely Hifumi would rat us out, given that she herself was a willing participant in the bank heist.
Funnily enough, while she declined to keep the "tribute" she received from the bank, she took the Radchicken with only some hesitation.
As for Abydos? They now had an aquarium.
Initially, Hoshino was indignant about us committing casual theft once again, but quickly changed her tune once we had it. The aquarium was only medium-sized but getting it into any room proved to be a pain, even though it had wheels. We ended up just setting it down in one large classroom.
Incidentally, that was where Hoshino ended up staying for the rest of the day as she researched the fishes' dietary requirements. It was only temporary, at least until the news of the heist subsided and we found an actual large-scale aquarium that was willing to accept various endangered species. But it looked like the vice president was keen on making the most of the experience in the meantime.
Perhaps once the district's debt was settled, she'd make for a fine marine biologist.
Locking the door behind me, I picked up the twin bags of cash and descended into the depths of Schale's basement. Setting down the bounty in one of the spare storage rooms, I sighed, feeling the events of the day catching up to me. Now was no time to rest, however, as there was still work to be done.
Keen on making some more ammunition for the inevitable gunfights ahead, I headed to the room that I dedicated to crafting.
"Sensei? Are you hurt?"
Startled by the female voice that was most definitely not Arona, I whirled around and brandished the Compliance Regulator at the intruder.
I blinked as I faced an equally startled…Serina?
…What the fuck?
The pink-clad nurse student was fearless of the gun pointed at her, and she instead adopted a look of concern. Her weapon was stowed and all she carried was a boxy red first aid kit.
Deciding that she was not a threat, I slowly stowed my weapon.
"Ah…I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" Serina apologized.
"You could say that," I replied slowly. "How did you get in here, Serina?"
Serina tilted her head. "Like how anyone would? Through the single entrance," she said without a trace of sarcasm.
Not only did she make zero sound while entering, but I also just upgraded the lock the other day – even I would have some trouble picking the lock. Either this student was lying to me, or this nurse was actually a master at breaking and entering.
"…Uh-huh," I said, unconvinced. "So…is there anything I can help you with? It's almost midnight, you know."
She nodded. "Please pardon my intrusion since it's so late. But your health is of paramount concern."
"What makes you think I'm hurt?"
"I had a feeling."
"…Really?"
"Yes. I even searched the black market and Abydos district for you, but I must've missed you. When I reached Abydos academy, the students there told me you had gone home," she explained.
Okay. This girl had to be screwing with me. There was no way she knew our locations from earlier. She may have planted a bug on me, but Arona would detect something like that in an instant. Did Hifumi tip her off? Nagisa? Yuuka? Rin? …The GSC President…?
Anything made more sense than just intuition.
"Now then, please take off your clothes and sit down."
"What? No," I said tersely. I may have had a lot of experience as a doctor, and I harbored nothing but respect for the Followers' physicians and their profession, but I loathed being a patient myself. The Big Empty's "doctors" made an impression on me, both physically and mentally, and not in a good way.
In short? Unless your name was Doc Mitchell, you could stay the hell away from me.
"It's just a simple medical examination, Sensei!"
"I refuse."
"You can't refuse!"
"Is informed consent not a thing in Kivotos?"
She pouted, dodging the question. "Are you going to be an unruly patient, Sensei?"
"Yes."
"I have a needle I use for unruly patients," she warned, tapping the needle attachment on her gun.
"I have a shotgun. Your point?" I shot back, tapping the gun on my back.
She sternly stared at me before she gave in, sighing. "Could you at least tell me what kind of injury it is? If it's something simple, we could go without the medical examination."
I crossed my arms uncooperatively.
"Sprained ankle? Headaches? Scuffed knee? Enterogastritis? Strep throat? Halitosis?" Serina persistently listed.
"Gunshot."
"Gunshot?!" she repeated. "And you're just walking around?! We have to get you treated!"
Having already gone through this song and dance with Serika, I held out my Pip-Boy, showing her the status screen. "Don't waste your time. It's already healed."
"Healed?" Her eyes ran over the physical data, and she looked up at me. "But weren't you injured just earlier today?"
"Yes."
"And no other student healed you?" she pressed.
"No. I heal fast."
"How?" she asked, tilting her head. Seemed that, as a practitioner of [Medicine], she had some healthy scientific curiosity to go along with it.
"A modification made to my body's cells a few years back by some doctor."
"Huh…" she said. "So…you're sure you're alright?"
"It's healed up, but if you want to see, the mark hasn't gone away yet," I offered, pointing at the spot on my torso.
"A-ah… No thank you," she refused, going bright red. "It's kind of embarrassing…"
I raised an eyebrow. So telling me to strip for an examination was fine, but showing her a part of my body was embarrassing? Kivotos had some weird sensibilities.
Now that she was certain I wasn't in any danger, she turned to leave.
"Again, sorry for coming in so late. Please let me know if you're hurt or even not feeling well in the future, okay?"
"Sure." I wasn't likely to, but anything could happen. It may be useful to have more medical personnel I could count on in emergencies.
I also couldn't deny that I was curious as to whether she had infiltration skills on par with my own. If so, then she may make for a useful companion sometime. With that in mind, I made a mental note to accept her Schale application later.
She ascended the steps leading out of the room. When she reached the door, however, she pulled on it, unsuccessfully trying to open it.
"Ah." Serina sheepishly turned to face me. "Sensei, it's locked. Could you please…?"
It was a door which can only be locked by a key I carried around. Thus, if she didn't pick the lock, how did she get in here…?
Wordlessly, I moved to unlock the door for her, thoroughly creeped out by the smiling student.