Yuuka navigated the halls of Schale, clutching a paper invoice. Her irritation must have been palpable, as the Schale personnel she encountered took notice of her foul mood and promptly made way for her passing. It was unbecoming of her, but Yuuka couldn't find it in herself to particularly care.

To think that she took great pains to finalize her share of Seminar's reports in order to clear her schedule enough for one free uninterrupted morning at Schale. Only to arrive and find…this.

Yuuka clenched the invoice in her hand with almost enough force to crumple it.

She may have been looking forward to visiting Sensei after several long days of arduous work, but not anymore.

No. This time, she had a bone to pick with Schale's intrepid advisor.

Sensei wasn't in his office, and according to the staff he wasn't in any of the facilities, nor had he departed to Abydos yet. That left only one location.

Yuuka knocked on the door to the basement. Upon receiving no answer, she knocked again, harder this time, then began tapping her foot against the ground impatiently as she awaited a response.

The response never came, and indignance mixed with a tinge of worry flared up in Yuuka. He even responded to her text that she sent him in advance, so why wasn't he answering the door?

Tentatively, she twisted the doorknob, finding it unlocked, and she slowly pushed the door open. Stepping through the doorway into the basement interior and closing the door behind her, she became aware of the faint sound of music coming from within.

As Yuuka followed its source, she found herself in front of a metal door that was ajar. She opened the door and looked inside.

The room was…interesting, to say the least, and was one step short of being a mess. It reminded her of a few Millennium clubs' workshops. Various types of tools and junk were scattered around the dimly lit interior. Piles of boxes containing myriad raw materials were stacked near the entrance. Several types of workbenches interspersed throughout the room had signs of recent use – as far as Yuuka could tell, their functions varied from ammunition manufacturing to repairs. She even spotted a small chemistry setup in one corner, some reddish gaseous compound in the midst of being distilled.

In front of one of the benches, surrounded by several metallic gadgets and electrical wiring was none other than Sensei. He sat on a simple metal chair as he hunched over the workbench, hard at work tinkering with a boxlike apparatus. He didn't seem to notice her entry as he hummed along with some guitar instrumental playing from the device on his wrist.

Upon seeing him, Yuuka felt some of her anger evaporate, and her expression softened. He may have had a personality that was almost as aggravating as Noa's, but for some reason, Yuuka found it difficult to stay mad at him.

She mustered her residual irritation and opened her mouth to speak, but Sensei beat her to the punch.

"Yuuka. Good to see you," he greeted, his back still turned. "What can I do for you?"

He heard her enter after all, then.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Besides the fact that you let me know in advance? Your footsteps."

That made sense. She supposed that was why the door was already unlocked for her – Sensei did not seem the type to leave doors unsecured. And it was quite laudable that he was able to register and differentiate the sound of her footsteps outside the room amongst the rather loud music and tinkering.

Though she hoped that didn't imply anything about her weight.

"If you knew in advance, why didn't you answer when I knocked?" she asked testily.

"I did. You just didn't hear me," he said matter-of-factly.

Yuuka grumbled, conceding the topic to him for now. She turned her attention to the room. "I had no idea Schale's basement had all this down here," she commented.

"It didn't. Everything, minus the weird artifacts you see outside and in some of the other rooms, I moved here or built."

"Really." Yuuka didn't doubt the veracity of his words, as he had no reason to lie to her, but she still found it surprising. Not so much that he was a tinker – that much she could believe. But, rather, it was the fact that many of the pieces of tech here were seemingly engineered from scratch, if the raw materials scattered about were any indication. That in itself was a sure sign of a talented engineer and craftsman.

Why, he'd fit right in at Millennium with his skillset.

"Yep." For the first time today, Sensei spared a moment from his work to glance at her. "Welcome to the Sink 2.0." He raised an arm and gestured about the room theatrically.

Granted, this was a basement, but calling it a Sink was a bit hyperbolic, wasn't it? And what did he mean by 2.0?

"Was there a Sink 1.0?" Yuuka tilted her head.

"Sure is, just far away from here," he replied. "This place is missing some of niceties I had at the original Sink, as well as some familiar…faces. But I'm slowly making this place a bit more accommodating." He chuckled slightly and shook his head, as if he found something ironic. "Plus, this Sink already has more visitors than the original."

"I take it there were others down here?"

"Just one. You would be the second."

The notion that another person had visited Sensei's private workshop before her inspired some unbidden feeling within her, but she suppressed it. "Who were they?"

"Don't worry about it," he answered evasively, but she could've sworn she heard him mumble something about 'damn stalker nurses' under his breath.

Yuuka walked further into the workshop, minding where she stepped, then stopped just behind Sensei. She peered over his shoulder and observed as he took out a small but expensive-looking crystal and, using a pair of crucible tongs, carefully twisted it into a small gap in the contraption.

Wait a minute.

Sensei had mentioned that he either moved everything down here or built it. But one couldn't build from nothing.

Don't tell me…

To confirm her suspicions, Yuuka inspected one of the nearby crates of raw materials. Sure enough, the supplier matched the one on the invoice, to the letter.

The audacity!

She had negotiated for Sensei to receive a stipend so he could have spare funds for living expenses, not so he could buy copious amounts of junk to build who-knows-what! Was it too much to assume that he'd be a responsible adult when it came to spending money?!

"Sensei," Yuuka addressed sternly, her dissatisfaction with Sensei reinvigorated. "We need to talk."

He held a hand to his chin as he inspected the crystal in the apparatus. "We are," Sensei replied noncommittally, not even paying full attention to his guest.

Yuuka's temper flared, and she all but shoved the invoice into his view to make him pay attention. "Kindly explain this invoice, then."

Sensei's tinkering interrupted, he turned to her irritably, only to freeze when he saw what she was holding. "Wait. Where did you get that?"

"Did you forget? I'm a part of Schale now," she reminded him. "As a member formally appointed by the advisor of the organization, I'm authorized to send and receive correspondence on your behalf." She waggled the paper in front of him for emphasis. "That includes your online purchase history."

"Oh." He paused. "Guess I'll make sure not to use the official Schale account to make online purchases, then," he muttered, not sounding the least bit contrite.

"You're completely missing the point!" Yuuka stressed. "Fuuka and I negotiated for you to receive this money so you could buy essentials!"

"This stuff is essential, though."

Yuuka cocked an eyebrow as she brought up the invoice. "Several shipments of industrial-grade titanium alloy, steel, plastic, aluminum, lead, copper, rubber, nitroglycerin, saline solution, vacuum tubes…" Not even halfway through the list, she looked up from the paper. "Seriously. Vacuum tubes?!" What use would he have for something so…archaic?

Sensei gave a shrug in reply before he went back to work on the apparatus resting on top of the workbench.

That merely infuriated Yuuka further. How could he be so nonchalant about this? He had spent nearly all of his several hundred-thousand-yen stipend on raw materials and random junk. How was he going to buy food when Fuuka wasn't around?

The mere mental image of Sensei scrounging around in garbage cans was enough to make Yuuka blanch in dismay.

She would have to put her foot down to prevent such a horrid thing from ever happening. If it meant having to manage his expenditures personally, then so be it.

"That's it!" Yuuka pointed a finger at him. "Prepare to be budgeted!"

Sensei merely hummed in thought, his thoughts somewhere else entirely. Once again, he grasped the pair of tongs and began to slowly rotate the crystal in place.

"Didn't you hear me? I said-"

"Hold that thought, Yuuka," Sensei interrupted. "Do me a favor?"

"I'm talking right now!"

"…Pretty please?"

Yuuka was irritated at the interruption, but she supposed the idea of being helpful to Sensei wasn't a terrible one. "Fine. What is it?" she begrudgingly said as she shelved the finances issue for later.

"Grab my notes from the other table, and read me the second to last column, first row? My hands are a little full here."

Yuuka reached over to the adjacent table and grasped the small notebook she assumed he was talking about. Her eyes widened as she took in the page's contents, which consisted of several series of rather complicated physics equations scrawled in somewhat messy handwriting. Though Yuuka didn't consider physics to be her strong suit, it all boiled down to numbers and variables in the end, and thus she didn't have any issues following his work. From what she could tell, he was using the crystal as a means of diffracting a beam?

"Yuuka?"

She blinked as she returned from her thoughts. "Sorry." Yuuka rechecked the page. "It says to rotate the crystal 30.34 degrees counterclockwise? But the crystal you have there doesn't exactly match the specifications written here." Yuuka tilted her head as she ran some quick mental calculations. "To account for the difference in dimensions, I'd suggest 32.78 degrees counterclockwise."

Sensei nodded slowly. "That's what I thought too. Thanks." He slowly rotated the crystal, and once he was satisfied, he withdrew the tongs and shut the compartment on the device. He grabbed a soldering tool from a toolbox on the workbench and flipped the heavy device over, beginning his work anew on a separate part of the device.

"I must say, I didn't expect you to be so scientifically inclined, Sensei," Yuuka said, trying to not let too much approval seep into her tone. His grasp of mathematics wasn't to be scoffed at either, if she was being honest.

"Didn't care much for it at first."

"What changed?"

"Lots. Mostly realizing the practical applications. For example…" Sensei patted the device he was working on, the instrument producing a hollow thud. "There's a lot of science that goes into the propagation of a laser."

Yuuka's suspicions were correct. The only question now was… "…Why are you building a laser emitter?"

"Oh, you know…for the advancement of SCIENCE," Sensei declared in a grandiose manner that sounded like he was imitating somebody.

Yuuka didn't know who this somebody was, but she already felt like shooting them. Shaking her head, she regarded the pragmatic Sensei who tended heavily towards violence. "…It's a weapon, isn't it?" Yuuka asked flatly.

"…As a teacher and advisor who's under the employ of the entire city of Kivotos, I am ethically and morally obligated to say: no, Miss Hayase Yuuka, I am not building a laser weapon in the basement of a federal building."

Yuuka gave him a long stare before she sighed.

The Millennium student watched him work for some time. Though his technology was clearly divergent from Kivotos', she knew quality workmanship when she saw it.

Back at Millennium, Yuuka, as the treasurer of its student council, was charged with evaluating inventions of the various clubs and determining whether they were deserving of the financial backing of Seminar – it was through this lens that she found herself pontificating on the nature of the devices scattered around the room.

Two items in particular caught her eye. The first was a spherical metal object which bore parallel series of slits on the front. Metallic antennae jutted out from the top and the back of the sphere along with what seemed to be vacuum tubes. Attached to the rear were several coiling electrical wires which connected to a thick retro-looking computer in the back of the room. "WELCOME TO ROBCO INDUSTRIES (TM) TERMLINK" was displayed on the greenish screen followed by several rapidly scrolling lines of English text. She couldn't make much sense of the wording, but the computer seemed to be in the process of uploading data to the sphere.

Yuuka's curiosity piqued, and she turned to the helmeted tinkerer. "Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"What's that?" She pointed at the spherical object.

Sensei followed her gesture and, once he saw what she was asking about, he fell silent. Just as Yuuka was about to question whether he had any intention of answering, he spoke.

"That…" Sensei's voice gained an uncharacteristic inflection. The closest emotion Yuuka could match it to was fondness. "…is the chassis of a Duraframe model Eyebot."

"An Eyebot?" Yuuka repeated. "Is that a type of robot?"

"I suppose the name gives it away, doesn't it?" Sensei mused.

"It does." She inspected the chassis, intrigued. "So…a robot, huh?"

"Yep."

"What function does an Eyebot serve?" she asked curiously.

Sensei fished out a wrench from the toolbox to adjust a knob on the laser emitter he was working on. "Originally, they were designed as portable information hubs, enabling access to radio broadcasts and television on the fly."

Radio? Wasn't that a bit…old-fashioned?

Though Sensei mentioned that that was their original function – perhaps there had been technological advances since Eyebots were originally invented. It would only make sense - Yuuka couldn't imagine why Sensei would manufacture a robot to intercept radio waves when he carried a portable radio on his wrist.

Yuuka suddenly remembered another detail Sensei had mentioned, and her curiosity piqued once more.

"You mentioned a model type? Duraframe, I believe."

"That I did," Sensei absently said. He finished tightening a bolt on the contraption, then began adjusting circuitry embedded in its side.

"What makes the Duraframe model different from other Eyebots?"

"Several things – the most prominent being optimization for combat."

Sensei…was building a robot for use in combat?

"But…aren't your students enough, Sensei?" Yuuka asked, and try as she might to hide it, some anxiousness leaked into her voice. "Do you feel unsafe with just us?"

If that was the case, then Yuuka would have to make every effort to accompany Sensei whenever she could. The time crunch in her schedule would be dreadful, but she'd make time for Sensei and Schale if it came down to it.

"No, nothing like that." Sensei waved a hand, dismissing her concerns. "Rather…"

"…Rather?"

"…Let's just say this robot is special."

"Special?" Yuuka inquired, but Sensei had already returned to his work, evidently with no intention to elaborate.

Scowling slightly, she reluctantly let the topic slide. Yuuka supposed she would see what Sensei meant once he was finished building the robot. She greatly anticipated seeing firsthand the robot that the normally unflappable Sensei considered special.

The second item in the room that interested Yuuka was one even more nebulous than the Eyebot.

In an unlit corner of the room was a yellow, rectangular-shaped structure supported by two metal bars that outstretched perpendicularly from the base. Hydraulic pistons, whose purpose was presumably to adjust the height, attached to the arms at top of the structure. The object of interest was suspended via a pair of chains from the structure's arms. The object was covered by a gray tarp, so Yuuka couldn't make out any concrete details of the item beyond the fact that it was very large, bulky, and though it went without saying, heavy.

Numerous electrical wires, at least three times as many as the ones connected to the Eyebot, connected to the back of the object. Whatever this thing was, it looked like it consumed a great deal of power.

Wait, was that the reason why Schale's electric bill had been so high ever since Sensei was appointed?

Shaking her head, she inquired, "What's this one?"

"You ask too many questions," he replied humoredly. "I've got one for you this time. Why don't you help me out over here?"

Yuuka wasn't sure how helpful she'd be, as her scientific knowledge tended more toward the theoretical, but she nevertheless nodded. "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"I'm building a laser 'emitter' for him too," he said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the incomplete Eyebot. "You can handle the calculations, I'll handle the calibrations. Sound good?"

Him?

Sensei's odd wording aside, the student felt a smile slowly form on her features. Now that sounded like something she could do. "Okay." She crossed her arms. "B-but don't think I've forgotten about your reckless spending! We'll discuss your budget afterward!" Yuuka attempted to scold him.

He laughed. "If you say so."

She pouted and heat rushed to her cheeks. "I mean it!"

Sensei beckoned her over, and she joined him at the bench. Using the same formulas as before, she began calculating the emitter's properties, ranging from its trajectories to its somewhat impressive wattage.

It wasn't something she normally did, but she made sure to show her work on paper. After all, what kind of student would Yuuka be if she didn't properly record her thought process for the teacher to look over afterward?

Sensei spared a glance to see how Yuuka was holding up, then nodded in approval a few seconds later. At this, Yuuka felt a burst of happiness and pride as a student.

Of course, Sensei, being Sensei, couldn't leave well enough alone. "Lemme know if it's too difficult for you," he teased. "I'm sure I could find something simpler for you, like, I dunno, counting boxes or something."

Yuuka glared at him, unamused. She didn't even need to see his face to know he wore an infuriatingly smug expression.

Sensei may have been in possession of admittedly fascinating technologies previously unknown to the Academy City as well as a surprisingly sharp scientific acumen, but mathematics was Yuuka's domain. She'd show him what a Millennium student council member was capable of.

"Vance." Shiroko abruptly got up and walked over to greet me. "Welcome back."

She was echoed by the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force, who cheerily acknowledged my return, as they were well used to my presence by now. Even Ayane, who was hard at work as usual, was here, her portable computer plugged into a wall socket. She looked my way and nodded, smiling.

The students were situated in their new unofficial hangout place, which was the large classroom we stored the aquarium we "acquired" yesterday. The aquarium itself sat against the wall, away from the windows – according to the resident fish expert, direct sunlight would cause potentially hazardous increases in the water's temperature as well as runaway algae growth.

That, and the fact that bullets flying into school windows was not an uncommon occurrence in this city.

The vice president herself, miraculously awake for once, sat adjacent to the water tank, leafing through a book on indoor fishkeeping. She gave a casual wave as she saw me.

"My homework," Shiroko suddenly said, picking up a small portable generator and holding it out for me.

Ah. I'd nearly forgotten I'd assigned her a broken generator from the storage room to take a look at. Lately she'd joined Ayane as the local repairwoman, but Shiroko had taken it a step further and asked for my help in fixing more complicated things.

Ayane and I were the ones who ended up fixing her drone after it was damaged in the fight against Problem Solver 68, so I wagered that served as further impetus for Shiroko to learn more.

"Let's take a look, then." I set the generator down on the table. It was in much better condition than when we found it, as the student had taken the liberty of cleaning it and refurbishing older parts. I flipped the power switch, tilting my head when nothing happened. "It still doesn't work."

"…No."

"What did you do?"

"I replaced some blown fuses."

I nodded along with her. Common issues first. "And still no dice, huh?"

"No."

"Did you check the circuit breaker?"

"Mm."

"How about fuel?"

"First thing I did."

"Oil?"

"Yes."

"What about field flashing?"

"…Field flashing?"

"Jumpstarting, basically. If the generator hasn't been used in a long time, the magnetism in the rotor can dwindle. Try giving it a kick from a suitable power source."

Shiroko opened the issue of Fixin' Things I gave her and made a note on some scratch paper she inserted into the magazine. I tilted my head as I saw the various notes she had scribbled onto the scratch paper.

Well I'll be damned. She's transcribing the entire thing to Japanese, bit by bit.

Let it never be said that Shiroko wasn't determined. It was almost scary.

"I'm going to try it," she suddenly said, stowing the magazine. With that, the student picked up the generator and dashed out into the halls.

I'd have told her to be careful, but there was probably not enough electricity in the building to remotely pose a threat to a student anyway.

"Okay." I clapped my hands together. "Next."

Serika attempted to make herself as small as possible at the desk she was at. Naturally, as a teacher, I took that as a challenge.

"How's your homework?" I asked once I was in front of her desk.

She muttered something under her breath, blood rushing to her face, before sliding a sheet of paper forward on the desk.

I raised an eyebrow at her hesitance before taking a look at her homework.

It was more than passable. I could tell that she spent a lot of time mulling over the answers, and she even went so far as to justify answers to iffy questions, for her own understanding. As she said, science wasn't her strong suit, but hard work could make up for such deficiencies.

"It looks good."

Serika looked up, her spirits raised. "Really?!"

"Yup. Just need to fix number thirteen, though."

"What?!" She became incensed. "But that was the question I was most sure about!"

"A thick peptidoglycan cell wall is characteristic of gram-positive organisms, not gram-negative."

Serika bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

"I'm gram-positive."

The student scowled at my lame joke, crossing her arms. "Why do I even need to know about some stupid bacteria, anyway?"

"It's for your future."

"I'm not even gonna be a biologist!"

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Look, don't shoot the courier. If you have problems with the curriculum, go track down the former Abydos student council members who drafted it and take it up with them."

Serika grumbled and all but snatched the paper out of my hands. "…Thanks," she said, looking away to hide her embarrassment. She got to work on amending her answer.

Nonomi smiled in amusement at our banter as she worked on some schoolwork of her own. "Hey, Sensei. Do you mind looking over my math homework once I'm finished with it?"

"Okay. Just remind me later."

"Yay! Alright!"

Looking around the room, I noticed that it was missing some of its chaotic occupants from yesterday.

"Where's Aru and her gang?"

"Those young 'uns left about an hour ago," Hoshino replied. "Said to tell you to join them once you got here. 'Tying up loose ends', or whatever the heck that's supposed to mean."

The distant sound of a generator starting up told me that Shiroko's project was a success. Good on her.

"Okay…so where are they?" I asked.

Ayane looked up from her computer, looking sheepish. "Actually, they didn't exactly tell us where they were going…"

"…Seriously?"

"Yes."

I brought up a hand to rub my temple. Giving a vaguely nefarious reason for meeting up, then neglecting to give details as to where? Sounded like Aru.

"Guess I'll try and track them down…" I muttered.

"Don't waste your time, Sensei," Hoshino said lazily. "This district is huge. Unless you know exactly where to look, you aren't finding them." She glanced sideways. "Well, not unless they start indiscriminately blowing stuff up. But they wouldn't-"

"Um…" Ayane interrupted.

"…No way," Hoshino said in disbelief.

The elf-eared student winced.

"After we just told them not to go blowing things up? Seriously?" Hoshino slouched grumpily.

Ayane nodded. "It would appear so. I'm picking up lots of activity around the west side of the district. I think they got into a fight."

Taking a look at the map on her computer, I sighed and began to head out.

"You're going alone, Sensei?" Nonomi asked.

"The fewer of us that are seen with Problem Solver right now, the better," I answered.

Heading out the door, I nearly ran into Shiroko, who had returned from her project.

"Vance. I'm going with you," she said. Turns out those wolf ears were good for eavesdropping.

Knowing full well how stubborn she could be, I had no intention of stopping her. "Fine. But please stop calling me that before the wrong person hears it."

"I refuse."

I sighed. "Could you at least not say it in public?"

"…I'll think about it."

Raising my hand to the door, I knocked twice.

There was a loud thud behind the door, as if someone had tripped. "W-who is it?" Haruka asked.

"Delivery."

"Um. Are we expecting a delivery?" Haruka asked, her voice faint.

"I don't think so…" Aru responded confusedly.

"It's Sensei. Just answer it," Kayoko said emphatically.

The door clunked as numerous latches and locks were undone and the door groaned as it opened.

Shiroko and I found ourselves at a small office located in one of the district's suburbs. The office interior was one that resembled any kind of legitimate business one would find ubiquitously – the main difference being that several moving boxes were scattered about. Aru and her crew were focused on the task of packing up various pieces of furniture and assorted belongings and stuffing them into the boxes.

Aru perked up once she saw me and eagerly rushed to greet me. "Tex-" Aru stopped herself as she noticed Shiroko behind me. "Ahem. Sensei. I'm glad you could make it," she said, obviously not used to my more common 'name'.

"Aru." I nodded. "Would you mind telling me what you all are doing here?"

Aru chuckled deviously. "Naturally, reclaiming what belongs to us from our base of operations."

"Oh?"

"Kaiser sent their goons to seize this office, since we leased it from one of their subsidiaries," Kayoko explained. "They cited that they 'won't support criminal activity in any form'. Figures."

"So, um…we had to take them out to get our stuff back…" Haruka said, eyes downcast. "Sorry, we just can't go one day without messing things up, even though we had promised…"

That explained the carnage outside, with much of the area damaged and a large number of unconscious thugs scattered.

Despite being outnumbered heavily, Problem Solver 68 pulled through. They were surprisingly effective when working as a cohesive unit. Their battle with Abydos probably would've turned out a lot uglier if we hadn't been expecting them.

"You can explain yourselves to Hoshino later," I said. "For now, let's focus on getting all your stuff out of here. Who knows when they'll send more people."

The Gehenna students nodded, and Shiroko and I joined them in packing.

"Too bad you missed out on the fun part, Sensei," Mutsuki commented as she slipped several explosives into her LOVE & VIOLENCE bag. "You arrived when all the fighting was over."

"Can't help it if we weren't even given a location to find you," I grumbled, somewhat irritated.

Aru flinched in the middle of packing.

Kayoko turned to her. "Boss. Did you forget to tell Ayane where we were going?"

"O-of course not! I knew that Sensei was resourceful enough to deduce where our office was!" she blustered while Mutsuki snickered at her expense.

Rolling my eyes, I finished with one box then moved to the next, consulting my Pip-Boy's items interface to help manage what went in which box.

"Sensei, what are you doing with that thing on your wrist?" Kayoko asked curiously.

"Inventory management," I answered simply. "The device instructs you on how to store items on your person for maximum efficiency, space-wise."

"That's how you carry that much stuff on you, Sensei?" Shiroko asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Well, I had to carry the larger items disassembled or on my back like my anti-material rifle, and the cybernetic spine helped manage the weight itself, but I wasn't going to mention that. "Why? Did you think I had a pocket dimension in here or something?"

Shiroko nodded.

I laughed heartily. If I really did have something like that, I would have carried a Fat Man with hundreds of mini nukes or several suits of Power Armor on me.

I had actually broached the topic of pocket dimensions with the Think Tank in the past. While the idea wasn't in the realm of impossibility, they still had years to go before they would have the means to safely attempt it. After all, outside of the Transportalponder, they still had yet to master the intricacies of reliable, on-demand teleportation technology, which purportedly utilized similar principles. The last trial we conducted ended in failure, with the test lobotomite becoming fused with a fly – needless to say, for the next few months the mental image kept both me and Doctor Dala awake at night, but for entirely different reasons.

Mutsuki hummed curiously. "Say, Sensei…switch bags with me for a sec?"

Considering her proposition, I nodded, as I was quite curious about her bag myself. And it wasn't like she could take anything from mine with me watching. I unstrapped my pack and handed the bulky bag to her while Mutsuki handed me LOVE & VIOLENCE.

"Whoa!" Immediately upon grasping my pack, Mutsuki almost fell over in surprise. "I-it's heavy!" she exclaimed as she lifted the pack with both arms.

Lifting LOVE & VIOLENCE with one arm, I had to say that her bag was fairly heavy as well. Not quite as heavy as the one I'm used to, but I fit more than just explosives in mine. Mutsuki was deceptively strong if she was able to carry and swing this around while toting a machine gun. Now that she'd gotten the hang of it, she didn't even have any trouble carrying mine as she strapped it onto her back. She didn't look comfortable at all due to its size, though – if anything, she looked like a Mirelurk with that thing on her back.

LOVE & VIOLENCE wiggled, and I immediately looked down at the bag.

I thought she only stored explosives in this thing. Was there something alive in there…?

"Hey, Mutsuki?" I said to the student as she handed my bag to Shiroko, who had requested it.

"Hmm?"

"What do you have in this bag?"

Mutsuki cocked her head innocently. "Just my bomb collection, why?"

"It moved."

Mutsuki stared at the bag, dumbfounded, then at me, before she burst out into laughter. "Ahaha! Good one, Sensei!"

"I'm not joking! Look."

I held the back out for all to see. We spent several seconds eyeing LOVE & VIOLENCE as it dangled from my grip innocuously.

What the hell?! Move, or else everyone here will think I'm nuts.

"Um…I'm not seeing anything…" Haruka said.

"Sensei, are you alright?" Aru asked in concern.

Shiroko, who now had my bag equipped, suggested, "Maybe it was just your imagination."

No, it's not. The damn thing moved.

Sighing, I handed the bag back to Mutsuki, who grinned smugly.

With that, we went back to packing. Shiroko insisted on carrying my pack the entire time for a "workout", and so I let her. As we finished up, the conversation drifted toward casual topics.

"What do you think we're having for dinner tonight?" Mutsuki asked.

"Probably takeout," Shiroko said.

"Takeout? Like from that ramen place?" Aru asked. "I suppose that would be passable."

"There aren't that many places to choose from, anyway," Kayoko replied. "And Abydos' cafeteria is only staffed when one of the students has the time."

"Hey, there's a thought." Mutsuki smirked. "You think they'll trust us with cafeteria duty?"

"After today? Probably not," I said.

"Boo. And here I thought we had something with Abydos. Right, Kayoko-chan?"

"We blew up their district, both as allies and as enemies," Kayoko replied flatly.

"…It couldn't be helped this time. Talk to Senpai and I'm sure she'll understand," Shiroko responded.

"That's good to know," Aru said, relieved.

"Oh? Aru-chan's getting attached, huh?" Mutsuki teased.

"N-not at all!" Aru refuted. "But…you know…even though they used to be our enemies, it's not like they have it easy, judging by what they said yesterday."

Mutsuki amusedly smiled at Aru's thoughtful look, but it didn't look like Mutsuki had any intention of teasing her further. She knew that Aru, for all her blustering, just didn't have it in her to not be good.

The smallest of smiles made its way onto Shiroko's face as she helped me with a box. They may not have been out of hot water just yet, but at least they weren't in it alone.

Shiroko and I walked in the direction of the ramen shop after having parted ways with the Gehenna students. With a jury-rigged moving cart, there was no need for us to carry all of the boxes, and so we let Problem Solver move their own stuff to the school.

Shiroko, having reluctantly given me back my burden, strode next to me in comfortable silence.

We rounded the corner into another mostly abandoned area. The sheer number of perfectly good buildings would never not strike me as wasteful, no matter how much sand piled up. Living in a desert wasn't as bad as it was made out to be.

I caught sight of a distant object moving towards us, which I soon identified as a student. This was the first passerby we had encountered for some time; I had to wonder what she was doing here out in the sticks.

Shiroko's ears twitched and she narrowed her eyes as the person walked closer.

The person was covered head to toe in a black trench coat. I could make out the faint outline of a weapon strapped to her back. Hovering over her hooded head was a wicked-looking purple and black halo made up of concentric circles, with two spikes pointing antiparallel on each end.

Another prominent detail was that she was incredibly short. Possibly even shorter than Sora. That, in conjunction with her clothing that was clearly not suited for this district's climate, led me to believe that this girl wasn't from around here.

The person stopped in front of us, peering at us from behind her black hood.

"Sensei…this person is…" Shiroko trailed off.

I tilted my head down to look at the person who was at least two heads shorter than me. "Hey, kid. Are you lost?"

The student lifted her arm and pulled back her hood, revealing her face. The student had piercing purple eyes, pale skin, and very long white hair, atop which rested gnarled, cracked-looking horns.

"Hello, Sensei of Schale, student of Abydos." She inclined her head ever so slightly towards us in acknowledgment. "I am Sorasaki Hina. It's a pleasure to meet you." Her words were cordial, but the slight frown on her face suggested she was not pleased by my words in the slightest.

Sorasaki Hina.

The head of the Prefect Team, one of the head honchos of Gehenna Academy, second only to the Pandemonium Society. According to Chinatsu, she was the one single-handedly holding back literal thousands of unruly students from sowing chaos through the city. In many circles, she was considered to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, students in the entire city.

This was Hina?!

But she's puny! I screamed internally.

Looking back at how I originally envisioned Hina, I pictured a person with Deathclaw horns, a spiky halo, and a huge gun twice her size. Looking at the weapon outlined on her back, I may have not been too far off the mark in these assessments…but I never expected she'd be this diminutive. How did she even use that gun without falling over?

A pit formed in my stomach when I realized I inadvertently insulted one of the most powerful students in the Academy City by calling her a kid.

Shiroko got between me and Hina, her gloved hand straying toward her weapon. "Sensei," she said, having the foresight to not call me by my alter ego in front of the worst possible person. "Stay back. This person is dangerous."

Hina's indifferent demeanor did not change. "Stay your hand. I did not come here to start a fight in a foreign district."

Shiroko stood her ground, and I put a hand on her shoulder to appease her.

"Shiroko," I said simply.

She glanced at me, then at Hina, and reluctantly stepped back.

Hina continued, unperturbed. "Allow me to formally welcome you to Kivotos on behalf of both the Prefect Team and Gehenna Academy. I understand that your arrival was not without hardship, and I hope that that has not tarnished your view of our city."

"It worked out in the end, and your help in securing the Schale building played a good part in that. So, thanks," I replied, going into foreign diplomat mode, as I held out my hand for a handshake.

Hina arched an eyebrow, as if she hadn't expected I'd remember the Prefect Team's contribution at Schale. She accepted the gesture, and firmly shook. "It was the least we could do."

"I could think of lesser," I commented, withdrawing my hand. "It's good to meet you, by the way. Chinatsu's told me about you."

She nodded. "She's said much about you as well."

I couldn't help but be curious. "Like what?"

"You are industrious. An excellent marksman. Cagey, at times. Fond of strange music," she listed. "…And a womanizer." Hina's eyes crinkled in what was either disapproval or amusement, and I doubted it was the latter.

Shiroko tore her gaze away from Hina to stare at me questioningly.

How did Hina…

I recalled when I had Chinatsu helping me with paperwork at Schale.

…Dammit. Shun.

I always knew there was a possibility that Chinatsu would be observing my actions and relaying information to the Prefect Team, but I didn't think she would report to Hina about that.

I'd need to have words with Chinatsu concerning privacy.

"Anyway!" I loudly changed the subject, ignoring Shiroko, who was burning holes into the side of my head with her intense gaze. "You're a long way from home. What brings you here, to the middle of nowhere?"

"I'd like to speak with you about matters concerning the city." Hina threw a sidelong glance at Shiroko. "Alone, preferably."

Interesting. I wondered if this had anything to do with the group from the Prefect Team that was sent to spy on us during the heist. Chinatsu was among them, but another girl, a sniper, appeared to be leading the team. I couldn't hear much of their conversation from the distance they maintained, but they ended up withdrawing from the region in the end. Which was fine by me - a confrontation was the last thing we needed while our group was weary from being on the run and fighting off the black market police force.

Shiroko shook her head. "We can speak right here."

"I'm afraid that isn't your choice to make," Hina retorted matter-of-factly. "Isn't that so, Sensei?"

I didn't like playing politics very much, but this was an opportunity I'd be stupid to refuse. The Prefect Team had an incredible amount of pull in the huge, chaotic district that was Gehenna, and if I wanted to deal in Gehenna's matters in the future, gaining the support or at least the tolerance of the Prefect Team was nigh mandatory.

"Shiroko," I addressed the student. "Why don't you go ahead and get the takeout?"

The wolf-eared student turned to me, clearly not wanting to leave me alone with this student. "But, Sensei…" she protested.

"Shiroko," I said sternly. "I'll be fine, we'll just be having a friendly chat. You don't wanna keep the others waiting, do you?"

Shiroko took some time to process my words, then her eyes widened as she nodded as if she had come to a realization. "I see. I understand completely."

Do you, Shiroko? Do you really? This girl could jump to some strange conclusions if you let her, and I for one did not like the look on her face just now.

"Good idea, Sensei. I'll go get the 'takeout'," she assured, before she ran off, leaving me alone with Hina.

Well, it'll be fine. Hopefully.

Turning to my guest, an uncomfortable train of thought wormed its way into my head.

What if this was a ploy to catch me unawares? To separate me from my only backup while her Prefect Team subordinates lay in ambush?

…Unlikely. Years of fending off ambushes by Legion assassins had honed in me something of a sixth sense when it came to surprise attacks. This situation did not strike me as one of them.

Perhaps Hina was confident that she could take me herself. Her posture suggested she was wary but not quite on the lookout for openings to attack. Despite this, I found myself evaluating how I would go about fighting her.

On paper it was a predictable outcome. Her weapon was large and unwieldy for someone of her size, so I could draw my weapon and get several shots off before she even had a chance to retaliate. Failing that, I had much longer limbs than her, which meant I had a tremendous advantage in melee combat. All of these factors worked in my favor and should guarantee my victory should the worst come to pass.

And yet…

Why were every one of my Wasteland-hardened survival instincts telling me, were I to provoke Hina, I'd be in for one of the most difficult battles of my life?

"…As I mentioned prior," Hina said, perhaps reading my body language, "I have no interest in causing trouble in Abydos."

I shook my head, partly to clear my thoughts. "…Right. Sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"…"

"Why don't we get out of the sun?" I offered. "Should be some old building here that's good for shade."

"Very well. Lead the way."

At Hina's nod, we departed to seek shelter from the unforgiving Abydos climate.

With a sickly groan, the old door creaked open. The harsh desert sunlight illuminated the interior of the abandoned building and refracted off motes of dust lingering in the stagnant air. The interior was sparsely furnished, and the building was likely a restaurant of some sort before the owners presumably left the district, if the odd chair and round table were any indication.

I stepped into the room, my airtight helmet making the dust in the building a non-issue, and if Hina had any compunction, she didn't show it as she followed me in. I grabbed the most intact-looking chairs and table and motioned for Abydos' guest to have a seat.

Without the need for anonymity, Hina doffed the overcoat she wore and set it aside.

The first thing I noticed was the firearm slung around her back. It was a very large machine gun, almost as tall as her. An MG42, a World War II era weapon of German design – I had read about such antique weapons being used in isolated pockets of the Wasteland but never had the opportunity to see one for myself. It seemed to have some modifications, such as a custom stock, and its barrel emitted an ominous purple light. Not only did Hina carry around a weapon that was absurdly large for her diminutive stature, but she did so without even being inconvenienced, suggesting a strength which betrayed her size.

The clothing she wore was reminiscent of a high-ranking military official's garb, and over her outfit she wore an additional coat which bore the familiar armband representing Gehenna's Prefect Team.

That many layers of dark clothing, here in Abydos? That must have been torturous, especially for one who was likely not used to living in the desert. Apart from a thin sheen of sweat on her brow, she showed no signs of being perturbed by the heat, but I suspected it was only a matter of time.

Lastly, a pair of thin batlike wings attached to her back came into view. Their exact function was unclear to me, but it seemed she had full control of the appendages, as she unfurled them to a surprising width to stretch them, before retracting them.

We both took a moment to adjust the weapons over our backs before we took our respective seats. After taking a moment to scrutinize me, Hina kicked off what was likely to be a long conversation.

"How has your time in Kivotos been, Sensei?" Hina neutrally asked.

Ah, yes. This question. Given how many times I've been asked it, I couldn't help but let a bit of snark slip through my response.

"Aside from everyone here being trigger-happy to a fault? Pretty good, all things considered."

Hina cocked her head. "Do you disapprove of Kivotos' ubiquitous use of firearms?"

"No, I see the need for it. You're all a sturdy bunch, so you need a way of 'getting through' to each other, so to speak."

"I imagine the way disagreements are resolved in this city took you by surprise at first."

"Like you wouldn't believe." I smirked, thinking back to the time I thought Yuuka was going to die. It felt so long ago.

"After all, you are no stranger to gunfights yourself," Hina pointed out. It seemed that she was aware of the implications of someone like me being skilled at shooting, despite coming from a place with no haloes. "You even participate in gunfights here of your own volition."

"Lots of dangerous critters where I'm from." I downplayed the threats of the Wasteland for the sake of staying on topic. "Nearly everyone back home knows how to use a gun because of that. My skills are useful here, so no reason why I can't use them for a good cause."

Hina considered my words, then nodded. "I see. Is that why you have found yourself in Abydos?"

"…Let's cut to the chase," I said, my tone neutral like Hina's. "Why did you want to speak with me?"

For a few moments, Hina was silent. Her gaze drifted to the open door, which leaked in sunlight from the outside. "…The city is watching Abydos."

"What?"

"Your arrival and the way you handled the situation at the General Student Council and at Schale commanded the attention of the entire Academy City. Almost immediately after being appointed, you show up at a nearly abandoned district and all but declared war on the local gangs. Under your guidance, the last remnants of a once-great academy managed to drive out a criminal group which had long been entrenched in the district."

I stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

"If that wasn't enough, rumors have already spread about Vikki and Vance along with the rest of Faust's gang taking refuge in this district." I tried my utmost to not make any kind of outward reaction to this information. "Needless to say, Abydos has come under scrutiny from the other major academies, especially Trinity and Gehenna."

"Why Trinity and Gehenna in particular?" I asked. Now was my chance to gain a better understanding of the city's politics from one who was at the center of it all.

"Trinity and Gehenna are in a…precarious state, as of now. With the nearing of the Eden Treaty, the academies' leaderships are on the lookout for variables that may disrupt the balance of power."

I suppose Hina counts as one of said leaderships, I mused. That would explain her presence here.

The treaty evoked the name of the paradise from the holy scriptures Graham liked to quote so much. But the Eden Treaty's terms were something I was only vaguely familiar with, through Schale and GSC documents mentioning them in passing.

"What is the Eden Treaty?" I asked.

"A non-aggression pact drafted by the General Student Council president before she disappeared," Hina explained. "Once signed, both academies will form a joint organization dedicated to quelling hostilities between the two academies."

"Hostilities? I wasn't aware of any war between the two."

"There isn't." Hina frowned. "Rather, for countless years, the students from both academies have harbored something of a feud."

"A feud?" This was the first I heard about it.

"Yes. You'd be better off asking Trinity's Sisterhood if you want more details about the whys, but I can't guarantee they'll be unbiased. What I do know is that the two academies clash repeatedly, and the Prefect Team is the one keeping the hostilities from escalating into all-out war." Hina sighed and her neutral tone cracked, giving me only the briefest of glimpses as to what she truly thought of the situation.

She was tired. Unbelievably so.

Hina may have been the one almost single-handedly keeping Gehenna from getting itself into deep shit, and I was beginning to see why, but she was still only one person. To make matters worse, she didn't even have the luxury of refusing. A war between academies of Trinity and Gehenna's size would devastate the city, so they had everything to lose in terms of stakes. For an academy that has been teetering on the brink for years, I could see why the Eden Treaty's signing would be a load off the shoulders of Hina and the Prefect Team.

I sympathized with her. It wasn't an easy thing, being responsible for keeping a nation's people together and out of trouble.

"What can I do to help?" I asked. I still couldn't discount the possibility of a Prefect Team ambush, but Hina seemed sincere enough. What I needed in this city were allies outside of Schale, and ones dedicated to keeping order were some of my best bets.

"…You would offer your help so readily?" Hina raised an eyebrow, her question carrying but the slightest hint of suspicion.

"You have a lot on your plate, if you and Chinatsu's words are anything to go by," I said. "And I was hired to keep this city from falling apart. It's not like our goals are mutually exclusive."

"I see…" Mollified, Hina nodded. "Then I would ask for your cooperation right now. In return, I will try to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability, within reason."

Cooperation? That depended on what exactly she wanted. "Sure, I'm game," I acceded for now.

"Excellent," Hina remarked, her poker face ever intact. Before she began, the student withdrew a plain canteen from her belt and unscrewed its cap, then attempted to take a sip. Hina lowered the canteen and her face scrunched up in mild displeasure.

"All out?" I asked knowingly, a wry smirk forming on my features.

"…Yes."

"With that many layers of clothing, I'm surprised you didn't run out of water sooner."

"Hm."

"I got just the thing, gimme a sec." I set my pack on the ground and reached into the side compartment in which I stored liquids. The glass bottle produced a clink as I withdrew it, and I held it out for Hina.

She looked at me, then at the orange liquid in the bottle warily. "Sunset…Sarsaparilla?" she read off the worn label.

"Ain't a better way to cool off," I proclaimed as I set the bottle down on the table in front of her.

"…What is it?" Hina asked, eyeing the bottle.

"Soda. Pretty sure they have that here, no?"

Hina still seemed hesitant. I rolled my eyes. If you found yourself in a desert without any water reserves, you took whatever hydration you could get, rads or contamination be damned.

I supposed I understood her hesitance. If General Oliver were to personally offer me a drink in the name of friendship, I'd be more than a little wary. Even if it took an unholy amount of poison to actually threaten me.

I withdrew my second and last bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla and set it on the table. Hina watched with some interest as I removed my headgear and swapped our bottles to prove I had no ill intentions. I uncapped mine, relishing the hiss of the carbonated beverage, before taking a swig.

Not to toot my own horn, but damn, that's good.

I didn't bring any Sunset Sarsaparilla with me to Kivotos so I ended up having to homebrew my own. It wasn't difficult – I had the recipe from the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters, the means to clone Nevada agave fruit and Xander Root, and access to Schale's kitchen for miscellaneous ingredients. The biggest constraining factor was time, as I had work and other projects that generally had priority over recreating Wasteland goodies.

Freshly made Sunset Sarsaparilla had its draws, but there was just something about its pre-war counterpart that made me prefer it. Call me crazy, but I was of the opinion that the two hundred years added a certain tinge to it, akin to the aging of a fine wine.

Don't tell Fuuka.

I lowered the bottle, setting it down on the table. "Sure you don't want any? It's not ice-cold anymore, but it's a lot cooler than the desert heat," I offered.

Hina intently studied my features, then tentatively took her bottle into her hands. After unscrewing the bottle cap, she sampled the drink. "…It's root beer," she slowly said, lowering the bottle.

"With a fancier name and a few additives, yeah, basically," I confirmed. "It's good, right?"

She nodded. "Is this a popular brand where you're from?"

"You bet. Can't go anywhere without seeing an ad on a billboard." I chuckled. "'Build mass with Sass!' they say."

"Build mass…with Sass…?" Hina repeated thoughtfully. For some reason, she picked up the bottle and downed a large portion of the beverage, finishing about half the bottle. Was it something I said?

"Careful, you'll get a stomachache," I said amusedly.

Setting the bottle down, Hina cleared her throat. "Excuse me. Where were we…" she said, keen on getting back on topic. Though she seemed notably more relaxed in posture than before. Perhaps it was because she now had a face to attribute to the "boogeyman" from the rumors. Such a reputation was useful to have among potential enemies, but less so among potential allies.

Hina reached into her coat and pulled out a manila folder, setting it down in front of her. "Now, as I mentioned earlier, there have been several factors that have been drawing undue attention to this district. I hope you may be able to shed some light on the topic."

"Okay," I casually replied, drawing on my not insubstantial gambling skills to prepare my best poker face to match hers.

The first document she retrieved from the folder was a grainy photo depicting me in my disguise, presumably taken from a distant security camera as the gang made our getaway.

"This is one of them," she stated as she gestured toward Vance, her eyes searching my features for any kind of reaction.

I thanked Lady Luck that Hina didn't have access to better photos – she may have just been smart enough to figure out that Abydos and I were the real perpetrators. Though, credit where it was due - it was Ayane's impeccable hacking that disabled most of the security cameras around the bank and surrounding area during the heist.

"…Vance, I presume?" I asked, my face betraying nothing.

"Correct. Are you aware of what he and his group have done?"

"The news says they robbed a bank."

"Yes. However, that is not the only reason why the entire city is interested in him."

"…Is it his good looks?"

Hina merely stared at me. "His halo, Sensei."

"Ah. But why is this significant?"

"Because it's unprecedented. And like any other disruptions to the status quo, it will naturally attract attention of the larger academies. As we speak, the larger academies have agents combing through the black market searching for details. And I suspect were it not for your presence in Abydos, they would have been here too."

"Hmm…"

I had chosen the persona of Vance precisely because of its outrageousness – haloes were such a fact of life here that I hypothesized no one would make the connection between me and Vance. To an extent, I was right.

But if I had known beforehand what a stir Vance would cause among every major faction in the city, I would've thought twice about donning the halo. The last thing Abydos needed right now was scrutiny from more influential academies.

"Hence, for the sake of preserving order in the city, I must ask – what do you know about Vance?" Hina asked.

"I couldn't tell you much more than you already know," I answered honestly. "He's a criminal. Probably started off with small crimes then moved on to the big leagues along with Vikki."

"Do you know why he would join a group like the Masked Swimsuit Gang?"

"Not sure. Maybe they were named after he joined or something," I answered. "Like I said, I don't know much – I've never met Vance personally."

It wasn't a lie. Vance, or at least the one I knew of, had been dead since long before I was born.

Hina analyzed my neutral disposition, asking, "Are you not concerned about Vance causing trouble in Abydos?"

I shook my head. "What is there to steal in Abydos? Rocks?" I realized I may have inadvertently revealed Abydos' financial crisis to Hina, but I suspected she already knew, as she possessed one of the most expansive information networks in the city. "Nah, the one I'm concerned about is Faust," I said, eager to divert Hina's attention away from my alter ego.

Hina furrowed her brow. "What do you know about Faust?"

"Just what I've been told. That there is no soul to be found in those eyes of hers - only unending, burning hatred and malice. That she finds no joy in the world other than reveling in the pain and misery of those she considers beneath her. Meaning, everybody."

Hina blinked, not looking cowed in the slightest but slightly surprised by the vivid description. "I see…"

Sorry, Faust. But you gotta take one for the team. It wasn't probable they'd trace Faust back to Hifumi, anyway – it wasn't physically possible for Hifumi to be any farther from Faust in terms of personality. Still, to make it up to her, I resolved to buy Hifumi all the Radchicken merch she wanted once I had the means.

Nodding, Hina returned the file to the folder and began to pull out another one. I casually took another swig of sarsaparilla – I was confident that, with the topic of Vance out of the way, there were not many topics that could catch me off guard.

"Now then, for our next subject – the Stranger," Hina said.

"Ghh!" I began choking on my drink as I registered the highly stylized but no less accurate rendition of the Mysterious Stranger.

"Sensei?!" Hina called out, alarmed. She got up out of concern, but I held up a hand between fits of coughs.

"I'm…fine," I rasped out, gathering my bearings. Nodding, Hina sat back down, observing me.

The depicted Stranger bore his usual coat, hat, and magnum, but with the curious addition of a smoking cigarette. Did she get an artist to draw this? But the only ones who saw were Serika and the gang members…

"You know this person," Hina noted from my reaction.

"Well…yes, but actually no."

"Oh?"

"I was just as surprised to see him there as everyone else was."

"You don't know who he is?" Hina asked.

"No. He's a total stranger."

"He's not where you're from?" Hina continued, perplexed.

"Honestly, I have no clue." Kivotos or the afterlife were starting to seem like valid possibilities.

"What about why he would help you?" Hina pressed.

"Beats me." I didn't know how to say anymore without sounding completely bonkers, so I didn't answer further.

Hina carefully searched my face for any sign of deception, and when she found I was just as puzzled as her, she took out a pen and wrote something down on the dossier.

"Why is the Stranger important to you?" I asked, curious.

She tapped her pen against the table. "Someone like that, who is capable of appearing, annihilating a target, then disappearing, can destabilize the entire city. What if the same were to happen at the Eden Treaty's signing, for instance? Or any other important political meeting, for that matter?"

I'd never thought of it that way, as I'd long grown used to the Stranger as a benefactor of sorts. And you could easily apply the same logic to me – I couldn't appear out of thin air, but stealth and long-range firepower would serve the same purpose. But I saw where she was coming from. A person like the Stranger going rogue would spell disaster for diplomats everywhere. He was unpredictable, untraceable - in other words, the perfect assassin.

"I see what you mean."

"Since you understand, if you spot this man again, alert me or Chinatsu. We need more leads on this Stranger," Hina insisted.

"Uh, sure." I intended to do so, but I wasn't sure what it would accomplish. I was pretty sure that no amount of detective work could track this guy down. But maybe Kivotos and its myriad bullshit could get it done.

Hina put away the folder and moved on. She took a sip from her drink and regarded me.

"Next, I'd like to discuss a matter of relative importance to Gehenna."

"I'm all ears."

"In addition to the Masked Swimsuit Gang, we've received word of some students from our district hiding in Abydos – Problem Solver 68."

I nodded slowly. "Yes. I know of them."

"Then you must know they are at large."

"Right."

"Preventing our students from running amok and causing trouble in other districts is but one of the responsibilities of the Disciplinary Committee, or Prefect Team, as is more widely known," Hina explained. "However, our ability to act autonomously in other districts is severely limited. As follows, we request Schale's permission, if not assistance, in apprehending Problem Solver 68 in this district."

"Ah, about that…" I scratched the back of my head. "They're kinda our guests at the moment."

"…Come again?"

"You heard me."

Hina looked at me as if I had spontaneously mutated and grown a second head.

"…Sensei," she addressed seriously. "Why is Abydos housing Problem Solver 68?"

And there it was. I had been anticipating a question along these lines.

"They requested asylum and Abydos granted it," I replied simply.

Hina raised an eyebrow. "Did it not occur to you that the reason they requested asylum was because they had engaged in unsavory business and are running from the fallout?"

"Whatever they may have done outside the district is of no concern to us."

"Even if they're wanted fugitives in every other district?"

"Even so. If you want to pursue them all the way into Abydos, you'll need to take it up with Hoshino."

"Hoshino?" Hina repeated. "As in, Takanashi Hoshino?"

Now it was my turn to be curious. "You know her?"

"Not personally, no. But Gehenna's Intelligence Committee identified her as a person of interest."

"Why?"

"They saw her as a possible threat," Hina stated.

"…Really?"

She nodded. "Takanashi Hoshino – a prodigy who became infamous for her skills on the battlefield, cold efficiency in combat, and unparalleled aggression."

I searched Hina's features for any sign that she was screwing with me. She was not.

"…You sure we're talking about the same Hoshino?" I asked, picturing the short girl hugging a whale. Hina's description of her lined up with Faust more than anything. I mean, sure, Hoshino had baggage, but that hardly made her ruthless.

My mental image of her shifted to her wearing a combat vest and a permanent scowl, like Graham, as she mowed down hordes of White Legs.

…Nope, still can't see it.

"Presumably, they are one and the same. Only a handful of students enrolled in their academy in recent years, and another person of the same name wasn't one of them," Hina remarked. "My only question is why she would remain in Abydos despite its hardships."

"You know about what they're going through, huh."

"I do. But Abydos' fall occurred long before I assumed position of head prefect." Hina frowned, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "There was nothing I could do, and the ones in command certainly didn't have any inclination to help." Hina turned to me, looking me in the eye. "Which makes Abydos' decision to shelter Problem Solver 68 even more puzzling. Why would someone like Takanashi Hoshino, who had been spurned by the rest of the city, be so quick to house wanted fugitives from another district?"

"Hina, have you ever heard the old saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'?

"I have."

"In their case, Problem Solver happened to make an enemy of Abydos' – Kaiser."

"Kaiser?" Hina inquired. "They're Abydos' creditors."

"Creditors with a history of shady business dealings, sure."

"You're referring to the rumors of their connections to the black market," Hina perceptively noted.

Damn, this girl is well-informed.

"Not just rumors," I said. "We have reason to believe that Kaiser has been trying to evict the Abydos students by force."

Hina's eyes hardened. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Originally, the students asked for my help against local gangs. But we found out that the gangs were backed using Abydos' monthly payments to Kaiser. A positive feedback loop, if you will."

"Do you have evidence of Kaiser's wrongdoing?"

"I…" As our most solid evidence was the transport logs from the bank, I couldn't share that evidence without implicating Abydos and possibly earning them another enemy. Hopefully the intel I gathered and the USB drive that Shiroko found would be good enough, though Ayane was still in the midst of compiling everything useful. "…don't have it on me right now."

"I see. Then why not report it through official channels? You have the means to do so through Schale," Hina pointed out.

"So the GSC can do nothing about it? Pass." I snorted derisively. "No, I want to confront Kaiser directly. If we let the official channels handle it, Kaiser will just prop up a scapegoat and sweep their dirty laundry under the rug."

Hina, deep in thought, clasped her hands together as she put her elbows on the table. "…Do you know where to confront them?"

"They have multiple headquarters across the city, don't they?"

"Yes. But there's no reason to go so far."

"What do you mean?"

Hina leaned forward a bit. "This information has not yet reached the Intelligence Committee nor the Tea Party, but…"

"…?"

"…Kaiser is up to something in the Abydos desert."

"The desert? As in, the big ol' stretch in the middle of nowhere?"

Hina nodded. "Not only that, but in the recent two days they've been amassing forces. My guess is that it's a precaution against the dangerous elements that have taken up residence in the district."

Looks like there were more negatives to Vance being so widely known. Damn.

"What are they looking for in the desert?" I asked, leaning forward as well.

Hina furrowed her brow. "I don't know. But it must be substantial enough to warrant the amount of resources they're pouring into securing the surrounding area."

So, there was something they wanted from the region besides the academy after all. If Kaiser wanted something from the desert, then that gave us possible leverage over them.

Filing away the information for later, I inquired, "If even Gehenna and Trinity don't have this intel yet, how do you know all this?"

"…Let's just say that speaking to you wasn't the only reason I came to this district," she replied cryptically.

"Gehenna has beef with Kaiser?"

Hina didn't answer directly. "Kaiser is known for recruiting dropouts, delinquents, and destitute students into its private army, where they are treated more like indentured servants. Due to Gehenna's large population and demographics, this makes our district a prime location for recruiting." Hina frowned deeply. "Needless to say, Kaiser is not a friend to Gehenna."

Geez, what was it with organizations named after Caesar being absolute dickheads?

"Do you know if any of their leaders are in the desert?" I asked.

"Given the desert is such a wide swath of land to cover, then it's probable they have an authority figure leading the operation close by," she answered.

"Good."

"What will you do?"

"Have some words with the one in charge. But I'm not expecting to go in without a fight."

"Why not?"

"A halo-less person barges in with incriminating evidence? What's stopping them from trying to lock me up or otherwise 'dispose' of me?"

"…They wouldn't. The ramifications for what is effectively an attack on Schale are likely to be politically damning."

"I dunno," I said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Rewards outweigh the risks. Besides, it wouldn't surprise me if some factions are already working behind the scenes to get a leg up on Schale."

At that, Hina stayed silent. I could tell she was making a conscious effort not to avert her eyes. She didn't know that I knew about the Prefect Team's attempts to spy on me, and judging from her reaction it wasn't exactly something she was proud of. Perhaps Hina wasn't responsible for yesterday after all.

"And there you have it," I concluded. "I'm sorry, but we can't hand over Problem Solver. They may not have made the best first impressions on us, but they're our only backup aside from me and whatever Schale can muster."

Hina took several moments to ruminate, then nodded. "Very well. Given the circumstances, I suppose I can't fault Abydos, even if their choice in allies is questionable."

"I'm glad you understand."

The horned girl finished off her drink and set the empty bottle down with a clink. She eyed me curiously. "Do you perchance know what you're up against, Sensei?"

An army that, while dispersed over a wide area, likely rivaled the Mojave NCR forces from back then in terms of numbers. Our saving grace was that, like the Mojave, the Abydos desert was a ludicrously large area to cover, so it'd take time for the enemy forces to muster in full.

Issue was, we didn't know much of anything concerning the Abydos desert. The desert's landscape had changed much via the tumultuous sandstorms that barraged the district, so even Hoshino didn't know what was up there anymore. That wasn't even factoring in whatever fortifications the enemy had erected in the desert since then.

We needed more info to go off. If we knew what they wanted in the desert, that'd give us better bargaining power.

What we needed was reconnaissance. Get in, learn what we can, get out. Then strike while the iron was still hot.

"Vaguely. But we'll manage."

"…Understood. Be careful. Kaiser's private military is far more organized than the gangs you've fought previously," Hina warned, with but a smidge of thoughtful concern on her face.

Nice of her. Most people in positions of power didn't care for anything beyond their agendas.

"Thanks. Lemme know if there's anything I can do to lessen your load. We still owe you for the Schale building, after all."

"Please, Sensei. You owe us nothing. It was in our best interests to do so." The corners of Hina's mouth tilted upwards. "But I may just take you up on that. I understand that several of our federal proposals go through Schale, and it may prove beneficial for both parties involved to exchange feedback."

Hina extended her hand, and I shook it. "I look forward to working with you, then," I said cordially.

With our business concluded, Hina got up, and I did the same. She grabbed her oversized coat and reequipped it. "By the way, Sensei…"

"Yes?"

"Do keep me apprised of the situation with Kaiser," she said while facing the door. "Dubious business practices notwithstanding, if Kaiser is indirectly interfering with an academy, this may become something the Prefect Team can no longer ignore."

I smirked. Perhaps the Prefect Team would be open to helping us after all. I was working on a few things that would help even the odds against a numerically superior enemy force, but if I could get Hina and the Prefect Team on board…

Abydos' prospects were looking a lot brighter.

"Will do." Finishing my drink and stowing the empty bottle and cap to reuse another time, I followed her out.

I slipped on my headgear and Hina equipped her hood, and we strode out into the mostly abandoned district…

…Only to come directly into the sights of eight students, all brandishing their weapons at us. Or more specifically, at Hina.

"Sensei," Shiroko proudly addressed, giving me a thumbs up. "I have brought the 'takeout'."

Hina looked to me questioningly. I slapped my hand against my forehead.

"Shiroko," I enunciated painstakingly. "When I said to get the takeout, I meant get the noodles."

"The noodles?" She tilted her head as if the idea had never occurred to her.

"The ramen," I clarified.

"…Oh."

In what world did 'takeout' translate to assembling a hit squad? I lived in a literal Wasteland for all my life, and even I thought that was a stretch.

"Does that mean Oji-san can put this thing down? It's getting tiring holding it up," Hoshino complained, shifting her shotgun in her hands while Serika rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it does," I replied irately.

With that, the Abydos students all lowered their guns, but the Problem Solver 68 students seemed more inclined to run than fight to begin with.

Aru and Haruka seemed positively terrified, their knees shaking at the sight of the short head prefect. Kayoko kept her eyes on Hina warily while even Mutsuki looked anxious.

"W-w-w-what is the head prefect doing in Abydos?!" Aru stuttered.

"She's here for us, isn't she?" Haruka miserably said. "I…I can serve as a decoy for you while you escape, Aru-sama!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary…" I said.

"Head prefect?" Nonomi tilted her head. "Can Gehenna's authorities even act in Abydos?"

"No, they can't," Kayoko replied, squinting at Hina. "And either way, it's not Hina's style to make trouble in other districts. Isn't that right, President?"

Hina, for her part, seemed content to ignore Problem Solver 68's presence entirely. Instead, the head prefect's wide-eyed gaze was fixated on Hoshino.

"Oho? Do we know each other?" Hoshino languidly leaned on her shotgun. "Miss Head Prefect of Gehenna?"

"…No, we do not. You must be Takanashi Hoshino," Hina carefully said, showing obvious confusion at Hoshino's antics.

"And you're Sorasaki Hina, huh? Must be hot underneath all that clothing." Hoshino leaned forward, her mouth curling into a wry smirk. "Especially after all that fraternizing you were doing with Sensei."

"F-fraternizing?!" I heard Ayane repeat embarrassedly from the comms. Shiroko looked like she wanted to draw her weapon again.

I cringed, hoping that Abydos wouldn't dig their own graves further. Was this really how relations with Gehenna were going to sour?

Fortunately, Hina took the teasing in stride, even looking a bit flustered for once. "…No. We were simply discussing matters regarding the city." She began to turn to leave. "I have important matters to attend to, so I must be off. I bid you farewell, Abydos, Sensei."

"Sorry about the misunderstanding. They're…excitable, as you can see," I said apologetically.

Hina merely nodded in acknowledgement. Then, for the first time, she briefly acknowledged Problem Solver's presence as she glared icily at them, her eyes literally glowing purple under the hood, causing Aru to jump and Kayoko to tense.

This lasted but for a second – Hina promptly departed in the opposite direction, leaving behind the two groups of students. The Gehenna students let out a collective sigh of relief as we watched the student go.

As far as first meetings with major factions went, this one went swimmingly. Then again, crucifixions or being bombarded by artillery really set a low bar in that department.

At least now with everyone here we didn't have to get takeout.

"This is Kronos News Radio, bringing you latest scoops from the Academy City! Today we have a special guest with us – by her request, she will remain anonymous. Given that she was present at the infamous black market heist yesterday, who can blame her? Please welcome our anonymous guest!"

"Heyas! Thanks for having me!"

"I'd say Kronos is glad to have you! Everyone in Kivotos is going nuts over what happened yesterday, so it'll be awesome to get some perspective from someone who was there! Tell us, what was it like?"

"So, like, everybody was just waiting in line all quiet. You'd think that a black market bank would be all exciting and cutthroat and all that like in the movies, but no, everyone was all stuffy and boring. But then the place goes dark all of a sudden. Then Vance and the others came in, guns blazing!"

"That sounds horrible. You must have been so terrified…"

"Not really."

"Eh?"

"I mean, yeah, it was scary at first. Like, there was this one with a bag on her head. Faust, I think. Total maniac! I thought she was gonna beat the *BLEEP* outta me! When she looked at me, I thought I was gonna die!"

"That does sound like you were terrified…"

"Well, yeah, but you ever have a really terrible day, but then something good happens that makes it all better?"

"I think?"

"That's what it was like seeing Vance in action! Someone super bad to the bone, no nonsense, straight to business!"

"Oh?"

"Like, everyone knows how much students love guns and action. But a guy with a halo, who robs one of the most dangerous places like it's Tuesday?! Talk about amazing!"

"Is that why so many people want to hear about him, you think? Because he appeals to student sensibilities?"

"I dunno about sensitivities or whatever you said, but I think so. Like, I thought Sensei was hot, but Vance is a straight-up hunk, not gonna lie."

"Um…"

"You know, it's not fair."

"What isn't fair?"

"Life."

"…?"

"Like, why does Vikki get Vance all to herself?!"

"I'm not sure that-"

"What does Vikki have that I don't?!"

"I don't think-"

"Wahhhh! It should have been ME, not her!"

"Please calm down-"

"It's not faaaair!"

The sound of the microphone became muffled, and there were shouts in the background of someone calling for security. Several gunshots later, the radio host returned.

"Sorry about that, we seem to be having some technical difficulties. While we get that sorted out, let's play some tunes! Let's start with an oldie but goodie – don't let the nostalgia hit you too hard! Here's "Baby" by Austin Dieber!"

…

…

…

What is this garbage? I thought as I switched my Pip-Boy radio off.

I tried to give it a chance. Truly, I did. But I couldn't stomach the song for more than a minute and a half. I tuned into the local radio channels on a whim, only to come to two conclusions.

One: there was something seriously wrong with the students in this city.

Two: their music sucks.

The mere thought that the radio channel which once hosted the infinitely charismatic Mr. New Vegas was sullied by the undeserving Austin Dieber was one that filled me with righteous fury.

In all fairness, I had only heard that one song. I'd probably try again once I was feeling less petty. But for now, I was content being petty.

I swapped tabs and checked the time. Mere minutes until calamity.

To think that so much had happened, and it'd only been a week. Back at the Mojave, I spent a great deal of time just getting from place to place in the vast expanse of the Wasteland.

Here, rapid transport was readily available in multiple mediums. Clean food and purified water were always just around the corner. Washrooms were ubiquitous. Thus, that freed up time to get more done.

Despite this, I frowned. Was I becoming complacent? Losing my edge? It was true that there was never any end of shooting practice – Kivotos' gun-toting culture all but ensured that. But the act of killing, of constantly looking over your shoulder?

Everything here was sanitized – literally and metaphorically. If you weren't a student, even thugs and criminals would go out of their way to avoid hurting you. Even the nastiest adversary I'd encountered here so far was simply a corporation at its heart. Gone were the days of fighting enemies seeking to torture you, crucify you, burn you, eat you, feed you to their dogs, put your head on a pike, put a pike in your head…

That wasn't to say I was unhappy with the state of things in this city. I was ever keen on seeing my enemies get what they deserved, but I wasn't a psychopath who wanted to see the world burn.

I'd sooner take another bullet to the head than let this world burn like mine did.

Sighing, I leaned back on the bench outside Schale, taking in the idyllic morning sunlight. The halos in the sky, their purpose ever elusive, seemed brighter than usual against the azure sky. Perhaps it was a good sign.

Three minutes until calamity.

I came here and waited, deciding it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with someone as dangerous as the Fox.

Two minutes until calamity.

Perhaps she had forgotten. I didn't mind. But I'd rather the deranged terrorist be somewhere in sight, as opposed to terrorizing people on the other side of the city or something.

One minute until calamity.

Surveying the surroundings and seeing no sign of her, I began to get up, figuring the Fox had better things to do than take up a promise from someone she had known for less than an hour.

My augmented hearing picked up the distant sound of an automobile. Not a moment later, a black vehicle burst into the street adjacent to Schale, converging on my location in a manner and speed which I was certain broke every known traffic law in Kivotos.

As I prepared for the possibility of having to dodge the vehicle, it slowed when it neared my location. The vehicle, which was some manner of armored truck, came to a gradual stop around twenty feet in front of me. The driver seat swung open, and I nearly didn't recognize the person that exited.

Wakamo, the student wanted across the entire city, arrived exactly one week from our meeting in Schale, down to the exact minute. However, she looked vastly different than before. Now, she wore an elegant pink robe of Japanese origin and her face was unmasked, leaving her delicate features on display. She unfurled a paper parasol and used it to block the morning sun as she walked daintily to me. Her face and halo were recognizable, but what threw me off was the fact that she looked…serene. Demure. Gone was the tempestuous anarchist who very nearly succeeded in cutting off the General Student Council from their only hope of reclaiming the city, and in her place was a delicate woman who seemed like she didn't even know what a bomb was.

"Darling," Wakamo greeted. Her voice was honey. "I've so longed to see you again."

"Wakamo," I said. "You look nice."

"Fufu. Why, thank you." She withdrew a paper fan and used it to slowly fan her face, but I could tell its true purpose was to hide the vigorous shade of red her face had become. "And you look as dashing as ever, my darling."

I looked down at my usual attire. Good for a fight, but terribly underdressed for a date. But she didn't seem the type to care much.

"I almost thought you had forgotten about our little meetup," I casually remarked. "A lot can happen in a week, after all."

"Heavens, no!" Wakamo refuted. "I could never forget a promise I made with my beloved Sensei!"

"Ah, you know about that?" I asked, as this was the first time she referred to me by that title.

"Of course! I've been following you on social media!" Wakamo's eyes took on a somewhat dangerous gleam as she frowned slightly. "You have a lot of girls following you, Sensei. It seems some people don't know their place, hm?"

Ah, that's what I was waiting for. The crazy. Good to know that the Fox of Calamity hadn't died, and some other, entirely normal girl hadn't taken her name and face.

"Sure, I guess." I awkwardly scratched the back of my head and changed the subject. "What's with the truck, by the way?"

The large black truck was covered in armor plating. It looked similar to the transport vehicle that the black market police used, as there was a large door in the back of the truck, presumably for personnel to enter and exit through.

Wakamo immediately brightened. "Ah, that's my gift to you, my darling Sensei!"

"…Gift?"

She nodded animatedly. "Yes! Why?" Anxiety reflected in her eyes. "Do you not like it? Or is it…too tame?"

"It's nice. Just a bit…unexpected, is all," I replied, fishing for the correct words.

Wakamo smiled in relief, twirling her parasol in her hands. "I'm so glad you like it! I was worried that you wouldn't, since it's a bit plain compared to all the other fun vehicles out there…" Wakamo appeared pensive as she held a hand to her chin. "Originally I wanted to steal a tank, but you've seen so many of those already, haven't you? Besides, this is just our first date, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to choose which ones you like the best…"

Wait, did she just say "steal"?

"Hey, Wakamo-" I began, only to stop when Wakamo grabbed my hand and insistently tugged.

"But that's not all! Come see what I stored in the back~"

Wakamo led me by the hand to the back of the vehicle and, using one arm, unlatched and opened each of the two doors. The daylight illuminated the interior and I froze once I saw what was inside.

She raided a goddamned armory!

This truck wasn't meant for personnel transport, it was for weapons transport. Rack upon rack of various types of firearms decorated the interior. A gun nut through and through, I recognized quite a few – there was an MG42 quite similar to the one Hina carried minus the custom modifications. I spotted an StG 44, also known as the first successful line of assault rifles in history. There were several others, such as an MP40 submachine gun, a Kar98k bolt-action rifle, a Walther P38 handgun, even a Panzerschreck and a Panzerfaust, to name a few. Ammunition boxes containing copious amounts of bullets and explosive ammunition were also stored neatly underneath the weapon racks.

Correction – not an armory, a damned WWII museum.

"…Wakamo?"

"Yes, dear?" I could hear the excitement in her voice as she anticipated my response.

"Who did you steal this from?"

"Gehenna's Pandemonium Society!" Wakamo replied all too happily.

Ah. That explained the German themed weapons – that seemed to be a mainstay among Gehenna students, or at least the Prefect Team.

"May I ask why you stole from them?"

"Huh?" Wakamo cocked her head in genuine confusion. "To get you a gift, of course. Didn't you say you wanted to 'make things explode' with me?"

I blinked, remembering that I did indeed say something like that back then. But out of all the times I used that pickup line in the past, this was the first time a woman had taken it so…literally.

"I understand that. But why the Pandemonium Society, specifically?"

Wakamo became further bewildered. "I'm afraid I don't understand… Does it matter?"

I nodded. "Yes. Has the Pandemonium Society done anything to you or other people to warrant you stealing from them?"

Wakamo thought long and hard about my question before answering, "I don't think so?"

This was…problematic.

I was beginning to understand a bit more about how Wakamo operated. She didn't choose her targets based on allegiance or principle – she chose them merely based on whatever suited her interests at any given moment. It just so happened that I was one of those interests.

This would work in my favor…until it didn't. What was stopping her from eventually inconveniencing the Prefect Team or Abydos?

I'd done some morally questionable things in my time, so I wasn't in much of a position to proselytize my own morality to other people, but I had to nip the problem in the bud before her wanton looting caused further issues later down the line. Wakamo seemed to value to what I had to say, so hopefully I could instill some vague sense of right and wrong in her.

"Then stealing from them is wrong."

She froze. "I-it is?"

"Yes. Doing bad things to people who haven't done bad things to you is, well, bad."

Her brow furrowed in almost childlike confusion. "So…you don't like my gift?"

"No, I like it."

"But you said it's bad."

"No, I said what you did is bad. The thing itself is good."

"Doesn't that make what I did good?"

"No."

"I-I don't understand…" Wakamo sniffed. "D-did I mess up?"

"Yes, you did."

Her lip quivered as her ears drooped and her eyes filled with tears. "I…"

Oh no, please don't.

"I'm sorry!" she bawled, tears profusely streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what I did wrong, but I'll do anything to make it better! I don't want you to hate me, Sensei!"

…Why did I feel like a huge jerk for trying to teach morality to a terrorist…?

"Um, hey…" I made the world's most awkward attempt at comforting her. Flirting was one thing – consoling an obviously unstable criminal was another. "It's gonna be okay…"

"Please don't hate me, Sensei…" she wailed. "I'll do better next time, I promise…!"

"Look, there's something you can do to fix this."

In a flash, Wakamo was in front of me, looking into my visor with pleading eyes. "What is it?! I'll do anything!"

Nodding, I said, "Here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna take this vehicle and drive it back to Gehenna. Then you're gonna put it back where you found it. Understand?"

Wakamo's eyes became downcast. "But…what about your gift?"

"Wakamo," I said sternly.

"I…" The fox-eared student sniffed, then managed a weak smile. "…I'll do it. Anything for you, my dear Sensei."

Wakamo shuffled off morosely to return what she stole. I watched her for a bit, conflicted. On one hand, she was now doing the right thing. On the other, her idea for a perfect day was probably ruined in its entirety. From the outfit alone it was obvious she spent a lot of time preparing for today. She even went all the way to Gehenna to acquire a gift for me. She may or may not have known any better, but the fact was that she still expended time and effort on my behalf.

And it was such a nice array of weapons, too. Our goals may have differed drastically, but Wakamo sure knew fine weapons when she saw them. It was a crying shame that these weapons and the vehicle wouldn't be put to good use…

A little idea popped into my head, and I couldn't help but entertain it.

"Hold up a second," I said as I reopened the back of the vehicle and climbed in.

"Sensei?" Wakamo asked, her ears perking up hopefully.

I picked up the MG42 I had my eye on earlier and loaded an ammunition belt into the weapon. The weight of the light machine gun felt just right in my arms.

"…They won't notice if we take the truck out for a little spin before we return it, right?"

Wakamo's beaming smile was as bright and dangerous as an atom bomb detonating.

Kivotos was a big city. There were so many districts, so much empty space. Unless one knew where to look, one would remain forever ignorant of the premier locations to have a date.

But thanks to Hina, I knew just the place.