Mutsuki walked on the familiar dark roads of the black market. Humming with a skip on her steps at the brand new day, with her machine gun slung on her side and her black duffel bag held tightly in her left hand.
Nothing calmed her more than the sounds of the already busy streets of businesses being opened.
"Oi, pipsqueak! Give us your bag before things get nasty!"
And the already active goons.
"Whaat? This bag?" Mutsuki teased.
"Are you deaf? I said, give it!"
"Alright- alright…" Mutsuki reached for her bag and pulled out a beeping and primed C4. "How about this?"
"What the-?!"
Ah, like usual. Starting the day with a BANG! Mutsuki grinned proudly to herself before retreating with a small sprint before the guards could check on the ruckus. Reaching to the office, and twisting open the doorknob, the door swung open with a creak ever so softy.
She inhaled. Letting the familiar fresh and flowery stench of the office meet her nose. With a wide grin, the girl entered.
"Good mor- woah. Aru, did you sleep last night?" She pointed out to Aru who had her chin down on the table and a look that had already said everything. Her sluggish expression, droopy eyelids, and even her eye bags developing eye bags of their own.
Like every day, Aru and Kayoko had arrived usually with Haruka as well, but perhaps she had… something to do because she is never late.
But what interests her the most is Aru's current state.
"I did… technically." Aru answers sluggishly.
"Boss had been tearing herself again." Kayoko peeked from her magazine. "By the way, Haruka left a few minutes ago to pick up our supplies."
Just as she spoke, the door opened. Revealing Haruka with plastic bags in her hands. So, that's both mysteries slashed.
"I'm back." Haruka put down the supplies and reached for a cream for Kayoko.
"Thank you." The punk put down her magazine and leaned back to the sofa. Tossing away her bandages before applying the cold cream. Letting out a sigh as she did so.
"Sheesh… does it still itch?"
"A little. It's still going to take a while before the bruises are gone."
Mutsuki nods before her focus goes back to their boss. "Anyway, what's eating up Aru this time?"
"It's about the contract." Kayoko answers, applying a fresh covering of bandages before cracking her neck.
"Didn't we agree to just lie low and let our contract sizzle away?" Mutsuki raised her eyebrow. Curious at how that plan had troubles.
"That is the plan till Kaiser called our office again."
"Then… oh!" Mutsuki snaps her fingers. "Can't we just call sensei and tell him we're going to attack? You know, put on a show?"
"It wouldn't be the same! It wouldn't be authentic!" Aru jumps up. "We're outlaws, held by no rules and laws! I wouldn't- compromise for a half-assed stage…!"
Kayoko sighs again and Mutsuki blinks in confusion.
"Eeh… I wouldn't think so. I'm sure the Abydos crew would love to beat our asses again. Can't get more authentic than that, Aru."
"…I-I… but what if they caught us?" Aru gently looks down.
"Phew, so that's what you're really worried about. It'll be fine!" Mutsuki pressed on. "You'll never know till you try, right?"
"Alright… I'll message sensei in a moment."
"If you don't want to, I can do it on your steed, boss." Kayoko raised her phone.
"Or I!" Haruka immediately opened her phone as well.
"No, no! It's- I got this."
Steeling herself, Aru pressed on the app and scrolled down and down and her eyes searched for his contact.
SCHALEHans
DMs are open.
She breathes in… and out. Then her finger tapped on the keyboard.
RikuhachimaAruOutlaw68
"Hans-sensei. Are you available today?"
Aru turned over her phone and let it rest screen down. Surely it'll be an hour before he-
PING!
"I'm available. What do you need?"
…She was wrong.
"Oh! That's great. Um, we, the Problem Solver 68, need to discuss something with you.
Are you in Abydos right now?"
"Yes."
"Okay, that'll make it easier for us to meet face to face."
"When are we meeting?"
"W-Well, since you're probably still with those Abydos kids, it's no rush, really. We can do it another time."
Hans checked on the clock.
"How about over lunch?"
"Sensei, you don't have to jd9dsjaid1mm aa11
We'll love to! Thank you sensei! Lov2mnd"
"…"
"Sorry sensei. Mutsuki is pranking me again.
We'll meet you at Shiba Seki."
"Got it."
Pocketing his phone, Hans opened the clubroom's door. The door slid gently considering its state and his eyes were met with a sight of Hoshino dozing away on Nonomi's lap.
"…Morning."
"Morning!" Nonomi returned the greeting, as his eyes wandered the empty clubroom with the current residents being her, himself, and Hoshino who was still busy dozing off on the blonde's lap. With her hair being stroked gently up and down. Like a loving mother to her child.
"Mornin' sensei…" Hoshino raised her head before plopping back down upon her junior's warmth. "Uhe… Nonomi's lap is so soft. It's like my own private pillow. Perfect for taking a nap."
"There's space for you too, sensei." Nonomi offers, tapping on her lap and Hans immediately shakes his head.
"No way! I called dibs for this lap!"
"No one said you can call dibs, Hoshino…" Nonomi gave a small flick to her head. "Ow!" Then her attention went back to Hans.
"Sensei, why don't you come back later when no one is around?" She whispers, and Hans shakes his head again. Harder this time in which she replied with a small smile.
"…Where is… everyone else…?" Hans changed the topic immediately from whatever plans Nonomi had made and perhaps will execute. If this is the case, he hopes he wouldn't cross paths with whatever it is.
"Everyone had gone to do their own things. It's the first breather we had in a while…" Nonomi answers. "Shiroko is probably working out, Ayane is studying in the library, and Serika… I hope she is taking a break for once." She sighs, still stroking Hoshino's head before she rose up from the comfortable position.
"And you're here to tidy up the clubroom eh, Nonomi? Geez, all of you are such hard workers." Hoshino yawns and stretches her limbs.
"Do you want to join me then, Hoshino?"
"Ehh… maybe next time. I already have too much on my plate. Plus, I'm an old coot who barely has any energy for any taxing activities." She stretches again before standing up and walking to the door. Giving Hans and Nonomi a wave before leaving.
"Anyway, I'll be out for the day. Call me if anything pops up!"
"She's probably going to take a nap again." Nonomi chuckles. "Well, it's alright. Ayane is going to make sure the meeting will run smoothly."
A soft smile came upon her lips. "She really had changed."
Hans couldn't help but to feel his curiosity to peek at her comment. Something that Nonomi had noticed before he had a chance to speak.
"Oh, you must be wondering. Hoshino might come across as a lazy sleepyhead now, but back then…" Nonomi's smile falters at the old memory. "…She was just so… restless. There was never a moment when she didn't seem so frazzled by everything."
She paused. "I don't know all the details, but there used to be another student. Hoshino never mentions her, but from what I heard and seen in the archives, she was the last student council president that Abydos had. Someone that was just so unreliable and completely untrustworthy, she left Hoshino to hold the short end of the stick when she disappeared."
A hint of contempt left her lips. Something that is completely unexpected from someone like her. Hans ponders for a moment.
He remembers.. a name had been said with worry, pain, betrayal, and confusion back when they discovered the truth behind Abydos' ownership.
"…Yume…"
Nonomi's ears perked up. "Yume?"
"…Hoshino had… slipped it up back then." Perhaps he could ask the GSC later.
Nonomi thought for a moment before she nodded. "I guess it doesn't matter right now."
Without prompting, and catching the teacher off guard, Nonomi held his hand. Raising it up to her chest and a pure smile came upon her lips.
"Because now we have you."
"Hoshino might seem lazy and a little mistrusting to you, but can you really blame her? She always had a lot of burden behind her in the end, I think you might have warmed her up even more. All thanks to you.
Please, keep supporting her sensei."
He felt her gentle heartbeat as silence came upon the clubroom, leaving the warm wind to flow gently out from the open window. Letting her long hair to dance along with the desert winds.
Her grip tightened before she let go so softly.
His hand left hers and landed on her head. Softly caressing it from side to side. Ruffling it before he opened his lips.
"...I will."
The hours ticked comfortably as the meeting ended right at lunch. Hans excused himself first, as the rest went on for a while longer.
"Sensei, a new message!" Arona spoke. It was a message from Aru, telling him that they're already in Shiba Seki. Entering the newly supplied armored vehicle, Hans drove quickly through the neighborhood. Reaching Shiba Seki in almost no time at all.
"Sensei, over here!"
Mutsuki calls out. Waving her hand to him upon the quiet establishment.
"Well, well, apprentice. So you're the last guy these kids have been waitin' for." The familiar gruff voice of the master upon his ears.
"Apprentice?" Aru mouthed, and Mutsuki quickly showed her the video.
Her face instantly lit up.
"Can I finally get your orders?"
Putting away her phone, Mutsuki opened the menu and answered. "Oh! We'll have…
Hans took a seat next to Kayoko and let whatever things going on outside fade out from his focus. Except for the moment and his punkish student right next to him.
His eyes softened as he pointed to her neck. Silently asking her if she was doing alright.
Kayoko sighs and opens her bandages. Pointing it as she nodded. Hans raised a hand curiously, reaching to her neck before he stopped. Curling his fingers before Kayoko shook her head.
"It's alright."
Her skin felt soft to the touch, and little damp with whatever ointment she used. The spot where he… had attacked her had softened a little, yet was still rough and purple. Still needing a good while to fully heal. He felt a glimmer of guilt returning, even knowing it had all passed and she already forgave him.
Yet he can't forgive himself for hurting her.
"Kufufu. Aren't you two close?"
The two flinched under the impish giggle as she immediately whisked away, wrapping
her neck back again with the bandage.
"…Shut it."
"Kufufufu! Oh, I've ordered the same bowl for all of us. You too, sensei. Or do you want to change it?
Hans shook his head.
"Okay~."
Aru clears her throat. Hiding her tint of red upon her cheeks.
"A-Ahem. Sensei, we're here to… ask you for a favor." She paused for a moment. "Can you beat us again?"
"...What?"
Kayoko sighs. "We've been hounded by our contractor to finish our job. Since all of us lost motivation to do it. Especially after…"
"Hey! You don't have to tell him that!" Aru defended, remembering the rotten 6 hours with a grimace on her lips.
"In short, you are going to help us act sensei!" Mutsuki immediately butts in.
Kayoko shrugs "It's the only solution we have. We can't exactly cancel our contract, considering it's…"
"…Kaiser."
Kayoko nodded again. A surprise to no one except Aru.
"W-But…"
"See, I told you Hans-sensei already knew." Mutsuki elbowed the outlaw as she slumped her shoulders before instantly recovering
"Ahem! So- will you help us?"
Like she had to ask. He nodded and raised a finger. "...We need to discuss this first… with the Foreclosure Task Force."
WIth that, the talk spiraled into Aru's planning to make it utterly grandiose. Meticulously planning each move, shot, and time before it swelled into a miniature unrelenting chaos between jokes and teasing. Then it was cut off by the sounds of footsteps and the intoxicating sweet smell of broth as it got near.
"Here you go. Five bowls of regular ramen." The master came back. Placing the bowls down upon the table with a gentle thud before his eyes went to Hans.
And an agreement came without words where only two adults could agree.
"…Two extra orders of… chicken katsu and gyoza."
He gave Hans a nod of approval and mentally patted the wolf in the back as he gave him a smirk. "Heh. Gotcha."
"Woah! Sensei, are you sure?" Mutsuki's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"T-Then…" Haruka reached into her pockets, pulling out bundles of yen before Hans stopped her.
"…You don't have to… spend a single yen. Any of… you."
"Fufu, as expected of our permanent benefactor." Aru clicks her chopsticks before she immediately corrects herself. "Thank you, sensei."
"Oh! After this is all over, why don't we go visit SCHALE ourselves?" Mutsuki raised an idea.
"That's… come to think of it, it's actually a good idea. Do you mind having us, sensei? Aru asks.
Hans shook his head and opened the chopsticks himself.
"…I do not mind."
"Heheh! Now it's settled."
An agreement came to an end, then the discussion about how their next step resurfaced with the lingering taste of ramen on their tongues. Aru most of all, could almost shine at how much she enjoyed the taste here before eventually the master came with the extra orders. Giving Hans a proud grin as he left them to eat in peace, ignoring the extra pieces on the plate.
"Aru! Here~" Mutsuki raised her chopstick with a piece of chicken.
"W-Huh?!"
The light teasing came back as Hans ate silently. Watching along as the three interact with each other. Mutsuki's mischief, Aru's awkwardness, and Haruka's timidness all blend into one chaotic yet beautiful orchestra of youth. Kayoko joins in once in a while, and her certain cool and calmness completes the circle of friendship.
This small peace they shared, made Hans feel… he had succeeded in his role he had molded into.
But this won't last.
A strange sound of whistling came down as his ears perked up.
Something is happening.
Immediately, he stood up harshly. Uncaring at how forceful it is as every food stumbled and fell. Not a moment later, pulls the confused students out from their seats and pushes them aside as far as he can.
The whistling crept closer.
"!"
"Sensei- wha?"
"Sensei?!"
"Sen-"
Then the whistle came upon them as it bursts into an ear piercing explosion.
Sending the walls down and collapsing under an inferno.
"Yup. Direct hit on those thugs." The demoness lowers her binoculars as she sighs. "I don't understand why you're still doing this. Those thugs are part of SCHALE, whatever that means anyway. Those weasels at the Pandemonium Society said so as well."
"I don't care what they said, or what that… adult had said! They're ours!" The woman over her comms shouts back.
"Hmph. Even Chinatsu is against this."
"Shut it. Just keep your watch, field captain."
"Fine." Iori let out a small annoyed scoff at her superior's attitude. What the hell she's planning is something she can't really get in the long years she has known the administrator. Typical of her to scheme out things that somehow will do good for The Prefect Team and in their duties. All she had to do is to put her faith in her just like always.
Because why would she do otherwise? She just has to… trust her and her smarts.
This whole desertification of Abydos is sad to see, but there is nothing she nor her academy could do. Plus, Makoto would've laughed and shrugged it off. Just like the character she is. But to be honest, even as skeptical as she was at this… there's nothing she would love but to bring those bastards back for good old pumped justice.
Standing at attention with a grin on her lips, she marched on.
"Going in for the kill. Watch over me."
The meeting stopped as a faraway explosion came on their ears along with the raging beeps of her machine.
"What the-?!" Serika ran to the window. Her eyes widened at the rising smoke up high into the sky.
"There's been an explosion in a 10 kilometer radius downtown!" Ayane jumps up, before her monitor flashed even more explosions raining down along the district.
"Is it an ambush?!" Shiroko came to attention immediately. "Kata-kata?!
"It- it looks like a bombardment!" She shouted. "Unconfirmed for now!"
"Downtown? Didn't sensei say he's going there to meet someone?" Nonomi remembers before all voices halted upon the dark realization.
"…Shiba Seki Ramen." Shiroko whispers before heart beats faster and faster as she immediately rushes to the elf's side. "Ayane!"
"S-Shiba Seki Ramen had been… completely obliterated."
All hearts stopped beating in unison.
"DAMN IT! EVERYONE GO!" Serika shouts, rushing out along with everyone else to their extra vehicle with Shiroko on the wheel. Stabbing the keys in with urgency as the engine came to life.
"Shiroko! PRESS IT!"
"Nn!"
Their car moved at top speed. Uncaring at how unsafe it is.
"I- I can't contact the master!" Serika trembles.
"Neither do sensei!" Nonomi follows. Her hand fell upon her screen as she tried to call him again. "Come on…"
"Hoshino won't answer her call as well! Her phone might've been dead!" Ayane bit her lip before opening a screen up to the burning, and shelled downtown.
"We'll be there in just a minute…! Everyone hang on!" Shiroko pushed on the pedal harder and harder, with every part of her undoubtedly wishing for his safety.
Meanwhile, the once homely ramen shop turned into hell in just a moment.
The roofs crumbled down, with every furniture and bowls lying broken and scattered to the floor and the legendary broth laid spilled and forgotten. Upon the rubble knelt a man as he slowly rose from the broken timber, and an azure shield crumbled down. Its purpose was fulfilled.
"Sensei! Are you alright?!" Arona shouts with extreme urgency at the sudden development. Hans checked on his body. Not a single scratch.
"I'm fine. Did you… protect me?"
"I did! Phew… I…" Arona yawns. "I did. Sorry sensei, but I panicked and put out a lot of power to make that barrier… yawn I'm… getting sleepy."
"…It's alright. Rest, Arona." Hans gave her a mental head pat, and then the tablet slowly dimmed. Snuffed out by the AI's drowsiness.
Without wasting a second, Hans' thoughts came upon his students. His legs ran towards the place where he had thrown the Problem Solvers out from the heart of the explosion.
"Cough! Cough! Sensei…! Over… here!" Mutsuki coughs up as she rises from the floor. Her clothes singed but overall she is unharmed.
Kayoko followed soon after. Coughing as her eyes instead focused more on the unconscious Aru who laid under a wooden beam, and Haruka who had been buried under a magnificent pile of timber.
"Aru…! Aru-sama!" Haruka shrieked as she tried to free herself from rubble that had bound her.
"Sensei!" Kayoko spoke up as he had already arrived at the scene, gripping upon the burning rubble on Haruka first.
"Sensei, get- pick up Aru-sama first! L-Leave me be!" She pleaded, but Hans was having none of it. Without wasting a moment, he tossed the rubble away before continuing next at the wooden beam that had struck Aru effortlessly. Uncaring at how scorched his clothes and skin, from the raging inferno.
"The… master!" Hans spoke out to Mutuski and Kayoko as he immediately hauled Aru and Haruka on his shoulders.
"He is unconscious, a little wounded, but alright!" Mutsuki shouts as Kayoko comes out from the shattered kitchen with the unconscious canine carried on her back.
"Go, now!" Hans orders immediately, as the roofs and walls keep on crumbling before it all falls down. And just for a moment later when they all exited out into the sunlight, the establishment crumbled upon itself. The flames consumed it before dying out.
"…Huff… huff…" Mutuski fell down to the sands as Kayoko laid the master down somewhere far behind some covers. "That was close…"
"Aru-sama! Aru-sama…!" Haruka cradles Aru as the two are dropped from their teacher's shoulders.
Kayoko stood up, glaring at the burning and smoking area surrounding them. Mere coincidence? Or a coordinated attack?
"Are you… alright?"
"I'm fine here. Thank you, sensei."
"Same here." Mutsuki followed, but Haruka kept on sobbing as she held Aru.
"She'll be fine, Haruka." Kayoko assures before she snaps to distance. Loud, familiar explosions of mortars came to her ears.
"Everyone! Take cover!"
Not a moment wasted, the shells came down like rain. Filling the district with explosions intermingled with the screams of confused and terrified civilians running out of their broken homes and buildings in search of safety.
"It's them." Kayoko whispers as the explosions stop. Replaced by the rumbling of engines and footsteps entering the chaotic downtown.
Hans stood at attention as the familiar scent of medicine and stimulants came to his nose. Mixed with a certain regret as it got closer and closer.
"…The Prefect Team."
His eyes focused upon the marching army of black uniforms with red armbands in front of Panzer IVs and two familiar faces. Halting as they met with the Problem Solvers and Hans, behind an invisible line that cuts the two factions.
"…Chinatsu."
"Sorry sensei."
She didn't dare to look at him. Keeping her head down as the demoness next to her walked forward. Spinning her rifle. But before she could speak up, a vehicle rammed down the streets with a logo of a forgotten school.
"Sensei!" The taskforce jumped out from the worn vehicle. Rushing to immediately stand next to Hans and see what the hell had happened in the city. Their eyes darted to the disheveled and wounded Problem Solvers and the canine before meeting the intruders.
"Tch, looks like we got some unwanted guests here. Even with that adult from SCHALE." Iori spoke up first before she kept on walking and stopping close before she could pass the invisible line.
"We're here to catch some slippery violators back to Gehenna." The demoness kept on talking. Blatantly ignoring the damages they had done, and to injured innocents before she aimed her long sniper rifle to her target.
"By violators, I mean them. This had nothing to do with you Abydos students. So I'd advise you to leave."
"HEY! THAT'S NO REASON TO ATTACK AND SHELL THE DISTRICT!" Serika shouted. Her rage grew at the sight of the destroyed establishment and the unconscious canine. "YOU HURT CIVILIANS HERE!"
But the demoness merely shrugs and raises her eyebrow. "Eh. It's a part of life. I'm telling you again, leave or face us."
At unison the Task Force's rage grew alongside Serika's at her dismissal. Their wrath combined to raise their weapons, promoting the other side to raise their arms as well.
Hans immediately stretched his arm to stop them before they could do anything rash. Shaking his head before stepping forward to meet Iori.
"…The Problem Solver 68 is a part of SCHALE. Protected by the General Student Council, and kept… under my watch." He stopped moving.
"I had sent the letters to you… approved by the Pandemonium Society… and Nanagami Rin herself.
What… made you think, you could threaten… not only Abydos… but my students as well?"
A gentle fog marches out from Hans, and air grows ever so tense with each passing second.
He had expected the words to had cut Iori, yet it pierced Chinatsu the most as she stood mute and Iori bit her lip.
"Because we have author-"
"Sorry for the misunderstanding, sensei of SCHALE." Just then, a holographic voice spoke out through a drone. Interrupting the demoness. "Iori, stand down."
"B-But, I'm doing exactly as you-"
"I said, stand down."
And she did. Lowering her rifle and relaxing her stance.
Even through the unstable hologram, Hans could see her appearance well.
She has medium to long wavy blue hair, blue eyes, with her outfit being a white sideless collared shirt that is barely appropriate. A long-sleeved double-breasted blue jacket that goes unbuttoned at her chest, …a neck collar with a cowbell, black half gloves, and shackle on her left wrist.
Her lower body consists of a black pencil miniskirt, black thigh highs with black garter straps, ankle straps, and black platform shoes with colored shoe soles.
The girl clears her throat.
"Let me introduce myself, sensei. My name is Amau Ako. The current Administrative Officer of Gehenna's Prefect Team." She flashed him an easy smile.
Hans didn't return the gesture. Something that she noticed, but decided to put into the back of her mind.
"This misunderstanding had gone on long enough, sensei. Firstly, indeed the higher ups on Gehenna and even the GSC agreed on the Problem Solver 68's recruitment to SCHALE but the fact that they're wanted criminals for Gehenna still remains.
By our academic rules, they must finish their sentence first before they can do anything else. Sorry about it, but… I'm hoping for us to cooperate if you just hand them over."
She spoke in a sickly sweet professional tone encased with venom and deceit.
"But do understand, we won't hesitate to use force if you get in our way. Fufu. To think we met with the rumored sensei from SCHALE and caught those hooligans in one day."
"No, this is not a coincidence. This is exactly what you want, don't you Ako?" Kayoko steps up. Walking to Hans as her deadly glare kept upon the hologram.
"Hm?"
"Using this much force to capture us, this is not the style of the Head Prefect." She spoke in confidence.
"This is your own independent decision. Bringing a whole platoon worth of Prefect Team members because you expected a full skirmish against another school.
Your true targets are never us. Instead, it was SCHALE itself."
Ako kept her silence till her mask finally cracks and breaks. Her smile fell down into a bitter frown upon the punk's intelligence.
"Tch. I forgot that you are with Problem Solver 68, Onikata Kayoko." She spat out bitterly. Shaking her head with a sigh.
"This all started in the Tea Party. It is said that they had been graced by a personal visit by the enigmatic adult himself. At first, I barely cared about it because Gehenna had been visited as well. The first one at that. So why should I care, right?
That is… until I heard that the Tea Party itself had been visited personally instead of a small and quick visit like he did on Gehenna. That is when I realized my fatal mistake."
Ako raised her hand.
"We've spent days ever since then to spy and gather our intel to you, the Problem Solver, and the district. Then thanks to our intelligence division, we unearthed a personalized report by one of the Tea Party council members, giving me the full image of your nature."
Her lips curled into a venomous grin.
"An adult that could turn a hopeless situation around. Winning against a whole army and the fox of calamity herself just by a handful of students from different schools. Eating a tank shell and then destroying said tank in a single fell swoop bare handedly. Holding immense power to meet anyone as you please, going into any school without any hassle…
We need you on our side. Not the Pandemonium Society… or the Tea Party, but to us. The Prefect Team."
"What the hell are you on about?!" Serika spoke up. "We won't give sensei to you!"
"Nn. We'll protect sensei. And I'm sure, sensei won't go to you after what you displayed here." Shiroko agreed.
"That's right! Sensei wouldn't agree to such a thing!" Nonomi spoke out as well.
"Oh? Is that your choice, Abydos students?"
Ako snaps her finger as reinforcements come into the scene rushing in like a flood. Panzers aiming their guns directly followed by the mobs with their various weapons of choice.
It's more than an entire battalion. It was like almost a fourth of the Prefect Team was brought here.
"Are you sure all four- heh, sorry. All five of you can take care of this all by yourself?"
"N-No…! Not five… but nine." Aru groaned as she stood up. Her body aches as she picks up her weapon and rises up defiantly.
She had heard everything Ako had said.
"A-Aru-sama!"
"Aru…"
All eyes went to the hard-boiled fixer as she flashed a confident grin. Fighting through her bruises like a true outlaw.
"Do you think we'll let you jerks kidnap sensei after giving us every favor and kindness known to Kivotos?" She aimed her weapon at the hologram's head. "Fuck. You."
Aru's speech were met with gaping mouths and amused snickers, a nod of approval from Hans with a hint of disappointment at her potty mouth, and boiling anger coming from Ako.
"Did you just… oh. You've done it now. I'll shut your vulgar mouth for you, Rikuhachima Aru."
Every single gun clicks as they all await the order.
"Start the attack."
Just as she did, the Prefect Team roars into action.
And Hans had already rushed forward with a burst of speed, as white mist engulfs his legs.
Ako didn't understand.
How can she understand? Perhaps what was written and said in the reports about Hans-sensei is just exaggeration. Why would it be? How can someone really believe that an adult could crush a tank? The videos? Pff… just fabrications.
Yet… her eyes do not deceive her.
At first that loud BANG came from sensei's feet, and the next thing she knew, one of the Panzers, none other than a Mark V Panther, had a massive dent on the gun. Crushed like a mere cheap can of soda.
And the one that had done it was standing on top of it. Ever so silent as his greatcoat flutters to the side at the desert winds, and his red eyes glare down to her and her team.
Then he raised one of his ridiculously long Lugers. Aiming directly at the hologram's forehead.
"...Defend."
With that phrase exiting his lips. A single gunshot rang out, as the bullet pierced the hologram and hit the sand behind it.
The signal of war began upon Abydos.
He made a large leap into the skies, and the Panzer bursts into an ear shattering explosion of might and metal under the sheer force he had expelled.
Snapping into action, the joint task force immediately raised their arms and fired upon the Prefect Team with fervor unmatched, firing endlessly and separating on instinct combined with their teacher's orders. Splitting into four into groups as they dashed and weaved into a strategy of guerilla and flanking.
The groups are simple. Nonomi with Kayoko, Serika with Mutsuki, Aru with Shiroko, and Hans with Haruka acting as their vanguard while Ayane gave support from a safe distance. Providing extra intel and supplies as fast as the drones could.
They might be outnumbered more than ten-to-one, but with their teacher to lead and fight on their side, the numbers all fell into a meaningless blur.
It doesn't matter how many enemies the joint force will face. They will emerge victorious.
"Don't let them escape!" Ako sprung back into action. Barking her orders to chase after and capture Hans as fast as possible
Hans came down next to Haruka, running with her side to side as they made their attack. Pushing in head first and dodging later.
"Haruka."
"Hehe… HEHE! UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLE!" With a scream, she ran next to Hans himself as she pumped lead. Pushing her shotgun to the limit as the barrel glows red with the heat of gunpowder.
It was really somewhat puzzling to see at how much she could reload and pump that quick endlessly, and eat through any incoming bullets into her body like it was nothing more but pieces of fluttering feathers.
The more they fought the more he felt their similarity. The girl is utterly fearless. Disregarding her own safety for the sake of taking down more people with her before her body fails.
But he doesn't wish for her to do such.
Hans pulls her close as a sudden explosion connects inches from their legs thanks to the fearsome warmachine that had brought Europe to its knees.
A Panzer had its sights on them, followed by a barrage of suppressing fires of the escorting squad. Hans was just about to leap until a pack of dynamite was thrown into the crowd, followed by smoke grenades as it obscured the eyes of the mobs.
"Kufufu! Go for it, sensei!" Mutsuki gave a wink before she kept her charge in the left flank.
The opportunity was given, and Hans came through the smoke like a cruise missile. Kicking down the pride of Germany to the sides and rendering it useless. With the tank went down, the Prefect mobs were easy pickings for Haruka to finish off.
"Sensei! Phew…! I-I made it!" Haruka beams in pride. Hans gave her a nod and a gentle ruffling of her hair.
"Hehe… hehe…"
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
But they're not in the safe just yet. A fresh strike team of mobs came running into their position from the front and the left and immediately fired upon their position. Making their stand at the sideways tank before they were stopped by a flanking scream.
"RAAHHHH! EAT IT! EAT IT! EAT IT!"
The feisty cat screams as her endless rage flows into her veins. Flanking the off guard bastards with her burning bullets. Melting through their defenses as they fall one by one.
"Sensei! Let's go!"
Serika gave him a genuine smile before charging forward along with Haruka and Hans back into the fray and into the incoming surge of gunfire and into another set of cover. He tossed away an empty mag, and nodded at Haruka.
Pushing on to attack again and again until their ammo ran dry.
"Nonomi. Kayoko. Are… you?"
"Yup! Nonomi is here…!" On cue, Nonomi exits out from the fray, and her magnificent heavy minigun sprayed her bullets down into the prefect team's hold out. Creating enough chaos for Haruka and Hans to make their march. With her acting as the bait and bullet sponge, while Hans did his thing. Jumping up into the roofs and taking in the moment of surprise as he leapt down and kicked a wide explosion of sands all around the makeshift barricade.
With enough time to take care of these mobs, and send them home.
Unknown to Nonomi, a crosshair aimed and primed onto her forehead. Her finger pushed down on the trigger, and the punk pulled the blonde out from the fray. Letting the bullet strike the air.
"We got snipers!" Kayoko warned. Shooting her pistol as well to give just a little more firepower. "Be careful!"
"A-Alright!" Haruka stood up from the cover. Yet her body refused. Her legs trembled and she stumbled down, caught by Hans before she could fall face first into the dirt.
"Stay here with Kayoko. You have done more than… enough."
"But…"
He shook his head and ruffled her hair. "You've… done good." Without saying another word, Hans pushed on into the heart. Where Ako had been biting her lip. Barking orders and pointing at the panzers to do their thing.
His bullets intermingled with the rest. Meeting their targets or punching a hole into the environment as the exchange of bullets continued on.
A single bullet whirred and struck a concrete wall of a trembling lucky mob. She gripped her rifle. Breathe in… and out. Count the prime numbers… and slowly she peeked into the adult as he kept his focus on a panzer. Punching a hole in it before tossing the drivers out like moles.
God.
Breathe in… and aim.
Then with a bang, a bullet whirred into the target. And she was sent tumbling down with an explosive round.
"I got your back, sensei!" Aru spoke out from her advantage. Giving Hans a gesture before lowering back down next to Shiroko.
"I'm here too." Shiroko tossed a grenade. Let it cook for a good second before tossing it directly to the foot of the mobs.
KABOOM!
More explosions echoed from the distance. Not from their grenades, or any of the remaining panzers that are still standing by some miracle. This sounded like a coordinated explosion, pushing something back… and another up.
"Scatter!" Kayoko shouts, and not a second too late, a volley of mortars came raining upon their position. Scattering the group back into their groups to find another route to finish the combat, once and for all.
Among the explosions Hans' and Shiroko's eyes met, and he gave her a nod. Titling his head to the mortars in which she nodded in return. Patting Aru on the back as she pointed to the mortars.
Then the two made their move to face the heart while he acted as a distraction. Rushing to the side and putting down any unlucky goons to the ground.
"You punks!" Serika shouted from her position right. Emptying her mag on a group before she tossed a grenade to the Prefect mobs. And as she did, a blur of silver came rushing in and swung the butt of her rifle like a baseball bat. Precisely hitting the thrown grenade for a home run as it fell back into the feisty cat.
"AHHHH!"
"You mice! Just surrender already!" It was the voice of Iori as she came into view, along with a small group of mobs. "Is it really that hard?!"
The catgirl growls. Her already lost patience was thinning out even more, as she wanted nothing more but to smack that jerk down under. Her heart throbs, and she prepared to attack that smug bastard-
Then his hand came to her shoulder and he shook his head.
"I'll… take care of this."
With those words, Hans lunged ahead to meet Iori head on and Serika already understood what he wished to do.
"I got you!" Serika growls as her focus shifts to the small fries. Pushing her flames to rise up into her freshly loaded magazine and letting Hans to do what he does best.
Close quarters combat.
Hans was met with a roundhouse kick from Iori, inches from his head followed by a swing of her rifle. Letting it connect with a loud smack as it was blocked by his arm.
"I won't let you get away!" She follows up with a wide swing at his sides. Indeed, Iori was agile, but it wasn't something that Hans couldn't replicate. Every blow Iori had thrown at him, Hans was already two steps forward, countering it with a blow of his own, enough to send Iori back again and again and again.
Iori growled. Frustrated at his… attitude! She felt mocked, underestimated even at his constant pushbacks. Powerful, but not enough to bring her down. It was like he was… holding… back.
Or perhaps testing her. But it doesn't matter.
She wanted him to take her seriously.
A frustrated growl came into her lips as she rolled back and aimed her rifle, letting red to blind her eyes. Red at him, and red at herself for being toyed with. Leaving Chinatsu's words to lie forgotten.
She didn't give that a second thought before firing a burst of rounds at him.
Left, right, left, right.
With every shot she did, she made a quick dash to reposition herself. Keeping her distance as the bullets explode into a powerful cone of shrapnel and mystic.
Yet none of it hit the adult.
"Dammit!" Iori shouts as she runs to meet him head on again, swinging wildly in any hopes of striking the captain down. Her rage burns bright, burning her weapon, the captain, and herself as well. Her stamina is plenty… but not infinite as Hans kept blocking and dodging as he seemed fit. Keeping a stone clad expression as her rifle struck and tore his uniform before throwing a kick to her side.
"Khh!" Her boots skid through the grains, cutting a line before she jumped into him and swung upwards to his chest. Hans raised his arm, letting the sharp end to pierce his flesh.
Iori's eyes widened. Her heart halted, her grip loosened for a moment, and her feet stopped moving across the ground
"W-"
Without wasting a second after she paused, his arm looped to her neck, then she was thrown into the sandy asphalt with a loud crash. She couldn't process any of it before she fell into darkness. Her halo flickers, and it disappears.
"Sensei!"
Serika waved her hand. Running back with new grime and dust decorating her torn uniform. A satisfied grin came upon her lips at the unconscious bodies behind her before it fell down.
"Sensei, you're hurt!" Serika immediately jumps to his bleeding arm, yet he barely acknowledges it. He raised his arm and wiped the blood away, revealing untouched skin and muscle underneath.
Serika couldn't help but to stare for a good few seconds. Is she going crazy? But… that time as well…
The growl.
The splattered sand.
"...Y-You know what? Let's go sensei! We just need to regroup!" Serika pointed out, already dashing into the fray once more.
On the other side, Shiroko and Aru stood side to side. Pinned down by the gunners, mortar rounds, and a looming damaged Panzer.
"Tch! We're pinned down!" Aru complains as the incoming bullets struck the cover endlessly.
"Nn." Shiroko agreed silently. Returning fire for a few quick few seconds before ducking back down behind the downed car. They can't sit there forever, yet there is nothing they could do but to fire when they can as whatever they had poured down on them.
Aru scowls. "I had one last explosive round. Any grenades or rockets left?"
Shiroko shook her head. "But I have called in support."
On cue, an expertly piloted black drone whirred above, dodging just enough bullets for it to drop down the care package. A pack filled with blue painted rockets and leftover grenades fell down into their location before it was shot down in a blazing inferno.
"Uu… that's going to dent our budget again…" A sorrowful whisper came to Shiroko's earpiece.
"We'll manage. Thanks, Ayane." Shiroko spoke up, reaching for the rockets and filling up her empty drone for one last skirmish.
"Aru, are you ready?"
Blinking in surprise, her lips curled into a smirk. "Like you have to ask!" Aru loads her last explosive round and gives her a challenging look.
"Let's dance."
Jumping out from their cover, the duo ran head on into the fire. Bullets swirled past and into them, as best as they could dodge.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Shiroko and Aru gritted their teeth, letting the adrenaline flow and masking what new bruises they had as they kept running and running and running.
"Now!"
Aru shouts, sliding down and her last power bullet explodes out from the chamber into a good part of the Prefect Team. Enough to send two down for the count with a bang.
Shiroko followed. Immediately biting out the pin and tossing out the grenades to create a large enough disruption into the heart as it exploded in an impressive bang.
"Get her!"
Guns aimed at the white wolf, and the last Panzer finally woke up from its slumber. The barrel spun to aim its munition… and fired.
KABOOM!
Shiroko's eyes widened, and she dashed sideways.
But the explosion was bigger than she thought.
The munition explodes and strikes Shiroko to her sides, with a large piece of shrapnel added more to the force, sending the wolf tumbling behind and into a faceful of the golden stained grains.
"Shiroko!"
Her ears were ringing. Her sides ached and her mouth was filled with the grains.
Her nails dug into the sand as a glare of determination flashed in her eyes, and her legs kicked up. Pushing her back standing and sending her running back in a frenzy.
The guns aimed once more at the wolf.
"I got you!" Aru exclaimed, giving her the support she needed. Splitting the focus, and that was enough. Shiroko's white drone came upon her in a dash, her hands raised and gripped the underside of the machine as she rose up high.
"Fire."
The drone clicked, and within seconds every single freshly reloaded rocket shot out into the targets. Sending the perfect team in shambles and the panzer in a blazing fury and a mighty explosion.
"Ahh!"
"NOOO!"
Ako's hologram twitched and buzzed upon the chaotic explosions. Her expression wrathful and panicked as her team goes awry left and right, and all around.
"You, get back into position! We'll not lose to some- ragtag hooligans!"
"But- we're losing o-our members! Administrative Officer Ako, we need to retreat!" The girl she orders spoke up. "We're spread too thin, and even with our overwhelming numbers, they had the homeland advantage and… that adult with them."
But Ako didn't listen to reason as her army crumbled down around her, and her target stood so close… yet so far.
The teacher was standing tall. Surrounded by the ragtag and half-baked team of troublemakers and debt ridden hopeless kids. A contrast of what remains of the sheer size of manpower she brought. Wounded, unconscious, destroyed, and even she swore Iori was carried on a stretcher.
Her mind screamed to give up. But her pride shot it down.
="So, you won't give up, sensei? Fine then." She growled and shook her head. Her hand raised once more to carry another command.
"All of you are going to feel the whole wrath of-'"
"Of what, Administrative Officer Ako?"
A chillingly calm voice cuts in. Ending Ako's sentence mid in her tongue as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and stiffen.
She was afraid to see who was standing behind her. Afraid to see her dark and disappointed glare upon her soul, condemning it to the deepest and darkest parts of the abyss.
"Would you care to explain everything to me,
Administrative Officer Amau Ako?"
The voice spoke like a disappointed mother, catching her youngest in with their hands inside the cookie jar. Ako tried to keep her head away, pretending the voice was just… her imagination.
But the chill she felt was all too real, and there's no other choice but to face doom itself in the eyes.
"H-H-H-Head… Prefect H-Hina." She turned back. Her heart being sent into overdrive with every step the demon took upon the administrator. Her wings spread wide as her eyes glowed purple with disappointment.
Hans couldn't help but to really bore her. Studying the way her long, and… fluffy white hair flows along with her coat that is worn half heartedly. The way her boots thumped across the sand, and her unique- saw like halo as it bobbed up and down.
Everything about her is power personified on a small body. Demanding pure obedience and respect by her mere presence.
"T-That's… Th- Sorasaki Hina." Ayane stammers. Her eyes wide in pure terror. "…The h-head of the Prefect Team. The… rumored strongest student in all of Kivotos."
A beep in Hans' phone came into his attention.
OnikataKayoko KatKot
"Sensei. Sorry for leaving so abruptly. But… we can't let her catch us."
"I understand. See you next time."
"See you, sensei."
No wonder.
"I-I'm- I'm just- I'm here to arrest s-some trouble makers! T-The Problem Solver 68!" Ako tried to defend herself. Shifting in her stature more and more, feeling the cold sweat drops to slither across her skin.
"The problem solvers?" Hina asks again.
"Y-Yes!"
"Then where are they?"
Ako's heart stopped. Her eyes darted back to where the troublemakers had been standing a few seconds ago, but only the teacher and the Abydos students stood where they had been.
"They- they were- but… they're just here! C-Chinatsu! I-Iori!"
None came to her defense. The other members were too hurt or tired to say anything, and Chinatsu shook her head slowly, condemning her to Hina's wrath. Keeping her focus on the wounded and unconscious Iori as she grumbles. Ako's predicament goes unregistered in her mind before her eyes fluttered open.
"And I've heard from the Pandemonium Society that those troublemakers had been transferred and are a part of SCHALE. Under their watch and authority."
"P-President! Please believe me! I- I can explain! They- they still need to s-still face Gehenna's justice and punishment!"
"Enough."
Hina spread her wings again before sighing. Her wrathful exterior melting away and allowing her usual calm to slowly return. "I understand."
"P-President?"
"SCHALE is… an unknown factor, and I understand your… ambition to study or persuade them, but in the end, we're the disciplinary committee, not the ruling council.
SCHALE, Tea Party, the GSC… leave it to those raccoons at the Pandemonium Society. Let them think of politics and let us think of the order in Gehenna."
Ako remains silent. No words left her mouth as she kept her gaze down to her feet.
"We'll discuss the details later. Take this time to reflect on your actions, Ako."
"Y-yes…"
With a click, Ako's hologram vanished into the air and Hina was left with the problem she caused. She turned to look at the students and the adult. Clearing her throat before her eyes met his.
"Are you Hans-sensei of SCHALE?"
Hans answers her question with a nod and nothing else. Earning a disappointed look from her.
"…Right. You are a man of few words."
Her focus then went to the tense Abydos students. "Foreclosure Task Force, is it?"
"Yes, we are." Ayane answers, using every mental fortification she had to stop stuttering and gave Hina the meanest look she can.
"Are you the current president?"
Ayane shook her head. "No. That would be Hoshino. She's… currently out."
The Head Prefect paused. Her eyes widened for a moment upon hearing the name before she regained her calm. "Hoshino. As if in… Takanashi Hoshino?"
"What's this about me?"
As if she had just been waiting for the cue, Hoshino lazily emerges from an alleyway.
"Where- WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Serika snapped into attention.
"Wah, gimme a break. I had snoozed off." Hoshino lazily waves before her focus returns to Hina.
"Uhe, do you know me, Miss Head Prefect?" Her eyes narrow for a moment, shakily breaking her persona.
"Not personally." Hina shook her head.
"I was once in the intelligence committee, and we're tasked with taking notes of… any notable students from each district.
You… had changed much since your first year."
Dark eyes brushed with death and without any restraint.
Everything to lose, nothing to gain.
A fighter. A militant. A weapon.
"…I thought you had left since the 'incident.'"
Only silence met Hina's words.
"Either way,"
Immediately, she clicked her boots and bowed around a 45-degree angle. Earning gasps from the other Gehenna students watching the powerful and unexpected gesture.
"N-No way…"
"…I never thought I would see the day…."
"...Um… Chinatsu, why is the head prefect here..?"
Hina ignores the confusion and comments as she keeps her head down.
"For causing an utilization of troops on an unauthorized mass troop deployment and causing a large scale commotion and damage in another district out of Gehenna,
I, Sorasaki Hina, The current Head Prefect of Gehenna's Prefect Team, issues a formal apology to Abydos and its students."
"Chinatsu. Iori." She looks back at the medic and at the wide mouthed Iori, then into the other remaining mobs.
"Everyone, prepare to pull ou-"
Hans interrupted her with a firm grip on her shoulder.
His thumb pointed to the destruction behind them, the confused yet curious citizens as they peeked out in the aftermath, and the crumbling buildings and shops. His eyes held the same intensity she had when she caught Ako.
"…Ah…" She immediately knows what he is implying. Though… it'll definitely make a big hole in their budget, she must…
SCHALE…
"…We'll pay for any damages and compensate for the civilians in the district."
"Head Prefect! It'll be really-"
Hina glares at Iori, who immediately stops her complaint.
"!"
Satisfied, Hans nodded. Letting his hand to leave her shoulder. Her mind wandered for a moment before she nodded.
"…Sensei, I would like to discuss some things with you. Personally."
Hans found herself being dragged by Hina into some secure place. Secure as if... she was sure there wouldn't be any curious ears accidentally or intentionally listening to their conversation.
"Hans-sensei. Are you familiar with Kaiser Corporation?"
She went straight to the point. Something he could appreciate.
Hans nodded.
"Then this will be quick." Hina clears her throat.
"I can offer you information that neither The Tea Party nor The Pandemonium Society knows about. In truth, I had little to no interest in sharing such information with Abydos, considering their situation.
In light of a political disaster that my… peer had caused, I'm willing to hand the information willingly, and in full. All I ask is your silence in this matter, sensei."
A frown came to invade his lips. Again with politics.
Hina kept waiting for a response. But he didn't give her anything but pure silence. Thinking this is the moment where she would… speak more.
"…We will still repay and rebuild all that is lost in the 'incident' in full. I promise you that."
She bit her lip. Thinking of how their budget will be set back by a few months.
Again, he didn't answer.
"Sensei, I don't mean you should redact everything. Just partially is enough, downplay my peer's mistake, because by this large mobilization, Kronos is bound to come here. The date of The Eden Treaty is close, and if such truth would be leaked in truth… Gehenna will be ruined. It will lose the leverage it had in the treaty talks!"
Eden Treaty?
…He hadn't heard of such a thing. Not from The Tea Party when he met them, nor from the GSC. Perhaps he was left out for… a reason.
"…Eden… Treaty. Explain." Hans finally spoke, earning a long huff of relief from Hina. Though it wasn't the thing she had hoped… to hear.
"You don't know, sensei?"
Hans shook his head.
"I'm… surprised. There had been rumors that you will be such a mediator, but it seems you are uniformed. In short, it's a treaty of peace between Trinity and Gehenna. A… non-aggression pact to release old hatreds.
An idea by the current missing president that was put on hold since her disappearance. But there are talks more about bringing it into fruition."
The teacher listened in closely. If there was something he knew about "Peace treaties" and "non-aggression pacts," it's nothing more but fancy words on the lips of leaders and strokes of ink in paper. No matter how it was written, it will and meant to be broken.
Just like the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Treaty of Versailles.
These are just kids wearing the masks of adults and politicians. He wonders… just how long will it be till this Eden Treaty is broken?
He nods again at Hina. Hina couldn't understand what he was thinking about. So she nodded in return. Waiting for him to speak again, but it never came.
"…Sensei, that is all I ask." Her lips tremble.
She opened it once more to speak more,
"It is done." He immediately answers. "…I accept."
The Head Prefect paused. Did she hear right? Did he accept it, just like that? With no strings attached? She had prepared for the worst. Her words "I'll accept any other terms you had in exchange for your silence" never came out of her lips.
She had expected the adult to do anything to exploit her offer and desperation. Drying her for favors, or anything in a long time yet… he didn't.
He just… accepted it.
…No wonder. Perhaps… It's possible.
"Thank you, sensei." Hina said gently. A faint smile came tugging to her lips. "Perhaps with you here… Abydos indeed stood a chance."
Hans raised his eyebrow at her comment before she immediately changed the topic.
"Kaiser had been doing a large-scale operation in the Abydos desert."
Hina immediately dropped the bombshell, and Hans could feel his eyes widen slightly.
"I don't have any much information on what they're doing, but I've seen drills and heavy machines being escorted by a large battalion deep into the abandoned deserts. That is all that I can offer. I can't get much closer than I already did in my information gathering."
Hina's expression grew grim.
"Whatever extent of conspiracy they're planning down there, it's something I had an awful feeling about. My advice… is to tread carefully, sensei. "
With those words lingered in his ears, the prefect team made their retreat from Abydos. Every boot and vehicle rumbling out to the distance as they got smaller and smaller. Hans kept his eyes to her before he walked back to his students.
"Ow! Alright, sorry, sorry. You don't have to shout at me, Ayane… this uncle is feeling her heart getting broken, y'know? I'll make it up to you guys, alright?"
"I hope you do." The bespectacled elf kept her furious gaze before falling down into a squat. "God, I feel like things are getting worse and worse. It's just… so chaotic."
Serika and Nonomi instinctively went to comfort her. Stroking her back up and down.
"Sensei. You're back." Shiroko spoke up. Shifting the attention from Hoshino to their teacher. "What did that girl say to you?"
"She didn't threaten you or somethin' right?" Serika raised her eyebrow.
"I hope not. She doesn't seem to be that kind of person…" Nonomi commented.
"Sensei?" Shiroko prompted again. But he kept his focus to the distance. The swirling, hot sands, the warm breeze, the rumbling of machines, and the uncountable footsteps.
The unknown factor that had yet to reveal themselves.
He stopped his silence and looked back to his students.
"…An omen."
Authors note:
Well there it is. Fun fact, this chapter is somehow longer than my final thesis proposal. How? I don't know!
Anyway, like always, if there are something I missed in this be sure to hit me up.
Thank you for reading!