He was back there.
Shifting sands
tendons coiling.
Slithering
whispering.
Sacred
unmaking.
An omen.
THE MAWS OF THE DESERT OPENING WIDE.
SWALLOWING LIKE A WHIRLPOOL OF THE ABYSS.
GAZING BACK AT HIM WITH THE PROMISE OF ENDLESS ABANDON.
There is something.
Waiting.
And now…
It's had grown impatient.
The captain opened his eyes with a jolt. The bedsheets tumbling under his sudden gasp of air. His eyes looked around, the feeling of the hot grains crept across his neck as he immediately went to wipe the rough grains… to only realize it was only his sweat.
The sun barely rose around the horizon, but the birds had been active all the same. Chirping endlessly on the balconies and whatever greenery was left in the city.
He let out a large exhale before he opened his eyes. Letting his mind to focus on the rising sun and the melodic opera by the birds.
…Though he wonders every day, he had seen birds as in animals and birds as in… normal citizens.
Yes… it did grant him a moment of respite from the strange dream. Thinking back… this is the same. The same feeling when Seia invaded his mind, yet it was… amplified. Perhaps it was because of the information given by Hina?
He doesn't have the answer. Today is just… another day. A week after the "Gehenna Shootout" or that was the event given by those reporters from Kronos and his students are still exhausted from the rebuilding effort fully backed by the Prefect Team.
Though they didn't have any obligations to lift a single finger, they still did. Ako oversaw the efforts, and Chinatsu would sometimes come herself. Then came the… thousand handwritten letters of apology.
"It's… um, the punishment Head Prefect gave to Administrator Ako. It may seem excessive… but it what she deems to be fitting. What should you do with them? Um… I don't know, sensei."
He sighs. Perhaps it's just his thoughts combining into one. Thinking about it… he hadn't had the time to tell them of what Hina had said because they had other things to focus on. Perhaps the time of investigation will come later in the week.
Though… he had something else to do now.
Tossing the sheets sideways, he rose and sat on the edge of the bed. Thinking of nothing and feeling the faint cold air from the conditioner before he left the soft mattress. Clapping his hand and flicked the switches, lighting up the building to life to chase away the darkness.
One by one, the lights exploded into the halls and rooms; the computers switching on by themselves and the Shittim Chest lit up from his input. Yet his trusty assistant is still snoozing away in the derelict classroom.
Heh. Let her sleep.
A few more minutes pass, double checking the maintenance and the switches before Hans finally entered the bathroom to start the day. Brushing his teeth and exiting out still in yesterday's tank tops and green trousers.
"Mm… Morning Sensei, are you going to train today?" Arona's voice came into his ears. Rising from the wooden table and scrubbing her eyes gently from left to right.
"…Yes."
Hans walked to the far end of the hallway. Passing through some unlabeled storage doors and a large spacious café fitting more of a restaurant. Though as spacious as it was, the room was quite empty, with only him using the kitchen scarcely to heat up the food from Angel 24 and sometimes, if the moment calls he would cook basic meals.
Though at the moment, there are no plans to open the place for the public. Leaving to its own devices. Letting the roombas moving in and out for cleaning and maintenance, and sometimes he would take the task of cleaning it from dust himself.
Though lately, Arona had been pestering him start considering it.
Something to put on a pin, but it's rather unimportant for him right now.
He needed to do his routine and clear his mind.
Passing the indoor café, he walked towards the room after it. A well-equipped indoor gym, complete with a swimming pool below. Then, at the far corner of the room, stood a large metallic door that was locked with a perfect scan that only he and people he allowed could enter. Raising his card, he let the machine to scan his identity.
"HANS GÜNSCHE. IDENTITÄT BESTÄTIGT."
The heavy locks clicked as the door opened vertically with a satisfying rumble of gears and pulleys. Entering the room… it was dark. Deafeningly dark. Low with the hums of working gears and the slow blinking of buttons on the panel.
He raised his hand, and with a snap of his fingers, the lights flooded the room.
The darkness was hiding the smooth white tiles that made the unfurnished room. The room he's in is an enormous cube made with tiles of heavy alloyed steel that had been scarred and dented from his sessions. Scratches here, bumps there, and even one with a crack that has yet to be replaced.
A nearby module beeps in attention. Waiting for him.
"EINGABEBEFEHL."
It said on the screen.
One would think that the room itself was built as a containment cell, or maybe a… rehabilitation room strangely positioned near the gym. Unfit of any workout session in any shape or form. But the truth was, it's perfectly made and sculpted for the old war dog himself.
"Sensei, are you ready?" Arona's voice came on the intercom.
Hans nodded and tossed his shirt down onto the pristine white floor.
"…Cirnos. "
The room rumbles to life. The gears move and machines clicked and spun. Opening the panels as if it's a living organism before separating. Opening and parting away as something exited out from the walls.
A black mass of silicone and metal. Glowing red eyes gazed upon him from the dark hole this thing came.
An imitator taking the shape of the fearsome war form of the Garou.
"I'll root for you like always sensei! Go!"
Hans gave a nod of appreciation and raised his hands at the imitator. "…Begin."
The imitator immediately rushed at Hans with cold precision, and Hans at it as well. Fists crashing upon each other in a mixture of silicone and muscle. A perfect mirror of what he is, or what his kin used to be before the end times.
The imitator lock palms with its original. Teeth gnashing and chomping near the captain's face as the ground trembles underneath the sheer combined strength.
He gave it a small nod before the two locked in a mighty headbutt. Releasing their grip from their hands, and moving to kicks, slashes, punches, and bites with their strengths, matching perfectly even without the captain changing and shifting forms to match the imitator's image.
A swing of the imitation Fera sliced through his cheek. Staining it with a red tint as a mark of being hit and creating an opening momentum for Hans. Retaliating with a swift kick to the side of the head, distorting it for a moment or two enough for him to make his attack. A full combo of kicks to send it flying back and crashing into the walls.
The imitator gave a low growl. The silicone and metal moving to overclock as it rose back up, letting out a howl before dashing to the captain, with a renewed vigor that could match the olden days.
A fitting match that goes on for minutes, increasing in momentum and ferocity as the imitator's "rage" grows and the frenzy came at full power, overtaking the artificial mind it had and any computing systems under the metal endoskeleton. Frenzied silicone claws were swung and met with the captain's own defense.
If it was a true Garou, this "fight" would be something else.
Too bad.
With the machine overclocking past beyond its limits, the the exoskeleton burns through the silicone until it glows red. It's just going to be a matter of time till it died out on its own.
10 SEKUNDEN.
In a mad flash of frenzy the imitator gave, Hans let his eyes to dart at its movement, swings, and… opening.
5 SEKUNDEN.
With a precise strike, he struck through the "muscle" reaching the exoskeleton from inside. Feeling the burning heat of it burning through the power supply.
3.
With a powerful yank, Hans tore through the body as he held the burning endoskeleton. with the sparks screaming in a silent plead.
0.
Finally, the alarm blared. Signaling the end of combat followed by beeps and exhausts from the clicking monitor, counting the rising numbers.
Berechnung...
90 %
TREFFER: 5 MAL.
SIMULATION ENDE.
"Congratulations, sensei! That's a new score!" Arona chirped at the monitor.
Hans answers with a nod. 5 hits on a two-hour regiment against a mimic of a warform Garou is something he should be proud of, but not too overwhelmingly at. There's still something to improve after all.
Dodging is what he is focusing on. The students… aren't used to see deep and horrible wounds from gunshots, sharp hits, and if he had to guess, even sharp objects. With him being ironically the most susceptible to wounds is one of the main pushing motivations to train and reminding himself to dodge once in a while, so he wouldn't have to make his students worry much about him.
…The look still haunts him to this day. With the new one from Iori when the sharp stock of her rifle pierced through his flesh.
DING DONG!
"Ah, sensei! Your 9 AM is here!" Arona pointed out to Hans, who is already picking up a water bottle from a claw hand exiting out from the panels along with a towel.
"Tell them… to wait. I'm going to… freshen up."
The door clicks open to the office, and four figures entered. A punk, an introvert, a mischievous brat, and a dork trying her best to be feared. Their footsteps mixed with a thump as they came into the spacious room with salvaged cardboard boxes filled with knickknacks, guns, ammo, and whatever décor they had back in the old office.
After that incident in Abydos and their hands in helping the Abydos crew, Kaiser fully cut off every communication and contract, with an ultimatum to return their pay in advance in which they did, but that left them without an office and potentially jobless.
Thankfully, Hans had given a helping hand.
"Soo… this is SCHALE. Fufu… as expected of the most fearsome teacher in Kivotos." Aru mused, glancing up and down at the generously lit ceilings, the spotless floor, and the… stacks of documents waiting to be reviewed.
"It's even cleaner than our office!" The imp grinned. Walking ahead of the group to look around a little more.
"Hey! Our office is spotless!"
"Our ex-office, that is." Kayoko spoke out.
"Ugh…"
Another thump came with Haruka entering last into the room. "I-Is this good?"
"I guess that is all. Unless the boss had packed another box around." Kayoko raised her eyebrow.
"Well, I did…" Aru ran out and brought out another cardboard box. Sliding it next to the ones they had brought into the building.
"Eeh… no wonder the car was slow. You had brought that junk as well." Mutsuki teased.
"It's not junk! We can't abandon the telephone and the murals!"
"Kufufu! Sensei! Your cute students is here!" Mutsuki shouts into the room, and her echoing voice reaches the furthest hallways across the current floor.
No answer.
"Sensei?" Aru spoke out next and then… nothing.
Other than that, Haruka glanced around. Then a large mirror caught her eyes, pristine, clean, and overall it displayed the character she was now. The twin hairpins on her bangs, purples and whites stood crooked… yet she cherished them all the same. Adjusting it a little and two with a small smile before she asked to her companions. "Um… is sensei out?"
"Nope! Sensei had just finished his routine!" What she thought to be a mirror lit up, and the image of the blue-haired AI came upon the guests. Greeting with a cheerful smile as her hands clasped on the umbrella-firearm hybrid behind her back. Surprising the crew with her sudden appearance.
Especially the boss and the intern. Startling the purple-haired outlaw enough for her to reach for her shotgun.
"Wait! Wait! Um, sorry for surprising you… ehehe…" The AI rubbed the back of her head. "Nice to meet you, I'm Arona! Sensei's trusted assistant!"
"Wow! Hans-sensei has an AI?" Mutsuki hopped to the screen, studying the adorable AI up and down with an impish grin on her lips.
"Yup, that's me! Ah. Sensei will meet you guys soon enough."
Just as the devil spoke, the hallways echoed with a fifth pair of footsteps.
"Oh, there he is! Hello sensei!"
Hans greets with a nod, entering into the office area with a fresh scent of citrus and a glimmer of dampness that hadn't left his hair.
"…Morning." Hans greeted with a nod.
"Good morning!"
"G-Good M-Morning..."
"Morning, sensei."
One by one the outlaws replied as well, and it was Mutsuki who walked to him first with a cheeky expression.
"Fufu, good morning! Soo, can we begin on your plan about these four cute students of yours?"
Aru had almost choked on air.
"…Office." Hans didn't give her any satisfying reaction from her potent behavioral teasing and mischief.
'That pout won't do you any good, Mutsuki.' He spoke to himself.
Hans shook his head and picked up the boxes one by one. Stacking enough before Haruka and Aru jumped into motion, picking up the leftovers without trouble, earning them a nod from Hans.
With it all carried, he gestured to follow deeper inside the building.
"All of you… are one of the first members of SCHALE… currently…. there is nothing much to look at." Their teacher spoke up, passing through the many furnished yet empty rooms around the halls.
The clear idleness of the many rooms is something he couldn't deny.
"O-OH! We don't really mind that kind of stuff. Don't worry sensei." Aru spoke up.
"I knew SCHALE is large, but looking at it from the inside, it's a unique feeling altogether."
"H-How many rooms are there?" Haruka peeked.
"There's a lot! Lots and lots. Even Hans-sensei needed a full week to memorize the layout! Let's see… we have a café, a spacious break room, a shooting range, gym complete with the underground swimming pool-"
"Wait… wait. Hold on. SCHALE had all of that? For Hans-sensei alone? Isn't that overkill?" Mutsuki had to speak in her disbelief.
"Technically, it's for all students. SCHALE is the largest club that is unbound to any schools, so it's built to accommodate every student that comes from any background." Arona explained with a proud puff of her chest. "Soon-ish, that is. We're still in the early stages before SCHALE could be fully open to the students."
"Huhu, it does fit in the MO." Aru mused.
The banters continued. Passing through a few locked doors before he pressed his card into the scanning system. The door shifts open sideways, and with a small flick of a button, the lights lit up the spacious yet humble working space.
"This is… your office. Does it… fit you?" Hans asked, looking back at his students that had paused in their tracks.
And their answer is clear as day.
"IT'S PERFECT! Look, my dearest employees! A window to the DU!" Aru ran to it. Putting down the boxes, and leapt into the window, sliding it open with an enormous smile. If she's got a tail, it would be swishing back-and-forth right now.
"Kufu! It does~ a fresh change than the old cardboards blocking the windows." Mutsuki walked next to Aru with a skip. Leaning onto the windowsill with a grin.
"W-Wow… to think that… trash like me could see this view…" Haruka put down the weight as well, standing next to Aru with a grin.
Kayoko gave Hans a thumbs up and looked outside as well. Saying nothing, but the faint smile on her lips said more than words.
And Arona gave Hans a mental high five.
It didn't take long for the Problem Solvers to establish themselves into SCHALE. With their newly established, fully official office being swiftly decorated with their stuff back from their old place. Their logo, some paintings and even Aru's old framed ink handwriting.
"One bad deed a day."
It made him smile.
Then he walked for a moment outside before returning with four access cards he had prepared with their names, identity, and school logo next to SCHALE's own.
…And since it had their old photos from their student IDs…
"NOOO! WAIT!" Aru immediately swipes the fresh identification card away from his hand before… anyone could see.
"Fufu."
"…"
"A-Aru? What's wrong?"
I guess… all except Haruka had seen the… dammed picture… her shame… ugh…
Hans tilted her head as Aru immediately scrambled to shove the card deep into her pockets.
"S-Sensei um… please don't tell anyone about um…"
He immediately understands.
"Arona… schedule… a photoshoot."
"You got it!"
Aru immediately gave him a tight bear hug as she whispers thank you's. With that and their brand new office, Aru promised to pay Hans back somehow, and Hans politely refused. But she was… utterly insistent on it, no matter how insignificant it is. So… he simply made her to promise to take care of her friends, be a good boss, and foremost of all…
Is to please put up a budget and manage her expenses!
Perhaps… he could hook Yuuka up with them? Or maybe that is just nothing. Kayoko probably already had set up something like that.
He glanced at Kayoko who is busy arranging their knickknacks. She met his eyes and shrugs.
…He doesn't know what to make of it.
Passing more time with the fixers with another round of cards and a celebratory meal that Mutuski had suggested considering they haven't had breakfast yet Arona suggested pizza. So that's what he ordered.
Then the hours came and his schedule changes.
Gehenna.
"Hey, hey… Iroha, when is sensei coming?" Ibuki kicked her legs, leaning back to Ibuki with a spoon in her mouth. Gently chewing on the metal before she scooped up another spoonful of pudding and quickly chomping on it.
"He should be around." Iroha answers, brushing the younger demoness with gentle strokes of her fingers and the bear shaped hairbrush.
Up and down, up and down, then tying the long hair into the well-known twin ponytails.
"Iroha is right. He should be here soon." The chair in the middle of the room creaks, spinning around back to face the doors.
Her expressions cold as steel as she dusted her peaked cap and straightened her uniform. Glancing at the ticking clock decorated in black, white, and crimson with the hands moving slowly.
Ticking an eternity as it does.
She will make a memorable meeting for him, a promise she made herself.
"Kuhehe. Nervous, Makoto?" Another of her companion asks. Yet she was also the same, her fingers idly twiddling with the buttons of her uniform.
"Hmph… w-who's nervous? You wish."
Click! "Hehe! Nervous Makoto get!" And another, giggling to herself as she had snuck a picture.
"Hey! D-Delete that!"
Then the buzz came. A message from the office phone that the chairwoman immediately picked up.
"Chairwoman, he's here… with the Head Prefect."
"Kihihihi… finally. Let him in and keep the pest Hina out." The chairman spoke. Pressing the button of the call before she stood up on alert, dusting her uniform again with anticipation.
And moments later, the door swung open and there he was.
White suit, white and blue greatcoat swaying with every step he took…
and eyes that could speak of every hardship in perfect, unfiltered completion.
Hans didn't know what to expect when he entered the building. But somehow this had… met what expectations he had. The building itself was like a time capsule of the Reichskanzler in it's glory days with the exclusion of… whatever he is looking at.
He could remember the great décor of the grand gallery. Painting and statues made from the greatest artists and sculptures of their time. Basic yet comfortable and detailed furniture strewn across the great pillared halls with flags and bronze hung above.
This… is exactly the same.
Except… this.
This thing he's looking at.
A massive statue of… the current chairwoman of Gehenna made from bronze and painted gold.
Even the Führer himself detested such notions. Maybe the Major would've liked such a thing, but he's far too determined on his own personal magnum opus for such a notion.
The sentiment was shared by his escort. Head Prefect Hina herself. Though her lips are sealed, her expression said it all.
"…Don't look at it too much, sensei. It's tacky at best." Hina commented with a little sigh, and Hans raised his eyebrow. Interesting… is it simple rivalry or a general dislike?
"Ah, I see even the sensei of SCHALE appreciate this magnificent statue of Chairwoman Makoto. Capturing her might and power without flaw." A second opinion spoke up with pride. Puffing her chest high as she made the same salute he knows all too well.
"She would gladly tell you all about it, sensei. Her office is not too far away. If Head Prefect Hina would hurry up that is." The mob huffs at her.
"Sensei should've been escorted by us instead of you." She comments one more time before walking away from sight.
Hina let out another sigh and shook her head.
'Rivalry then.'
"It's alright, sensei. Pandemonium Society and The Prefect Team had… a long history of rivalry."
Their silent footsteps marched through before she stopped at the large wooden double doors. Where two guards stood by.
"Head Prefect Hina and…?" One of them asks.
"Hans-sensei. I'm here to escort him."
One of them trembles and looked at her companion that gave her a nod. She reached for her phone and calls the office.
"Chairwoman, he's here… with the Head Prefect." A pause. "Understood. Hans-sensei, please enter. Head Prefect, you are dismissed."
"Take care, sensei." Hina turned on her heels and left immediately, wanting not to linger a second more.
The guards parted ways and pushed open the double doors then Hans entered the room.
A mirror of what the late Führer had.
Exactly like he remembered.
"Kekeke! Kihihihi! Welcome, Hans-sensei of SCHALE!" The Chairwoman stood up with a toothy grin, and confidence matching a certain outlaw.
"I, Chairwoman of Gehenna, the Great Hanuma Makoto, welcomes you… to the Pandemonium Society." She spreads her arms before folding them behind her back. Makoto stood in the middle of the room and behind her desk, flanked by Iroha, who had Ibuki held in her hand, waving energetically to Hans and…
An extremely… blessed and generously proportioned student along with a bright cameraman. Jumping up and down, with her finger twitching at the button.
The… generous student has messy, waist-length pink hair rest on her shoulders, reaching below her neck. Black and red tipped hartebeest-like horns. By the military cloak she wore, should've struck Hans like a high-ranking secretary officer and yet…
The uniform she wore was... a little too much as it revealed a large part of her cleavage and the red bra she wore underneath.
Lastly, her halo is like a sharp wheel, shaped like an octagon pointed at the angles.
'Who the hell approves such a thing?'
Then, he glanced at the presumed camerawoman who is just itching to take a photo.
The girl has black thigh-length hair with bangs framing her face and red eyes… pointed ears and long black horns. Thankfully, she was… more appropriate than… the other one.
She is wearing a black dress shirt with a loose red tie, a black office skirt with golden buttons on the waist and a black military style coat that had the armband of Gehenna. Completing her look was a classic peaked cap that was worn on her head that had a golden insignia.
Breaking out from his silent thoughts, his focus ran back to Makoto, who was waiting for him to say something.
Instead, he studied her up and down.
Her long white hair, four black and red tipped sharp horns…
And her complex… red and black gradient halo that consists of a plus shape with sharp edges and an asymmetric three-quarter circle.
Makoto herself was dressed in a greatly stylized military-style uniform just underneath a long and baggy black and red military coat. And underneath the military-style uniform, she wears a white shirt with a black tie. She wore black skirt, that is decorated with golden buttons and black thigh-high stockings, and black boots.
Lastly, her entire kit was completed by her peaked cap that had the golden insignia that was different from… the camerawoman.
Makoto looked at her companions, then back at Hans. A little… unnerved by his silence.
"…It's… an honor." That is until he spoke.
"Wh- Y-Yes! YES! See?! I told you, sensei will talk to me!" Makoto's grin widens, pointing in joy at his action. "Chiaki!"
"Yup~! Say cheese!" Then with a click, his eyes were violated by a bright flash.
"Haah… it's for formalities, Makoto. There's no need to throw a party for it." Iroha sighs.
"Kekekeke... it's a great honor to see me indeed… but it is also our honor to meet face to face with the adult from SCHALE… please, take a seat, sensei." Makoto offers the singular, fancy seat in front of the table as she sat down herself, and Hans following soon after.
"Ahem. You've met Iroha and Ibuki, and let me introduce you to my officers, Kyougoku Satsuki..."
"Nice to meet you, sensei." The… blessed girl in question nodded and gave Hans a polite smile in which he returned with a nod.
"And, Motomiya Chiaki."
"Hehe~! Nice to meet ya, sensei!"
Next, as if on cue, Ibuki leapt from Iroha's arms and hopped into his lap. Looking up at him with a smile that could melt even iron. "Hehe, sensei! I missed you!"
"Ibuki-!" Iroha went to pick her up, yet Hans shook his head. "…It's alright." Then his hand trailed over her hair. Rustling it as she giggled under his gloved fingers.
"A… I wish I was sensei right now." Makoto whispers before she snaps back. "AH, CHIAKI!"
"Already on it! Ibuki, sensei! Say cheese!"
Then for a second time.
"Haa… how could Ibuki be so cute and funny at the same time~!" Chiaki giggles to herself.
…Hans didn't know what to make of it.
Makoto then clears her throat before she spoke up.
"So sensei… did you kick down those prefect clowns back to their places?"
Hans raised his eyebrow.
"You know! The accident those idiots cause back in Abydos, I know Hina is stupid, but… I guess she was much more of an idiot than I thought, kehehehe…" She folded her arms in confidence, and baring her sharp teeth for him to see in a wide smirk. "Soo, what did you do?"
"…We had come… to an agreement for the… accident. With SCHALE's… support.
"Oh… is that right? I thought you would've… done something more." Makoto shrugs. "If I were you, I'll just let them toil themselves! Work those muscles to the bone!" She spoke proudly. Hans responded with a shrug himself.
"Oh, yeah. How are the students you've asked? The… Problem Solvers?" Satsuki asks.
Makoto huffs. "It shouldn't be a surprise that they're doing well, and done SCHALE good." She spoke in pride, puffing her chest and widening her grin. "Isn't that's right, sensei?"
"…We'll see… in time."
That was his answer. Compact enough to kill any rising conversation until Ibuki rose up from her very comfortable seat. Leaping down into the fridge for a piece of pudding.
"Ibuki, one pudding per day." Iroha raised her eyebrow.
"But we have sensei here… it's a special occasion, right?" She looks up at him expectantly.
Their teacher shrugs and gave her a thumbs up of approval, and Iroha glared at him in disapproval. "…Fine. Alright. Just this once."
Ibuki beamed in joy at the approval, kicking her legs and immediately pulling open the lid with a satisfying tear. The plastic spoon held in her hand, scooping a piece before stopping.
"Sensei, say ahh!" She gestured the spoon near his lips. Stopping everyone in their spots to stare in awe and jealousy. Especially when he accepted the spoonful of pudding, chewing on the soft dessert.
Then a third flash of today violated his eyes.
Satisfied, Ibuki prepared to get a spoonful herself, but Iroha had none of it. Running immediately to give her another spoon for her. Though the young demoness was… a little confused at the reason, she took the fresh spoon either way.
Makoto gasped and let her hands to cover her lips. Feeling a faint dampness to came upon her eyes, trickling slowly as she saw the blinding beam of sunshine and innocence that is Ibuki making her way to sensei's heart. With this… she is utterly sure the future of Gehenna is going to be so… so bright.
Especially with Hans sensei swayed into her side! But… looking back at the two… Makoto can't help but to feel a little…
"Hehe! Jealous, Makoto?" Chiaki teased.
"Yes- I MEAN, NO!"
Makoto clears her throat again. Right… okay. Ibuki had done her part… and just to make sure, there are two plans that she had prepared beforehand.
"Sensei!" Makoto stood up. "I will- The Pandemonium Society will personally escort you around Gehenna!" This is her first plan. "You shall see the perfect environment that is our school, know our delicious course we offer in the cafeteria, and feel the fresh air ONLY Gehenna could offer!"
Hans tilted his head.
The clock ticks. Sweat tricks down from her neck, trailing down and into her inner shirt.
A pause.
Then he nodded.
Makoto fists pump mentally and immediately leap from the seat. Straightening herself and calling for her companions.
"Alright! Today, you'll be escorted by us. I, the Great Makoto, promises you… Gehenna is going to be a massive improvement than your visit to Trinity." She smirks. "And we're not going to be bothered by those Prefect clowns. Hmph."
Makoto gave herself a proud pat on her back. Her charms are still there! Heh, heh! Not even sensei could resist the mighty self she was. On the other side, though, Satsuki was a little disappointed. Her hands were just about to reach into her… clothes? For Plan B they had been talking about.
Something about her pride and joy, project… Ultra Mark 2 or something.
…Well, whatever. She can't really remember it anyway. What matters is… with a little leverage she had, sensei will be swayed to Gehenna!
Bit by bit… bit by bit. Maybe he won't be charmed today, but the seeds are growing! Or at least, she hopes so.
Hans felt like he had been dragged into a whacky race where nothing is predictable. Of course, his first visit to Gehenna was just barely scratching the surface. He had just… never expected it to be so… chaotic.
Perhaps he should have, considering Gehenna or… Hell was the name what his kin had known as Erebus. It had clicked into his head after a while, since the things that were named by the one powerful amongst all Namebreakers, the one that had named himself as a child of God, were something he hadn't cared much about.
…Thinking back, none of his kin had cared much about the Namebreakers. Mistrust and clear dislike were common, since they twisted Gaia's delicate order to fit their own fantasy. Though there are times where they had worked together… in the olden days of humanity, that is.
Either way, the past is the past.
On the other note, the variation of students in Gehenna he saw really caught his eye. The School Lunch Club, the Gourmet Research Society, Emergency Medicine Club…
Though a lot he saw were in name only and some members of the clubs, since… what Makoto had enforced on Gehenna. Chaos and freedom. Leaving their students to go around Kivotos and do whatever.
Especially the reports of hot springs and… gourmet research club. Since the reports were really limited from the Pandemonium Society's terrible and badly managed archive; he had been told to visit the Prefect Team because they handle such problems and documents… and those kinds of paperwork were shoved into their table.
By then, Hans gave them… especially Makoto, a disapproving shake of his head. Giving them a quick scolding before walking into the Prefect Team's office after, of course, saying his goodbyes and thank you's politely.
The Prefect Building was the second largest in the academy, shorter than the Pandemonium Society by a few centimeters because the building itself was like a tower. The décor here was relatively the same, yet it was tinted with purple.
"Um… a- Hans-sensei!? A-Are you here to see Head Prefect Hina? Sh-She's away for the moment… um..."
Hans glanced at the gathering of the mobs nearing him.
…Why does it gave him a faint feeling of déjà vu?
"…Prefect… Office. I have… something to pick up."
One by one they looked at each other before two of them volunteered to escort him.
Passing through the hallways and other mobs that gave their respects… Hans climbed the stairway along with his escort as they arrive at the large mahogany double doors.
"This is it. Um… we'll be taking our leave! Goodbye, sensei!" Then they waved him goodbye, in which he returned.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
No answer.
He knocks again.
Still no answer.
He raised his hand to knock for a third time. Harder this time.
Kno-
"UGH! DIDN'T I TELL EVERYONE TO-" The door bursts open to a disheveled administrator. Her temper rising high before it came to a halt at the person behind the knocking.
"S-S-SENSEI!?" Ako steps back to from the door. "When- what- what are you doing here?! I thought you're with the Pandemonium racoons!"
Hans answers with him pointing at his phone. To a message to Chinatsu saying she had forwarded his visit to her.
Ako immediately opened scrambled to her pockets and fished out her phone. There it was, an unread message. "Oh. Right. I… didn't read it." She skimmed through before her eyes fell into the line of his purpose being here.
"Seriously. Well, get- get in." Ako offers, and he entered behind her.
The office was lightly decorated, but that is not what caught his eyes. It was the massive piles of documents waiting to be reviewed.
No, after thinking about it again, it's doing it an injustice calling it a massive pile. It was mountains of it. Like the office was being reorganized as a landfill for papers.
And here he was thinking that perhaps the thousand hand-written apology letters sent to him by Ako a while ago was absurd.
Hans pointed at it and tilted his head.
"What? It's our typical work load, more or less." Ako casually shrugs with annoyance as she reached at the lockers, shifting through the archived papers before she pulled out a large folder named Gourmet Research Society, and a second one with the Hot Spring Development Department on the title.
"Here you go."
He nodded and inspected it.
"Hmph." Ako scoffs and went back down on her workload. Passing not a single glance as she went through the papers with a sour taste on her lips. Grumbling and passing whispers of annoyance.
"What are you still doing here, sensei? Don't you have anything better to do?"
He glanced at the pile.
"What about it? I'll have most of them done in a heartbeat." Ako shrugs. "I can't call myself the administrator and manager of the Prefect Team over this measly amount of work. You should've seen what it's like in Head Prefect Hina's shoes. Those raccoons really love to shove useless and stupid documents for her to read!"
Somehow, Ako got more worked up. "Here, take a look at this!" Ako flips and slammed a document down on the table.
'What comes first, chicken or the egg? The egg first. An argumentative paper'
"It's not even our job to read this, but they just…! Ugh!" Ako throws her hands up. "Seriously."
Hans instinctively sat down next to her, pulling a hefty pile to his side, and started reading himself.
"W-What are you doing?!"
His eyes drift and skim through a document before labeling it to the "useless" pile.
"…Helping."
"Wh-WHAT!? I- you don't have to… wait. Oh I get it." Ako bit her fingernails and stood up. "You're just going to get my trust, don't you?! Hah! Think again, sensei! I will NEVER lower my guard around you! Your cagey and suspicious intentions will be revealed in time, you hear me?!"
Hans raised his eyebrow and didn't answer her outburst. He merely kept on moving from document to document, shifting from paper to paper. Ako kept on yapping again, yet all she got as an answer was silence.
"…They really… gave a lot of… redundant documents." Hans commented as Ako eventually ran out of steam. Her hands fell down to her sides from her constant pointing at the enigmatic teacher.
Ako closed her eyes, and a long sigh left her lips. "All in the day's work. Hmph. Fine… fine! I guess… you can stay." She said reluctantly, taking her place in front of Hans as she went back to her half finished pile.
"Don't slow me down, sensei. All of them need to be done by evening." The administrator points her pen at him.
The teacher replied with a nod, and comfortable silence came upon the two; occasionally broken by the shifting of papers.
And when they know it, the stacks were done two hours before the clock displayed their shared deadline.
By then, Ako practically pushed him out of the office and back to do his own thing. That includes more small walks around Gehenna until the evening eventually came around.
Returning to SCHALE was a comfortable trip.
More hours pass between doing some leftover work, Arona chirping in his ears about the documents the loud and paranoid administrator had given, followed by a certain blue-haired accountant coming in to check on him now. Working with him alone as the hours shifted close to 8 PM.
"Phew, I guess that is all sensei?"
Hans answers with a nod, along with the soft cracks of his fingers. "…Thank you… like always."
"No problem. I'm…" Yuuka paused halfway. "H-Happy to help." She coughed it out with a gentle smile on her lips.
"Remember sensei, I-I'm the only one who will… gladly do this for you so… um… yeah. See you next time." She whispers into the middle part of her monologue, thinking he wouldn't hear it.
Either way, she made her retreat out from the building with a wave of her hand that he replied. Passing goodbyes as Hans prepared to do anything else in his routine. Shutting off the work computer, then the lights with a clap of his hands.
Then came the perfect silence.
Nothing more had come but his breathing and the light from the Shittim Chest as it lit up and dimmed slowly. Blinking in and out like it was organically breathing.
Hans closed his eyes, and then he was there.
Arona had already slept for the past hour, resting her head on the wooden table and dreaming of sugary sweetness as her thoughts were swept away by the gentle whispering of the sea side winds and the waves crashing upon the shore. Hans reached and raised a blanket over her before returning to the darkened office.
There is no one here except for him.
The Problem Solvers had already left with a wave before Yuuka entered his office, waving their goodbyes and thanks.
Well… that is what he hoped to be.
Hans walked to the café, passing through the halls and there… he saw her.
The silhouette waiting in the café, sitting at the table near the window with a steaming cup of coffee. Sipping on it slowly as the moonlight came upon her features and the AC gently blowing her long white bangs, causing it to sway side to side slowly without pause.
Hans stood watching her before his eyes locked on the table.
A second steaming cup waited for him in the empty chair next to her. She didn't have to mutter a single word as Hans understood what she wanted.
He pulls the chair and sat. Fingers grasping on the ceramic handle as he raised the cup into his lips. Smelling the fragrant scent of a freshly ground and roasted coffee, brewed perfectly without any flaws.
He may be a soldier, but even as lowly as he was, he knew a good cup of coffee than those instant ones some of his men usually made.
"It may surprise you, sensei, but I know a thing or two to brew a good cup of coffee." She spoke first, taking another sip and keeping her eyes on the bustling city of Kivotos just beyond the bulletproof glass.
"It's something I'm still proud of." She continued on. Fingers tapping on the table, waiting for him to reply.
In which he did by a small sip of the brew… along with a small smile on his lips.
"…It's… good."
"Hehe. I knew you would like it." She glanced at him and took another sip as well.
Then silence.
The whirring of the AC and whatever noises that made in from the outside city filled the void between them.
"…I thought… you had gone home. It's… late."
She shrugs. Leaning deeper into the chair, before taking another sip. "I had just finished doing our inventory and supplies check. The others offered to help but… I'm more confident in doing things on my own."
He nodded in understanding.
"And I wanted to stay here for a while since I had nothing to do." She looked at him, thinking if she was intruding. "Unless you don't want me to."
"No… I… don't mind."
She sipped her coffee and nodded at him. Taking in the silence that pass before she started the conversation again.
"Are you alright?"
His lips paused midway from the cup. He raised his eyebrow at the question.
"You seem on edge all day. Even from this very morning when I saw you."
Is he? Sure, the revelation by Hina surprised him for a moment, but it wasn't something so unexpected considering the evidence Abydos had gathered around Kaiser. Truly, it was something he fully expected.
There is just… hm. A lingering feeling of… dread? No… not that. Close, but… could it be fear? Fear of what, exactly? The dream he had? The omen?
No, it's something else. Something that he felt when Serika was kidnapped. When his eyes saw what he had done, and the bruises on her neck. And when Shiba Seki came down crumbling.
…Then when he stood among the ranks of the Fera against the devourer.
"Worry."
He finally spoke out. His lips trembling before calming down with a sip of the now lukewarm coffee.
"…Something… is going on… between the students..." Especially Hoshino. That day, when she disappeared, everyone was surprised by the others… it was way out of her character to do so. Hoshino would always answer her phone, even if she claimed that she was sleeping.
Now? It had happened twice. For her to vanish and claimed she had slept over.
Should he tell this student in front of him about this? Is there malice and a hidden agenda behind those pale crimson eyes? Is he even should be talking about this to a student?
She waited patiently. Her hands fiddling with the ceramic cup and her jacket, waiting for him to continue.
He took a large sip and let the empty cup to rest upon the table. What hurt could it pose?
"I… worry… for what's next… to come."
She leaned back in the chair. "Aren't we all?" Her fingers trailed on the rim as she leaned down on the table and rested her chin with her hand. "It's must've been tough being an adult, huh?"
Perhaps.
He had dealt with soldiers, and rarely youths. It's still a fresh experience for him, but the responsibility he had is still the same.
"I can't pretend to know what you and those kids are dealing with. But from the outside looking in? I can confidently say you had done far and beyond, not only for them, but for anyone you've met before."
She emptied her cup.
"I think whatever stuff anyone will throw at you, you're just going to throw it back at them twice as hard."
She then stood up. Taking both empty ceramic cups with her. "And you're not alone, sensei. Whatever tomorrow brings…"
Before returning with fresh, steaming cups of coffee.
"We'll be right behind you. Just a phone call away."
Author's note.
I think I don't need to say who is the girl Hans was talking with in the end of this chapter. *wink* Also, take a guess why Aru felt the dread of others seeing her ID If there is typos, grammatical hiccups, and other stuff I miss, please give me a heads up! Thank you for reading~