It was eerily quiet in the dimly lit room. To avoid drawing attentions, and also to save up on the billing, the power grid had mostly been diverted to emergency mode. As a result, the school warehouse was the only facility left with some capacity of power running. There, the secretary of the Abydos Foreclosure Taskforce held her breath, lips twisting and eyebrows furrowing as deep as they could. Her eyes twitched, trembling in equal parts of worries and dread, but light had yet to fade from them.

Nonomi patted Ayane's back, gently drawing a circle with her palm so as to calm the poor girl's nerves before they combusted.

"Hah…! A-ahh, thanks you, Nonomi-senpai…"

"It's fine, it's fine~! We're all in this together," Nonomi said with a smile on her face. It, however, did not do much in reassuring her friend completely. A pang of guilt and self-admonishment assailed her mind, but letting out her real thoughts out would not do anything good for the moment, right? "Errm… Shiroko-chan and Hoshino-senpai are pulling back, aren't they…?"

"Yes, well… unfortunately." Frustration was visibly written on Ayane's face. "The black van those gangsters used is certainly fast. Though I managed to get a recording of their last whereabouts, they could be anywhere, now…"

"...they sure seem to be extremely prepared."

It was her honest thought. The taskforce had a decent number of altercations with uppity delinquents who thought Abydos was an easy prey, and while that did not mean she could claim herself as an expert on investigative matters, she had never once seen something like this happening. The helmeted gang had spent a tremendous amount of time and effort on their part to successfully abduct her junior, but the length they went through was awfully… intense.

"They're extremely organized. I can't believe this…" Ayane roughly breathed out. Even as she shut her tired eyes, her fingers continued tapping on her tablet. Looking over her shoulder, Nonomi could tell she was accessing the district's surveillance network. Soon after, the background color turned red and a text boox filled a third of the screen, a harsh cross symbol appearing in a circle. "None. Again…!"

"A-Ayane-chan? What's going on…?!"

"I can't find them! It's like… like," Ayane sniffled. Her cheeks were puffy red, and beads of tears started to form on the corners of her eyes. Nonomi struggled to ease the tensions riding on her shoulders. It was as if her junior was trying to hold onto the last strands of rationality she had, as if she was at wit's end. "This doesn't make sense! Even though I accessed every street monitoring device within our school's jurisdiction, I can't find any recent footage of the black van! And it's not even because there's system tampering, either….!"

W-which means… they know the surefire route to escape undetected? Not even Nonomi was so slow to not figure out the meaning behind Ayane's words. However, her heart tried really hard to rebel against that possibility. After all, that could easily explain how the kidnapping even happened in the first place, but then… it would also imply that a group of ruffians had an intel rivaling natives of the school district, if not exceeding them by a metric. It just… it didn't add up. No way they could be this prepared, unless… they have a powerful hidden backer?

Could that be it? Was that how they managed to accomplish this wicked scheme?

But why? How could they do this? For what purpose, and to what ends? The only kind of person… or group capable of conducting such a thorough maneuvering were not many, even across the whole Kivotos. The level of knowledge and preparation required was a feat that could only be achieved if they had been surveying the autonomous district of Abydos for such a long time. Nonomi didn't want to acknowledge that possibility, at all.

Only a larger-scale criminal organization with a bunch of money to burn could conduct an operation flawlessly like this. And yet, even crime syndicates and gangster families worth their salt knew better than to expend their resources in a place as deserted as Abydos. Her school's crisis was a pretty open secret. There was no merit in ransoming a debt-ridden school at the verge of shutting down, especially one which had suffered repeated defeats against the escalating sandstorms notorious around this part of the city.

In that sense, the only entity that would profit from eliminating Abydos in this manner would be… it would be an organization who didn't even need money. It'd be somebody… or some company aiming specifically for the school itself, or even the…

No, that can't be it… this can't be happening…

It'd make sense if that was true. The big attack from the other day. This kidnapping incident. But, but surely there was no way, right? Nonomi had expressly stated out her intentions to be left alone. This wasn't supposed to be happening, but then… if her fear proved to be right, the one responsible for abducting Serika, and by extension the teacher was…

No, no, this can't be true…!

Through the silent, tense atmosphere—Izayoi Nonomi dearly hoped against all odds that her worst fear would never come true. Because otherwise… otherwise, she…

The wind blew through the closed off handover site. It was dark as could be, but a bunch of tents and conveniences had long been prepared by the other side way before they started their mission. It wouldn't be long before their collaborator paid a visit, around tomorrow afternoon. Though her nosy subordinates couldn't believe they had to spend the night in a harsh wasteland like this, the extra pay was enough to shut even the most obnoxious of them all; a grand payback for the humiliation they had suffered through the other day was simply that tempting.

This was a job well-done. Oh, sure, the loss of the Flak 41 and a bunch of good weapons bruised her already tight wallet. That sleeping gas particularly had an immense reselling value to it, but oh well. They had accomplished more than just their prime objective.

The Schale teacher was a handful, and really heavy to lug around. His build certainly didn't match the visual he displayed around. At least the adult proved to be no less vulnerable to powerful anesthetics. It was funny how he didn't even wake up even after some of their members kicked him into the van, but well, time be a wasting. In any case, hers truly, the great gang leader could expect a huge turn out, as they'd have less threats to deal with. She also had no doubt that those brainless girls of Abydos were stuck in a rut, right now.

Her gang's operation had been flawlessly executed. All the directions, all the meddling and all the gifts and items lent to her gang had been more than worth it. Who'd give a damn that it wasn't her entire idea to use a vehicle with scratched off identification, or to use a sleeping gas if the Flak 41 failed to knock out the loud-mouthed cat girl? She was an outlaw, and to be an outlaw meant that she could do whatever she wanted. So long as there was a solid result, some poor schmucks beaten down for getting carried away with their naivety, a handful paycheck, and generous tips, she'd even sell out her most prized helmet collection.

Yes. Looking back at the black van sitting smack dab in the center of the abandoned railroad system, the helmeted gangster decided that it was time to clock out.

Anything else could be left to tomorrow her. It wasn't like those dry-tongued tin cans had ever gone back on their words, so far. Not that their ilk had a tongue to stick out, in the first place. Giggling snidely, the red-helmeted leader of the Kata-kata Helmet Gang soon dreamed of riches, fame, power, and an easy life.

It was a wonderful dream.

It was dark. Serika found herself tightly bound in place, possibly in a chair, but she couldn't even see anything. It was as if her world had been narrowed down to an arm's length, and that… that was terrifying. She couldn't think much, and only after unknown amount of time had passed did she finally manage to recollect herself. As memories came crashing down, cold sweat ran down her spine, and she shouted expletives to the dark world surrounding her.

It was, unfortunately, to no avail. There was no soul around. Where had she ended up, after falling prey to the helmeted gang's dastardly trap? And what about the teacher?

"Oh… why is this happening…?"

She hated it. She really hated this feeling of helplessness. It was one thing to have herself get captured by a bunch of school drop-outs like the Kata-kata Helmeted Gang, but to drag a civilian into her personal troubles… Just what sin had she committed in her past life, to deserve this sort of ending? It was unfair. She didn't do anything wrong, and her friends were all just trying to do their best for their school.

How much time has passed…? An hour, two hours? Half a day? Serika was starting to feel hungry, and the lack of companion was grating on her nerves. However, she was nothing short than resilient. She was strong, in her own right. She could handle being alone, even when bound in place and blind to the world. I'm alright, even if I'm alone…

...

...really, why was she keeping up this stupid facade of hers? She felt like she was making a fool of herself. It was pathetic. She hadn't done anything right as of recently, yet she had the gall to think of herself so highly. The more she was left to her thoughts, the more recent memories came to surface. In the forefront of her mind, she remembered the lousy teacher, her weirdly energetic and carefree friends, and the boss of her part-time place.

Even though they've got their own quirks, at least they were all honest to themselves.

In contrast, Serika was the complete opposite. Her friends were all good people. Why did she even try to avoid them, and think that she was being thoughtful by refusing to engage them? Why did she act like that to the adult who was simply doing his job and putting all of his effort in being a teacher? The nerve of her, acting as if she was the better person in the room.

In the end, she couldn't do it all by herself. She was just one person. Even being conceited had limits, but it was already too late for her.

What will happen to me…? Was she going to be ransomed for money? There were many cases of disappearances in Kivotos, many of them attributed to abduction. The city wasn't always safe, but it had gotten so much worse ever since the General Student Council President vanished. If so, I'm…

She was going to end up just like those missing people, wasn't she? She didn't even have the energy to laugh, at this point. Her fate was sealed. She was doomed to a future without a speck of light or a way out. Maybe things would have turned out differently had she not put a wall between herself and everyone. Maybe that adult wouldn't have to cover for her had she just listened to his warning. Maybe… maybe… maybe…

Uuuu… I'm sorry, everyone… "I'm so sorry, sensei…"

"Yeah, you called?"

Serika visibly flinched. Her feet stomped down out of reflex, and her balance rapidly shifted backwards. As her heart almost leaped out of her chest, the girl threw her entire upper body forward like a pendulum. The chair's legs clattered here and there against hard surface, a small thought over the chair being a cheap foldable variant typically sold in bulk coming to mind; but she was safe. She didn't fall, meaning she didn't hit her head against the floor.

That was good. That was good, right? Right? I feel like some years just got shaved off of my lifespan, aaaghhhh…!

Whether or not the darkness heard her, a blue flash appeared from right ahead which froze Serika solid. What happened? What was going on? Was this some sort of sick joke or did those gangsters find sadistic pleasures from kicking her spirits to the curb?! The girl gritted her teeth and braced for what was to come… and nothing happened.

"...h-huh…?"

"Ah… down here, down here."

Unconsciously following those words, Serika lowered her head till her chin touched her collarbones. A couple dozen centimeters away from her feet was the head of an adult male with dark sea urchin-like hairs. He was tied up and bound with ropes like a caterpillar from his waist all the way to his ankles, not to mention the number of footprints and dirt gracing his face. Serika saw some bruising, but the man wore a big smile anyway, as if it was none of his business that he got pummeled… wait!

"Geh!? Sensei!?" Serika shouted, her control nearly slipping out of control. It took a huge deal of willpower for her to not flip backwards again, but the chair still made unpleasant screeching noise as it got pushed backwards. "Since when were you there…!?"

"Now, now…. I only just woke up… I guess."

You guess…!? "You got caught too!?"

The guy craned his neck and tried his very best at giving a nod. Unfortunately, that looked painful considering the awkward posture and position, so Serika winced a little.

Of course he did get caught… The calmer part of her mind stated out that fact with a bit of self-derision. The trap might have been prepared for Serika, but it was her failing that resulted in the teacher needing to support her directly. Adults were not made like students of Kivotos. They were fragile and… and somehow, it was him who had saved her from predicaments. It was him who had protected her from the Flak 41 shell, and it was also him who had covered her flank in the following shootout. But I ended up putting him in a tough spot, all because I rushed headlong into dangers…

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine here, so don't worry, Serika." The teacher chuckled before adopting a solemn look. "More importantly, there's something I need to say."

S-something important?

"Hmm… yes." The adult—Vash the Stampede—gave a grave nod. It was worth noting how a smart tablet slowly slid out from his coat pocket which didn't have binding ropes anywhere close to it. The white tablet turned to be the source of the blue light which had been illuminating the surrounding space since earlier. "Could you scoot forward? The angle needs some work to reach perfection."

Serika felt her blood pressure flying to the limits, so she stomped the pervert in the face without a shred of hesitation. A most pitiful dog-like whine echoed around until it vanished to oblivion… not!

"What the heck are you doing in this kind of situation, you idiot!? Pervert! Freak!" Serika lashed out, her entire mind completely replaced by righteous anger. "I'll call the Valkyrie on you, you criminal! And you call yourself a teacher!?"

"Aw aw aw aw. T-this isn't half-bad either but canyoupleaseholdoww—"

Serika recoiled. What the hell…

"Okay, don't make a face as if you're finding a bug that survived decapitation and all limbs removed. Please. I beg you, even bugs have feelings…"

"Do you even have any pride to compare yourself with bugs of all things…" Seriously, is that how you want to defend yourself, you freak?

"No, no. I just appreciate all living beings in the world, mmkay." The adult grinned even as he coughed up dirt and sand particles. "I'm a pacifist at heart. Whether it be you, me, or the girls standing by outside—everyone's precious to someone else. I can at least be confident about that."

"...uh-huh, sure. Feeling ready to die, now?"

"Gah! Come on, chill out a little, Serika!"

How, the girl herself wondered. She would have said it out loud if not for the fact that she hadn't eaten for the past hours. She only ate a simple leftover ramen at Shibaseki before her shift ended. Now that she was feeling the deep maw in her stomach, there was no doubt that at least six hours had passed. How is this guy still able to stay calm, when he's much more vulnerable than me…?

That said, it was true that there was no point in tiring herself out. Anymore exertion than this would just kill whatever remained of her spirits. "Uggh… so, what is it?"

The adult's complexion suddenly brightened. He rolled to the side, and writhed around like a caterpillar about to crawl forward. It didn't look right because he was a human, so all Serika got was him being him. For sure, she was getting used to this horrible sight, wasn't she? Although, as a result, she saw the smart tablet clattering and sliding across the metallic surface.

"...huh, the screen's still on." Serika leaned forward. It took some efforts, and the ropes started to dig past her uniform and into her skin. However, she could see what appeared to be the main menu of the teacher's smart tablet. "Err… what's this, sensei?"

"Heh heh he… it's my secret weapon," Vash the teacher said. He flopped on his belly like a beached whale, but even as he did that, the old-fashioned round sun glasses refused to drop off the bridge of his nose. "Now, Serika. I'm sure you know this already, but we are totally in a pinch, right?"

"Uhh, right. Yeah… that's true." We're going to be abducted to god-knows-where and sold off to some black company for cheap labor or exotic zoo, but… "Sensei, what does that have to do with this…?"

"Well. The device right there is very special, you see…" Vash nudged forward with his chin. The tablet's wallpaper was that of a broken down classroom flooded in blue shades, empty chairs and tables, and a blank white horizon. It looked surprisingly lonely even if it was meant to be the default choice for wallpaper. "It's not like we're completely out of options. Those helmeted kids are mean, but they're not thorough. I mean, you're in a chair and I'm down here. Very sloppy."

Serika… tilted her head. Rather than curious about what he was trying to say, his explanation sort of fell through her right ear and came out from the other. She knew that he was sloppy when it came to actual lecture, but was he just normally bad at trying to give a concise outline? What was with the poor attempt in building up suspense?

"...so, I need you to contact the Taskforce members." Vash coughed while throwing his face to the side. Why was he looking away, now? "Good thing your feet aren't bound. It may get super tough and draining, but human toes got surprisingly solid tactile feedback for touchscreen in general…"

...

...oh. Oooooh, so that was what he meant—what the frickin what!?

"What kind of freak do you take me for?!"

"Aah! Serika, quick! The screen is gonna dim in ten seconds…!" Vash huffed, his eyes trembling as he looked in panic at the pristine white smart tablet. "Hurry! We don't have the time to be ashamed!"

This is unreasonable…! Serika whined in the recess of her heart. It was truthfully a very sound plan, but still! How could this adult be so shameless!? His demands were also getting overbearing, not to mention it felt as if he was getting more and more excited as she shook her legs around to throw off her shoes. For the slightest moment, only now did Serika notice how long she had been stuck in her uniform, but thinking about it any further made her face about to combust. No, this slimy stickiness can be rid with a hot shower, definitely!

Hopefully. She sure wished that would be the case…

Serika wasn't even sure what she was saying or feeling anymore. In any case, she reached out with her right foot and planted her toes on the screen, the chair groaning and squeaking with any big movement that required her to readjust her butt and her whole leg; a trial and error of sort which lasted for who knew how long. After one too many tries, she managed to swipe the screen even as the adult crawled forward to plant his chin near the tablet.

This situation is completely, totally, utterly bizarre... so embarrassing!

"Ugh… owwf. Yeah, that's it… now touch the bottom. No no, not that one. Right above that one. Now press and hold... yes. Yes, yes, yes! That's it, atta girl…!"

God, why is he so hyper!? "What are you even commentating for!? Stop panting like a maniac, you crazy adult!"

"Well, my chest has been hurting for a bit, but fair enough… oh, that's it! Now rub down, then press and hold for a few seconds, Serika. No, that's a bit too fast. Try again—"

Serika swore she just heard some shocking information casually dropped in her lap in the least expected manner, but she was also juggling with navigating a smart tablet with her big toe, and wow her leg was starting to hurt. Her calf was being moved to accomplish a task completely unfamiliar for it, so that might why. Her stomach grumbled, her throat parched, and the air was stall and warm. Vexation made her blood boil, but if she lashed out to the world, it would only tire her out.

She hated this. She decidedly, really hated how much of a sitting duck she was. Even as the teacher cheered at the notification ping all but telling the two of them that rescue would be on the way, the following minutes ended up full of suffocating silence.

"…I did it." Serika let out a ragged breath, groaning as she rolled her shoulders. It was the best she could do to distract herself from all the sweat trickling down her body. It felt terribly gross…

"Yeah… you did it," Vash rolled and flopped on his back. "Good job, by the way."

"Now what…?"

"We wait. Obviously."

"...is that all we can do?" Serika didn't even notice how much her voice sounded like a prisoner pleading for mercy. "How… why… just, just…"

"...Serika?"

Forget it. He wouldn't understand. He was right, but this didn't feel right, either. Serika was just throwing tantrums, at this point. It was childish. Immature. But still…

I really can't do this… Why did this have to happen? If the world was out to teach her a lesson, did it have to be this painful? Did it have to make her feel so bad for the teacher, and for her close friends…? She was making everyone worried, and the annoying part of her brain was cynically telling her how nice it was to have somebody else stuck in the same boat as her. Am I really that terrible of a person…?

Maybe. Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. She didn't know anymore, so… it was alright to let loose a little, right? Right…?

"...I'm sorry, sensei."

"Nah, don't say that, Serika."

You're a poor liar, you know that? "Had I not bit their provocation, things wouldn't have turned out this way. It was my fault for getting hotheaded… I couldn't even be of help to you, and only getting in your way..."

"Come on, now. You can never tell what could happen in life." The smart tablet's light dimmed, the bright blue glow surrounding them fading in seconds. "Sure, you stumbled spectacularly this time, but we got to keep our life to ourselves. That's good enough in my book. Our big chance for a comeback, get it?"

...how positive-thinking. That sort of optimistic view, even after falling into predicament like this was genuinely perplexing. Actually, wait. Serika could easily imagine Shiroko already thinking up several ways to get out of this problem. As she went down that lane of thought, she realized the teacher and her classmate were not so different when it came to certain characteristics, but… Ayane could hardly stay calm were she put in their shoes… and no, she did not just make a pun simply because she threw off her shoe.

Agh… screw it. "How is it that you can keep your calm, sensei…?"

It was dark again. Complete darkness. She couldn't see anything. She was too tired to regularly cursor the smart tablet anyway, and who knows when would the helmeted gang swing by again. Craning her head up, Serika rested her back against the chair she had been confined to.

"Well—that's just how it is." A short interval passed. "It's in my character, I guess. I'm a pro at this kind of thing, but… yeah. It's not like I'm totally unfazed or anything."

Serika… tilted her head. If so, how is he still able to act like the usual him?

"I'm your teacher. Need to set an example, no?" In the pitch-black abyss, the airy voice of the adult reached out like a light piercing through the darkness. "So, uh… don't worry too much about it, Serika. You've done your part. You did good, great even. That's why… you can rest easy, yeah?"

...what did that even mean? No, wait. Rather, what was even that? Was he… trying to cheer her up, by telling her that she did nothing wrong? Serika snorted at the teacher's all-too-pitiful motivational speech. Audible enough to incite a frantic yelp from the darkness ahead of her. Enough to raise a reaction that made her imagine him squirming like a worm, his face contorting exaggeratedly.

"Yeah, sure… whatever you say, sensei."

Even still—from the bottom of her heart—Serika was truly grateful.

A/N: This segment was difficult to compose, but I fortunately managed a breakthrough. I'm in a mood for grilled lobster, now...

edit: some editing on sentence structures and minor retouches.