Sensei's Trinity Office

"And then to find the X-intercept, I need to run the quadratic equation using A, B, and C. Once I get the two answers, then I plug them back into the equation to get the Y coordinate. Is that right?" The teacher adjusted the glasses on his head.

"That's correct Sensei." Arona responded, putting down the pen of her virtual whiteboard. "Then you can find the solutions to a parabolic equation."

The teacher stretched his arms up as he lay back on the office chair. "Right then. I did it. I did algebra."

"You did it, Sensei!" The AI cheered, sending a set of streamers and balloons falling in the classroom. "I'm so proud of you!"

Sensei smiled as he looked out his window and winced. "Wow, it's already morning?"

"Yes, Sensei. It's 5:35 am. You've been studying for almost eight hours."

The teacher yawned. "I see. Well, it wouldn't have been my first all nighter. I'm going to get a shower then take a quick nap. Let me know if there's any messages for me while I'm gone."

"Will do, Sensei!"

Trinity Dormitory

"FOR PERORO!"

BAM!

"FOR PERORO!"

BAM!

"FOR PERORO!"

BAM!

Azusa jerked up out of her cot panting, sweat pouring down her forehead. She glanced at her alarm clock and winced. "Five thirty five." She muttered, "Instructor would have had my ass for sleeping this late."

Slowly pulling herself out of bed, the Arius sniper turned Trinity student meticulously made her bed before giving herself a quick stretch. Then she dressed herself in her student garments, slung her rifle over her shoulder and exited her room, taking care to carefully lock both the main lock and the hidden lock she had installed into the door.

Once she was satisfied with her work, she exited the dormitory to begin her routine sweep of the campus. As she rappelled up the wall of the cathedral, her thoughts began to drift away from her.

Life back at Arius had been so much more simple. You woke up before dawn, attended drill, enjoyed a meal with your sisters in arms, then spent the day in grueling but satisfying training with the Instructor. If the Instructor was satisfied with your performance (she typically was), then she would allow you to retire to your barracks early to get a quick shower before evening meal. If she was in a generous mood, there would be a light treat handed out amongst the troops. It was always a challenge to sneak the treat around without the Headmaster's enforcers catching onto them, but the Instructor hadn't trained the finest troops in Kivotos for nothing.

Azusa's mouth salivated at the memory of dried fruit, small cookies, and sometimes, even chocolate. In the dark corners of Kivotos like Arius, such treats were rare, precious commodities that would be frequently fought over. Yet the Instructor taught them to savor such treats and share them amongst each other, so that no one would be left out.

Here in Trinity, Azusa didn't need to earn the Instructor's favor to get treats. She could just walk down the street and go to a local cafe, order as many cookies, chocolate, and fresh fruit that she could stomach and hoard it all to herself. Yet somehow, the treats of Trinity just didn't feel as satisfying and enjoyable as the ones she had back in Arius. It was truly a paradox the first year couldn't quite comprehend.

Now, thanks to the efforts of the Arius Squad, she was a student infiltrator in Trinity. She was expected to gather intelligence, investigate unknown threats, and report back to the Squad whenever she learned of anything new.

Speaking of unknown anomalies, the silver haired sniper noticed the open window of a certain blue haired Sensei. She frowned as she pulled out her binoculars. The mysterious Sensei who had mysteriously shown up a month ago and now was in charge of her own education. Azusa didn't know what to think of the man. On one hand, she had seen the man fight and was very impressed by his skills and quick thinking. On the other hand, the teacher fought in a way so similar to her own Instructor, that if she hadn't known better, she would have thought the Sensei was from Arius himself.

Azusa shook her head. No, the Sensei was not from Arius. She knew that much when she initially reported back and was given strict instructions to observe and watch the teacher if he ever returned to Trinity. According to the Saori, any unknown variables could ruin the mission.

Azusa didn't want to point out that her deliberately failing the Seia assassination mission and then lying about it already ruined the mission, but that would not be a good idea to share. Saori might actually kill her if she found out.

The silver haired sniper peered back into the binoculars only to jerk back. From inside the window, the blue haired teacher had not only woken up, but also was waving to her, from over four hundred meters away. Noticing her reaction, he reached down and held up a sign with large printed letters.

Good Morning

He then showed a second sign.

Have you eaten breakfast yet?

Then he pulled out a final sign.

If you haven't, will you join me in the cafeteria at 0630?

Azusa stared through her binoculars in disbelief before nodding slowly. She reached into her bag and brought out a small mirror. Pointing it at the sun, she used it to send a message. Dash dot dash dash - dot - dot dot dot.

Then she peered back into her binoculars. The teacher nodded and gave her a thumbs up before getting out of his chair and stretching. Azusa put down her binoculars in disbelief. Who was this crazy teacher?

Sensei watched the silver haired student enter the cafeteria and waved over to her. The student noticed him and walked over.

"Hello there Shirasu Azusa. Or would you prefer I call you Azusa?"

The silver haired student shrugged, "You may call me whatever. How did you know I was up there?"

The teacher shrugged, "I happened to be looking up and noticed the faint glint of your binoculars." He gestured to the girl's bag. "May I?"

Azusa frowned before opening up her bag, "I am fairly certain that I had an anti glare coating on my binoculars."

"Ahh, and you'd be right." The teacher agreed, "But even the best anti glare coating has its own flaws and eccentricities. Once you know what to look for, you can spot sniper scopes and binoculars pretty easily."

Azusa handed the teacher her binoculars. "Could you teach me how to spot them? That feels like a very worthwhile skill to know."

Sensei took the binoculars, holding them with careful hands as he examined the equipment. "Huh, these binoculars…did you modify them yourself? I wasn't under the impression Amarose Engineering made binoculars like these."

Azusa's eyes lit up as she nodded, "That is correct. I took old Amarose binoculars and added in improved optics and an anti glare coating on top of that. I was working on putting in an infrared scope as well before I transferred here."

"Is that so?" The teacher raised his brow. "You're a transfer student? From where?"

The student's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. "Ahh…well…I transferred from…Valkyrie Police Academy."

"Valkyrie?" Sensei nodded, "Color me impressed. To learn how to modify dated equipment like Amarose binoculars isn't something that I would consider part of the Valkyrie police curriculum."

"Ahh…is that so?" Azusa frowned as she internally gave a sigh of relief.

The teacher carefully watched the girl's expression. "As for your other question, allow me to ask you a question."

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Why do you think it's important to do hard things?"

The silver haired student frowned, "Hard things?"

"Yes, like learning how to walk for the first time, learning how to shoot your first rifle, or…learning how to pass your academic courses."

Azusa furrowed her brow, "Well, because it is important to do hard things. Life ultimately is made up of hard things that we must overcome, even if it may entirely be in vain." That sounded like something the Instructor would say.

"Entirely in vain, huh?" Sensei repeated her words, pondering on her meaning. "So let me ask you again, should you study and pass your exams, even if they are hard?"

"Should I study even if it's hard?" The silver haired student pondered his words, "I guess I should."

"Precisely." The teacher concluded, "Which is why I'll happily teach you everything I know, if you can put in the hard work to pass your exams. How does that sound?"

Azusa thought for a moment. On one hand, was there ever really a point in trying to study for a school she was ultimately trying to overthrow? On the other hand, Sensei seemed to know a lot about fighting…and her mission was to keep an eye on the teacher, so…

She nodded, "Very well then. I shall accept your offer. I'll work hard and pass my exams. And then you shall teach me how to spot sniper scopes."

The teacher chuckled, holding out his hand, "Then we have a deal. Welcome aboard the Make Up Work club."

The silver haired student accepted his hand.

Sensei watched Azusa leave the cafeteria as he examined his notes. "Arona, did you get all that?"

"Yes Sensei." The AI responded, "She definitely seemed a bit nervous, especially regarding her school of origin."

"Pull up Valkyrie's registration logs to cross reference her story. Any luck?"

Arona shook her head, "Negative, it appears Azusa never attended Valkyrie Sensei. Which means she is lying about that." She looked up towards the teacher, "Does that mean she was lying about everything else?"

"Unlikely. I can tell that she definitely made those binoculars herself. I don't know where she got the parts and equipment, but those binoculars were definitely hand modified." The teacher smiled, "I should send a copy over to Utaha and see if she can't make odds or ends of it."

"Would you like me to?" Arona offered.

The teacher chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure my niece has much more important things to be dealing with."

Seminar Headquarters

"How…what?" Yuuka stared at the screen in disbelief. "How am I…?"

"What's going on?" Utaha peeked over her girlfriend's shoulders. "Well hot damn Yuuka. I didn't think you were that he-"

Said girlfriend sent a powerful elbow jab into the engineer's stomach. "Finish that sentence. I dare you."

Utaha shook her head. "Warning received. Anyways, this is a public directory. Why is the data from our physicals here?"

"That's what I want to know." Yuuka snorted. "Come on, we're getting to the bottom of this!"

Her girlfriend nodded slowly, "You know, the damage has already been done. No amount of investigation is going to fix that."

"I know that of course, dummy!" The Seminar treasurer rolled her eyes. "I just want to find who did this to me. And then afterwards, I intend on working off some much needed stress and calories."

"Oh, you're going to start working out?" Utaha raised her brow, "Sounds fun. I'll help walk you through it."

The treasurer stopped in her tracks before turning around and grabbing the scruff of the engineer's shirt, her mouth curling into a grin. "Working out isn't exactly what I had in mind. Not when I've got…a much better method of exercise right in front of me."

Utaha gulped nervously as realization dawned on her. "I'm fucked, aren't I?"

"Meanwhile, I need you to see if you can pull up which academies prefer the M4A1 weapons platform. It's an unusual weapon around here and the last one I would expect to find in a Trinity school."

"Will do, Sensei." Arona responded. "I'll get back to you once I have more information."

The teacher watched the Schitem Chest's screen blip out before turning back to his breakfast. There were too many things to think about and he needed nourishment from that study session.

He took a bite of his boiled eggs as his mind focused on the day ahead. The girls would gather after their regular lessons were over, giving him the morning and early afternoon to prepare and go over any extra paperwork he had left over from Schale. He wasn't very worried about his Schale work. Ayane had been volunteering at the office for the last few weeks, so he knew she was familiar with the paperwork. As for any SRT work, Yukino and Niko seemed to have the situation under control. All that was left was to oversee the training of the newest SRT members before their first deployment in the Millennium Ruins.

Taking a sip from his coffee canteen, he looked back at the growing number of students channeling into the cafeteria. The girls noticed his presence and frowned, unfamiliar with the man until he waved back at them cheerfully.

As he did so, the girls cautiously eyed him before waving back slowly, that was until a white haired girl approached him. "Good morning, Sensei." Morizuki Suzumi greeted the teacher.

"Good morning Suzumi." The teacher responded warmly. "Getting an early start on the day?"

The Vigilante Crew president nodded, taking a seat at his table, "Actually, we've been awake before dawn. The Vigilante Crew has regular patrols at dawn."

The other students, upon recognizing the white haired student, returned to their own activities, recognizing him as welcome to the campus.

"You must keep a tight ship then Suzumi." Sensei sipped his coffee. "I didn't expect that from a Trinity group."

"Quite the contrary, Sensei." Suzumi countered, "It is exactly because the tight ship I hold on the Vigilante crew that allows for the rest of Trinity to sustain a lax attitude. Students can walk around campus with confidence knowing that between the JTF and the Vigilante Crew, they are safe twenty four seven."

"How interesting." The teacher admitted, "Can I interest you in some breakfast? I grabbed a bit too much for these old bones."

"If you don't mind, I think I will." Reaching for a scone, the white haired student thanked the teacher. "The rest of the girls are using the showers but I thought I would try to get some breakfast early before the rush hour."

Sensei chuckled as he got up. "Then perhaps I should get some more for the rest of your crew."

"Sensei, you don't need to do that." Suzumi protested…despite the scone half chewed in her mouth.

The teacher was already walking towards the cafeteria line. "Please, it's the least I can do for Trinity's protectors."

Thirty minutes later, when the rest of the Vigilante Crew arrived, they were welcomed to the sight of a banquet of pastries, toast, and eggs. Wide eyed, the girls took their seats before looking up to their leader.

Suzumi gave them a proud smile. "You can thank Sensei for the feast. He's treating us this morning."

The girls turned to their teacher and gave a thumbs up.

"You rock, Sensei!"

"Thanks, Teach!"

"Way to go, Sensei!"

"Thank you, Sensei!" Reisa added.

The teacher gave them a proud grin, "Now then, I've got my own schedule to get to, but please, enjoy the food. You girls definitely earned it."

As the blue haired man walked out of the cafeteria, Suzumi waved farewell to the teacher. As she did, her second in command walked up behind her. "So, this is your plan to keep watching him."

The white haired girl smiled, "Sensei's a good person, but he's very observant. We need to earn his trust, and the best way to do that is to focus on his generosity."

She turned around, grabbed a piece of toast as she did. "After all, does not the scriptures say "If your enemy is hungry, feed her, and if she is thirsty, give her a drink; for in doing so you will heap burning coals on her head." If the scriptures are true," She smirked, "Then are we not heaping coals on his head?"

Her subordinate nodded, "It's a fair point. But," She gestured to the rest of the crew gleefully enjoying the feast before them. "How do we know we're not the one's getting coals on our heads?"

Suzumi frowned as she considered the possibility. "Ok…so that wasn't the best scripture to use."

"Noted." the other girl chuckled, "Oh cheer up Suzumi. It's a big book. I'm sure there's a better scripture out there somewhere."

The white haired vigilante sighed, "I hate the scriptures."

Make Up Work Clubroom

Sensei watched the four girls file into the classroom. "Welcome to the Make Up Work Club."

"J-Just so you know," Koharu stammered, "I..I'm an elite! I just took an exam that was for third years, which is why I failed it. This time I'll take a first year exam and I'll ace it! You'll see! Then I'll be gone from here and all of you!"

"Oh my Koharu," Hanako giggled as she gave the girl a knowing look. "I certainly look forward to being corrected."

"In the name of Sensei's guidance, I will pass these exams." Azusa nodded proudly. "Therefore I shall be the one to correct you."

Koharu and Hanako froze and cranked their heads towards the silver haired girl. Koharu tried to stop the second year, but Hanako was faster. "Oh my, I do look forward to being corrected~"

"DEATH PENALTY! No lewdness allowed!" Koharu shoved her hands at the older student.

"Does someone need to die?" Azusa reached for the rifle slung over her shoulder.

"NOT LIKE THAT!" the JTF junior spasmed.

Hifumi walked over to the teacher. "Good afternoon, Sensei. I took a moment to prepare some practice tests from the beginning of the semester. If we could proctor these, then we can focus on what we got wrong and how to improve upon those grades."

The teacher ignored the trio's antics to accept the papers the second year offered. "Thank you Hifumi. I foresee that we're off to a good start."

As Sensei guided the students to their seats, he smiled softly. Perhaps this wouldn't be that bad. Sure they might not pass completely, but that would be a start and then he could have Arona go over the incorrect problems and draw up lesson plans to help them improve. Then they would pass the official exam and he could go right back over to overseeing Rabbit Squad's training by the end of the week.

Everything was going to be fine.