Trinity Office

Everything was not fine.

Sensei stared at the exam scores. "Arona, I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"No, Sensei." Arona stared at virtual copies of the exams. "You're not dreaming. Not unless AI can dream as well. They really scored that terribly."

The teacher stared at the test scores. "At least…Hifumi passed."

"Indeed Sensei. At least Hifumi passed." the AI admitted. "But who scores a 2 on an exam? That Hanako girl is super suspicious, Sensei! She is clearly messing with us! She literally got every question correct and then she added two extra steps so that all the answers were sixty nine! How do you get sixty nine from classical literature and ancient scriptures!?"

Sensei found it mildly amusing to watch the little AI storm around the virtual classroom, seething and raging at the test results. He sighed. They really needed to do something about those test scores though. "Arona, can you draw up the errors from Koharu, Azusa, and Hifumi? Even if we can't help Hanako right now, we can at least focus our efforts on helping the other three."

After a minute, Arona took a deep breath and nodded, "Of course Sensei. I'll begin providing you solutions and practice problems you can use."

As the AI began creating solution booklets, Sensei leaned back on his office chair. Hopefully they could improve their grade soon enough so that they would pass the first exam. Then he could be free to return to SRT and meet the new recruits. According to Yukino, they were full of potential, albeit a bit quirky and green around the ears.

He'd really enjoy putting them through the wringer. They would be cursing his name by the end of the first week as he tore them down, piece by piece. Then he would put them back together, smarter, stronger, and with all the pride that came with being an SRT member.

He couldn't wait to get done with this club and get back. All he needed to do was ensure that they all passed. Couldn't be that hard, could it?

Sensei stared at the official exam results, his face turning pale. "What in all of the oasis of Abydos happened?"

Hifumi winced as she looked over the results. "Ah haha…I…don't know what happened."

The teacher groaned, his gaze lowering as he fell back on his chair. "So…another week of studying for the second try?"

The tawny haired girl tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean, Sensei? We're now doing a bootcamp. We're all going to live at a special site that the Tea Party set up for us for intensive studying."

Sensei raised his brow. "What? We are? Says who?"

"Says the instructions?" Hifumi responded in confusion. "Didn't you read the contract?"

"Err…I just thought I was helping you all study. Hold on." He picked up his tablet. "Arona, did you know anything about this?"

His vision returned to the virtual classroom to find a very upset Arona staring at him.

The teacher gulped audibly. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Yes, Sensei." Arona's eyes narrowed. "You are in a lot of trouble. Don't you know you need to read a contract completely before signing it?"

"I…normally just leave that to Yui…and then Haru took over when she was in middle school."

The AI sighed as she pulled up a virtual copy of the contract. "Right here, it states that all students have three tries to pass the exam. If even one student fails to pass the first exam, all students will attend a bootcamp for a week to study for the second exam. If even one student cannot pass the second one, you move onto the third exam. If even one student cannot pass the third exam, all students are expelled."

The teacher nodded before freezing. "Wait, expelled? Not like, put on academic probation or something?"

Arona nodded, "Exactly, Sensei. I tried to bring it to your attention before but you were so focused on the SRT training that you ignored me."

Sensei sheepishly scratched his head. "Ahh…sorry?"

"Regardless, Sensei." Arona groaned, "The point is that this contract is literally built to fail students. Why should a student's pass or fail be dependent on the rest of the class's success? That makes no sense! I have literal terabytes of processing power and even I couldn't generate a theory as to why this club operates like this unless-"

"-the Tea Party has no intentions on letting any of the students return to Trinity…" The teacher realized, his face growing pale with visible horror. "What the…not even Abydos had this cruel of a punishment. Students who failed courses would simply have to retake them until they passed. They would be removed from their respective clubs until they could restore their grades."

"Exactly Sensei." Arona agreed, "I believe that is the normal method of most academies. So something is clearly up with the Tea Party."

"Right, so I gotta arrange a meeting with the Tea Party." Sensei closed and opened his eyes, back with his students. "Sorry about that. Just had to do some thinking."

He turned to Hifumi. "Hifumi, can you organize the move to the training bootcamp building? I gotta arrange a meeting with the Tea Party. I trust you can handle that?"

The tawny girl nodded, "Of course, Sensei."

"Thanks Hifumi. This shouldn't take longer."

Tea Party Headquarters

"Greetings, Sensei." Nagisa sat comfortably in her chair as she put down her teacup. "I must admit, I was a bit surprised at your request for a sudden meeting. Please, take a seat. Would you like some tea? I'm afraid all I have is cakerolls currently-"

"-Sorry for the sudden request." The teacher remained standing, "But I recently reexamined the teaching contract you gave me and wanted to go over a certain part of it with you."

The Tea Party host raised her brow, "Oh, do pray tell."

"What's this about a student's passing being dependent on the passing of all students in the class? Shouldn't they be evaluated upon their own personal merit and scores?"

Nagisa raised her brow, "Ahh, that part." She began to speak but the teacher wasn't finished.

"Also why is the punishment for failing three exams expulsion?" Sensei continued, "I understand removing students from clubs and other benefits until their grades improve, but expulsion? That's a bit far, don't you think?"

"Sensei, I can-"

"Even back in Abydos, when we had students with struggling grades, they would be given probation, removal from clubs, and even delays in graduation in order to pass the necessary classes, but actual expulsion? That's a punishment that I would associate with felony, crime, and halo destruction-"

"-SENSEI MAY I SPEAK?!" Nagisa interjected loudly.

The teacher froze as he stopped his ramble. "Ahh, sorry. I guess I got caught in the moment."

The Tea Party host took a deep breath. "No, I'm sorry. That wasn't like me."

She picked up her tea cup and rather uncharacteristically gulped the entire thing. "Haa, that's better. Then if you'd be willing to take a seat, then I can explain to you…the true purpose of the Make Up Work Club."

A few minutes later, the teacher and host were seated at the elegant table. Sensei sipped his freshly poured tea (he tactfully refrained from pouring from his coffee canteen) as he waited for the Tea Party host to begin.

"Now then," Nagisa finished another cup of tea, "As you might be aware, the Make Up Work club is not your normal grade improvement institute. In fact, it actually serves to do the opposite."

"You mean the purpose is to fl-"

"That's correct, Sensei. The true purpose of the club is to expel students."

The teacher narrowed his brow. "That's going a bit far just because they didn't do well on tests."

"Under most circumstances, I would agree with you. The process to expel students is a long and arduous process with a great many second chances given to turn around problematic behavior." The host agreed before placing her tea cup on her plate rather roughly, causing it to clink loudly. "However, these are not most circumstances."

"Explain."

"As I'm sure you're aware, Sensei, we are in the middle of one of the most tense moments in Trinity history. Do you know why?"

The teacher frowned for a moment before a lightbulb lit in his mind. "The Eden Treaty."

"Ahh, you're aware of the Treaty then." Nagisa nodded amusedly before putting her hands together. "What if I told you that there's been significant levels of interference and sabotage against the Treaty's signing?"

Nagisa expected many different reactions: a bit of surprise, shock, and maybe confusion. She didn't expect the teacher's aura to radiate darkly as his eyes shrunk and his brows narrowed significantly. "Someone…is trying to sabotage the Eden Treaty?"

The host shivered as his cold aura blew past her. "Ahh…yes. There's been clear signs of sabotage and pushback in Trinity."

"I see…please elaborate. Who's trying to mess with the Eden Treaty?"

Nagisa's eyes wandered away, desperately trying to avoid meeting his cold gaze. "Well…I supposed the biggest offender was the assassination of Tea Party member Seia."

"An assassination of a Tea Party member? That's rather big news." Sensei's brow raised. "How?"

"We…don't really know how. All we know is that there was an explosion in her residence and the Remedial Knights who arrived on the scene said she didn't make it."

"I see. So I should investigate with Serina. She's a Remedial Knight, right?"

"I mean we already investigated the matter with them. There's no need-"

The teacher's cold lavender eyes narrowed in. "-Nagisa. Please listen carefully to me."

Nagisa gulped audibly. "Yes?"

"Do you know who I am?"

A single question with a simple answer, yet Nagisa had a feeling that all the answers she could give would be wrong. She tactfully remained silent.

"I am the Sensei of Schale. Before that I was the teacher for SRT. Even before that, I was a teacher at Abydos High School. And before that, I served as a squad leader of the Abydos Expeditionary Force's Blackhawk Squad. But most importantly, I am a father. Do you know who my daughter is? You've met her on more than one occasion."

Nagisa's mind ran at breakneck pace, trying to put together all the puzzle pieces. Sensei was from Abydos? That was definitely news, but that explained his involvement in the Abydos district. Sensei was a teacher for SRT? She had received intelligence indicating his connection to the mysterious extrajudicial force, so that wasn't entirely surprising. But Sensei being a father, and she had met his daughter before? Who could that be? She narrowed in on his features. His strong jawline, lavender eyes, and royal blue hair…wait…blue hair?

She gasped. "You're President Ao Haru's father?"

The father nodded, "That's correct. And you remember who initiated the first peace talks for the Eden Treaty, don't you?"

"The General Student Council President…your daughter."

"That's correct." Sensei narrowed his eyes, "The Eden Treaty was going to be my daughter's greatest achievement, her Summa Cum Laude, to borrow your language. And I'm going to make sure that the Treaty is signed. Any obstacles to the Eden Treaty being signed is my problem too. Are we clear?"

"C-crystal." Nagisa nervously agreed.

"Right then," The teacher smiled softly. "So you were telling me about how these interferences are related to the Make Up Work Club."

"-yes. As I was saying…"

Sensei stormed out of the Tea Party Headquarters, his face a storm of emotions. His army boots smashed into the pavement with a heavy thud as he walked. All around him, students cowered and moved out of his way.

Arona watched the teacher and winced. "Sensei, are you okay? Do you wanna talk about it?"

When she didn't get a response, she sighed. She really needed his attention, to calm him down so he didn't scare every student in Trinity with his storm of rage and fury. "Sensei, I know you're upset, but storming down the street isn't going to help. You need to calm down and look at the facts clearly."

"Oh I am thinking clearly." The teacher finally responded. "I'm thinking just fine. I know that someone is trying to trample on Haru's legacy and I'llbe damned if I let that happen."

"But is the Make Up Work Club really the perpetrators? Even if one of them really is the traitor, are you really willing to let an entire group of students be expelled over this?"

"Don't really care at this point. They can be someone else's problem. All that matters is the Eden Treaty."

Arona's face turned to that of anguish. "Are you listening to yourself? You're just about to let Tea Party Host Nagisa abuse your authority to kick out students just off of a random whim. Just because she mentioned the Eden Treaty? Is that really you?"

"So what if it isn't?" Sensei shot back, "I don't really care at this point. I'll do anything to make sure that the Treaty is signed."

Arona groaned as she tried to figure out a way to talk down the furious teacher. Then a thought struck her. "Actually Sensei, did you remember to call in about SRT? You're going to miss their training."

"I won't miss their training if I expel all the Make Up Work Club right here and now."

"Are you really going to do that? Even if it means expelling Hifumi?"

"Yes." The teacher snorted, "I'll expel everyone, including Hi-Hifumi."

There was a stutter. Arona saw it. She knew he was conflicted. She decided to push further. "How would Hifumi look at you if she saw you, her hero and fellow Peroro fan, betray her by kicking her out of Trinity? What about Azusa, who you just convinced to try passing her tests even if it was hard? How would she feel if you just pulled the rug out from under her? How would Koharu feel? Koharu put her hopes and dreams into serving in the JTF. She wants to prove herself as an elite."

"I…I would…I would expel…" Sensei stammered, a tear welling up in his eyes. "I would…" His gaze met the ground as his shoulders slumped. He found a bench to sit down on before putting his head into his hands. "I…I.."

Arona finally had the upper hand. It was time to deliver the final blow. "Haru may have fought for the Eden Treaty, but she specifically asked you to be the Sensei of Schale, to be the teacher and counselor to the students of Kivotos. Didn't you swear to uphold and carry on the dreams of the students? What happened to that vow?"

"I…" Tears fell down the teacher's eyes. "I…what am I doing Arona?"

The AI smiled sadly. "You're feeling grief, Sensei. You're sad and you miss your daughter. And no one is blaming you for that. But you also swore to be the Sensei to all these students and you can't uphold that vow if you carelessly throw them out on a whim."

"How can I do that when they're literally trying to destroy Haru's legacy?"

Arona shook her head. "I don't know Sensei. I'm just your AI assistant. But I do know that expelling them is not the answer. Alright, Sensei? We'll find another way."

The teacher took and released a deep breath. "You know, Arona. I don't know where I would be without you. If I didn't know, I would have thought I was talking to Haru again."

He chuckled, "It's like you're my granddaughter of sorts."

Arona giggled, "Would you like me to call you Gramps?"

The teacher shuddered, "Please don't. I'm old, but I'm not that old."

The two shared a laugh. "You're smiling, Sensei."

"Of course I am." Sensei grinned, "You always know how to make me smile." He took a deep breath. "Well then, if I'm not going to expel the Make up Work club, then I gotta figure out what the next step is."

"You gotta help the club through the Bootcamp." Arona observed. "They all need to pass their exams, in order to not be expelled."

"Right." The teacher agreed, "And while we're at it, I'll keep digging around their backgrounds. Even if they aren't traitors, Nagisa seemed to think they were suspicious for one reason or another."

The two pondered the thought. "Maybe we need another perspective, Arona." Sensei suggested. "We only got Nagisa's side of the story. Perhaps we need to hear from-"

"Tea Party member Mika." Arona concluded. "You're right. She might know more about this than what Nagisa told us."

"Agreed." The teacher stood up. "Now then, let's get-"

"Umm…excuse me?"

Sensei looked up to find a tall girl standing before her, wearing a nun's outfit. "Yes, can I help you?"

The dark haired nun nodded, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but hear you talking to your tablet about the Make Up Work Club. Is that correct?"

Sensei slowly nodded in acknowledgement. "That's correct. Is there someone you're looking for Miss-"

"Ahh right," The nun stuttered in surprise, "I completely forgot to introduce myself."

She pulled off her best bow, albeit a bit clumsily. "I am a member of the Sisterhood. My name is Wakaba Hinata."

"Wakaba…Hinata?" Ao Hinata raised his brow in surprise.