Trinity/Gehenna District Boundary

Sorasaki Hina measured the blue haired man wearing a bullet vest over a white coat and pants. He had a well kept blue beard over his sharp jaw and pale blue eyes.

She had heard a great many things about this teacher and when she had heard that the Sensei was in Trinity, she had jumped at the opportunity to meet the man.

The man evaluated the girl's presence, her intense eyes and impressive presence before finally speaking. "Hello Hina. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I feel like we always seem to miss each other."

"Indeed," The Head Prefect gestured to her officers. "Now then, while the others handle the transfer, why don't we have a nice chat?"

The teacher turned to his escorts, a trio of JTF members and a certain Uzawa Reisa. "Can I leave this to you?"

"Of course, Sensei!" Reisa gave her best salute. "Suzumi entrusted this task to me. I swear I wouldn't let her down!"

"Thanks Reisa." The teacher gave the girl a good head rubbing before turning to join the white haired Gehenna Prefect.

The white haired girl sat on the stately bridge railing and gestured for him to join her. "Tell me Sensei, who are you?"

Sensei raised his brow. "Yes?"

"I hear a great many things about you. You're the one who saved Abydos, you found the drone menace in the Millennium Ruins, you uncovered a scandal in Hyakkiyako, and many more things. I've also heard terrible things about you. You cleared out Hyakkiyako's delinquents, stormed the Black Market, associated with a masked gang, and attacked business corporations." Hina looked out at the night sky, "On top of that, you have the Special Response Force at your beck and call, a special judicial unit that until recently was reserved only for the General Student Council President to lead.

She continued, "Makoto is absolutely convinced that you're a menace to Kivotos and a danger to Gehenna. My secretary doesn't show it often, but I'm convinced that she is absolutely terrified of you and wants to keep us as far away from you."

Sensei nodded, "And what do you think?"

Hina turned to the teacher. "I think you're someone who will do what it takes to get the job done. You're someone who cares for his students and wants to see that they lead happy and fulfilled lives. And yet you are also someone of terrible wrath, who will steamroll and destroy someone if it reaches that point. You're like…

She smiled. "You're like a father."

The father nodded, "Then I guess I did my job right."

Hina sighed. "So it's true. You're a father."

"That I am. I am the husband of the most breathtaking woman in the universe, who shines brighter than all the stars in the sky, and I am the father to the most brilliant daughter Kivotos has ever seen, whose wisdom and elegance far surpasses all mortals."

The white haired girl gave the parent a look. "Sensei, if I was your daughter, I would be cringing so hard right now."

"Then you'd be glad I'm not your father. Because if I was, you'd be bombarded by my praises from morning till sundown."

The two shared an amused chuckle as they turned back to watch the city lights flicker. "So then Sensei, what leads you to Trinity of all places? I would have assumed that you would be with your students in SRT or in Abydos?"

"Well that's a funny story." The teacher explained as he gave a brief summary of his recent adventures.

Hina narrowed her eyes, "I see. So even Trinity is divided concerning the Eden Treaty."

"What about Gehenna?"

"The Prefect Team is split on the Treaty as well. Some are concerned about whether or not Trinity would actually honor the terms. Others feel that the Treaty is too limiting on our authority." The white haired leader commented, "I am fully in support of the Treaty. To me, the Treaty is a military alliance and an end to Gehenna's external problems with Trinity. If it passes, the Prefect Team can focus solely on internal matters and will have major support and back up if we ever have to chase students into Trinity. That will split my job in two, allowing me to delegate more responsibilities between a domestic and international peacekeeping force.

Hina looked out at the waters, "And then maybe, just maybe…I can finally retire."

Sensei looked the white haired girl over carefully. He noticed her droopy wings and the intense rings under her purple eyes, carefully covered by make up. He never would have noticed if he hadn't seen the same in his wife and daughter before. "You really need a break, don't you?"

"I would love a break, Sensei." Hina agreed, "But things are so chaotic in Gehenna that I feel like I can never properly rest or retire. Ako tries her best, but she lacks the charisma and power that I have. As of now, Ako can never truly take over the position of Head Prefect.

"But if the Treaty is signed, then Ako would only have to take care of internal or international affairs, one or the other. I'll train up Chinatsu to handle whatever Ako doesn't and the two of them can work together to fill the seat I left. Irori is rough around the edges, but she can rise to the challenge of chief enforcer. I've got my eyes on a few others who I would love to nurture and turn into her subordinates. Then I can walk away from this all and return to being just a normal student."

She looked at the teacher. "What do you think, Sensei? Sounds rather selfish of me, doesn't it?"

She was rather surprised to find a firm hand take her shoulder and press her against his tall sturdy frame. "I don't think that's selfish at all. You are acknowledging the way of the world and doing your part to make sure that the transfer of power is clean."

Sensei nodded, "I used to teach in Abydos. I spent fifteen years teaching students how to shoot, fight, and conduct a military operation. I too dreamed of retirement, where I could lift my legs up on the couch and watch the desert sun set. Or maybe I would move to the D.U and babysit my future grandkids, spoiling them rotten while their mothers scolded me for being too soft on them. Is that selfish of me?"

Hina shook her head. "No, I think that sounds wonderful."

"Exactly. So who is the more selfish one? The Head Prefect of Gehenna wanting to have a normal student life or the Schale Sensei wanting to sit back and watch his grandkids?"

"I…I see…" The white haired girl responded, her mind full of thoughts. "Thank you, Sensei. I appreciated our discussion."

"It is my pleasure." Sensei responded, "If you ever want to talk again, feel free to 'hit me up', I think that's what it's called. My number is publicly available and I'll tell Arona get you past my automated screening."

"Well then, I think that it's been long enough." Hina stood up, brushing the dust off her uniform. The two walked towards the boundary before the Sensei remembered.

"Oh right, tell Ako that I said hi."

Hina paused. "Ako?"

"Amau Ako, right?" The teacher raised his brow, "She's your assistant right?"

"Yes…wait…you said you were a teacher at Abydos…" Hina frowned as she put together the pieces. "And Ako is from Abydos…"

Then her hand met her forehead. "So that's why Ako was hiding. You taught her in Abydos."

"I actually didn't do much." Sensei shrugged, "But I did teach her how to handle herself in CQC. Otogi and Niko did the rest."

"I see…" Hina muttered, "Any messages you want me to pass along?"

Sensei smiled, "Just tell her that I am proud of her and Niko and Otogi are proud too. We've been keeping an eye on all of the former Abydos students and all I can say is that we're very proud of how they turned out."

"Thanks Sensei. I'll let her know." the Prefect nodded, "I'll let the other Abydos members in Gehenna know as well."

"Please do."

Together, the two of them returned to the checkpoint, walking in comfortable silence.

Undisclosed location, Trinity District

Kayoko grunted as she struggled against the binds holding her down. She needed to find a way out of here and report back to Ako.

Thankfully, she had prepared for such an occasion. Pushing her shoes against her binds, the ex Abydos agent used her hands to peel off the sole of her shoe, allowing for an Exacto blade to fall out. With careful handwork, Kayoko slowly began to cut away at the strands binding her hands, her eyes darting to and from, waiting for someone to come in and check on her.

To her surprise, no such guards came and within five minutes, her hands were free. Slowly, Kayoko got to her feet, her blade held in one hand, ready to gouge out any faces that she came into contact with. With catlike agility, the white haired agent snuck her way to the door and pressed her ear against it.

She heard two distinctive voices come from the other side.

"Any idea why we're keeping her away from the others?"

"Apparently one of the Squad members wants to interrogate the leader personally."

Kayoko inhaled sharply. Whoever had gotten her was bringing in an interrogator. This wasn't going to be fun.

"Damn, any idea who?"

"My guess is Saori. But it might be Misaki."

"Saori might scare her too much. Misaki is my guess."

"Isn't that a good thing? Misaki might just complain and call it suffering."

"We want her to talk, not faint from sheer intimidation."

"I wouldn't get intimidated. Actually, I think it'd be kinda hot. Have you seen that stomach of hers? Super toned, I tell you. She could probably grate cheese on those abs."

"Careful. Last I heard, Hime pretty much staked her claim on her."

"You're not disagreeing with me."

"I never said I was. Speaking of which, what about the others?"

"Orders are to hold 'em downstairs until the interrogation is complete. Then we'll get a better idea of what to do with these Gehenna students."

The white haired agent smirked. Now she knew where the others were. All she needed to do was break past the two guards, find a firearm and take them out quickly. Then she could focus on breaking out the rest of her team and making a getaway.

Slowly, she pushed open the door enough to peek through the crack. Across the room, she saw two girls casually standing on the opposite side of the room. On one side, she saw a pair of assault rifles. On the other, a handgun and a pair of unidentifiable grenades lay on the table.

Best go with the handgun. Kayoko knelt down, envisioning her route and preparing her plan of attack. Otogi might have been a psychopath and Niko a sadist, but the training they drilled into her was paying off. Starting from three, the white haired agent counted down.

"Three…two…one…go!"

Like a bullet, she shot out the door, making a dash for the table. The two guards didn't even react to her until she was halfway to the table.

"Hey, the prisoner's escaped!"

"Stop her!"

Kayoko was already at the table by the time the two girls had time to raise their own weapons: an SMG and an assault rifle. She grabbed the pistol and grenades, diving under the table as the first bullets whizzed past her. Realizing it was a SIG handgun, she checked the magazine and checked to see if it was full. Then she checked the grenades and was happy to find a pair of flash grenades.

She listened to the bullets whizz past her and tried to approximate the location of her shooters. Then Kayoko pulled the clip of the flashbang and counted to three.

"Foxtrot!"

"Flash grenade!"

The Problem Solver dashed forward, aiming her pistol in the direction of where she hoped the shooters were. She was atop the first guard in an instant, catching her by surprise. Two shots and the guard went down. The other one spun around, trying to get her assault rifle locked on only to receive a sharp kick from Kayoko, knocking her weapon aside. Another pair of shots sent the other guard to the floor.

Kayoko took a moment to admire her handiwork, but knew that she had to keep moving. The firefight had to alert everyone in the building and she needed to keep the element of surprise on her side. Running over to the assault rifles, the agent frowned before selecting the SIGM400.

She picked it up and dashed towards the door, opening it just in time to crash into another girl. This girl was different from the others, wearing a crop top with a white trench coat. Kayoko didn't even hesitate, trying to butt her rifle stock against the girl. To her shock, the girl didn't even try to block, instead taking the blow head on and slamming her head into Kayoko's.

The Gehenna student stumbled backwards, her head reeling in pain, only for a powerful knee to strike her in the stomach, sending her to the floor. Coughing, Kayoko tried to get up only to find a rifle barrel placed to her head. "Stay down."

Slowly, Kayoko nodded. "Staying down."

"Good." The trench coat wearing girl then opened the door, allowing a trio of guards to rush in. "You were late. Tend to the wounded. I'll deal with the prisoner."

"Sorry Squad Leader." The first guard gestured to her companions. "Help the injured."

"Roger that!"

The leader turned back to her prisoner. "Now then, it's time you start answering some questions."

"I won't tell you anything." Kayoko shot back.

"I figured as much." the dark haired girl nodded. "You're like us. Trained as assassins and saboteurs. I'm betting that you're trained to resist torture and psychological attacks as well. Which is why I won't even bother. Instead, we'll go over what I already know about you.

The Squad Leader pulled up a sheet of paper. "You're Okinata Kayoko. A third year student from Gehenna and a member of a mercenary group called Problem Solver 68.

"You accepted a mysterious contract to observe and record information concerning the Schale Sensei." She continued to read. "However, you are the only person who knows the client and what they want. Is that right?"

"That would be putting it nicely." Kayoko shot back. "It was a rather anonymous contract. Orders and cash payments were distributed via dead drops. I have no clue who the client is."

"That's rather odd, even for someone of your standards. Wouldn't you think?"

The white haired girl scoffed. "I'm a mercenary. A fixer. A Problem Solver. I don't make it a habit of asking too many questions as long as the money comes through."

"Is that so?" The leader frowned as she walked past the prisoner. "That's not what your friends said. They said, and I quote: "We aren't so low as to accept money from just anyone. We're Problem Solver 68! Outlaws such as us have standards to maintain. Sure we don't know who hired us, but my subordinates are trustworthy individuals and I have absolute faith in her choice". So much for 'not asking too many questions'."

Kayoko wanted to kill Aru. "Fine. So maybe I know a thing or two about the client. But you're not going to…"

The leader paused to turn at the prisoner's gaze, locked onto her arm band with a rather uncommon insignia that very few were privileged to know about. "Hmm…"

The white haired girl's eyes widened in visible panic and disbelief. Her voice went hoarse as she could only manage to croak a single word.

"…Arius…"

Everyone turned to stare at the white haired prisoner in surprise. The leader raised her brow. "Oh my, and how pray tell, do you know about Arius?"

"Like I'd ever tell you." Internally, Kayoko's mind was racing. Of course she knew of the infamous lost academy. She had heard the stories growing up and one of her friends was a descendant! But weren't they supposed to be deep underground, in a district that was impossible to reach? Why were there Arius students in Kivotos? Unless…

"No…no, no no no…" She muttered aloud, realizing what was going on. "You're…you're going to take over Trinity?"

The dark haired girl's eyes narrowed. "What do you know? Someone's been a little too observant for their own good."

"You think the operation is compromised?" One of the guards asked.

The leader frowned, "I'm not sure. We won't know until we know who hired these Gehenna students. They were hired to track the Schale Sensei. And since he's at Trinity, that could become…problematic."

The guards shuddered and glanced around nervously. "So then…what do we do?"

"Absolutely nothing." A new voice responded.

The group turned around to see a new girl enter the room. "We do absolutely nothing. Sensei is currently unaware of our presence. And as long as he thinks that he has the situation under his control, he'll keep trusting those around him."

Kayoko's eyes widened. "Wait…I know you…"

The girl smiled. "That's right. You do know me. Which is unfortunately why I can't release you right now. You know far too much and we can't afford to take those chances."

The white haired girl found herself facing the barrel of a rifle. "But don't worry, in the end, all your struggles will be in vain."

As she fell to the ground, all Kayoko could think was "I need to warn Ako".

Make Up Work Club

The days after the late night engagement were relatively uneventful. Sensei focused his efforts into helping the students raise their grades. And he was happy to say that his efforts were finally starting to show fruit.

He stared at the four passed exams. "They did it, Arona. They actually did it!"

"We did it, Sensei!" Arona corrected. "We all worked together and now the Make Up Work Club is saved!"

"This calls for a celebration." The teacher smiled as he leaned back against his chair. "Maybe I'll…"

"Actually Sensei…" the AI interrupted. "You've got a message from the Tea Party. Miss Nagisa would like to meet with you."

Sensei frowned. "What could she want right now?"

"Perhaps she wants an update on the traitor situation?"

The teacher nodded, "That sounds about right. But we agreed that the traitor she's looking for is not in the Make Up Work Club. So how do we proceed from here?"

"Perhaps you need to confront her properly about this." Arona suggested.

"Perhaps I should." Sensei agreed. "Which means I may need some back up."

A few hours later, Nagisa found herself staring in disbelief at the pair before her. "Sensei, have the pleasure to know why she is here?"

Sensei chuckled as he gestured to his companion. "Miss Hanako here will be joining us. She has been serving as my advisor as of late. I assure you that she has been informed of the contents of our previous conversations."

Nagisa's brow twitched. "Sensei, I was under the impression that our conversations were highly confidential. Especially considering that the student in question is a suspect herself."

She looked up at the pink haired student beside the teacher. "I'm sorry that Sensei has gotten you involved in all of this but-"

"Nagisa," The teacher interrupted her. "Let me give you some advice. When you encounter a student as brilliant as Hanako here, you should be trying to recruit her, not trying to expel her."

"She flunked her tests, Sensei. She is by no means brilliant…"

"Have you ever talked to her in person before?"

The ash blonde winced as she looked up to the other student. "I…I don't believe we have…"

Sensei sighed, "Then I suggest you do so. Hanako here has been most helpful with my own investigation of the traitor to the Eden Treaty. She has a wealth of knowledge both concerning internal Tea Party politics and Sisterhood internal affairs. I've been completely overwhelmed by the degree of friends and contacts that she has within both groups that have been passing her information." The teacher gave Nagisa a knowing look. "Surely someone as politically minded as yourself knows not to leave such an asset unhindered."

The Tea Party host turned to Hanako. "Is he always this infuriating?"

"He's worse. He actually thinks he's funny." Hanako gave Nagisa an empathetic look.

Nagsia took a deep breath before letting it out. "Very well then. Miss Hanako, I would be honored to have you join us at the table."

"Oh sure, no problem Nagisa." Hanako gave a low chuckle, "It's not like you were trying to expel me this entire time."

The teacher winced. "ANYWAYS! The point is…I found your traitor."

The Tea Party host raised her brow. "...consider me surprised. Very well then, who is it?"

"First, you need to promise not to expel them immediately."

"So that's the catch." Nagisa narrowed her brow. "Explain your reasoning."

The teacher turned to Hanako and gave her a nod. "The word 'traitor' is a very lucrative term that has a lot of different meanings. We didn't find a simple and easy traitor in the form of someone who is actively trying to stop the Eden Treaty. What we found is someone who has been hiding their true identity. Which is very different from an actual traitor to the Eden Treaty." Hanako explained, "Hence why we need to ensure that you fully understand the details of the situation before you make any judgements."

The Tea Party host sighed as she furrowed her brow. "Ok…let's say I play your game here. I promise not to expel anyone immediately. Go on…"

"What do you know about Arius Satellite School?"

Nagisa raised a brow. "You mean that faction that splintered away from us centuries ago? I'm remotely aware of them but wasn't aware they were still active. Why?"

"Shirasu Azusa is a transfer student from Arius."

"I see…" Nagisa replied quietly. "I was not aware of that fact, much less that Arius is active these days."

"Exactly." Hanako added, "Azusa transferred here from Arius and hid her identity. However, the question you should ask isn't whether she's a traitor or not, but rather, who authorized her transfer?"

The Tea Party host stared at the table. "That's a fair assessment. I should investigate that. So that explains why Shirasu Azusa is a suspect. But there are three other suspects I had. Explain them to me."

"Hanako here has already improved her grades." Sensei pointed out, "I suggest you keep her close to you in the future. Someone with her level of insight and intelligence can be a very valuable asset to you."

"Sensei, can you not treat me like I'm some pawn in all of this?" Hanako raised her brow.

"It's better than being expelled, right?"

"Dealing with your mess, I'm not sure about that."

"Come on, it's not that bad."

"I think…" Nagisa interrupted them, "I've been convinced of Hanako's innocence. And as I stated before, Koharu's my leverage tool to keep Hasumi in line."

"So you've stated. Which means that you have no need to actually expel her. Just keep her close to you until the Eden Treaty has been resolved." Hanako pointed out.

"Fair enough. Which leaves only one suspect left."

"And that's the one I'm most confused about. "Hanako admitted, "Why are you suspicious of Hifumi of all people? She's so kind, innocent, and compassionate that she wouldn't hurt a fly.

The Tea Party host winced. "Well…that in itself lies the problem."

She looked at her cup of tea. "Hifumi is someone that I admire. Ever since I encountered her, I knew she was someone who had sincerity and kindness that was extremely rare, even in Trinity. She's special to me and I am proud to be one of her friends…but…

She looked back at the teacher. "Have you ever felt betrayed before, Sensei? When you found out that someone you thought you could trust actually turned out to be different?"

The teacher frowned but nodded, "Yes. I've been betrayed before. It's not a happy feeling."

"That's how I felt when I learned that Hifumi got herself involved with a criminal gang." She gave the teacher a look. "I know that she puts a paper bag over her head and calls herself…Faust, was it? And for some reason, I simply cannot fathom why. Why would Hifumi not just associate herself with criminals, but also call herself one of them? The only logical conclusion I could come up with was that she must be hiding a secret, darker side to her and her kind, compassionate self is simply a facade she places to fool people like myself into trusting her.

Nagisa gazed at the floor. "Can you see why I would feel betrayed like that? Why I feel like I couldn't trust her any longer?"

Sensei stared at the girl and groaned. "Have you…ever…considered asking her about it?"

"What?" The ash blonde girl asked in disbelief.

"Asking her about it. Going up to her and saying 'Hey Hifumi, I heard you joined a criminal gang. Can you tell me why you did it?'. It's not that hard."

"I…I…well…you see…"

Hanako groaned, "Wait, you never actually asked her to investigate whether the rumors were true?"

"How could I?" She protested. "I can't just go up to her and say 'Why do you put on a paper bag?"

"'Yes you can." Sensei groaned. "If you really consider yourself her friend, you should be able to confide in her and ask her exactly that. Trust me, if you went up to her and asked her, I'm sure she would explain everything. And then you would realize that the very reason why she put on that paper bag is because she is kind, compassionate, and sincere."

"You…you know why she did it?" Nagisa raised her brow.

"Yep. I was there when she put it on for the first time. But I won't tell you why she did it. You need to ask her that yourself."

The Tea Party member remained silent for a long moment before sighing. "Very well, I shall take your word on it. So then, what comes next?"

The teacher smiled. "I'm glad you asked. Now that we have cleared Koharu, Hanako, and Hifumi off our suspect list, all that remains is Azusa. Hanako and I plan to confront her tonight."

"Tonight?" Nagisa frowned, "Would it be possible if-"

"Going to stop you right there." Hanako interrupted. "I'm sorry Nagisa, but it would be best if you weren't in the room. Azusa might legitimately freak out and try to fight her way out. We need to make the situation as safe and comfortable for Azusa as possible."

"Can I…just listen in, then?" The Tea Party host inquired. "I…not listening is apparently how I got myself here. I would like to listen to this one."

The teacher exchanged glances with his student before nodding. "I'll make the arrangements."

"Also what about security? If Shirasu Azusa decides to flee, how do you intend on handling that?"

Sensei smirked. "I actually thought about that. And I've got just the right person in mind."

Sensei's office, Make Up Work Club building

Shirasu Azusa looked up in surprise to see a familiar white haired figure standing beside the teacher's door. "Aren't you Morizuki Suzumi?"

The Vigilante Crew leader smiled, "Good to see you still recognize me. Don't worry about me. Sensei asked if I could hang around for a bit. He's waiting for you inside."

The alarm bells went off in the silver haired girl's mind, but she nodded. "Noted."

Carefully, she knocked on the wooden door. "Shirasu Azusa, here as requested."

"Come on in."

Slowly opening the door, Azusa entered the small office to find the blue haired teacher casually seated at his desk alongside a familiar pink haired classmate standing beside him.

Sensei smiled warmly. "Welcome Azusa. Take a seat. We've got a lot to discuss."

"Yes Sensei." Azusa nervously took a seat across from the teacher.

"Don't worry. This isn't a discussion about your grades or anything." The teacher closed his hands together. "I just wanted to have a chat about something else."

"Something else, Sensei?"

"Yes." The teacher leaned back on his chair and spoke the words Azusa had been dreading to hear.

"Tell me, what do you know about Arius Satellite School?"