Make Up Club Building, Sensei's Office
Sensei slid the final ballistic plate into his bullet vest as he mentally went through his checklist. "Arona, have you sent the alert to Hasumi?"
"I have, Sensei. She hasn't responded yet, but I'll keep trying."
"Keep at it. How about Suzumi?"
"Already here, Sensei."
The teacher looked back to see the white haired vigilante enter the office, her SIG MCX slung under her shoulder. Sensei noted that her signature weapon was in its pistol configuration, with the shorter barrel likely better for up close engagements. "Thanks for responding so quickly."
"We were already on alert." Suzumi replied promptly. "I've got the crew gathered and awaiting orders."
The two exited the office and made their way to the gymnasium. "I don't like the looks of this Suzumi. I'll be relying on your girls heavily."
"Then feel free to put us to the test, Sensei. The girls and I will not let you down." The vigilante leader smirked.
"I'll take you up on your offer then." The teacher opened the doors to the gymnasium and looked around.
Standing at attention a dozen girls in gray uniforms stood at attention, a mixture of assault rifles, SMGs, shotguns, and a pair of LMGs slung over their backs. Their eyes were fixated on the wall before them and their expressions stoic.
On the other side stood the Make Up Work club. Azusa stood at similar attention, her silver hair glistening in the moonlight. Beside her, Koharu did her best to maintain a similar degree of rigidity, though she was fighting hard to stifle a yawn. Hifumi noticed the teacher enter and gave him a smile and wave. Hanako didn't even bother, her eyes fixated on the phone in front of her.
The teacher noticed and gave the pink haired girl a kind prod. "Hanako, it's time to start."
"One second, Sensei." The girl muttered as she finished typing out a message on her phone. "And done." She looked up and yawned. "Ready Sensei."
Sensei nodded and turned back to the group. "Sorry to wake up everyone like this, but the situation is dire. We have confirmed that Arius is making their move tonight. Their target is Tea Party Host Nagisa."
Hifumi gasped visibly at the mention of her friend.
"That's correct." Sensei continued, "We believe their objective is to seize control of the Tea Party and force a coup d'etat. Currently, we have sent warnings to the JTF and the Tea Party, but there's a likelihood that both groups may be compromised. That means that you are the primary line of defense against the incoming Arius raid."
Koharu gulped visibly as she felt a shiver go down her spine. "Sensei, it's just us?"
"That's correct." The teacher confirmed, "And Arius knows it too. Intel suggests they are aware of our presence here and will be prepared for us. It will not be an easy fight, even with all the training we've been doing this week."
He flashed Suzumi a smirk. "However, that's where the Vigilante crew comes in. With the JTF possibly being compromised, Arius will think that this raid will be a breeze. However, with Suzumi's vigilantes, we'll effectively quadruple our numbers and effective combat strength. And I intend on capitalizing on it."
He pointed to the Vigilante crew. "We'll have the Vigilante Crew evacuate Nagisa out of the campus while we draw the primary Arius force here. With the preparations Azusa has been making the past two weeks, the Make Up Club building has been turned into a fortress for us. Once the Arius troops are gathered here, Suzumi and her girls will attack them from behind, boxing them in from all sides. Any questions or comments?"
Azusa raised her hand. "What if the Arius Squad shows up? They're the biggest threat if they show up."
"We'll use the hallways here to force them into close quarters combat." Sensei explained, "With the narrow hallways, we'll be able to force them into a one versus three scenario, effectively allowing us to dogpile them. Hanako, anything else to add?"
Hanako was about to speak when she heard a beep coming from her cell. Glancing down, she smiled and gave a thumbs up. "I just secured us some back up. Give me a heads up and I'll call them in."
"Excellent work Hanako." Sensei smiled warmly, "Between your back up and the Vigilante Crew, we should be able to even the numbers on Arius. Girls, I know this is sudden and dangerous, but we've been preparing for this moment. Do your best and I'll be beside you the entire time."
""Yes Sensei!""
The teacher unslung his rifle. "Make Up Work Club, Vigilante Crew, move out!"
Tea Party Safehouse
Knock Knock!
"Come in!"
The doors swung open to reveal a trio of assault rifle barrels peering in.
"Clear?" Came a low voice.
Nagisa jerked up from her seat. "Umm…clear."
"We're clear. Coming in."
A trio of people carefully moved into the room, their rifles raised. Leading them was a tall blue haired man. "All clear. Stand down."
Beside him, Nagisa recognized Shirasu Azusa and Morizuki Suzumi. "Sensei, what's going on?"
"Not a lot of time to explain Nagisa." The teacher lowered his rifle and anxiously looked around. "We just got intel that Arius is moving tonight."
"Tonight?"
Azusa nodded, "They're after your halo, Nagisa."
The Tea Party host's eyes widened as she took a step back. She took a moment to recompose herself. "So I'm next after all. What's the plan?"
"We're evacuating you off campus." The teacher explained. "Suzumi and her girls have a hideout off campus for you to hide in while we repel the attack. Do you have any belongings you need to bring?"
"Just a few identification documents." Nagisa held up her bag. "Give me a moment and I'll be ready to move."
Coming behind the teacher, Nagisa was surprised to see Hifumi running up to her. "I'll help you."
Sensei nodded, "Suzumi, once they're done, you can begin your evacuation. We can't have your girls on campus when the attack comes, or they'll get suspicious. Hifumi, once you finish, you and Azusa rejoin me in the club building."
"Yes, Sensei." Suzumi nodded and began issuing orders to her crew.
As the teacher left, Hifumi began to help the Tea Party host. Nagisa raised her brow. "Why are you helping me? This isn't your fight. You're not a soldier or a vigilante."
"But Nagisa, my friends are being threatened and I cannot stand by and just watch. And you're my best friend Nagisa, so of course I'm going to help." The girl gave a warm smile.
"Hifumi…"
There was an abrupt grunt from behind. The two turned around to see an uncomfortable Azusa standing behind them. "We need to get moving. Please hurry up."
Nagisa noticed the girl's gaze at the tawny haired girl. "Oh my…I see. Let me get my stuff."
"And just to be clear. Hifumi may not be a soldier, but she's plenty capable. Capable enough to shoot people in the face."
"IT WAS JUST ONE TIME!"
"ONE TIME TOO MANY!"
Suzumi watched the two bicker before smiling. She turned to her subordinate, "Begin the operation."
When Hifumi and Azusa returned, they found the entire building had been transformed, with windows boarded up and barbed wire across the field. They noticed the teacher standing before the building as he gave orders to a pair of Vigilante Crew members. "Alright, this should suffice. You girls are good to evacuate!"
"Yes Sensei!"
As the two girls left, Sensei turned back to Hifumi and Azusa. "Ah there you are. Just in time. We've spotted the first Arius scouts entering campus."
He raised his brow, "Did you set the trap?"
Azusa nodded, "Yes Sensei. The hideout is rigged as requested."
Abandoned Safehouse
The once pristine wooden doors blew off their hinges as a pair of smoke grenades flew into the room. Smoke filled the room as four white uniformed girls carefully entered, their rifles raised.
Behind her gas mask, the leader frowned at the sight of the empty chair and pilfered room. "Hyena squad reporting in. The target is gone. I repeat, the target is gone."
The other squad members began to search around, kicking furniture and other items around. "Looks like there was a scuffle." Hyena 2 observed.
"So she was taken by someone else…" Hyena leader agreed, raising her radio, "Hyena leader reporting in. Evidence points to the target being moved elsewhere. The mission is compromised."
"Then that means that Azusa betrayed us." Hyena 4 frowned. "The Instructor will not be happy."
"She would never do something like that." Hyena 2 protested. "Azusa is one of the Instructor's favorites short of the Arius Squad themselves. Why would she betray us?"
"Clam it Hyena 2." The leader retorted. "We'll report it back in and ensure that she pays for her betrayal."
She noticed the last girl staring at the debris. "Hyena 3, what did you find?"
Hyena 3 held up a small cable. "Isn't this a detonation fuse connected to a motion tracker?"
The squad leader's eyes widened as she turned towards the door. "Get out, it's a tra-"
BOOM!
Koharu peered through her binoculars, carefully ensuring that she didn't allow the lenses to glisten in the night. "The safehouse just blew up."
"Roger that. By now they should realize their plan is compromised. Once that happens, they should make their way here. Keep me informed."
"Understood, Sensei." Koharu fought off a yawn. It was nearly midnight and she was beginning to feel the wear on her body.
"Koharu…it's time I give you your next tool for the job."
The girl jerked up, "A new tool?"
"That's right. Did you take the jar I gave you?"
"Yes…" Koharu frowned.
"Open it up."
Slowly opening the jar, the JTF member winced when she saw what was inside. "Instant coffee powder? But I don't have any hot water to boil it in."
Not to mention she hated the bitterness of the drink. But that would make her look childish, so she didn't mention that part.
"That's right." The teacher's voice replied matter of factly. "Now take a good handful of the powder and spread it over your gums."
"What?"
"You heard me. Take the coffee powder and spread it over your gums. It's going to taste awful and you're going to hate me for months, but you'll stay awake all night."
Wincing, the girl nodded, "Ok then Sensei."
Grabbing a handful, Koharu braced herself before placing her hand in her mouth and spreading the powder over her gums. The powder almost caused her to gag as the bitterness spread throughout her mouth. But at the same time, a rush of energy spread over her body as her mind jolted into overtime. "I hate you, Sensei. I hate how this works."
"And that's why I teach it to every sniper in the trade."
Bitterly lamenting her ruined gums, the sniper resumed her search. Ten minutes later, she noticed a collection of white uniformed students gathering in the courtyard before the building. "Sensei, they're here. About thirty of them."
"Good, because we're ready for them."
"Here they come!" The teacher called over his radio, training his FAMAS on the incoming Arius students. He counted to three before pulling the trigger, sending a three round burst into the first student. The first attacker dropped to the ground instantly.
The rest of the attackers immediately responded, pulling back to desperately find cover, of which there was little and few in between. "Koharu, start picking them off. Go for anyone with something bigger than an assault rifle."
"Roger that Sensei."
Above, he heard the loud crack of the JTF's Enfield rifle. Smiling, he resumed his own barrage, carefully picking off targets that got too close.
On the other side of the entrance, Azusa and Hifumi joined the fight, the sounds of Azusa's precision fire and Hifumi's full auto fire pinning down attackers.
Arius however was by no means incompetent as Sensei would find out.
"Sensei, they're setting up mortars on the far side!"
The teacher winced as he noticed another set of students throwing smoke grenades forward. "Noted. Azusa, Hifumi, fall back to the second line. They're about to shell us. Koharu, retreat to the gymnasium and set up your nest."
""Yes Sensei!""
The smoke grenades began to billow smoke in front of the Make Up Work club's positions, blocking their line of sight. Sensei lowered his rifle, slung it over his shoulder and ran back towards the next line of defense. Literal moments after he did, the first mortar rounds struck the front of the building, sending brick, splinters, and debris flying.
He had to hand it to the Arius students, they were well trained. Really well trained. They might as well have been taking plans right out of his own playbook.
He just hoped that Azusa and Hifumi would survive the Arius onslaught.
"Get down Hifumi!"
Azusa tackled the tawny haired girl to the ground as the mortars struck the walls behind them. She winced as she felt splinters of wood and drywall strike her back, but nothing penetrated her uniform thankfully.
She carefully rolled off Hifumi and looked her in the eye. "Are you alright?"
Clearly shaken, Hifumi nodded. "I-I think I'm alright."
"We need to keep moving." The silver haired girl held out her hand. "Arius is probably already moving in."
Without hesitation, Hifumi accepted the girl's hand and found herself pulled to her feet and dragged down the hallway. As she followed after the ex Arius student, Hifumi found herself admiring the calm but determined grip that held her hand. "You are so cool, Azusa."
The silver haired girl didn't respond, instead pulling her behind a door. The tawny haired girl's eyes widened as she found herself pinned by Azusa, their faces literal inches from each other. "Hifumi, are you alright?"
A faint blush crept up her cheeks. "Y-yes."
"Fine enough to give me cover fire?"
Gosh, she could feel Azusa's panting against her nose. "Yeah…"
"Good, I'm going to set up an ambush. When I give you the order, send covering fire down the hall, alright?"
The girl nodded slowly. "Yeah…"
"Right then. I'll be back." With that, Hifumi found herself alone in the hallway, the silver haired soldier no longer inches from her face. Her face completely beet red, the tawny haired girl put her hands to her cheeks and stood there confused. She loved Peroro, yet Peroro never made her feel like this. So why was she…? And then everything made sense.
"So...Girls…huh?"
(A/N: Hifumi, Arius is at your doorstep and is threatening to kill your friends. Now is not the time for a gay awakening)
Time felt fuzzy to the girl as she tried to get her head back in the game. At some point, she was fairly certain she heard Azusa calling her name. Which meant…she was supposed to shoot. Right!
"Coming Azusa! For Peroro!" Casually, the girl spun around and opened up with her assault rifle, casually ripping through the squad of surprised Arius intruders.
She saw a weird object fly towards her and whimsically spun around, allowing it to fly past her. She didn't even feel the flash of light behind her as she replaced the clip on her rifle and ran towards the silver haired hero, engaged in a knife fight with one of the survivors.
She frowned as she saw another pair of white uniformed students trying to ambush Azusa from behind. That wasn't right. No one was allowed to hurt Azusa, her Azusa. Azusa was hers after all. Only she was allowed to touch Azusa.
"No touching!" She called as she pulled the trigger, sending a volley of bullets tearing through the two. The third one spun around in time to catch a white plush animal to the face before another pair of bullets took her down.
Azusa stared at her friend in utter shock and disbelief. "Hifumi, did you just-"
"Are you okay Azusa?" Hifumi cried out as she tackled her friend. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Ah…I'm fine Hifumi." The silver haired girl replied in confusion. "Nothing I haven't gone through before. But-"
"-Oh that's great. I mean I know you're alright. You're super cool after all, but I needed to check and make sure those horrible Arius girls didn't hurt my Azusa."
Alarm bells rang through the silver haired girl's mind. "Hifumi…"
"But don't worry!" Hifumi smiled, her eyes intensifying. "I'll make sure none of those thugs hurt my Azusa. That way you can keep being cool and make me smile."
That was it! Azusa knew those eyes. She had seen those eyes every night for the past two weeks. Those were not the eyes of Hifumi, the friend she cherished and wanted to show off for. Those were the eyes of Faust, Azusa's worst nightmare come to life. And she looked like she was about to start a massacre.
Quickly taking initiative, she tackled Hifumi into a hug. "Hifumi, please calm down."
The sudden physical contact startled the tawny haired girl, causing her mind to freeze up.
Error Code 404 not found
has stopped working.
Attempting reboot.
Hifumi's yellow eyes glazed over before lighting up again. "A-Azusa? Wh-"
"Just…don't do that again, okay?" Azusa didn't let go.
"Azusa I-"
"You don't need to do that for me. I can protect myself and I want to protect you, Hifumi. So please, don't act like that…it scares me."
Hifumi had no idea what had just happened in the last five minutes, but she smiled softly and returned the girl's embrace. "I won't Azusa. I promise. I think you're very cool and if it makes you feel happy, then please keep protecting me."
The two released the embrace and shared a soft smile.
"That…was super cute."
"So adorable!"
"I wish Hime-sama looked at me like that."
"Forget Hime-sama, I want Saori to stare at me like that."
The two spun around to see a squad of Arius students watching them, giving them thumbs up. Azusa froze up until she recognized the logo on their arm bands. "Magius squad? San, Himena, Miyuri, Hagumu?"
"Greetings Azusa! You seem well." The leader waved her arm.
"Like, OMG, she's such a cutie!" The second one giggled. "Good going Azusa!"
"Saori sends her regards." The other one greeted Azusa. "She's kinda pissed about you betraying us."
"Y-you knew…" Azusa muttered.
"Oh she's known for a while. I mean…you'd think she'd notice if one of her favorite pupils decides to betray her." The second one explained. "She'll probably ask the Instructor what to do with you."
Hifumi hesitantly waved. "Hello there…I'm Ajitani Hifumi…and you're all Azusa's friends?"
"Friends would be putting it nicely."
"Azusa was such an ice queen around anyone who wasn't the Arius squad or the Instructor."
"But we did admire her I guess…"
"Wait…Saori isn't here?" Azusa realized out loud. "Why not?"
"Classified." The leader responded. "As a traitor, you have lost the right to know."
"What she means is like, she doesn't know either. Saori kinda just ditched us and left the assignment to the squad leaders themselves. I mean we just needed to follow the Instructor's plan and everything else would work out…"
Azusa nodded. "I see…thank you for telling me."
"No worries." the second one giggled, "Your girlfriend is like, super cutie! But we do have to do our like…jobs and stuff. So…"
She never finished her line as the ceiling above them gave way, collapsing debris and tile atop of the squad. Azusa smiled, "Foxtrot."
Hifumi turned to the silver haired girl, wide eyed. "Wait…how…since when?"
"I had rigged the ceiling in this area to fall a while back. I just needed to get information from them."
"But they're your friends, Azusa!"
Azusa shook her head. "They were my classmates back from Arius. I do not consider them my friends." She smiled at Hifumi, "You are my most important friend Hifumi. And that is why I am going to protect you. Come on, Sensei is waiting for us."
Hifumi watched the silver haired girl leave, her heart beating a billion beats a minute.
has successfully rebooted
entering standby mode
Over an hour into the fight, Sensei was beginning to feel the echoes of exhaustion start to kick in. He peered down the ironsights of his rifle and checked his remaining magazines. Only two magazines left. Even with all his careful conservation of ammo, he was nearly empty.
Although, he had definitely made every round count. Scattered across the gymnasium were the collapsed bodies of the Arius invasion team, one far larger than Koharu had initially estimated.
"They've got to have brought half the school with them." Azusa muttered as she lowered her rifle.
Behind him, Hanako took her hands off of the mounted machine gun they had rigged up in the back of the gym. She gave her sweaty hands a stretch and winced, noticing the blisters starting to form. Beside her, Hifumi worked quickly to replace the machine gun barrel, sweat dripping down her chin.
"Arona, where is the JTF? Hasumi should have noticed the firefight."
"I don't know Sensei." Came back the response. "I've been trying to contact her nonstop but she isn't answering her phone. Same goes for the JTF hotline and any other channel of communication."
"Shouldn't the JTF have come over?" Koharu asked aloud, stretching her tired body from her sniping position. "Hasumi wouldn't let us down."
"That's because they're on radio silence." A new voice joined the conversation.
The group looked up to see a certain pink haired Tea Party member enter the gym, followed by a dozen Arius students. "Hey there, did you miss me?"
Sensei stared at Mika's presence before nodding slowly. Hanako spoke aloud. "I always figured there was someone in the Tea Party faction who was working with Arius…but I never thought it would actually be an actual leader."
"Bing bing, that's right!" Mika giggled, "I'm the one who brought Arius here. I'm the one who orchestrated everything! And that's why the JTF will never come. I told Hasumi to assemble the entire JTF on the far side of campus and to go on radio silence until I returned. By then, Nagisa will be deposed and I'll be the only remaining host. Then with Arius' help, we'll begin our assault on Gehenna and raze those filthy backstabbers to the ground!"
"So that was your in…" The teacher muttered, "You wanted to prevent the Eden Treaty, so you orchestrated a coup to prevent it…"
"That's right!" The Tea Party member giggled. "I'm the traitor you were looking for. You were so busy looking for the traitor that you never even saw my true plan coming!"
She hefted her SMG and pointed it at the teacher. "Now then, where is Nagisa? I'm certain that you hid her somewhere."
"And if she isn't here?" Hanako asked.
"Then I'll just have to kill you all and keep going until I find her." Mika chuckled. "After all, I am the chief enforcer of the Tea Party. And I have the numbers advantage."
She gestured to the Arius students, who raised their rifles.
Sensei was about to respond when a small explosion rocked the building. Mika looked back at the Arius leader. "What's going on?"
The squad leader turned back to her subordinates and spoke with them before turning back. "We're under attack from behind!"
"But I was sure I called off the JTF." Mika muttered in confusion.
That's when the doors blew open, revealing almost thirty armed students dressed in dark robes. Hifumi's eyes widened. "The sisterhood is here?"
Sensei turned back to Hanako, who gave a thumbs up. "It wasn't that hard once I explained to them the situation."
Mika frowned. "Huh…so you convinced Sakurako to come out of her hiding shell."
The head Sister in question gave the Tea Party head a stern look. "For decades, the Sisterhood has chosen to remain neutral in the affairs of Trinity. However, even we cannot remain silent when our school's sanctity is being threatened."
Sakurako pointed her assault rifle at Mika. "Mika of the Tea Party, by the authority of the Sisterhood, please stand down."
Mika rolled her eyes. "Why do you always act like this? If you bring the damned nuns into this, I guess I have no choice but to put you all down as well."
The Sisters raised their collection of weapons towards the Arius students who trained their own weapons.
Hanako turned to Sensei, only for the teacher to smile. "Any moment now."
A moment later, the gym skylight shattered. Everyone looked up to see a set of ropes drop down into the center of the gymnasium. Sliding down with said ropes came four gray uniformed students, armed with a pair of assault rifles and LMGs. Another two pairs of girls broke through from the side entrances of the gymnasium, armed with SMGs and assault rifles. Lastly, leaping from her own rope, a white haired student landed on the ground before the Make Up Work club.
Morizuki Suzumi gave the teacher a slight wave. "Sorry we're late, Sensei. The traffic was awful."
"You're actually right on time." Sensei chuckled. "Better late than never is what they say."
The Tea Party Member stared at the crew in disbelief. "So…this was your secret weapon…the Vigilante Crew?"
"It do be like that, huh Mika?" The vigilante chuckled as she unslung her MCX. "You think you've got everything planned out, but a ragtag team of students ruin everything."
From her position, Azusa frowned at the sight of the Vigilante crew's positions, placing them in a full perimeter around the entire gymnasium. Weren't they a bit far back to be of assistance?
"You know why Arius chose you to lead their coup?" Suzumi waltzed over to the pink haired traitor. "Because you were the most naive, the most gullible, the easiest to manipulate."
She held out her hand and patted Mika on the shoulder as she walked past. "But don't worry, why don't you just stand back and let the real pros handle this."
"After all," the white haired vigilante muttered as she came to a halt before Sakurako, the sister raising her brow. "in the end…
"Vani Vanis, Vanitatum"
Azusa's eyes widened as she shouted, "Get down!"
Sakurako couldn't even respond as a trio of shots struck her in the abdomen, causing her to buckle backwards. Suzumi caught her, pressed something against her body, and spun her around back towards the nuns.
"Foxtrot!"
The sisters barely had any time to respond before the flash bang placed in Sakurako's body lit up, blinding the room.
Sensei dropped his head to the ground as he heard the heavy rat-tat-tat of machine guns and assault rifles overhead.
When the light finally faded, the teacher stared in abject horror as the entire Sisterhood faction had been mercilessly gunned down by the Vigilantes surrounding them. The same vigilantes who now pointed their weapons on the Make Up Work club.
In the middle of the commotion, a white haired student made a grand bow. "I believe it's time I reintroduce myself."
Sliding a jet black armband over her sleeve, the Vigilante smiled.
"My name is Morizuki Suzumi of the Arius Infiltration Unit, the true traitor of Trinity."