The first thing Sensei did after turning over authority of the Sanctum Tower back to the General Student Council and Rin—Nanagami formally inducting him to his position in SCHALE was to sit down to process everything he had seen so far.
He does not remember ever hearing about a place called Kivotos from where he came from. Also, even if he already gave it up, why was he, a complete outsider, given total control over the city? And why was Nanagami so willing to trust him just because he was vouched for by the missing GSC President?
And how did he know the password for the Shittim Chest? …Why does it feel that he's somehow forgetting something really important?
He turned his attention to the tablet known as the Shittim Chest, with its A.I., Arona, meeting his gaze.
"Yes, Sensei?" Arona asked.
"What do you know about the GSC President?" Sensei asked.
"Not much, Sensei." Arona shook her head. "Rin would probably know more about her than me. But I could help you look for any known information about the city if you need it."
From Nanagami's explanation, the different schools are closer to city states in control of their own land, so I should start with that. With a plan in mind, he asked Arona to look up the different schools, sorting them by level of importance.
Arona displayed the map of Kivotos using a holo-projector and emphasized four, no three, schools, and their location in the map.
"The three major schools are Millennium Science School, Trinity General School, and Gehenna Academy," Arona started. "Yuuka and Chinatsu are students of Millennium and Gehenna respectively, while Hasumi and Suzumi are students of Trinity."
Arona showed the four student's profiles, with Sensei selecting Yuuka out of curiosity.
"So she's the Treasurer for Millennium's student council, Seminar?" Sensei commented. "She must be really dedicated to her job if she went all the way to the GSC instead of sending a representative."
After briefly looking over the other student profiles, Sensei was curious as to why Arona initially highlighted four schools instead of three.
"I initially highlighted Abydos because up until two years ago, they were one of the major schools in Kivotos," Arona explained. "They have since become saddled in debt until they only have an annex building to their name."
"That's suspicious…I'll investigate Abydos later," Sensei said as made a mental note to that. Arona also did so, to which Sensei thanked her, just in case he forgot.
"Now what are the other important schools…Oh?" Sensei noticed that the D.U. was home to two different schools. Valkyrie Police School and SRT Special Academy. "Valkyrie, I get. But what's SRT? Is it some sort of school specializing in operations that Valkyrie can't handle?"
"Correct, Sensei!" Arona exclaimed. "Two years ago, the GSC President established SRT Special Academy and conferred it with extra-judicial power as a way to bypass the red tape between school jurisdictions."
Sensei narrowed his eyes at the time frame of Abydos' downfall to the SRT's establishment. Could SRT's creation have been the GSC's President's reaction to a major school collapsing? He kept this one to himself as this was purely speculation.
He did plan to have Arona investigating Abydos' situation be a high priority with how suspect the timeline of events he was forming in his head was becoming.
Arona gave an example of how one criminal caused trouble in one school district, only to escape to another school's district, making the first school unable to pursue the criminal without getting permission from the second school, which would take too long and allow the criminal to eventually escape to another school's district, or even seek the protection of the current district's Student Council.
"And SRT students can ignore all that bureaucracy to quickly capture the criminal," Sensei said. "As long as the one holding the reins uses it properly, then it's actually a good solution."
Sensei also noted that the school's extra-judicial authority was similar to SCHALE's ability to travel to any school and add any student to its roster, only that SCHALE had a broader scope in its activities. In fact, it was so vague when compared to SRT's more specific one.
What is SCHALE supposed to investigate in the first place? Sensei thought as he remembered his conversation with Nanagami. More questions, and not enough answers.
"SRT was a way for the GSC President to quickly enact Justice to those who deserve it that would otherwise take too long otherwise and is the school's guiding principle," Arona said.
"You could say that they are 'Heroes of Justice' huh…"
"That's right!"
Sensei ruminated about this. He himself knew that while pursuing Justice is a noble thing, it could also be taken too far without proper guidance, as he himself could attest. As much as he hated the guy, if it weren't for him then even he might have…
"I'm going to SRT first thing tomorrow," Sensei said, deciding upon a course of action. "For now though, I should probably make sure that SCHALE is running properly and do some paperwork."
Sensei groaned when he saw the amount of paperwork that Rin sent. Fine, he'll just have to get through all the important ones as quickly as possible. He's nothing if not stubborn.
Perhaps it was because the paperwork wasn't as complicated, or maybe because he didn't take a single break, but Sensei was able to finish most of it before midnight.
He would have continued, but Arona insisted that he take a break or he's going to collapse from overworking at this rate. So it was decided that he would go to sleep after whipping up a light dinner for him and Arona.
He didn't question how the food got inside the Shittim Chest, only that it was possible.
…
…
…
After breakfast and preparing a lunch for himself, Sensei opened the package of clothes that Nanagami sent him yesterday after Arona sent her his measurements. He found a white suit custom made to his size. It was predominantly white outside and dark blue inside, reminiscent of Rin's GSC uniform.
Sensei didn't see a problem with wearing a uniform, and he thought that first impressions are important so he wore it. Also, it would have been a waste not to wear after the acting president went out of her way to get this for him.
"Whoa…You look good in it Sensei!" Arona said, her eyes sparkling as she saw Sensei in SCHALE's uniform for the first time.
"I would have preferred something a bit more plain, but this is surprisingly comfortable to move around with. Also, is this made out of bullet resistant fabric? I'm impressed." Sensei said as he inspected his new uniform. "Perhaps a bit more hidden pockets and some enhancements, but yes, this will do just fine."
Sensei made his way to SRT's main campus that was located near the edge of D.U using SCHALE's helicopter, which he found out about while checking SCHALE's facilities. Apparently, Nanagami sent a pilot to SCHALE for such purposes. Sensei was fascinated when he saw the pilot, which turned out to be a sentient robot. He had a rather enjoyable talk with the guy while he was preparing the helo for take off.
Taking in the sights of the city as the helo became airborne, Sensei once more reviewed what he knew so far as he wore an earpiece to better communicate with Arona.
Apparently, due to its nature, SRT had a collection of bases scattered all over Kivotos for training purposes so that the students of the school could get used to different operational environments.
It seems that the GSC President really thought this through. She really seemed to be someone to have everything under control.
So why in the blazes did she pick him to be the Sensei of SCHALE? It's clear by now that the GSC President somehow knew him. So she should also know about his tendency to rush into danger head-on. Even if he got smarter about it over the years, he hadn't completely gotten rid of that habit yet.
Sensei is the first to admit that he was fundamentally broken as a person due to past experience, but even he had enough sense to know that it would be incredibly terrible, not to mention highly irresponsible to put someone as reckless as him in charge of a city full of impressionable teenagers.
If it weren't for the fact that Kivotos was in really dire straits he would have turned down the position. That, and the fact that Rin was really looking at him like he was manna from heaven back then.
That guy must be laughing from the throne right now.
Fine. He'll just have to play the part of a teacher. With that said, as this was his first time with the job he turned to the wisdom of his own teachers. The first thing that came to mind was a certain older woman who taught English who was like a sister to him.
How did she do it again…? Wait no, she's a terrible teacher to use as a model!
Then again, the students did enjoy having her around, so maybe she's not so bad after all? But still, he can't model his teacher persona after her in its entirety. Hers only worked because there were other, more serious teachers to rein her in. And he was the only teacher in the entirety of Kivotos.
Eventually, he settled on a blend of his sworn sister, his History and Ethics teacher who turned out to be a former assassin, and a certain stern Lord from the organization he once studied under.
Which was just in time too, as they finally arrived at their destination.
"Sensei, we have arrived at SRT Special Academy's airspace. It seems there are some students waiting to greet you," the pilot said.
"Thanks," Sensei said.
Shortly after take-off, Sensei remembered that he hadn't notified SRT of his visit. Thankfully, Arona did it for him after he told her of his intention to visit and did it for him, to which she informed him about after he brought it up. That was how SRT was able to prepare for his arrival.
There were two people waiting for him at the landing pad. A black haired girl with fox ears, and a white haired girl wearing a rabbit headband.
Are those fox ears real? He thought in passing.
"Apologies for the short notice. I haven't fully adjusted to my new role yet," he said after introducing himself as the newly instated Sensei of SCHALE. "And you two are…?"
"SRT 3rd year, FOX Squad 1 and its leader, Yukino," the fox girl herself.
"SRT 1st year, Tsukiyuki Miyako, the provisional leader of RABBIT Squad," the white haired girl followed.
They explained that they were to be his escorts while he was touring the campus.
"Sensei, I heard that you had a run-in with the Fox of Calamity yesterday?" Miyako asked.
"The Fox of…Ahh, you mean Wakamo? I guess that was her after all." Sensei remembered and recounted his encounter with a certain masked girl with fox ears that he met inside SCHALE's building. For some reason, she just stood in place for a bit before running away.
Yukino showed some curiosity at the uncharacteristic attitude of the Seven Prisoner, but pushed it aside as she cut straight to the issue.
"What is your purpose for this visit, Sensei?" Yukino asked while they were walking. Sensei noticed that her voice was noticeably filled with tension, though it had gone unnoticed by Miyako. "Does it have anything to do with rumors regarding the future of this academy?"
"The future…? Ah, I see." Sensei was a little confused, but the answer was helpfully supplied by Arona. "To be honest, this visit was more due to my own curiosity than anything as a fellow Ally of Justice. Though now that you brought this to my attention, I'll be sure to look into it more. It would be a shame to lose an institution dedicated to upholding Justice after all."
For some reason, the tension in Yukino's shoulders disappeared.
Miyako, who had been listening to the conversation, couldn't help but join in. "You said that you were an Ally of Justice, Sensei. Could you elaborate on that?"
"Of course!" Sensei began telling them his past. Of how he traveled around the world to help those in need. At first, Miyako was attentively listening, but she became increasingly alarmed as Sensei's word about making some hard choices implied that—
"Have you…killed someone before, Sensei?" Miyako's voice was shaking as she stopped walking.
Ah. Perhaps I shouldn't have talked about my work in detail, Sensei thought, realizing that he was still talking to a teenage girl with an idealistic view of justice.
"Hmmm…" Yukino, on the other hand, was now intently listening to him, who was more accepting of the revelation. It seems that she could understand having to make hard choices every now and then.
"This…isn't something that could be fully covered during a short walk," Sensei was careful with his choice of words. "I'm sorry, that must have been too much for you."
"No, I…It's not like that, Sensei. I just…" Miyako was truly shaken. This was his fault.
He could curse himself for being unqualified for this position, but he was not about to destroy a girl's hopes and dreams on his second day of the job! He had to salvage this somehow.
"For what it's worth," Sensei began slowly. "Each and every time I tried everything I could to save everyone, no matter how futile it is in the eyes of others."
Miyako turned to look at him. Her eyes were still downcast, but some life had finally returned to them.
"But you can't save everyone every single time, Sensei," Miyako said. "Even I know how impossible it is…"
"Especially if it's done by only one person," Yukino replied. There was a certain level of awe in her voice. She must have picked up on how he always referred to himself alone, without any mention of a team. This caused Miyako to widen her eyes in surprise.
"You didn't have a team with you, Sensei?" Miyako asked, still surprised at the new information and looked at Sensei with new eyes.
"I team up with others at times, but never a permanent team like you guys do," Sensei admitted. "I couldn't possibly ask my friends to take the plunge into a warzone with me just so I could fulfill my dream of being a Hero of Justice. Perhaps this is why I am curious as to what an entire school pursuing the same ideal would be like as I never had something like that."
Sensei did wonder if he could have saved more lives if he had a team with him, but what's done is done.
"Sensei, doing all that alone is noble, but reckless." Miyako narrowed her eyes as if to chastise him, though it seems that her previous demeanor had finally returned.
"It must have been hard, pursuing Justice by yourself all this time," Yukino said with newfound respect.
Sensei gave them a weary, but gentle smile. "It was. But I won't regret ever taking the step to pursue my dream. As your teacher, I hope you could also pursue your own dreams without regrets."
"Hopefully without making the same mistakes you did, Sensei." Miyako giggled.
"Like doing it all by himself," Yukino added with a smile.
"Yeah yeah, I was once a foolish young man myself." Sensei rolled his eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. "At the very least, it's my job as your teacher to guide you so you don't repeat the same mistakes I did."
"And if I ever did commit a mistake?" Yukino asked, a slight tension in her voice. Miyako had a confused look on her face, but thought that her senior was just curious.
"Then it's my job to reprimand you and guide you to do better next time. And I'll keep doing that as long as you're my student. Maybe even after you become adults as long as you're willing to listen to my counsel," Sensei said. "So if you're ever having trouble deciding on what to do in the future, please do approach me. My doors are open to you."
"I'll…keep that in mind, Sensei."
The rest of the walk went by smoothly, with Sensei talking to Miyako and Yukino about the equipment they use and some non-essential missions FOX Squad had undertaken, to which even Miyako was intently listening to. He also created a preliminary plan to allow SRT to continue operating even without the GSC President.
Eventually, Sensei was brought to the mess hall, where he was greeted by the rest of RABBIT and FOX Squad who prepared a small welcoming party for him. When asked where the other students were, FOX Squad's pointman, Kurumi, explained that the other students have either taken a break or were deployed in one of their other bases.
Sensei appreciated that they went out of their way to prepare this party for him, thanking the nearest student, who was RABBIT Squad's sniper, who was more surprised that he even noticed her.
He did question why it was mostly different kinds of inarizushi, but they were quite delicious, so he asked Miyu who prepared all this food so he could compliment her for the food, who turned out to be Niko. He decided to offer his own lunch to Niko as thanks.
Her subsequent reaction garnered the other students' interest.
"Your lunch didn't go bad, did it?" Saki asked while looking at her senior, who had more or less turned into stone.
"It shouldn't be. That would really wound my pride as a cook if I did offer someone bad food," Sensei said as he took a bite out of his own lunch. "Nope, it's still good."
"What happened to her then?"
Otogi, FOX Squad's sniper, noticed that Niko's mouth was moving, as if she was mumbling something, so she decided to approach her squadmate to listen to her words.
"She was saying a lot of gibberish, but basically she's saying it was too delicious," Otogi said as she took some food from Sensei's lunch with some chopsticks to taste it. She quickly took another one out.
"Hey hey! Otogi what the hell?!" Kurumi said as she held Otogi back, who had become like a hungry beast all of a sudden.
"Let me go, Kurumi! I have to eat that food!" Otogi roared.
"No! It looks like you're going to devour even Sensei with how crazy you're looking right now!" Kurumi was struggling to hold her back, so Miyako decided to help. "Since when were you this strong?!"
"MUST. EAT. SENSEI'S. FOOD!"
Sensei was puzzled at Otogi's reaction. Did he somehow add alcohol to it? No, that can't be it. With the rest of RABBIT Squad joining in and pleading Sensei to feed their senior, he decided to feed the out of control girl his remaining lunch.
