Title: The Emerald Bank Sands Resort
Description: On Satsuki Kiryūin's orders, the elite four take a vacation to the beach. Hijinks ensue.
Characters: [N. Jakuzure, H. Inumuta] U. Sanageyama, I. Gamagōri
Time: This story takes place after the events of episode 24, in an AU where Honnōji Academy continues operation as a school.
Author's Comments: I have not seen episode 25 (OVA), and as such, anything that happens there won't end up in this story.
Mandatory Disclaimer: Certain aspects of this work – including the setting of Honnōji Academy and the characters portrayed therein – are the intellectual property of Aniplex and Studio Trigger. All rights reserved.
- Chapter One -
Despite the world having been thrust into mortal peril only days before, the unswerving machine of corporate society dictated that school must return to session. Thus, with only a four-day weekend as a victory prize, the elite four of Honnōji Academy returned to their duties with stress and scars still intact. While many other students shuffled in with weary groans and exhausted demeanors, the four student council chairs entered the building with as much posture and poise as they had before. They were the student body's role models, after all. It was their duty to remain calm and unfazed.
Perhaps the most exemplary model of this ideal was Ira Gamagōri, who presently found himself walking through the halls of the academy as was his routine early in the morning. His current duties were to ensure that all students were in their classrooms, rather than slacking off or skipping class. He had already had to discipline a set of four students who were attempting to steal copper pipes out of the men's restroom on the 6th floor. Luckily, such actions were rare. The recent events had taken a lot out of the students, keeping them from misbehaving... at least for now. His eyes turned toward a nearby window as he looked upon the destruction caused by the battle. There was a lot of damage. The school was intact enough to serve its function, but many rooms and building sections were destroyed, as well as any equipment, tools, and instruments they may have had inside. The information and strategy committee was currently in the process of cataloging all the damage sustained.
Hopefully, Gamagōri thought, things will be able to return to normal.
He caught himself. No, things will never return to normal. But perhaps there can be some semblance of normalcy moving forward.
He continued to ponder this thought as he completed his rounds and returned to the student council lounge. As the door opened, he scanned the room. His eyes first found Satsuki Kiryūin on her throne in the centre of the room, lifting a steaming porcelain cup to her lips as Mitsuzō Soroi stood immediately to her right, ready to replenish the cup when needed. Nonon Jakuzure and Uzu Sanageyama were resting upon the lower couches, the former flipping through a thin book and the latter apparently asleep. Hōka Inumuta was not present.
"Lady Satsuki," Gamagōri announced, causing Uzu to startle awake, "Rounds have been completed. A group of troublemakers were dealt with, but otherwise, nothing to report."
As the disciplinary chair proceeded further into the room, Satsuki opened her eyes and smiled, an act which was becoming more and more common.
"Thank you Gamagōri," she said, "And how about yourself?"
"My lady?"
"I'm asking how you are doing," she rested her cup on the platter in her other hand, "Are you feeling alright?"
Gamagōri straightened his already erect spine, "In perfect working condition, my lady. Is there any reason you ask?"
"No reason in particular," Satsuki tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I want to ensure that you four are not pushing yourselves too hard. Rest is important, despite there not being much of it to go around."
"You don't have to worry about us, my lady" Uzu spoke up, sitting up from his prone position with a smirk, "We're well-rested enough."
"Well, *you* certainly are," Nonon said without looking up.
"In any case," Satsuki spoke before Uzu could retort, "I want to ensure that you all ARE recovering well. The past month has taken a lot out of all of us, and there will be precious few chances to rest in the coming weeks. I want to make sure you all have been and will be using your time wisely."
The president picked up her tea and sipped it thoughtfully. Silence filled the room for a moment.
"In my estimations," she continued, "it would be better for you to rest one day and be fully engaged for three, than to plod along for four days at half capacity. Wouldn't you agree?" she asked toward all three.
"If it is to serve you better, then I would agree," Gamagōri said, "but I assure you that I need no such accommodations."
Jakuzure and Sanageyama nodded in agreement.
"If you say so," Satsuki said after a moment, "then that is that."
Satsuki returned her teacup to her lips. Gamagōri took three steps over to the couch where the other two were seated.
"Where is Inumuta?" he inquired, inclining his eyes to the desk where the information and strategy chair usually sat.
Uzu shrugged. Jakuzure looked up from her book before glancing over to Inumuta's desk as well.
"He must have left just before you came in," she said, "I was talking to him a few minutes ago."
"He did," Satsuki said, "he told me that he needed to collect data from some of the clubs."
Nonon looked at her watch, then closed her book and stood up.
"Lady Satsuki," she said, "with your permission, I'd like to check on some of my clubs as well."
"Granted," Satsuki said, gently waving her hand, "take care of yourself."
"My lady," Jakuzure nodded.
Gathering her hat and baton, she rapped Sanageyama on the shoulder before walking towards the door.
"Go do some work," she said as she left, "at least pretend to be busy."
"I TOLD you," he shouted back, "I do all my work in the afternoon!"
His words fell upon the closed door as the Nonon shut it behind her.
Far below the student council lounge, in an empty room on the ground floor, seated on the only upright metal chair surrounded by an assortment of damaged computers and other lab equipment, Hōka Inumuta stared at the rows and columns displayed on his laptop. A notification sound pinged in the otherwise silent room, causing Hōka to sigh and tab over to his email, where a new message was perched at the top of exactly 408 unreads. Normally on the top of his email game, proudly boasting his reputation as having 0 unread emails at any given time, Inumuta found himself recently swamped beneath paperwork as the recent damage to the academy and his department's sole responsibility to catalog it all was nestled neatly between his responsibilities to upkeep all data that the academy still maintained. About half of the emails were from his own department, updating him on data as the damage catalog continued to grow. He sighed once more and slowly began the methodical task of going through each message, recording the content, and updating the appropriate database.
"What are you doing down here?" asked a sudden voice behind him.
Hōka's hands jumped at the sudden sound, entering a nonsense entry into the currently opened file. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with Jakuzure, who smiled with false innocence.
"I am working," Inumuta responded, "I trust you can say the same?"
"Down here? Why not work up in the lounge?"
Inumuta returned his gaze to his computer as he replied, "I've collected data up in the lounge for hours. I believed it was time for a change of scenery."
"Some scene," said Nonon, verbally gesturing around toward the rubble that encircled them, "Are you sure you didn't just want to get away from Gamagōri telling you to actually work?"
"Hardly," Hōka replied, "if he was to reprimand one of us for slacking off, it would surely be the one who isn't working."
"My duties include making sure the three of you boneheads don't get into trouble," she leaned on the back of his chair, "which you seem to like doing."
"Don't confuse me with Sanageyama," he smirked.
"At least Sanageyama tells us when he's leaving,"
"My apologies," Hōka adjusted his glasses, "I had urgent business to attend to."
"Of course, of course. This dark, abandoned room was in dire need of someone to sit in it. I'm glad you came just in time."
"Indeed. Had I not gotten here, this chair," he pointed down at the metal seat underneath him, "would have tragically gone unsat-upon for days, if not weeks. I couldn't stand for it."
"You didn't actually have urgent business, did you?"
"I did not."
"You just wanted to come down here."
"I did."
"Alright," Jakuzure stood up and circled around to face him, "If that's what you want, I suppose I can't complain."
"It is," Inumuta continued to face his computer, feverishly typing at the keyboard, "The atmosphere helps me to work."
"And how is that work coming along?"
"It is progressing smoothly."
Suddenly, an alert sounded from one of Hōka's pockets. He paused his typing and whipped the buzzing phone out, flipping it open and holding it to his ear in one swift motion.
"What is it," he said into the receiver.
A voice came out just loud enough for Jakuzure to hear, "There's been an incident in the fifth-floor server room. A rack was unplugged."
"I'll be there momentarily,"
He flicked the phone shut and set it down next to him.
"Damn." he muttered to himself as he typed for a few more moments before closing his laptop.
"Trouble?" Jakuzure inquired.
"My troubles are numerous," Inumuta replied, "I am stretched a bit thin at the moment."
"Ah yes. The project Lady Satsuke assigned to you."
"My team is collecting data as fast as we can." Hōka said exasperatedly, "But this database it's like a mythological hydra. No matter how much work I put into it, there's even more to be done. Not to mention the idiots who continue to make my job harder by breaking my equipment," he gestured toward the phone from which the distress call had been received.
Placing his laptop into a side bag and standing up, he continued, "I've been working on this project pretty much constantly these last three days. In those three days, I've been working in the lounge for a total of forty-seven hours, which means that I've been IN the lounge more than I've been OUT of it. My department is understaffed, I haven't slept in the past week, and I am very tired. But I WILL get this database completed even if it kills me. So I'm sorry if I forget to personally say goodbye to you every once in a while."
He snapped his phone back into his pocket. There was a pause as neither said anything. Jakuzure smirked.
"So that's what's really bothering you. I thought it was something like that."
As the two walked toward the exit, she continued, "I think if Lady Satsuki had to choose between the database being completed and you being alive, she'd choose the later."
Inumuta sighed, "that was hyperbole."
"Nevertheless," Jakuzure said, "you should bring it up to her. She probably wants to know how you're doing."
"I will," Hōka replied, opening the door and holding it for her, "eventually."
The two exited and stood outside the room for a moment.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Inumuta said, "I have a server to restart and an idiot to reprimand."
"Mhmm you do that." Jakuzure hummed, "I'll be in the lounge when you're ready to come back."
Inumuta nodded and turned away, walking up a set of stairs.
Jakuzure watched him until he had disappeared from sight before turning and heading towards the center of the academy grounds.
It didn't take long to arrive, and as she stood in the middle of the enormous field, she slowly spun around to survey the school surrounding her. Despite its partially-destroyed state, Honnōji Academy was still an impressive sight to behold: with tall towers and sweeping curves all pointing ahead and above only occasionally punctuated by gaping holes, wrecked concrete, and exposed plumbing.
Jakuzure sighed, letting her shoulders drop slightly as she released some of the tension she had been holding there. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a moment, savoring the fresh air and the relative quiet of her surroundings before continuing.
Shaking her head, she straightened back up and marched diligently across the field to where one of her clubs ought to have been meeting. She still had work to do, after all.
Before long, the school day was over. Classes ended, and most students began to trickle out of the academy and make their way back to their own homes. The exceptions to this rule were the club presidents, who stayed behind to take care of business before returning. The other exception was the elite four, who presently found themselves to be in the student council lounge as was the norm for at least a few hours after school.
"...which makes it unsurprising that so few incidents have been reported this week," Gamagōri concluded, folding his arms and sitting down on the centre couch, still maintaining perfect posture.
Sanageyama leaned back in his chair and bounced a ping-pong ball on the flat side of his sword, "That's what I'm saying," he pointed at Jakuzure, "you were so convinced that I wouldn't be able to get my duties done today. You were wrong."
"Three checkups hardly counts for a productive workday," she replied, gesturing with her baton, "but your ability to delude yourself is inspiring."
"If working three times harder than you is delusional, call me a spacehead."
"Well you certainly have space in that head."
"You have space in your schedule."
"You have space in your pants."
"Ladies," called Inumuta from across the room, "you're both pretty, but some of us are still trying to work here."
"You're still working?" Gamagōri turned around to face the desk behind him, "Your ethic is inspiring."
"I certainly don't want to be doing this," Inumuta replied, "but I'm afraid I have no choice. Lady Satsuki is counting on me to get this project done."
"There's always tomorrow," Sanageyama called.
"Indeed, but another day to complete this project is another day that others have to wait on me."
"How long have you been working on that project so far, Inumuta?" Gamagōri asked.
"If my calculations are to be trusted, 53 hours."
"Geez, don't you get tired?" Sanageyama said before accidentally swinging his sword too far, sending the ping-pong ball across the room.
"Shit."
"I do get tired, of course," Hōka responded, looking over his shoulder at the other three council members, "I'm tired right now. But that's not going to stop me from continuing my work."
Gamagōri sighed, "I have to agree with you. My duties may have been waning, but even I have been feeling it in my back these past few days." He twisted at the waist, cracking his back to punctuate his statement.
In a single fluid motion, Sanageyama threw his legs upwards, somersaulting over the back of the couch and landing on his feet behind it, one hand still in his pocket. He sauntered over to the corner where the ping-pong ball had landed, picked it up, blew the dust off of it, and bounced it on the floor.
"Frankly, I don't know what you all are talking about," he said, making his way over to where Inumuta was seated "I mean sure, we're all tired, but it's not like we haven't been that way before."
Reaching the information and strategy desk, he leaned against it and bounced the ball on the tabletop.
"We get tired all the time," he continued, "Hell, putting up with Jakuzure is enough to drain anyone. But we're the elite four. We always get back up. We'll get back up from this one too."
Jukuzure nodded, "I guess that makes all four of us, then."
Gamagōri folded his arms and nodded.
Jukuzure continued, "We're all exhausted. Who wouldn't be? We risked our lives out there. But we're all just going to keep pushing. I'd like a break as much as the next guy. But none of us are gonna be the first to ask for one, huh?"
Sanagayama tossed the ball over to where Jakuzure was sitting, "That's what I'm saying. If we just-"
Suddenly, the door to the student council lounge was abruptly opened as Satsuki Kiryūin entered the room, otherworldly light illuminating her form from behind as it so often did. Halting their conversation mid-sentence, the four committee chairs snapped to attention before bowing.
"Lady Satsuki," they said in unison before being cut off by the object of their words.
Satsuki nodded to each of them in turn, "Gamagōri. Sanageyama. Jakuzure. Inumuta."
She continued further into the room, stopping at her chair in the back of the room before spinning and sitting down in it. She folded her arms and looked across their faces expectantly. The four looked at each other. A few feet away, the ping-pong ball that Sanagayama threw bounced a few more times before rolling into a corner.
"Don't let me interrupt the conversation. Please, carry on."
"We were talking about our duties," Jakuzure said, "About one-third of the non-athletic clubs have resumed regular meetings with remaining members."
"It's about the same for athletic clubs," Sanageyama added, "maybe a quarter are up and running, with another quarter expected to be back in commission soon."
"All resumed classes are continuing smoothly," Gamagōri continued, "and, as we've spoken about before, misconduct has been low."
"As for my team," Inumuta finished, "approximately 50% of the damages have been cataloged."
"Excellent," Satsuki smiled and crossed her legs as she leaned back in her chair, "things are progressing on schedule then."
At this comment, Hōka flinched almost imperceptibly. The other three committee chairs may not have noticed the slight change, but Satsuki could spot it easily.
"Is something the matter, Inumuta?"
The information and strategy chair adjusted his glasses before speaking, "Forgive my insolence, my lady, but I may have to disagree with you."
"Explain yourself," Satsuki said, seeming genuinely interested.
"We are very behind schedule on almost all fronts. Honnōji Academy is currently operating at less than 30% capacity with an unknown amount of loss. To say things are on-schedule… I'm afraid I cannot understand your reasoning."
At this, the student council president nodded, seemingly satisfied with the given answer. She leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in front of her lips.
"It may seem that way," she said, "it may seem that we are behind schedule in some capacity."
She spread her hands, "However, you must remember that we no longer must adhere to a schedule."
The elite four glanced back and forth among each other, exchanging quizzled looks.
"You see," Satsuki continued, "before, we had a goal: to defeat my mother. We were time-constrained, and every second we wasted was another step she took ahead of us. We had to be precise with our every action.
"But now - although we must continue to upkeep the academy - we are significantly less restricted by our timing. Our only concern for the present is the restoration and upkeep of Honnōji Academy and the wellbeing of her students. And while it is an important task, we need not prolong the breakneck pace of work which we have maintained for the past several years"
She looked at Inumuta, "I understand that it will be difficult to adjust to a new, slower workflow, but I believe that it will ultimately improve the quality of our work."
"Lady Satsuki," Sanageyama sheathed his sword, raising an eyebrow "are you suggesting we do… less work?"
"Of course not, neither am I expecting lower quality of work from any of you," Satsuki replied, "But I understand that a full-throttle pace can only be maintained for so long. I have asked that of you all up until this point. But now it is time to relax, at least in comparison to before. I therefore say we are on schedule. Continue your work at your own pace."
As Satsuki spoke, Mitsuzō entered the room holding a tray with several teacups. Once Satsuki had finished speaking, he extended a cup and saucer, which she accepted.
"I anticipate that you will be needing more tea in the days to come, Miss."
"Quite," she replied, "Thank you Mitsuzō"
"Always," he responded before moving over to the elite four, offering tea to each. Each accepted a cup except Sanageyama, who put a hand up in an attempt to politely refuse. Mitsuzō nodded knowingly before presenting a cup full of ice, pouring the tea over the top. Sanageyama smirked and took the cup, bowing slightly. Mitsuzō bowed back before returning to stand next to Satsuki, who continued to speak.
"To this end, there is a certain matter of business we must discuss," she said, sitting straighter in her chair.
The elite four, who had relaxed slightly after sipping the tea, immediately perked at the statement. Gamagōri snapped to attention.
"In two weeks' time," Satsuki said, "a contracted construction company will be coming to Honnōji Academy to make repairs. They will be working on every room in every building to ensure it is in proper working condition. It will be a complete restoration effort. The academy will have to be completely vacated while they work. No teachers, no students, no student council."
She scanned their faces to ensure they comprehended her words.
"As such," she continued, "I will be making an announcement tomorrow of an Academy-Wide holiday. It will last five days, from Friday to the following Tuesday. At that time, no persons will be allowed into the academy."
The four nodded. So far, it seemed reasonable.
"During those five days, I would like the four of you to accompany me to a resort in America."
There was a choking sound as Jakuzure almost spit out her tea.
"A resort?" she asked.
"Yes," Satsuki smiled, "one of many that my family owns. I am planning on taking a proper vacation, and I would like you four to join me."
"Sign me up," Sanageyama said, folding his hands behind his head, "I deserve a break."
Satsuki added, "My sister will also be joining us, as well as Shirō" she glanced over at Gamagōri, "and Mankanshoku."
"My Lady," Gamagōri nodded in an attempt to conceal the slight blush at the obviously pointed remark.
"Assuming you all agree to come, we can discuss further travel preparations at a later date. I simply wanted to make you all aware in advance. But as for now," she put her hands together, "let us discuss the academy's budget for this quarter..."
The following two weeks came and went with little incident. At Kiryūin's announcement of an extended break, a palpable wave of relief washed over the student body, instantly improving the mood of the entire campus for the following 14 days and making any classwork and club work slightly more bearable with the promise of rest on the horizon. In the days leading up to the break, the center field began to fill with people and equipment from the construction company as they began to deliver materials and survey the work ahead of them.
On Thursday afternoon, the tension in the classrooms was so high with excited anticipation that many teachers agreed to let their students go early, noting that not only were their students less likely to pay attention in the final hours, but that they themselves would be able to leave early as well. By the end of the day, the flood of exiting students became a trickle as particularly diligent club presidents and members finished their duties and took their leave. As was so often the case, the student council president was the last one to exit. Closing the doors to the lounge and locking them behind her, Satsuki Kiryūin breathed a sigh of relief before turning to exit the campus grounds. She nodded at the various workmen and contractors as she passed by, who were apparently already beginning some of the preliminary work. Whatever happened to the academy now, she thought to herself, it was out of her hands. If something went wrong, they would call her or she could deal with it when she returned. For now, however, it was time to relax.
Kiryūin arrived at her home within 10 minutes. Her posture not faltering and her stride not breaking, she entered and began changing out of her school uniform and into a set of casual traveling clothes, checking the time and comparing it to the itinerary on her phone. Her and the other seven students would be departing from the nearby train station at the top of the hour, heading towards the airport. Their flight left at 9pm local time and was 9 hours long. Accounting for time zones, they would arrive at 1pm in America.
That is assuming, of course, that there were no delays.
Kiryūin grabbed her bags - already packed the night before - checked her appearance in the mirror, took one last look at the schedule, and then walked out the door, waving goodbye to Mitsuzō as she exited. The entire process had lasted no more than five minutes. Satsuki smirked to herself. Speed and efficiency shouldn't be the end goal anymore, as she had reminded her subordinates, but such effectiveness *was* something that she was good at, and she certainly enjoyed executing plans with extreme prejudice.
She stepped into a cab that was prepared for her ahead of time. She unconsciously picked up her phone once more, intending to check emails - just in case anyone needed something from her - but she stopped herself just as she touched the power button. No, that was not necessary. Anyone who would be able to get ahold of her already knew she was going to be unavailable this weekend, and she had already prepared backup contacts that they could request information from. She had set her status to Do Not Disturb, and had even changed her voicemail message to communicate as such. For the next five days, she could relax. No one needed her. No one was waiting on her to sign a contract or make a statement or even show her face.
Exhaling silently, Satsuki Kiryūin turned off her phone.
And she smiled.