The air was cold and dry. As the first rays of dawn illuminated the eastern sky, a yawn threatened to escape his throat. Vash grumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way the cold floors treated him since last night, but he crawled out of the sleeping bag and transformed back into bipedal primate quick enough.

[G-good morning, sensei…]

"Harrmm… hrmh. Oh, good morning, Arona."

[You actually slept in… I can't believe this.] The digital assistant nesting in Shittim Chest was somewhat harsh today, staring blankly with her one eye unobstructed by the front bang round like saucer. The girl in pale blue canvas seemed utterly perplexed even as he turned on the portable stove for breakfast. [Sensei, you do still have some capital left, you know? Wouldn't it have been better if you stayed at a motel or the likes?]

Vash tilted his head, his thoughts a lull in the moment. "Noo… nah, gotta run by the convenience store today. Replenish some more supplies for the girls… Used to camping out anywayyyyy…"

[You're still half-asleep, aren't you? Sensei, this isn't good for your well-being!]

Vash waved off at Arona. It was fine. Everything was fine. Concern was appreciated, but he was talking the truth. He lived on the road for almost his whole life. The desert heat was stinging as ever, but it wasn't as baleful or ruthless as in No-Man's Land. There was only one sun high above, and clouds were many and dense. Judging by the wind speed and humidity level, a rain was likely to come in the weekend…

Essh, I'm on a tangent, again… now where was I?

As reality slowly caught up to him, he noticed that the water was soon to boil. Vash peeled off the lid of a cup ramen he had bought just yesterday, ripped open the seasoning sachets and poured them into the disposable cup. Picking up the small pot full of boiling water, he filled the cup just enough before hovering over a metal mug full of dents and scratches. The teabag which had been haphazardly thrown along with a sugar sachet in it swirled as hot water poured in nearly to the brim.

Eventually, a delectable, cheap and too fragrant of an aroma wafted in the air. While waiting, the teacher surveyed the ruined office he had settled in. Through his eyes, he could see dust-covered desks, broken chairs, empty shelves and cabinets, also papers.

Lots of them. Crumpled, torn apart by the environment, or eaten out by wild life. There were hardly any sign of life, but mosses and shrubbery could be seen in the cooler area of the former office. Where the sunlight peered through from the windows, he could see flowers standing tall, a symbol of resistance which had broken through bricks and concretes to bloom fiercely. And yet, nobody was around to witness them; exactly for whose sake did the flower bloom? Except for him of course, but it was pure coincidence that brought him here.

"...hm. The neighborhood sure is quiet around this part."

[I wish you didn't say that while loudly slurping on instant ramen…] Arona sighed, though she didn't simply comment on his sloppy habits. [The Abydos district has been left in dire state for a long while. It's hard to admit, but it's no more than a ghost town. Many of its citizens had to move out for the more prosperous residences bordering with other school's autonomous areas.]

I know, and I can guess why. As people left for safety and comfort, so did business for the sake of economic stability. When manpower dwindled, the chances to reclaim the city's former glory became no more than a dying ember. That all but too easily gave birth to chaos and anarchy. As public order broke down, outlaws naturally swooped in like vultures craving for rotten carcasses. It wasn't as brutal as a city robbed of its Plant, but Abydos was truly in the process of vanishing beneath the sands of time. Probably in a decade… no, several more years.

He wasn't being fair, wasn't he? Those young girls were still here, enrolled in a school destined to end by the time their first-years graduated.

[Sensei? Your face looks despondent…]

Vash scratched the back of his head. He really was, wasn't he? The morning Vash didn't feel the same as regular ole Vash. His personal brand of peppy confidence and casual strut were nowhere to be seen, and he was dourly eating instant meal like some dregs of society, too useless to carry his own weight. He supposed there was another good point to his old morning routine, then. With three hours of intense training and ten minutes of meditation, there would have been no room for unreliable tangents.

Oh well, food for thought, food for thought. After cleaning up his camping gears, the man bundled up the trash together for garbage disposal. Once that was done, he washed up and slapped his face with both hands. Let's go, it's another day of work!


White clouds hovered lazily. The clear blue sky after the light shower late in the evening yesterday seemed like a lie, but it was real as it could be. A blimp could be seen above towering skyscrapers, and the academy city busily marched for a morning rush.

It was nearing morning assembly period. Kuromi Serika had been the first to arrive today because she took up her senior's words on whose turn to wake up their lazy club leader, but even as her classmate and their other senior filed in, Shiroko and Hoshino had yet to pop by. Five minutes before the school bell rang, it had been the adult in a turtleneck sweater and a white coat who appeared next; this was going to be an awkward morning, wasn't it?

"Hey, there. Morning to you all." The adult waved his right hand. In his grip was a thin book covered in a black hard cover. Serika felt like she had seen it before… "Huh, looks like we're still missing our main actors."

"Morning to you too, Sensei~ !" Her upperclassman, Izayoi Nonomi waved back. "You really meant it when you said you're gonna come over again, huh."

"Good morning, Vash-sensei." Next, it was her classmate's turn to give a greeting. Ayane gave a respectful bow at 45 degrees, but now Serika started to feel like she was being cornered to do a follow-up. "Thank you for the assistance yesterday. But are you truly sure about this…?"

"Eh, is fine. Actually, that had always been in the plan," the guy who called himself Vash the Stampede said. "Plus, I can't just go back after shooting up permission for multi-day business trip on the GSC staff board."

"Oooh. That makes sense. You don't want to be seen playing hooky." Nonomi turned her gaze up to the ceiling. "Rumors also said that the executive office's vice-president is extremely strict to rule-breakers… guess it's true, then."

"Hah ha ha. She's just trying to keep things afloat." Vash chuckled, an eye closed. "Rin's got a lot to deal with. Least I can do is not adding more work for her to clean up."

"Hrmm… So being a member of the federal organization means to actively take part in the bureaucratic process…" Ayane murmured, a finger pressed on her chin as imaginations ran through her eyes. Seconds later, an awkward smile appeared on her face, seemingly hapless. "Our school barely operates as is. I can't imagine how much work there must be for other school boards."

Aah, I knew it. Serika's premonitions tended to be right on the money. At this rate, the tangents would run off and she'd be left out as a poor team player if she didn't add up anything into the conversation. Inwardly sighing, it would have been for the better had she done her usual routine by waking up Hoshino. Ugh, just where's Shiroko-senpai?

Thinking there was no other option left, Serika cleared her throat and stood up from her seat. "Excuse me! Sensei, I'll be going outside for a little!"

"Hm? Sure, but why all of a sudden…?"

Great, I've got the permission! Walking with large strides to the doors, she only turned over once she was halfway into the school corridor.

"I'm gonna wait for senpai at the gates!"

Without waiting for any response, she darted off… no, wrong! She wasn't running away from the scene because she felt like the odd one out! She just didn't approve that the nosy adult was being nosy and punctual! It didn't have anything to do with her pride or the fact that her school was getting help only this late into the game!

Not. At. All…!


"...man, she sure runs fast. Almost like a stray cat throwing hissy fits."

"Is that supposed to be a joke since… well, you know?"

"Ahaha. Sensei has the sense of humor just right for an elderly~ "

Vash sputtered, unexpectedly feeling his age all of a sudden. Well, he couldn't exactly deny that claim, but still. Yeowch, kids sure say the darndest thing…

15 minutes later, way past for morning assembly, but not too late for first period, the last two members of the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force entered the scene. And indeed, Serika was absolutely peeved by their tardiness to the point the triangular ears on Shiroko's head flopped flat down. The pink-haired girl however didn't even take much time to doze off even as she was forced to sit down in formal posture. As a result, Vash had to rein in Serika before she blew her tops off. The girl meant well, but man was she extremely easy to rile up…

"Alright, alright! How about we move on to the main topic today, ladies!"

His clear claps of hands drew the attention of the room. Fortunate, but also a tad bit worrying as this counted as the moment of truth to him. He took a deep breath as he recalled his preparations. He had the attendance book in hand, copied after asking for permission from Ayane yesterday evening, and he had crammed enough lesson materials in his head for the past whole week.

He could do this. He was Vash the teacher of Schale, now. Well, he sure hoped this was going to work well…

[You can do it, sensei! I believe in you!]

Thank you Arona, but please don't pop in so suddenly like that. Now he felt his anxiety spiking up to the limits. Meeting expectations others and he himself had put up sure was way harder than he thought…! How did Rem even manage this!?


In many ways, there were currently so many firsts happening in their sanctuary, a break from the common trends. Okusora Ayane could hardly find fault over this.

"For the first period, I'd like to take my time knowing you girls." A beat passed. "Kind of like a short orientation, get it? After that… well, let's try our luck with a class session or two, so… uh, you girls do study up, right?"

It was a novel idea. There was no way around it, in fact. As the dark-haired man with an ear-piercing and an old-fashioned sunglasses rolled in the white board, he showed a disarming smile. His figure was a bit hunched, but he was taller than pretty much the majority of Kivotos residents, so it might be his way to accommodate. Ayane had a feeling it might just be his attempt to look unassuming and non-threatening.

There was, after all, a certain pressure that could be felt when you were thoroughly outmatched in terms of physical stature. Ayane felt a smile creeping in to her face.

"Yes. We do study up, sensei. It's our duty as students to learn," the girl wearing red-rimmed glasses said. "Although… to tell the truth, we hardly utilize blue-ray audiovisual learning method. And we have never once had a lecturer teach us."

"Nn. Our school's monetary situation isn't helping the matter, either."

"Ssh, senpai!"

"Serika, but…"

"I said, sssh!"

Ayane turned to the side. Right. That was… they hadn't tell the teacher about the truth of the matter, hadn't they? Maybe they could tell him after school's over? Even though they had received enough combat supply to last for the next two school terms, that did not mean their situation had truly improved for the better. The aid Abydos had received from Schale was by no means insignificant, it was just… well, she didn't like thinking about it, but it counted as stopgap measure, at best.

...they were being unfair to the adult, weren't they? Even though he had gone so far with nothing but sincerity and a peculiar pair of deft hands.

"Hmhmm! So, we get to have a homeroom period! Wow, this is my first time studying under a teacher! An actual teacher, even!" Somehow, it was her upperclassman Nonomi who had gotten hyped all by herself. Her emerald green eyes positively glimmered in the moment, and her entire being vibrated with twinkles like stars. "Say, say, do we get a roll call, then? Can we have a roll call, Vash-sensei?!"

"Whoa… Nonomi-chan is super excited. To think this old man gets to see the day she's beaming bright like this… I can feel my bones aching in tears, now…"

Ahh… ahah, guess the train's taken off on its own. That said, her school mates were all a disorganized chaos, now. Even the teacher was looking troubled, seemingly unable to react to every sentence and action taken by everyone. Uuuh, I guess I have to be the mediator, then.

That had been her specialty for a long while, though she also didn't think she had ever been in the role of lecture assistant. Ayane could only hope that she was doing it right.

"W-well! Errm, if that's alright with you, sensei!" Oh no, I might have been too hasty, and wow my voice's louder than the usual. "I think we can start with roll call, as Nonomi-senpai suggested!"

The first-year felt heat rising to the tips of her ears. Did she do it right? She sure hoped she did, but was she being too nosy and forward? Surely, she didn't come off as forceful or as Hoshino had once said, stealing somebody else's thunder…

"That's a good idea! Let's do that, then!"

Okusora Ayane wondered if she had done something terrible in her past life. The adult's smile looked utterly blinding that she swore the lens of her glasses had cracked for a second due to the intensity. However, they were still in one piece, and the teacher did not shine like a thousand-watt light bulb. Just to be sure, she discreetly took off her glasses and pretended to wipe the dirt away from the lens. Well… it didn't seem like anything had happened to them.

doesn't that mean I thought of the teacher's smile as… aaaaggh!

It took quite a while for her to calm herself down. In fact, she didn't realize the time's passing or even the hushed whispers exchanged near her, until she was roughly shaken by the shoulder. Snapping back to reality, Ayane glanced around only to feel the worried gaze of Serika who was sitting next to her.

"Ayane-chan, that's your cue, there."

"Heh!? Oh, ooh!" The glasses-wearing girl looked forward. Right! Ahead! To the teacher and ohnohewasstaringathershereallymessedupdidntshe—no, calm down already! "E-err, first-year, Se-secretary of the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force, Okusora Ayane! Here!"

The teacher's smile as he gently nodded to her poor attempt made her feel like her face could combust anytime. That was embarrassing. Deathly embarrassing. She had royally screwed up, screwed up! Even though it was her who had proposed for sensei to get on with the program…!

I want to crawl into a hole and curl up, now…!

"Righto. Okusora Ayane, present." With an eloquent scritch-scratch on the attendance book, the teacher closed it shut. "All hands accounted for, then. Roll call, done!"

The applause that followed wasn't the kind one could call as thunderous. Even if it was for politeness sake, there was a certain cadence and energy to it. Even Ayane who had been fumbling around managed to join in, as if it was the most natural thing. She didn't notice it had calmed her down until the lull passed, and before she knew it, she managed to let loose her balled hands which were kept hidden under the table for all this time.

"The temperature is just right, and it'll stay clear for the whole day. A perfect opening for our first class session." The teacher put away the attendance book, opting to step aside so that the white board was not blocked by his broad-shouldered figure. "Now then… class is in session. Shiroko, would you be a dear and close the door?"

"Un. On it!"

"Thank you. Next," the adult from Schale paused. His gaze swept over the clubroom as if to give a once-over before nodding down. "I've already checked your class schedule and confirmed the curriculum for this semester with Ayane yesterday. All five of you are in different grades, but there won't be enough time if we go over things as the manual stated. How about each of you tell me what you're individually good at, where you're at with your study, where do you feel lacking the most, and go from there?"

Th-that's a bit overwhelming, but basically… Was he trying to say that he… intended to be hands-free with his lessons? It was a far cry from the usual study package. If she were to use herself as an example, her daily learning naturally involved Serika as they were in the same grade, but for the most part, the two of them only exchanged notes when they hit some snags. There was no reason for them to worry about egotistic needs such as competitive spirit or a desire to prove themselves, as the faster they could wrap up with their study, the more free time there was for them to earn extra money. This… is definitely different to the usual school routine.

From the far right side of the conference table, Shiroko raised her hand, free from non-slip sports glove. "What will you do after that, sensei?"

"I'll personally mentor you all." The teacher's smile was confident, wide and lacking any sort of hesitance to it. "Don't be shy to shout out if you're stuck somewhere, and make sure to call me out if you're certain I got something wrong. It'd be terrible if the lessons I give out ruins your study."

Eeh, isn't that a bit much…? "But you're an adult, sensei…"

"The difference is kind of inconsequential, you see." Vash shrugged, if he had long anticipated her reaction from miles away. "What do you think makes up an adult, Ayane?"

"Uuuh… is it age?"

"And life experience," Shiroko added.

"Having a stable income is what makes up an adult, right?" Serika crossed her arms, looking slightly antsy from the admittedly abrupt question.

Nonomi made a small hum with her throat. "Hmm, I think having a grown-up view counts."

"Uheeh, wouldn't it be holding on to a set of principles…?"

H-huh, our answers are wildly different from each other. What a surprise. Ayane suddenly felt as if her whole worldview had just been shaken up. However, in the silence that followed, the sole adult in the room merely smiled. It was a kind one, full of optimism but also kindness. It resembled Nonomi's, but in a slightly different vector as if there was invisible weight to it. As if an unspoken meaning lurked behind that very soft smile. Although it certainly feels as if I'm reading too much into it.

While Ayane was busy asking herself how and when did she become a poet, the teacher of Schale paced to the front of the white board.

"Well… guess what? All of your answers are correct, sort of."

Ayane blinked. She was even sure of it this time. Each and every one student in the clubroom shared the same sentiment she did.

"An adult is one responsible for their own action. That might be the case." The spiky-haired tall man explained, "an adult is one with worldly experience. That might also be the case. Those with a job and living vicariously… well, there are all sorts of people in the world, so maybe that's also the case. Age matters too, but is that all there is to it?"

He stepped forward. The sound his slipper made in that moment was surprisingly crisp, clear and loud. It felt as if his presence had intensified, and that was when Ayane realized she had been entranced by that which followed.

"Being perfectly honest with you, I don't really know if I'm an adult. At least, I'm unsure if I count as everything that you girls said." In that instance, the man… the teacher, the adult's smile dimmed. He worded himself out in such a way it made her and her friends at a lost for words. "I'm not mature enough to never flee from the consequence of my own action. I'm far older than you girls, but sometimes I wonder if growing up has changed my perspective for the better. I just got myself this teaching job only recently, too. Does that mean I was still a kid until now, then?"

"Uhhm…"

"I don't mean to come off as preachy or threatening, of course." Mysteriously, it felt as if his smile had deepened, now. "It boils down to one thing. Are you an adult because of the experiences you have… or is it because of the choices you made?"

That was… was that—

"A koan, huh… Sensei, you really are full of surprises."

The first to voice out a response had been the sole third-year student of her school. As she blew raspberries at some strands of hair dangling in front of her face, she rested her elbow on the table and cupped her cheek in her hand. Her free hand in the meanwhile tapped on the surface made from reinforced particle wood.

"Koan…? Uumm, where did that come from, Hoshino-senpai?" Leaning her head forward, Serika stared dubiously at the odd-eyed pink-haired girl. "What part of that ambiguous riddle is some sort of koan?"

Shiroko dumbly nodded as if in agreement. Ayane couldn't help but feel exasperation bubbling up to the top of her throat. Well, relax. The two of them were straight shooters to the core, so philosophical subjects such as koan would barely ever register through their minds. However, Hoshino did raise a good point in that regards.

Koan… is it something close to the Seven Koan of Kivotos? Through the historied walls and roads of this gargantuan academy city, rumors and folktales would often arise without any prompting. Sometimes in the form of hushed whispers, sometimes in the shape of a dusty relic which held a magnificent archaeological value. Among them, there were said to be seven greatest mysteries of Kivotos. To tell the truth, there's hardly any evidence whether that's even the proper naming to it, or if there's truly seven of them all.

Even in Abydos, once upon a time known to be the oldest and most respected educational institution, the subject "Seven Koan" took shape like a forgotten legend.

I heard that it consisted of unanswerable mysteries that contain unviolable truths to our universe, but some said it's a series of theological questions meant to deepen one's faith into the core of their beliefs.

In any case, their esteemed club leader believed that what the teacher had said counted as a koan. However, what did that exactly mean? Was adulthood a process that judged you based on the experiences you have accumulated in your life, or was it dependent on the choices you have made so far? Was the phase of growing up, to climb the stairways of adulthood, and the parting from childhood so great of a mystery that solving it would enlighten your understanding of the world as well as yourself?

But if you think of it the other way around… has the adult ahead of us… managed to reach that final answer…?

Him? This warm person with an easy smile? As she stared long at the teacher, the man looked back at her, then to Hoshino, and…

"Ummm? What's a koan, if I may ask…?" The spiky-haired adult tilted his head, a drop of sweat running down his cheek.

Ayane fell off her chair. The others followed in suite. As first period came to an end, recess was filled with stilted air full of barely disguised embarrassment and absolute mortification. In fact, all of the Taskforce members remained on the floors, utterly ignoring their postures or state of attires; there was no way any of them could possibly face each other for the time being.

Worse, the teacher had the gall to run off for coffee break like nobody's business, and it was with a pep to his gait, at that! Ayane had never felt utterly betrayed up until now.


A/N: I had a ton of fun with this chapter. And I'm in a roll with my writing pace!