Tonight was awfully quiet. It didn't sit well with Takanashi Hoshino.

The distant sounds of sirens. The bustling of urban life. Glittering and colorful lights. As if that wasn't enough, sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard from far, far away; probably from neighboring school districts. She also detected the roaring blades of a transport heli up above. Far in the starless sky, the occasionally flashing red dots signified only their vague shapes. Though it didn't match the industrious and refined atmosphere of the city proper, Abydos still had some pockets of civilization where people could conduct business like proper modern people.

The problem came from the fact that she could hardly hear any of the usual hush-hush.

She pushed aside her fluttering hair so as not to cover her vision. The night patrol should have at least net her some barely relevant clues. Though she helped out the lost and drunks who wandered off from the main street, the shady activities expected from the city's underbellies somehow managed to not appear at the rates normally expected of them. No, wait, she did prevent some extortion attempts and petty thefts, but…

How strange, the pink-haired girl thought. As she watched with one eye open the fleeing figures of sukeban delinquents, the oddity became more apparent. Those helmeted bunches aren't here, either.

Hoshino gazed up to the sprawling scenery of skyscrapers. Left hand on her waist, and a shotgun in her right hand. She didn't mean to act on her paranoia, but causing a racket was actually one of the best ways to draw attentions. She might gain oppositions if she were to reveal her plan, especially from cute little Ayane, but she was strong enough to endure a whole gang attack by herself. It wasn't her trying to boast, or her looking down on her foes. Takanashi Hoshino was fairly capable in her own rights, which she didn't feel the need to expose much.

It just wasn't her style. She was an old codger too stubborn for her own good. Strength was good and all, but the real crux of it all had to be the heart.

And speaking of heart… "Mm, couldn't find him today, either."

You'd think an adult with the badge, ID card, and the resplendent white coat of General Student Council would be easy to find. Hoshino seemed to have, embarrassingly enough, fallen in line with common people in her guessing game. That guy was clearly not renting a room in a hotel or staying at the nearest guest house. The gossips on the streets, random sightings, and so on never once mentioned his presence somehow.

"Just where is he staying at…?" Could he be camping out? In a desert environment that could flip the temperatures around between two extremities? With that fragile and unbalanced build? And with the personality that'd make him an easy prey for gangs, criminals, as well as loan sharks? "For someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, he sure has a secretive side he absolutely doesn't show to others."

And wasn't that something? Her younger self would have suspected him to be an expert swindler, but Hoshino had done her fair share of growing up.

Sometimes, a puddle was a puddle. Red was red. And blue was blue. The world could be such a complex place, but it could also just be a speck of dirt floating in space.

She didn't need to do much when all she had to do was by letting him do his job and listen to his words without any more prods than needed, but well. Vash the Stampede was either the most good-natured person there was in the world… or a conniving wicked adult with a bottomless depth to his trickery he might as well be a demon. Well, he was definitely skilled, but he was also an utter failure of a working-class adult that Hoshino wondered which countryside did he crawl out from.

But it's not just him who stubbornly swims against the current, even while knowing how unsuitable he is for the job.

The world sure was vast. Now if only it started to make sense. Hoshino was already busy enough with debt-clearing and taking care of her lovely juniors, but the stuff with the Kata-Kata Helmeted Gang was so out there she had to check just in case. When she decided to do just that, however… wait, why not think of it the other way around? The girl put away her gun and crossed her arms. As she walked out of the back alley, the yarn quickly spun in her head. A bit of a figure for speech, but anyway.

"What kind of thing a gang of no-gooders will do if they can't fight back~?"

They were pretty much on their last legs. Gang-on-gang violence was a fair play at that, so they'd have to do everything they've got if they wanted to stay afloat as Kata-Kata Helmeted Gang. Their whole identity was their final chips. However, if the theory of them having a hidden backer was true, then they could be a little more greedy… and a bit more desperate. They'd be up for some mean pranks—such as kidnapping!

But wait… Hoshino had been throwing herself out here as a bait. Was it too obvious? No, thinking so far ahead like that was extremely unlikely for a bunch of low-tier goons.

Their aim might be something else, such as… "Are they daring enough to single out the weakest link of our chains?"

...well, now a cold shiver ran down her spine. Hoshino suddenly realized that old age came in pair with senility. Her hand immediately darted into her skirt pocket for her smartphone, and only one thought filled her mind. She had to act fast!


They actually came out…

That might sound a bit like he had just encountered a ghost, but Vash the Stampede was by no means a joker when it came to serious things. His tolerance for chaos was high as could be—that didn't mean he was immune. As helmeted girls in school uniforms filed into the street from the many shadowy corners, a red-helmeted gangster approached with a standardized assault rifle; loaded and ready. Reflexively, he stood before his charge, but the girl threw out an annoyed hiss as she pushed past him to see what was going on.

The dark-haired girl's expression soured almost immediately. "Oh, come on. It's always one thing after another…!"

"Serika, wait…! Don't provoke them…!"

"Stay out of this! You'll just get in the way, sensei!" As she dropped her school bag at her feet, her arms deftly moved to bring up her weapon of choice. Just in time as Vash heard gunfire from behind which forced him to stumble forward; feet wildly dancing across the concrete out of kicked instinct. "Ergh!? From behind, too…?!"

It was an ambush, no doubt about it. Worse, Vash didn't bring a weapon on his person. He wasn't even sure what to do, butany further thought was interrupted by the incessant rapid-fire that chased after him. He even almost bowled over Serika, but the girl was quick on the uptake. As she spun on her feet, she started firing back at the delinquents standing behind and scored glancing hits.

"Get them!"

From there, things devolved into total chaos. The street was dark, but the blazing sparks highlighted the surrounding environment. The enemies this time did not waver in the slightest, but their unwillingness to go for even some petty chit-chat unnerved Vash to the core. They were serious… well, as serious as a gang of drop-outs could be, but serious all the same!

What to do, what to do? Vash was running together with Serika, now. He always managed to avoid a direct hit, but his stamina had limits. Compared to his puny self, the students of Kivotos could literally outrun and outmuscle him. His honed reflex was the sole thing keeping himself out of the harm's way. He didn't want to admit it, but his presence was likely a huge negative for Serika at the moment. She had to worry about covering for him while fighting back and looking for a way out of this situation.

"Sensei, over there!" Suddenly, he got dragged into an empty alley by the arm. "We can lose them after the next block—!"

"Whoahoahh…!?" Vash failed to even remark at how easily his entire frame had been pulled in one smooth motion. It was a testament to Serika's physical strength, but more than that was one other concerning thing! I've got a bad feeling about this…! "Wait, hold on, stop! Serika, don't go there…!"

"This isn't the time for nonsense, stupid teach…!?"

The moment the two of them exited the alley, spotlights suddenly exploded forth. The silhouette of a boxed vehicle blocked the path to the right, and standing in the spotlight's trajectory was a machinery planted to the ground. Too big to lug around even by several people. An excessively long gun barrel pointing at them. A spirited yell came from a helmeted gangster who sat in the gunner box, her hands holding fast at the trigger mechanism.

"...we're so dead."

Cruelly dismissive to Serika's out-of-place commentary, the monstrous contraption roared out its fury. In the instance which followed, a bright light illuminated the lonely town block. Shooting through the world basked in light, the 50-millimeter caliber shell sliced the air apart in a straight line. Approximating at 800 meters per second, the anti-aircraft bullet whizzed with a deadly aim, heading to strike Serika squarely in the chest.

He could have let go of her. His danger sense told him he'd not be unscathed.

He knew. Somewhere in his heart and mind, he had to acknowledge that people here were made of entirely different stuff. Even if he were to shake off Serika, she'd at most be knocked out unconscious, in deep pain and all. That rational side of him worked just fine even as the maws of death fast approached. In the span of a fraction of a second, time seemed as if it was stretching to infinity. Once again, Vash the Stampede faced the crossroads of destiny—and the past flashed through his soul.

You pull the trigger, and somebody falls dead—

That was what it meant to take up arms. That was what it meant to hold a gun and point it towards someone else. With this killing tool, people suddenly obtained the right to decide their or somebody's fate, becoming their own judge and god. He had learned this lesson a long time ago. He was certain that he'd never once forget about it. He thought he was already over this, but…

But still. Even still. No matter what… No matter what—!

The man smashed his one heel to the ground. Firmly clawing the surface, he threw all of his strength in his right limb and from there pulled in Serika. As the two of them exchanged spots, the sunglasses on his nose flew off from the momentum. In the blinding white world, every cell which made up his body screamed in terrors upon the artillery shell's lightning fast arrival.

So Vash lifted his left arm. He lifted the prosthetic limb up into the bullet trajectory, his will serving as the trigger to release the inner mechanisms hidden within.

From under the elbow, iron frames folded out. Interlinked by rotors, joint servos, and sensors receptive to weak electrical signals, half of his prosthetic launched forward as he rotated his shoulder upward. Like a tonfa, the mechanical limb curved and impacted the artillery shell from below. A single error could never be tolerated. A single decimal could never be miscalculated. That was how much risks he had chosen to take, and the chips he had set out to gamble with.

Because that was the only thing he could do. The only method he could think up to struggle against 150 years of humanity's decline.

Never again…!

As the image of a cross under the blue sky dissolved in his mind, Vash the Stampede ignored the sharp sounds of bending and twisting from his false left arm. His intention set in stone, his vision expanded to capture the world. And with a strong heave—!

"RrraaaaAAAAAAHHH!"

The artillery shell shot from less than a hundred yards away crumpled as it wildly veered off from its original trajectory. It disappeared into the night sky, and only blew up like an ugly firework moments after. Then a wave of shockwave struck Vash, flinging his body across the street. From the corners of his rolling vision, he saw small parts which made up the outer shell to his left elbow breaking, but that was fine.

Alleyoop…!

The man swung his legs down to slide across the asphalt road. His body wobbled around, his vision swimming and his arms flailing to gain control of himself. Accelerated by another spin, however, he extended forward his left arm which shifted further into a rifled gun barrel. The bullet chambers hissed, steam and gas whistling as he held his prosthetic limb by the forearm. His sight set at the Flak 41 gun emplacement—Vash triggered the firing mechanism.

A full-metal jacket launched with a bang. Leaving behind a burst of orange spark and a delayed sound of gunfire, it pierced through the darkness of the night. The bullet sailed by the smoking barrel of the heavily customized Flak 41, whizzing over the helmeted gangster, and embedded deep into the ammo box sitting behind her.

Naturally, the gun emplacement detonated to high heavens.


Serika couldn't understand what just happened. All she could do was watch, but even that didn't seem nearly enough for her to process the events that proceeded on without any of her inputs. At one point she got thrown back, and at some point she got up only to find the teacher flung across the street. Then, as if something had happened, the shell fired by the Flak 41 rocketed to the sky and exploded. As if that wasn't enough, the adult's left arm turned into a rifle which delivered a mean payload that utterly destroyed the gun emplacement into a flaming wreck.

"H-he's a monster…!"

A helmeted gangster covered in soot shrieked. Having fallen to her butt, all she could do was yapping and pointing finger. However, her voice brought yet another change into the messed up combat zone; half-a-dozen helmeted gangsters jumped out of the boxed vehicle a bit behind the gun emplacement caught in conflagration and readily took an aim at the teacher.

Oh… oh, no you don't…! Suddenly becoming aware that her body could still move, Serika fumbled a step and two before she ran right into the line of fire. The bruises and scratches to her arms barely registered in her mind as she reloaded. Standing before the adult, her assault rifle rampaged at full-auto mode before the goons could react to her intrusion. Damn you all to hell…!

"Serika?! What are you—"

"This isn't the time for that, stupid teach!" Serika hissed. Why was this happening? Not only an ambush, but also a Flak 41 Gun? Wait, wrong. That level of crash and burn meant the ammo was a special custom. Did that mean the gun too had been modified to hell and back, as well? What sort of school drop-outs could afford that! This whole situation was way past her budget! "We need to retreat already—geh!? Watch your back, sensei!"

The moment she looked over her shoulder, she saw helmeted delinquents cutting off their retreat path again. They were many, and all of them were armed to the teeth. It was as if the whole area was swarming with the Kata-Kata Helmeted Gang. She was even sure of it now than ever; these run-of-the-mill gangsters were wearing combat vests and all types of grenades on their persons…!

"Look to the front too, Serika!"

The girl yelped. Once again she was pulled and pushed around. This time she got thrown back, which allowed for a clear sight for a sweeping shooting. The black-adorned gangsters in helmets squealed in pain from her quick target switching, their resolve and movement faltering as their members toppled one after another. Glancing back, she heard of several gunshots—and yet another set of delinquents had been shot down… no, he only aimed at their helmets and guns?

The teacher. She didn't know he could shoot so well. There were more than five targets and yet she only heard three gunshots. Burst shot and quick draw, no way…!?

"There's no end to this…!" The adult whose face she could hardly see shouted, "Sorry about this, Serika! I'm running out of ammo!"

It took Serika a few seconds longer than expected for her to shake off the image of a weirdly comforting strong back and broad shoulders. Did he just say something really bad—click—and that sounded like an emptied out bullet clips. At once, the spiky-haired adult no longer fired back at their assailants. There was some more clicks which sounded terribly vain and sad, and all Serika could do was look back with a face filled by disbelief.

It was then that a green aluminum can dropped from the sky. It hit the teacher from an angle, bounced off the grounds and came to a stop next to Serika—

"Gwah!?" The teacher's frame immediately turned into vague blurs as white smokes exploded forth in alarming rate. "Bwah, what's this smo—oh."

Ohh…? Serika almost wanted to retort, but her vision suddenly turned hazy. She hitched a breath, and now her sense of balance was also failing. It became harder to maintain her consciousness. Only then did she realize there was something in the smoke canister thrown their way. This is… slee-ping, gas…!

"Sen...sei! Not...good…!"

Serika fumbled through the smokes. Things were getting dark. She could hardly see. She didn't even know if she was still holding onto her gun either. Her senses were fading, and so did the slivers of her mind. She reached out, trying to find something. Anything. She didn't… she couldn't find it—

"Seri...ka…"

Then she felt a tug to her sleeve. Something reached out and held onto her wrist. It was big, covered in rough and coarse fabric. But it felt different… it felt safe. It didn't take long for the girl to realize that her teacher had been the one to reach out for her. He succeeded where as she had given up just because she had momentarily lost sight of everything in the world.

Even as her consciousness completely faded out and her line of sight becoming parallel to the grounds, Serika found a shred of comfort from this fact.


[You're getting there, senpai! That explosion signal is three kilometers away!]

That wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. Hoshino had long gotten used to checking out seedy spots of the autonomous district. As a result, she ended up forgetting the optimal routes when maneuvering through the lower-risk zones. It was a major oversight on her part, but did that really matter right now?

The rising plume of smoke, the faint red glow on the obstructed skyline, and the sounds of chaos in the distance answered that question pretty bluntly. A gunfight had broken out, and it was happening in a lower-risk zone. She didn't know which part for sure, it was dark and scary out here, but she knew one thing for sure: it must have to do with Serika who didn't answer to the call. The team leader of the Foreclosure Taskforce let out a rough breath, her muscles feeling stretched and warming up.

...yeah, that checks out.

The gunfight ways ahead of her position must be particularly intense. She could hear the frantic murmurs of Ayane through the intercom, and through the rapid click-clacking from the other side, she must be running herself ragged. Hoshino had contacted her first to split the task in checking on the others' safety, and it was all thanks to Ayane that the third-year didn't have to waste further time running around aimlessly. However, time was running out.

[I got a message from Shiroko-senpai!] The first-year suddenly notified, [Tagging along with her should get you two to the location faster! Just head straight from where you are facing, senpai!]

"She does have a bike with her… okay, let's do this!"

The humvee wasn't a safe vehicle to drive. It was also due for actual repairs, so they couldn't afford to use it, especially at night. Partnering up with Nonomi would not be wise in this case, as a minigun required a bit of focus and a certain heft to it which would only slow them down. Also, Hoshino wasn't sure if the Kata-Kata Helmeted Gang was singling out only Serika. Having the Taskforce split in two-cell teams was for the best.

Wish I polished my practical knowledge better, but…

Beggars couldn't be choosers. As she concluded her thought, Hoshino arrived at the spot pointed by Ayane. There she found the familiar blue scarf and sports bike of one Sunaookami Shiroko. The girl seemed to have just arrived, so the pink-haired girl simply jumped to latch behind her. There was a slight frown on her junior's face, likely because the Iron Horus was made from a composite of rare metal; it didn't stop Shiroko from pedaling to the limits at record speed, though.

"Where are we going next?"

[That's… umm, take a left turn in the next two-hundred meters! You'll get a clear shot for a whole kilometer from there, senpai!]

"Got it!" And they were off. Hoshino was impressed by Shiroko's top speed, but the girl was different like that. A bit odd and kind of hard to talk with as strangers, but really sweet and affectionate past those walls. "Senpai, do you have enough ammo?"

"Uhn. No need to worry, we've got plenty of it." Plus, they could just ask for a delivery through Ayane's drone if they must push themselves. Aerial support truly was a game-changer, though a drone didn't have much capacity to it. Not suitable for a heavily-customized urban-model, indeed. "As for you… you brought that huge bag, huh?"

"My drone is too efficient." The ashen-haired girl shook her head. "It's going to run out of fuel first before it could take aim on them."

That sort of implied Shiroko would strike first, ask questions later. Hoshino wasn't sure if that was a good development, but needs must. Yes, that was her reasoning for now. It would be bothersome to… actually, why did it feel like she was forgetting something?

"...did you contact sensei while at it, senpai?"

That sudden question floored Hoshino. Even the cold winds beating at her from the side did not do much to distract her. She could tell Shiroko was highly interested…

"Ah… well, I don't know his numbers." Hoshino drew back one of her hands to scratch at her cheek. It was a tad embarrassing, even for her. Wasn't there a saying to keep your friends close and enemies closer? And yet… "This old bone tried to look for him through the evening, but he's nowhere to be seen…"

"I see… sounds like he moved around his bases, then." Et tu, what? "I saw him entering an abandoned building close to the central block yesterday. If senpai didn't see him too, then he must be using a different building to camp out tonight."

...did she just hear that, right? Hoshino stared blankly at Shiroko's back—

"Hrm! That's…!" Her underclassman suddenly straightened her back. "Ayane, did you get your drone to the scene?"

[E-eh? I'm still not there—]

"The fighting noise grew subdued just now."

Once again, a chill ran down Hoshino's spine. She too sharpened her hearing, and it was as Shiroko had said. The sounds of gunshots were fading away. The pile of smokes and fire still didn't die out, but something had clearly happened; something major enough to influence the tide of battle. Things weren't looking good earlier, but it seemed like the situation was winding down for the worse.

"Sorry, we'll take a shortcut, senpai!"

"Doweh!? Wai, wait wait waaaaiiittt—!?"

Shiroko did not wait. The girl took a sharp turn and swiftly flew over a staircase. From there, the street shrank into an alley paved in uneven blocks of shaved riverstones, with rotten wood planks lying at the end of the path. They were left to lean against a flimsy and rusted out wired mesh fence, and past that was a small waterway. Hoshino stared in a daze as Shiroko drastically sped up, the two of them flying over the canal only to land in a junk-filled back alley. Suffice to say, the following impact shook her core.

"Wha-what-what?! Shiroko-chan, how did—"

"Don't talk! You'll bite your tongue!"

[Is that really important right now?! Shiroko-senpai, how did you know this shortcut?!}

As she and Shiroko flew out of the dirty side alley, the scenery instantly changed. It was a town block decorated with concrete buildings, stacked vertically and with many shuttered doors and entrances. Gone was the faded and rustic neighborhood… which surprised Hoshino more than ever.

"I've already got the entirety of Abydos mapped out eight months ago," Shiroko finally explained as she pushed past the garbage dump of an alley. "The best attack route. The most hidden escape route. If we can leave as little tracks as possible, not even the most skilled pursuers could catch up."

Aaah, yeah, I guess that does make sense~… not! "What, exactly, were you mapping out the school district for…?"

"This and that." A simple answer to an otherwise loaded question. It seemed there was no stopping Shiroko's questionable hobby… At least it didn't look like she was doing any kind of delinquency just yet, but still! Those planks from earlier were clearly her work, weren't they...?! "I can see it!"

Hoshino lifted her chin. It was a bit hard to see, considering the sharp difference of height between them. It didn't mean she had no way to circumvent that, and so she poked her head to the side… and she stared at what looked to be a melting ruin of some… huge gun emplacement.

Left in the middle of the road. It burned bright and nicely, but the smokes were really bad for the lungs and Hoshino felt her nose itching. It was as if some bad mixes had been in the air, and what remained of them lingered around… around what? When she hopped off the bike, her riot shield and shotgun propped up, Hoshino immediately scanned the surrounding area.

Bullet marks on the street. Numerous empty shell casings. A crushed canister, likely of smokescreen variety. Fleeting presences of people in the vicinity, busily heading or scattering away. Then—the sounds of a screeching tire.

"There they are!" Shiroko shouted. "That's… a black van? No number plates!"

Oh no…! "Shiroko, drone!"

Within seconds, Hoshino had already run around the flaming wreckage. As she saw a black van speeding off, the beating sounds of a drone's rotor blades flew above her. A box-shaped assault-type drone unleashed a set of micro missiles in haste, but many of them failed to score a hit. Only one of them managed a glancing hit at the back door of the black van, while the other one struck the ground right behind it. The vehicle skidded and all but jumped forward, proving that the driver was a total amateur, but it also happened to have shaken whatever loose lock was put on the backside of the van.

As a door swung open, Hoshino recognized a gaggle of helmeted gangsters all dressed in mostly black canvases. It confirmed her suspicions as much as it reaffirmed her dread.

Far past them and into the van, tied with ropes, taped on the mouths, and blindfolded—were the two figures of Kuromi Serika as well as Vash the Stampede.

"...huh—?"

"Dammit, pursuers!" One of the helmeted gangsters screamed out. "Grenades, away!"

It took a fraction of a second for Hoshino to react. As eight grenades rolled out of the van, they bounced off the grounds and arrived right before her, forcing her to take a defensive measure with her riot shield planted forward. Hoshino braced for impact when a few struck her old partner—

Boom! A series of explosions covered the street. Hot winds, billowing smokes, fading embers and soot filled the immediate surroundings. It obscured her vision, and she could hardly hear anything. The only saving grace was that she was still in one piece, though she was certain she'd be feeling it in the morning. As Hoshino carefully tilted her riot shield through the numbness shrouding her arms, her frowns deepened.

Argh, not, good…

As the smokes died down, the black van had unfortunately vanished from view. The vehicle driven by the gangsters escaped into the night—together with her junior and the enigmatic teacher.


A/N: Kept you waiting, huh? Things are branching out little by little.