A/N: Welp, I'm here, again. I lied. I haven't stopped writing and I'm still in V1C1. Still, I'm quite proud about this chapter, it's the most personalities I've had in one chapter, so while I think I did a good job, I hope I kept the characters in-character.
…I'm not gonna lie, I'm missing Unknown Sixth's help. I knew, obviously, that I would, I've seen how my chapters look before and after he goes through them, but considering how far I'm veering off-canon…
Well, please be patient with me. Out of all my stories, this one is the one that's veering off-canon the most due to Mateo's access to supplies and his own personality, which I hope I'm keeping constant. Admittedly, it's fairly scary but also fun.
Now, onto responses:
Gonsmoss- Yes, it's supposed to be 'any', I've fixed it but thanks for keeping an eye out. Admittedly, it's something that came to my mind as I realized a few things about Abydos and was looking through the Binah page, that they have a file of its sightings but it got lost in between the transfer of locations…No other reason. Also, one of the core components of the SHD is to re-establish the federal government, how they do it is up to the Agent. Also, the Abydos oasis is canon, it was mentioned in Abydos' summer event. Personally, the mental battle is the funniest because he's the only one who cares about it, considering he's not that much older than the students.
phillyitalian- Yes. Yes it is.
That's all I have to say for now. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Also, I've been thinking of renaming the story.
Self-loathing has a way of being known, aside from the obvious loathing of the self, specifically in the way it just lingers. So a lot of times, if you go to sleep particularly hating yourself, you'll wake up hating yourself.
Naturally, I am no exception. The alarm goes off and my eyes open and already, I'm proving the saying 'your worst critic is yourself'.
As I slung insults at myself, I groan while getting up and stretching. Sitting up, I let myself meld with the couch, and once I fail at doing so. I shake my head and reach into my bag, grabbing a granola bar and slipping some dorayaki to the Shittim Chest for Arona, who's still asleep. Taking a bite out of the bar, I eat as I prepare myself for my day.
First, clothes. Switching out my pajamas for a pair of jeans and a white shirt, I slip a black short-sleeved button-up over it and leave it open. Now that I'm in new clothes, it's time for my loadout. I head to the armory and open the section of my weapons as I look through them.
I could just use what I usually do, but today shouldn't be very interesting, but my time in Kivotos has taught me one thing, and that is to never expect a very quiet day.
I shouldn't be needing range for the day, so maybe a submachine gun? If a fight does happen in the SCHALE building, then I'll need to react quickly too, so a shotgun?
Deciding on the MPX, Safety Distance, and Lullaby, the SPAS-12 is a modification of Sweet Dreams, a SPAS-12 I picked up ages ago.
I slip my Officer's M9 into my thigh holster and begin the process of connecting to my ScanTek lenses and slipping my earpieces in. "Morning ISAC." I greet my ever-faithful combat assistant AI.
"Good morning." ISAC responds as I head towards the office. "Granola bar again?"
"Yup." I answer. I like granola bars. On the other hand, my enjoyment of ration bars is as real as my highschool degree.
"One of these days, you'll need to get some actual food. This isn't healthy." ISAC reminds me and I roll my eyes.
"I heard you the first time." I answer as I turn on the computer and begin the process of a new day. "So, paperwork, and an interview, right?"
"Affirmative." ISAC confirms as I sigh at the pile of paperwork that needs to be done.
Suddenly, all of my motivation left me and I slumped back. "...Damn it."
Slowly, I started on the paperwork, signing off on things, making changes in others until Arona woke up and ate the dorayaki I left for her. "Morning, Sensei!" She says, appearing in my sight as she smiles at me. "Up and early again?"
"Yup." I respond as I continue the monotonous act of signing stuff that may or may not have to do with me.
"Thank you for the dorayaki, but I'm still hungry~." She whines as I continue.
"We can check out the cafe later." I say as I continue the process of signing papers. "Maybe after mid-day, wanna get some of this done beforehand."
"Yay~." She says as she hums and dissipates, leaving me to my own in the office as I continue signing paper after paper.
At some point, I had enough, "ISAC, play Electric Relaxation by A Tribe Called Quest."
A second later, music begins to play, relaxing but motivating as I fall into a calming rhythm and bob my head to the music for a long, long while.
Finally, a dent was made on the paperwork as I sigh. "...I need to do some moving." I tell myself as I look at the scars visible on my arm. "...Might as well." I tell myself as I sling my backpack over a shoulder and go to the gym.
"Sensei?" A white-haired police officer asks as she enters the office after being let in. "Are you here? I was wondering if you could give me some more lessons?" Kirino asks as she slowly enters. "I brought donuts?" She adds as she looks around, but doesn't find him.
Well, that was until she heard the jangling of a chain. She frowns as she places the donuts to the side and slowly begins to make her way to the gym, flicking her wrist and unfurling her baton as she gets closer. Finally, she reaches the door of the gym as she slowly peeks in.
…
Her jaws practically unhinge as her eyes widen and her throat dries out, closing her mouth, she gulps audibly as she watches her teacher train.
Mateo stands in front of a sandbag, hands up in a boxing stance as it shifts into a half guard before shifting again, his hands not staying still at all until finally, he moves.
Each jab causes an audible sound that had Kirino flinching each time it hit the bag and the hooks that followed caused the chain holding the bag up to jingle like a bell. The loudest sounds happened when he sent uppercuts, the sandbag practically hitting the ceiling with how it flew, or when he sent an elbow as she flinched at the sound.
And his kicks, from low or high, each one had a distinct sound that signified the force behind it. But that wasn't what interested Kirino nor why she was gaping at her teacher like a fool.
It was the fact that he was in a tank top and basketball shorts. Now, none of the students were unaware of the male musculature even if the citizens of Kivotos weren't exactly the same as Mateo and most of the students were female. Yet, when she saw him fight, she expected something slimmer, like what's usually seen in textbooks or in novels as 'fit', slim muscles, six-pack and whatnot.
Not to say he didn't have one, it just wasn't as defined if what she could see was right as his sweat caused his tank top to stick to his skin. Instead, his musculature was...broad, for a lack of better terms. She could see the muscles in his legs tense and relax with each movement, his broad back moving with a speed she didn't think he could have despite this. Even the scars didn't seem out of place.
Kirino's red-faced expression didn't leave as she reached up to wipe some drool from her cheek as she continued looking.
"Kirino?" Mateo asked, surprising her as he turned, quirking a brow as Kirino jerked up and suddenly realized what she was doing. Quickly, she fixed herself up and coughed into a fist to make sure her voice didn't seem out of place, "Y-Yeah, Sensei. I was let in."
"I know." Mateo answers as he sits down, reaching for water as he takes a sip. "I told them to let you in. I was doing some paperwork, but I couldn't take it, so here I am." He says as he looks at himself as she enters, a sardonic smile on his face. "As you can see, this body of mine ain't something nice to look at."
Kirino simultaneously agreed and disagreed, while the scars weren't very pretty, she found his body to be very pleasing. The thought caused her to flush, "I-I'm sorry, I was wondering if you could give me some extra lessons."
"I'd like to, but at this point, it's on you. Not to mention I have to get back to the paperwork before it gets too late." Mateo says before sighing heavily.
"Oh." Kirino says as Mateo looks at her, his eyes landing on her baton as he leans forward in interest.
"How good are you with that?" He asks and Kirino looks at her hand before her face pales.
"Ah, I shouldn't have this out!" She says, panicking as she begins to put it away but Mateo stops her.
"It's fine, actually," he says as he looks her over, "I haven't gone over my CQC in a while. Haven't met any students who know how to fight in close quarters yet aside from you, if you're interested."
"Ah, sure!" She says, smiling as she looks down and realizes. "Ah, I don't have anything to train in." Kirino notes as Mateo sighs.
"Well, it's not what I had in mind, but we can limit it to a few bouts. Three, two maybe." Mateo says as he gets up. "Up for it?"
"Er, well…" She trails off, but she couldn't miss this opportunity to get some valuable wisdom from Sensei. "Sure. But don't go too hard."
"I won't." Mateo says as he jerks his head in the direction of the mat. "C'mon, on the mat."
Gulping, Kirino removes her shoulder as Mateo grabs a knife, dulled and blunt for training as Kirino holds her baton reluctantly. "Are you sure about this Sensei?"
He stops inspecting his knife and stops, keeping his eyes on her as he walks around her. "Don't move." He tells her in that teacher-like voice he uses when he taught her and Fubuki.
Finally, after making a few circles around her, he asks, "What's your grade in CQC?"
"CQ-Are you talking about CQB?" Kirino asks and Mateo nods after shrugging. "Well, it's better than my accuracy scores."
"I can see that." He says as he gets in front of her. "Then, on my signal. First one to the mat or if you're hit. Ready?"
Raising her baton up and gulping at the pressure coming from Mateo, she nods. "Ready."
"Then, start!" He says, loud enough for it to echo in the empty gym as he gets into his own stance, an orthodox stance with one hand up and the knife by it, despite his slightly lowered stance, he still towered over her but she ignored it.
Finally, Kirino moves, swiping her baton as Mateo stepped back, and grasped her right shoulder to sweep her and put her to the mat, but in a surprising move, she brought her hand up and hooked it around his arm and was about to use her forearm to push his elbow in.
Before she could do that, he grabbed her other shoulder and rolled back, causing her to yelp as he pushed her off with a kick mid-roll as her back hit the mat with a loud slap as both of them sigh before getting back up.
Mateo chuckles as he gets into his stance, "I think I'm underestimating you a little."
"I am an officer of Valkyrie after all." Kirino says with some pride in her voice.
"Then let's end it at the next one, both of us have a job to do, and it's probably better if we get to them sooner rather than later." He says as he gets into his stance and Kirino does the same. "Begin!"
This time, Mateo wasted no time and swiped at her as she stepped back and she tried to hit his side only to have it be interrupted by his wrist as she tried for a palm strike to his side. Instead, Mateo catches her arm while twisting his arm so the blunt edge of the knife cuts against her arm as he pulls her in and rests the edge of his knife against her throat. With nothing else she can do, she drops her baton. "I forfeit."
"Good." Mateo says as he steps back, a proud look on his face. "You did good."
"I still couldn't get a hit on you." Kirino grumbles as Mateo shakes his head.
"Kirino, I'm twenty-one, you're what, seventeen, sixteen? I've got a few dozens of kilograms over you, nearly a foot in height over you, and more experience in live combat than you do." Not to mention that the live experience was in life-or-death struggles. "Don't expect to beat me in the first round. Still, why didn't you aim for my head?"
"Well," Kirino starts as she catches the bottle Mateo gave her, "it was just training, so I didn't see any reason to."
Mateo nodded with a small smile. "True. Time and place for everything. Now, I'm going to take a shower. I probably stink." He mutters at the end before shaking his head. "You can go ahead and return to your own patrol."
"Right." Kirino says. Thankfully, she didn't sweat much so she should be fine. "Then, until later, Sensei."
"See ya."
"I left some donuts on the table for you!" She adds while leaving.
"Thanks!" Mateo returns as he proceeds to take a shower.
Once again, I'm shackled to my desk like some poor sod stuck in a nine-to-five, watching as the numbers attempted to make sense but all I got was headaches for my effort as I groaned. The short training break did me good, and Kirino…
Her situational awareness is good. Like, scary good.
I munch on french crullers, my favorite donut, and continue working.
It took months for me to be able to hold back in training, but she was able to do so almost immediately while fighting someone bigger than her. Idly, I roll my wrist, my forearm aching slightly from blocking Kirino's hit, the students have some impressive strength, must be the haloes and their own training, well, when they decide to.
Hmm…
SCHALE students also need to train, right?
Nah, I can't ask them, they're not her for that, sadly.
Maybe Hasumi?
…
No. She uses a sniper for a reason, and it's probably not because she lacks strength.
Tsurugi?
No. I'm personally not looking to become a broken wall any time soon.
Chinatsu?
She's a medic for a reason, and Gehenna…
It felt familiar, and not in a good way.
After my little foray into New York and my subsequent return to Washington, Manny decided to try and re-establish the Castle Settlement and I was all for removing all the mortars and smoke that come from that depressing place. How that was done is liberating kidnapped members from the Black Tusk, and not ironically either, these people genuinely did not want to be there, I think...Most likely...
I was a few seconds away from joining those kidnapped members when they tried to jump me to kidnap me, for information or to work, I'm not sure, and I'm quite happy I never found out.
Still, they're the only ones I can think to ask that I know.
Glancing at the clock, I sigh as I sling my Go-Bag over my shoulder. "Let's see what requests we have on hand."
I stop by the restaurant and buy Arona a dozen different sweets, slip them away to give to her and let her munch on them to her heart's content. Looking through the requests along with ISAC, the two of us look through them as we walk around with no general goal. Still, we might be able to perform the mission tomorrow at the earliest. We might be able to find some important information.
For now, I sigh as nothing stands out and return to SCHALE. "Well, at least the student should be here."
Once I'm back in my chair, I hear Arona speak, "Sensei, the student is here."
Fuck, I forgot to check the student's file.
"Let her in after I go through her file real quick." I say as I bring out the Shittim Chest and there is Arona watching me with a resigned smile while both her arms out and shrugging as I roll my eyes. A second later, her file popped up.
Wow, another beauty.
Pretty, if I had to describe her, from her red eyes to the silver hair, not cute or beautiful, but pretty seems to describe her perfectly. I look through other relevant information when I stop at her club.
Gourmet Research Society, huh?
Maybe I can ask her about any good food near here.
Wait...Gehenna.
This doesn't feel good for some reason.
This is Kivotos after all, the Academic City. To my, admittedly, sparse knowledge, nothing is ever that simple.
In the end, I sigh as I tell Arona to let her in as I grab the snack bowl and place it on the coffee table beside me as I look through some more paper. "ISAC," I mutter, "turn on the security system once Haruna enters the Office."
"Affirmative." ISAC confirms as the tabs on the computer begin to change as I see the position of the turrets turn orange.
A set of knocks ring out from the door. "C'mon in." I say while putting away the paper I was looking at.
The door opens followed by the click of heels for some godforsaken reason as Haruna Kurodate stepped in. ISAC identifies her as such and the gun on her back as a H&K PSG-1 sniper with a few modifications. The picture on her file didn't do her justice as she walked towards me.
"It's good to make your acquaintance, Sensei." Haruna began with a smile as she bowed. "As you might know, my name is Kurodate Haruna." She said with a bow as I waved it away.
"The feeling's mutual, I assure you, but you don't need to bow."
A burst of gunfire goes off as Haruna's smile twitches. "If...you insist."
"Hit the deck!" An unfamiliar voice rings out as a burst of flames follow the panicked exclamations.
"Wait, wha-ah! Hot!"
"Careful Izumi, or else you'll turn into porkchop."
"My name is Vernes Mateo." I say while ignoring the yelling and removing my mask, slipping off the glove for my hand. "As you could guess, I'm not from here so forgive me if I fumble on a few things."
"No, it's fine." She answers as she looks to where her clubmates probably are and back to me. "...Are we in trouble?"
"A bit." I admit with a shrug as the ruckus continues outside. "Why don't you sit down and I'll deactivate the security and we can bring your clubmates in here."
"That would be appreciated."
"So, the feds are on my doorstep, what the hell did you do?" I ask as I look out the window and immediately look away when I see one of them try to get my attention and towards the group of four sitting on the couch, Akari Wanibuchi and Izumi Shishidou helping themselves to the snacks I left on the table, Junko Akashi looking at her clubmates like they were crazy, and Haruna Kurodate sitting pretty as if nothing is wrong with the world.
"...Sensei," Haruna starts as she leans forward and her entire being seems to shift, "tell me, how much do you know about gastronomy?"
"I've been alive for twenty-one years, you're a decade too late to think tricks like those would work. Now, what did you do or I'm turning on the TV and finding out through that." I answer as she freezes, probably not expecting to be shut down that quick.
Slowly, she answered, "Tell me, Sensei, if you saw a sink turned on, what would you do?"
"Turn it off, obviously." I answer as she nods.
"Then I simply did the same to an affront to gastronomy." She answers slowly as I look at her, raising a brow. ISAC offers me what happened and even I had trouble believing what I was reading. "You blew up a restaurant?"
"We didn't think they'd catch onto us this fast~." Akari says while looking away and holding a finger to her chin.
"Why the hell not?" The redhead snapped at her clubmates, "Haruna just had to blow up a restaurant before we got here, an interview she set up ahead of time!"
Eat or Die.
That must be their motto, considering it's always on a patch somewhere on their bodies. "So, why come here? The most I usually get are a bunch of snacks or drinks, and no one's used the communal kitchens in a while."
"You see, we came here to taste something no student ever has." Haruna says, "With the exception of a certain few who helped the elusive Sensei on his first day." She says, her eyes opening as her hat shadows the light on her face as her eyes seem to light up. "To see a delicacy such as that and not strive to taste it would shame us as Gourmands."
"...Really?" I ask, raising a brow, "You invaded an extrajudicial office after blowing up a restaurant just for food?"
"Precisely." Haruna says as I shake my head.
"...You do know I'll have to punish you all for this, right?" I say as I walk out. "Wait here."
Within a few seconds, I bring the container with the leftover borrachitas into the room. "Here, they're not exactly fresh, but they're not bad either."
With that, I open it as I reveal them to the girls as they all lean forward in interest. "Grab as many as you want but don't make a mess." I warn as I grab one of the small pastries for my own.
"Are you sure?" Junko asks, her eyes shining and drool coming from her mouth.
"I already said it's fine. Just don't make a mess." I say as I turn to the paperwork, waiting for the police to either come bursting in, call, or something.
In the midst of my paperwork, I hear someone pull up a chair as I look up and see Haruna seated on it primly. "That was a delicacy, Sensei." She compliments as I nod.
"I always loved eating it when I was younger. Preparing it too." I say as I lean back and look at the other girls, arguing as they try to get more. "Your friends seem like they enjoy it too."
"They do." Haruna says as she turns to me. "So, shall we continue our interview?"
"You still want to do that?" I ask as I jerk my head to the rest of her club, "Weren't you here for those?"
"We were," she admits without much shame, "but I also wish to join SCHALE as well. My compatriots don't feel the same yet, but I believe that joining this is simply another step in my journey to ultimate gastronomy."
"Well, there's not going to be much cooking here. I don't have the time and my required calorie intake is too high." I answer as she blinks.
"What do you mean?" Haruna asks and I shrug.
"I used to work as a first responder, if there was ever a natural disaster, I'd go and help clean up some things, work security, or be a teacher to the survivors." I explain as she nods along. "One of those disasters was a viral outbreak. It spread fast and it spread quickly. A lot of things happened because of that and things quickly worsened to the point my responsibilities changed from 'security' to 'field commander'. At some point, we managed to find a vaccine and I was the...third patient of the vaccine." After all, I gave the first two doses to the nun. "It wrecked me for days, I was out of commission for two weeks but by the end of it, I felt better and was healthier than before. Before this, I had something known as the Cocktail in me, which is not a type of food." I warn as I point to the interested Izumi.
"Awww, what was it then?" Izumi asks as I sigh.
"A bunch of vaccines were injected into me. As it turns out, the vaccine worked as an immunity booster rather than a simple vaccine. I didn't get sick anymore, I was immune to most sicknesses, I could go longer without sleeping and healed twice as fast." It's like something out of a superhero movie. "But, because of that, the amount of food I needed to survive increased and considering I was constantly busy, I didn't have time to make food for myself." I end with a shrug.
"The path to ultimate gastronomy is rarely a simple one." Haruna says with a smirk to my confusion, "There's more to gastronomy than simply the food you cook or where it's cooked. Availability, rarity, the process, all of these and more lead to the path of ultimate gastronomy." She smiles at the end and nods, "If I have to wait a bit, that's fine, but there's more to gastronomy than just food."
Sighing, I shake my head, "Well, sure. Then let's continue with the interview."
Yuuka takes a deep breath outside of the entrance to SCHALEs office. "Right, it's just a check to see how Sensei is doing. Nothing more. Keep yourself together, Yuuka."
Taking a deep breath, the blunette takes a deep breath and releases it. "Right. Let's do this."
Opening the door, she smiles widely, "Good afternoon, Sensei, I hope you're hard at work."
There was a second as she took everything and her heart fell. So did her expression as she looked at the veritable mess that was around her. Take-out boxes littered the floor, the desk, everywhere and among the mess are two people, one of them is a Gehenna student if the wing and tail was any evidence. She was going around and picking up trash and putting them in a trash bag with a displeased expression.
"Wh-what is this!?" Yuuka yelled as she looked around and the two people glanced at her.
"Oh," the Gehenna student spoke first, "are you here for an appointment with Sensei? As you can see, we're a bit busy at the moment-."
"Yuuka!" Sensei said as he turned to her, doing the eye-smile thing that makes her heart jump in her chest like it was doing gymnastics, "Just the girl I want to see."
"R-really?" She said while fixing her hair before realizing what she's doing. "Wait a-What is this?!"
"I gave my wallet to the wrong people." Sensei mutters as even the Gehenna student huffs.
"I hate to say it, but I told you so, Sensei." The student says with a sigh.
"How was I supposed to know you have a competitive eater and...and...I don't even have a word to describe whatever Izumi is to eat what she got." Mateo says incredulously, "At least Junko showed some restraint, you didn't even try to warn me."
"I did." The student retorted, leaning back and placing a hand on her chest as if she was personally offended.
"You did not. You said it was a 'bad idea' and never explained why."
"Wait, Sensei, what happened?" Yuuka asks as Mateo sighs before turning to the paperwork he's working on.
"Yuuka Hayase, meet Haruna Ku-." He stops mid-sentence before holding a hand to his face and pinching the space between his brows. "Sorry, Yuuka, this is SCHALEs most recent recruit, Kurodate Haruna. Haruna, this is Hayase Yuuka, one of the first conscripts during the whole debacle."
"Hayase-san?" Haruna asks as if surprised.
"Kuroda-the Gourmet Research Society?!" Yuuka said as she narrowed her eyes at someone who's made her job harder. "What are you doing here?"
"The path to ultimate gastronomy leads one to strange places." Haruna responds with a harrumph. "Why are you here, Demon Treasurer of Millenium?"
"De-?!" Yuuka yelped before glancing at Sensei before coughing into her fist, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh?" Haruna mutters, confusion clear in her eyes, "So you're not the heartless tyrant that reigns supreme over Millennium's budget, slashing budgets at the slightest show of weakness and/or misplacement before shutting down clubs without a care for what happens after?"
Yuuka went quiet, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath and responded. "I'm going to kill the Game Development Department." She said with a calm expression.
"You're getting your thoughts and your voice mixed up Yuuka." Mateo answers from his place on his seat as she yelps and turns to deny everything Haruna just said. "If you're known like that all the way in Gehenna, I guess you're pretty good with numbers. Can you look these over for me?" He says as he passes a pair of papers as she looks at them.
"What are these?" She asks as she skims through them.
"Contracts, in a sense." He answers. "I'm currently working with Abydos to try and help solve their problems, and to try and solve those problems, there needs to be a Base of Operations, Safe Houses, and ammunition caches set up to assist. The ammunition I'm set to bother Rin about once she has the time, but setting up those Safe Houses means cash, thankfully, there's a spot in SCHALE funds for such things, I just want to make sure I'm not cutting into SCHALE funds unnecessarily but I'm not undercutting Abydos either."
She nods as the first leaflet of papers seems right. But the second, "Funding for a hot spring?"
"A deal I cut with the Hot Springs Development Department." He answers to the confusion of Yuuka as he looks around. "I can explain more, but I need you to promise that whatever I say won't leave this room." He adds in a low voice as Haruna stops cleaning and Yuuka looks over at Mateo.
He was serious, far more than he's ever been. Thinking about it, Yuuka nods. "I promise."
"It's not like we can refuse." Haruna says, "We had to sign an NDA after all."
"Yeah, but I like getting a more personal promise from people." He says as he turns to her, "So? I'm not going to spill it all out, but just enough."
"Of course." Haruna says with a nod.
"Well, you know the desertification going on in Abydos, right?" He explains as he signs off on another thing as Yuuka nods and so does Haruna. "Well, it's bad. Like really bad. They were being harassed by gangs until recently and I don't think they're completely gone yet. Anyway, if we want to go anywhere with the investigation, we need something to work off of, and our best bet is a server room found inside the old school building covered in sand."
"Wouldn't the files all be corrupted, since it's probably been without power for so long?" Yuuka asks and Mateo nods.
"Usually, yeah, but I did some exploring and I found one server room with some energy still left. Maybe it was a precaution put in place or the extravagant spending of the Abydos council of old, but it's there and once we go in, we can extract the files and take some hardware left behind. Give it a bit of power and we'll be able to go through it and maybe get a clue or something." He says while sighing. "If that doesn't work, we'll just use some good-old fashioned on the boots investigation."
"How is this connected to a hot spring?" Yuuka asks and Mateo's smile is visible from under his mask.
"Well, to dig up a hot spring, you need explosives, heavy machinery, and experience in digging holes. The Abydos school is under a lot of sand." He says as he leaves it open. "I met with their President and they wanted permission to practice their craft, I told her I'd let her do it as long as it doesn't bother anyone. Not to mention it also doubles as a Safe House too."
"...All of this sounds shady, even if I know it isn't." Yuuka mutters. "But alright, I'll look it over."
"That's a relief." Mateo says with a sigh of relief. "Now, let's help Haruna clean up first." He says as he stands up.
"It's fine, Sensei." Haruna starts, "It's my clubmates that did it."
"And they're getting their due punishment." Mateo answers as Yuuka wonders what kind of punishment it was.
Meanwhile, Akari and Izumi were individually counting the bullets in SCHALEs stockpile, while Junko was counting the weapons and vehicles.
"Besides," Mateo starts, "I never could work well in a messy room like this. Well, as long as it isn't my mess." He admits as Yuuka sighs.
"Fine, let's do this." She says as the three get to work, finishing it in half an hour.
We were back at our desks, the rest of the GRS girls returning home after finishing the counting, exhaustion clear on their forms as I shook my head at them. It was a common punishment in Settlements or Bases of Operation for Division Agents to work on the records since Agents don't have to go through all that bureaucracy, they just ask for ammunition and they're given it. So having to count each bullet individually was a mind-numbing task especially when other Agents came in, took some, and just forced you to recount, again.
It was more common when President Ellis, rat bastard he is, was around, because then that punishment can actually be enforced. Once he died, may his soul be damned to the treacherous circle of hell where his body is frozen and never be able to escape it, the punishment ran out of style with Agents, to an extent.
Regardless, Yuuka speaks up, "Sensei, I'm done with the contracts."
"Good, send them over." I say as I get the message a second later and nod. "Right, let's get these sent." With that, the files are sent to Abydos and the Hot Spring Development Department. "With that out of the way, just gotta wait for the response, then we can move out."
"How long are you going to be here?" Yuuka asks as she stops by.
"Not too long. Maybe two more days, maybe earlier, might stay there for a while longer if nothing goes wrong." A notification sound rings out as I smile. "I think that's the Hot Springs Development Department. Seems like they've accepted, so that's done." Another one and this time it's a set of coordinates. "Guess these are the places they scoped out."
"Speaking of Sensei, do you want some coffee?" Yuuka asks and I shake my head as I look at the coordinates.
"Nah." I answer. "Makes me sleepy, remember?"
"Truly?" Haruna interjects. "But isn't caffeine supposed to keep you awake?"
"It's rare," Yuuka starts, "but individuals with certain conditions usually experience the opposite effect of caffeine and other products."
"Yup." I answer. "I'll take some soda, if there's any."
"Of course." Yuuka says as she walks off leaving me with Haruna.
"How's the organizing coming along?" I ask and Haruna smiles.
"Good. Fairly easy, though you do have messy handwriting, Sensei." Haruna notes as I shrug.
"I'm writing in an entirely new language I barely knew previously. Give me a bit of a break." I mutter as Haruna giggles.
"I will, I just hope the General Student Council will too." Haruna answers as she continues organizing papers.
"With what I'm going to pull? Nah, Rinny doesn't seem like the type." I answer as the two of us fall into a lull once more.
"Se~n~sei!" Yuuka returns, more enraged than before as she grabs the long receipt that was the food order. "What is this?"
"I thought I threw that away." I say, frowning as my mind immediately turns the yen into dollars and I cringe. That was expensive. "It's the receipt for the restaurant we ordered from."
"This much!?" Yuuka yelled as she gaped at Haruna. "And your friend ate all of this?"
"That she did." Haruna said with pride in her voice before that became worry. "That said, have you checked his fridge?"
"Not this again." I grumble.
"What's wrong with his fridge?" Yuuka asks, worry lacing her voice.
"It has a gun, alcohol, and flour." She says, disbelief lacing her tone. "What's he gonna do with that? Deep fry the gun and eat it? There's nothing in his cabinets, nothing in his fridge, and all he eats are his granola bars and ration bars, which are tasteless!"
"Required." I interject.
"Sensei…" Yuuka trails off. "W-Were you not paid by the GSC?"
"...Interesting." Haruna mutters, her expression darkening at the idea before I stopped it.
"I was." I answer, cutting them off before they could bring up any crazy ideas. "I just never had the time nor did I really want to."
"...So, you've just been eating your granola bars and ration bars this entire time?" Yuuka said with a bit of pity in her voice, which I take offense to. A diet of only ration bars is fine.
"And lollipops." I interject. "And other stuff, but yeah, mostly rations."
"This cannot continue. It is an affront to gourmands all over." Haruna proclaims. "We must rectify this as soon as possible, Sensei, may I step out for a bit?"
"Um, sure? Just don't cause too much trouble." I answer as Haruna nods and she exits as I return to the paperwork.
"You sure that was a good idea?" Yuuka asks and I shrug.
"I'm not, but I have to do this, and if her getting out of trouble gives me an excuse to move around, I'll take it." I answer, slightly joking before shifting and stretching. "Now, I'm going to call the Engineering Department and see how those plates and body armor are going."
Before I call, I realize something. "The GRS practically ate me out of more than half the reward. Why's she acting innocent?"
"Hibiki." I start, as I look at what's been presented to me. "This is an exo-skeleton."
"So it seems." Hibiki mutters while fidgeting, her ears flapping as she finds it hard to look me in the eye. Whether out of shame, anticipation, or something else, I don't know.
"I was gone for, what, three days, and you take in everything I told you and you decide to make an exo-skeleton?" I asked with a bit of incredulity and shock. "Jesus Christ, that's impressive."
"I-It's not finished yet." Hibiki says as she scratches the side of her cheek.
"It's amazing…" I trail off. "But, I'm fairly sure an upgrade to my plates and a modified body armor was what I asked for."
Hibiki's eyes blank and her mouth moves as she realizes what happened. "Um...it can be used to protect your body?"
"My body armor does the same without a need for energy or a weakness to EMPs." I respond before turning to Haruna. "And Haruna, who is that on your shoulder."
"I'm glad you asked!" Haruna says as she sets the student down, Fuuka Aikiyo, the President of the Gehenna School Lunch Club ISAC informs me. "This is Fuuka."
Her eyes are flat as Hibiki, Yuuka, and I stare at her and I sigh. "Why is she tied up and gagged?"
"Well, it's a shame really." Haruna says as she leans on Fuuka, who's slowly getting angrier. "You see, Fuuka is an amazing cook, really, it's just that circumstances do not allow for her talents to shine. So, I brought her here so her talents may shine!" She says as she leans away and proudly displays her as Fuuka's flat look does not change.
I've seen some strange things, from a terrorist club that wants to develop Hot Springs, Angels, Devils, elves, robots, and walking dogs and cats, but this…
Turning to Hibiki and Yuuka, I come to the conclusion that this is just strange, even to the students. Slowly, I get closer and sigh. "Haruna…" I say, suddenly tired. "I-I'm going to cut her out."
"Go ahead." Haruna says as she returns to her spot in the desks as she continues organizing files.
I could untie her, but I don't have that much patience left. "Stay still." I warn Fuuka as I cut the restraints around her arms, then her legs, and finally, remove the gag around her mouth. "You okay?"
She doesn't answer, and I worry she's traumatized, then she answers, "It's fine, I'm used to it."
I...I don't even know how to answer that.
"Now," Haruna speaks, flourishing both her hands out and turning, "Fuuka, show us the skills you're oh-so proud of."
Fuuka's hands reach for her gun as I gently push it down. "No gunfire within SCHALE. Please."
"Sensei, please, just once?" Fuuka pleads and I shake my head. She sighs heavily as she stows away her gun.
Silence overcomes the SCHALE office as the door opens once more. "Sensei, we got reports that a suspicious person brought someone here."
Goddamn it.
After assuring Kirino and Fubuki that I wasn't running a human trafficking ring or anything like that, I gave up trying to understand anything. Which is how I got here, walking with Fuuka as we looked for ingredients. "Do you have any preferences, Sensei?"
"Not really. First responder, we got what we got and worked with it." I answer as I turn to her, "Sorry you got roped into this."
"It was bound to happen." Fuuka responds before sighing, her face flattening as her exhaustion was palpable. "If it's not kidnapping, it's holding me hostage over not using lemon on karaage. If it's not that, it's blowing up the cafeteria for a similarly inane reason. And if it's not them it's one of the other students."
I can't help but pity her as I pat her shoulder. "How many lunches do you make? The School Lunch Club is two people right? Do you have help or-."
"No, it's just me and Juri." Fuuka answers with a shake of her head. "And thousands, if not tens of thousands if the delinquent population cares to appear."
"Good Lord in Heaven, that's a lot." I note as she smiles and nods.
"It is. It's not like I do it for recognition or anything, but…" she trails off, her face contorted into a frustrated grimace, "a bit of thanks would be nice."
"Well, it ain't much," I start, "but go ahead and go crazy. After Akari and Izumi practically wrung my wallet dry, I just don't really care at this point. And I already put in an order for more bars."
Honestly, I can relate to an extent. Imagine walking for hours, hoping that the next Settlement will let you in only for that to not be the case and be forced to either broker for peace with a rival faction or kill that Settlement or the rival faction or both for not being very Agent-friendly, not to mention all the times I've offered tools, or random knick-knacks I've had on me. Sure, I was thanked and it helped move the entire process forward, but more often than not, I was insulted and kicked out, so it got a bit frustrating.
"Sensei…" Fuuka trails off before smiling. "Thank you, even if this is for you as much as it is for everyone else."
"Don't mention it." I respond with a shake of my head. "Now, while we're here, we might as well get some extra ingredients for the future."
Slowly, me and Fuuka passed by stall after stall, her expertise with fruits and foods leading her to the best ones for an affordable price, as she managed to lower it further with her impressive bartering skills. I myself helped on occasion when we got something that was a little expensive by being quiet and focusing elsewhere. AKA, I mean-mugged the person without Fuuka noticing or really trying, which is weird since I don't see myself as that scary nor has any other Division Agent really pointed it out.
In the end, we got a pretty good haul, "Have you decided on what you wanted, Sensei?"
"Like I said, anything's fine." I insist as she narrows her eyes at me and slightly pouts.
"That doesn't make it any easier." She complains as I shrug.
"Sorry, if you asked me three-fourish years ago, I'd have had an answer, but I'd also have been a student instead of a teacher." I say with a shrug as she looks at me in surprise before looking me over. "Did I say something weird?"
"Er, no, it's just…I didn't know you weren't that much older than we are." She says as I shrug. "It's just strange thinking you were in our position four years ago."
"I thought the same when I talked with my own teachers." Whether they be school teachers, my mentor during my time as an Agent, or the sparse training I had before Black Friday, it was always hard to connect the image of the military hardasses I knew to rebellious or rambunctious teenagers.
Even now, I shiver at some of the stories the NAVY SEAL had when one of them trained me and taught me, not to mention how he trained and taught me, and then the few stories I got from his youth when I managed to get to know him better. The connection is just...way too hard to see.
"So, spoon or chopsticks?" She asks and I scoff.
"I can barely understand the language, so I'll take the spoon please." I answer as she nods. "So, you're joining SCHALE?"
"I was thinking about it." She admits, "Maybe not now, but later."
"Then I'll try to make your interview a speedy one if you do decide to apply." I answer. "It's been a while since I've had anything home-cooked. Since…" I pause mid-step as I try to remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal.
Christmas, I think, that was the last time my mother or father could safely go out and get food and not have to worry about looters or the like. Has it really been four years since I was activated? Since I killed my first person and went on to cut a bloody swathe through DC, New York, Silver Creek, and more just for the chance that I'll be able to see them again. That they won't leave this world without seeing it in a better state than it was originally? That I can see them one more time?
All those horrors, those deaths, the injuries, the pain for a country I don't even believe in? All for people I cared for before and after Black Friday.
Was it worth it? I don't care about being a hero or anything like that, but did it mean something? Did all those deals fall through without me there? Did the Settlements I protect survive? Did the kids I teach become fine men and women despite there not being much of an age-difference between us?
Am I proud of where I am?
"-sei. Sensei!" Fuuka's voice knocks me out of my reverie as I turn to her.
"Hm?"
"Is everything okay?" She asks, looking worried as I blink at her.
Not again. All this inactivity is leaving me with too much time to think.
I might speed up my return to Abydos.
"Yeah, just lost my train of thought." I answer as I smile at her. "Let's go, I'm getting excited for whatever you're making." I say as I walk ahead of her as she follows after me and I'm forced to ignore her worried glance at me.
Once we're back in SCHALE, I return to the paperwork. Hibiki was thoroughly scolded by Yuuka after being informed of the cost of the exo-skeleton, she was exhausted and slumped on the couch. While Fuuka was cooking, I walked over to the 'meister', as she refers to herself and scoff. "Seems like you got a bit overexcited."
"At least it's just a working model and not the final product." Hibiki mutters back. "Utaha-senpai wanted to add chain guns. Sorry, Sensei." She added, her ears drooping as I find myself unable to stop as I reach for the space in between her ears and rustle it a bit.
"No harm done." I answer as I remove my hand, to her confusion. "Just stay on topic next time, this is my life I'm putting in your hands, after all."
"Right." She answers, possibly unaware of how literal I'm being. "I will, Sensei."
"Good. Now…" I mutter as I look around, Yuuka is going through what few receipts I remember to keep, Haruna is organizing paperwork and waiting for Fuuka to finish, and I'm...almost done? "Not much else to do here. You can go back if you want."
"Actually," she says as she brings out a pen and a notebook as her eyes seem to glint in interest, "why don't you tell me what you want in the vest? Any design in particular or functionality?"
I stop as I blink at her as I hold a hand to my chin. "Well, I guess, similar to the one I have right now." I say as I point to the one I have. A simple kevlar vest to my eyes, but according to the egghead it's 'my' armor, as it's been made to fit me, fit my weapons, and my style of fighting. Or, that was the original idea. We were quickly reminded that Agents don't have things like 'personalized' armor since the armor will break, and if we form some type of sentimentality to it, it'll put us in danger. In the end, the egghead (aka Leo, a fellow SHD Agent in my usual 'group' of people I work with when I'm not on my own), just gave me a set of guidelines to modify the body armor when I can and if the current personalized armor broke. After all, peace was returning to America once again by the time we thought up the armor.
"So, you don't want something better, for you?" She asks and I think about it for a second. It was tempting, really, but that armor will break at some point. I'd rather not get sentimental over something like it.
"...No. Something...good." I answer as I sit beside her. "Not something revolutionary, or really world-defining or limited to Millenium either."
Hibiki frowns at my description, "That's boring, Sensei." She answers and I chuckle at that. "I'm not sure what to do with that description." She admits and I shake my head.
"You roll with it and take the extra funding." I answer with a shrug.
Hibiki pouts at that as she glares at me. "As much as I wish I could do that, I won't." She answers before looking me over. "Sensei, what kind of clothes do you like to wear?"
That's a strange question. "Whatever I can get my hands on, why?"
Now, Hibiki was obviously glaring at me. "I meant formal clothing." She elaborates and I nod in understanding.
"Why?"
"Answer the question." Was all Hibiki said as I held a hand to my chin. Rin's clothing comes to mind as I frown.
I can wield the title all I want, but at heart I'll always be a SHD Agent. Yet...maybe-just maybe.
"I haven't tried them out," I start, "but there are some uniforms for me, want me to show you?"
"Yes!" Hibiki says, her eyes glinting as she continues. "Let's go, c'mon." She insists as she pushes me and I stumble up.
"Alright, alright, gimme a sec." I huff as I lead Hibiki to my room, who's weirdly excited about it. Seeing my clothes.
I changed my clothes and stepped out, feeling a bit uncomfortable without my armor as Hibiki 'ooh'ed and Haruna nodded with a pleased expression. "I believe the saying 'the clothes make the man' fits in this situation."
Yuuka is staring at me with wide eyes as I frown and feel weirdly embarrassed from all the attention. Sure, I got complimented for using certain clothes in certain situations, but having this much feminine attention on me is still surprising.
The biggest surprise was Fuuka who peeked out of the kitchen. "Food's rea-oh." She stopped, looking me over before stopping around my chest as she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Sensei, come here real quick."
Walking over to her, I nod, "What's up?"
She waves for me to get closer as I do so, leaning forward as she grabs my blue tie, shoddily tied even to my own eyes since it's been years since I wore a suit. Jerking me forward, I nearly trip as she pulls me and our faces are close to my surprise as she unties my tie. "You tied it wrong." She notes as she proceeds to fix it in front of all the other students, who were watching the events with interest and a bit of embarrassment. "Honestly, you're an adult, you should know how to do things like these."
"Well I can't help things I don't know." I retort, looking away for some reason as I try to ignore the warmth blooming from me and the warmth in my cheeks. "I've never worn something like this."
Wasn't that the truth. My jeans were replaced with white slacks, my shirt and original button-up were replaced by a black button-up, with the white symbol of SCHALE over my left breast. To top it all off would have been a white vest, but I felt like the white trench coat with a blue inside worked well-enough, there were even some starry bits on the inside. I actually looked like a teacher in this. Well, in return, I feel naked with my lack of equipment. There were also a pair of black gloves and my Smart Watch was still on along with my earpiece and ScanTek.
"There." Fuuka says as she takes a step to appreciate her work as I look at it. It was good. "Now it's done."
"Thanks." I answer as I look at myself. Frowning, I look at my arms and the sleeves of the trench coat. A small habit I got over the years is pulling my sleeves to the elbow. Debating it in my mind, I decide to roll up the sleeves to the forearm as I stick them together with a pair of pins I found in the coat. "There."
It might reveal a few more scars than I want shown, but that's fine. What isn't is the lack of defense this has. Not even an extra layer, nothing to even soften any hits coming at me.
Still, as Arona materialized, her eyes practically glowing and her halo green in joy as she spoke with awe, "Wow~, it looks amazing, Sensei!"
Mentally, I answer, "Sadly, unless something historic happens, I don't think I'll be wearing it again." She pouts at that and glares at me. Admittedly, the trench coat is nice.
Still, my thoughts were interrupted as Haruna whistled, a teasing smile on her face and a slight flush on her cheeks. "My, Fuuka, I never took you as someone who was that bold~."
"What was that!?" Yuuka asks, blushing as Fuuka seems to realize what she did as a blush blooms on her face.
"Wha-Wha-!?" Fuuka sputtered while looking around as Hibiki nodded.
"Sensei, what are your measurements?" Hibiki asks, her eyes glinting as that confirms it. She was interested in clothes. Though all the other girls seem scandalized at the question, even Haruna.
"I don't know." I answer with a shrug, turning to ISAC as he looks at Arona as she shrugs. In a second, the two look through the files and find something that appears on my ScanTek. It looks like my measurements. "I think I have something, I'll send it to you later. Now, what'd you make Fuuka?" I ask and the horned student blinks, shaking her head to remove the blush, before smiling.
"Well…" As she started to explain what she made, which was a beef stew, the other girls filed in as Hibiki asked questions, like what kind of color scheme I wanted, whether I'd be using a backpack, or what kind of armor I wore, what kind of situations I'd want it for.
The last one gave me some pause since I'm now something like the FBI without all the shady practices. Er...morally bankrupt practices, I mean.
In the end, I answered, "When I'm practicing official SCHALE business." I answered which the girls quickly translated as 'the middle of a battlefield'.
Still...taking a bite out of that stew, I had to clamp down on my emotions lest I start bawling like a child. "So," Fuuka starts anxiously, "how is it?"
I could have answered in many ways, which is how the girls answered.
"Marvelous as always, Fuuka." Haruna complimented. Weirdly enough, Fuuka didn't seem too happy.
"Amazing…" Yuuka said in disbelief.
"Delicious." Hibiki summarized briefly as she returned to eating the stew, her tail wagging all the while.
I don't answer for a while, which must have worried the girls as Fuuka begins to fidget, "Was it...not good?"
I still don't answer as I take another bite. "...Nostalgic." I answer after a few seconds of silence, as I smile at Fuuka.
Just like mom's.
Despite the warmth in my tone, the way Fuuka's expression brightened, and despite everyone returning to their food, I ate slower than before. Slowly tasting and reveling in the soft beef and tasty stew as I kept my emotions down.
Finally, I finish sipping on my stew as I get up. "Thank you, Fuuka, that was delicious. The paperwork is practically done so all of you are dismissed. Go home, get some rest, and prepare for school." I say as I stretch.
I need to get out of here before it breaks.
"Thanks for your hard work, Sensei." Yuuka says with a smile and a bow.
"Yes. It's been an honor. Now, Fuuks, seconds please~."
"You mean thirds? And good night, Sensei." Fuuka starts flatly before her voice lightens up when addressing me.
Hibiki simply hums in response as I head to the single place where I might have privacy. The Crafting Room.
That wall seems like a very good thing to use to cave someone's head in.
Particularly my own.
Fuuka's cooking was nostalgic. It was like the reward I imagined once I could return to my family.
Weirdly enough, it didn't taste like one.
I had to hold a hand to my mouth as disgust bubbles up my stomach, bile following it as I have to remind myself that this is just a psychological response. Weirdly enough, it didn't work.
God, how pathetic do I have to be to reject warmth?
Her cooking was delicious. I don't know how marriage works here or whatnot, but whoever marries her is going to be happy.
My stomach sure as hell isn't.
Why? Why can't I leave it behind? My very body still feels stuck in the US, and it seems to hate Kivotos. Like it wants to leap out and tear it asunder just for existing. For being a pillar of his failure.
The failure of abandoning the Division and my own efforts.
In the end, he can only release a shaky sigh with a single thought.
I wish I really did OD that day.
And what a mess that day was. Two Division Agents, three with me included, and two Civilian Militia, two First Aid kits in enemy territory. One of the Agents forgot to get one and the other used it on one of the Civilian Militia and I used mine on the other.
Personally, when the US Senators, or President, or whoever drafted the clause that allows Division Agents to use any means to return peace and stability, I don't think any of them thought that that clause would be used to justify drugging a young man.
I rub my leg as I can still feel the remnants of the pain from the long cut on my leg that forced us to stop and perform some surgery. I remember how we used all our painkillers and we couldn't find anything to use as painkillers, not even alcohol miraculously, until we found some drugs.
Granted, I was still fuzzy about the entire thing due to the pain, but I do remember being forced to take it.
Motherfucking thing was laced.
I nearly OD'ed.
Now, I don't really care if people use drugs, it's when they do it.
In your free time when there's nothing to do? In moderation, but what do I know?
Right before a mission? Whatever happens if you're shot is between you, God, and whoever shot you.
During a mission? I'll shoot you myself.
And this was during a mission, and somehow, someway, we managed to get through it with minimal extra damages aside from me nearly OD'ing.
Sighing, I remember the words Kelso directed at me. "You look pathetic."
Like then, when she found me, exhausted and injured, I smiled, "Yes I do."
The memory of one of my mentors lightens my mood, dispelling any unneeded thoughts as I release a sigh and smile, slightly more genuine than usual.
If I can somehow manage to bring peace to most of the US while half of it still hates the Division, I can manage to get back home and see my family at least one more time.
"Right then, I should confirm that hot spring location. Tomorrow is Abydos so I should inform the pilot, maybe bring some things to do while there, then, I guess scoping out the district for any possible remnants? Yeah, that's good." I mutter as I get up, my stomach settled as I see Arona and ISAC appear in my peripherals.
"Are...you okay, Sensei?" Arona asks and I smile.
"I've been better." I answer with a shrug. "But, there's work to be done, paperwork to finish, and a schedule to start on. I don't have the time to continue having these little episodes, not if I want to help my students."
As I finish up the paperwork and argue with Kasumi over whether setting off an explosive in the middle of the city would bother anyone, I cling to the single constant in my life.
My students.
…
Still, these episodes are getting way too common.
A/N: Hopefully, I got their personality right and I also hope that I'm not overdoing portraying Mateo's mental state.
Mateo…well I don't want to spoil everything, but for those who've played the Division…it gets pretty bad.
Also, for anyone who has played the Division 2, what do you think of what I've decided to do with the BSAC? Originally, you couldn't do much with it, only give it to a nun but I decided to make it be a sort of immune-booster, I think… Science is not my strong point. Regardless, in essence, he's stronger, faster, and better than normal, but he eats a lot more, basically.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.