The Divide

by 501ar

There are many things you do not do in this world that is generally accepted as fact. You grow accustomed to pineapple on pizza, you're not just born liking it, you do not approach anyone with a watch blinking red, and you do not hire a (technical) high school dropout to become a teacher. Thankfully, this city also needs an Agent. I'm glad I have experience with both.

8. Bonds of a Teacher and his Students

A/N: So, a day away from the anime and a lot of chapters ready…

Jesus, I need to start working on my other stories.

Irresponsibility aside, lemme ask, what side content would you like to see? Maybe ISAC explains something on the ISAC channel? Or some more or Mateo's missions? Tell me, I'm curious.

Now, onto reviews.

phillyitalian: Truly, a coincidence amongst many.

GoldStar77: It's fine, and your opinion is appreciated, thanks. And yeah, I felt like it was needed, just an instinct.o

GoldStar77:True, it would, it's definitely going to be interesting in its own way. We'll see, we'll see(Maniacal laughter).

GoldStar77: That's good, that's what I was going for, I guess I portrayed the characters correctly if people are saying that it's good. Truly, that's Kivotos' ass, ah yes, 100 kg calculator.

Gonsmoss: Thanks, I was going for peacefully chaotic, but peaceful on its own is fine. Yup, poor Fuuka getting caught in the crossfire. Well, if I add those it won't be a Division crossover, sure, there'll be similar things since this is three or four years after the Division 2 but beyond that, it just wouldn't feel the same. So, for now, unless something changes with the seasons in the Division 2, the Heartlands introduce new weapons, or the Division 3, Sensei can only use weapons from the Division 2 and other places.

So, that's it for reviews.

I hope all of you enjoy the chapter.

---

The GSC President was a fan of many things, from the occult and unexplained to near-impossible mysteries. Rin, as her friend and right-hand woman, was accustomed to the President's whims and little mysteries she leaves for her.

Sometimes, she'll be cleaning her desk and she'll find a random note from her and others would just be random things, like a list of groceries from certain times or events.

They get a bit bothersome, but Rin appreciates the slight moments of levity in all the work she's buried in. Though, this one was a bit more...confusing.

Hi Rinny,

We probably haven't talked a lot, or much at all, but even you should remember regulations when it comes to new hires, right?

Sensei might have all of those weapons, but even then remember to take him to the armory, maybe he'll find one of the weapons I've hidden~.

Or not~.

Also! Also! Be careful. Matty is such a meanie for trying to keep you all to himself when he already has such a habit of charming unsuspecting young girls! Honestly, he should be more aware of his position and his own charms. Please be careful around such a beast~.

That's it, well, the actual contents are longer and slander Mateo a lot more than usual, which left Rin humming.

"Hmmm, I see." She notes as she can't stop the slight uptick of her lips. "I'll keep that in mind." She mutters as she returns to her paperwork. "Still, I'll have to contact him and set up a trip to the armory at some point." She mutters as she returns to her work.

---

Once again, the wind whips against my armored form, my long-sleeve light blue shirt pushing against my frame as I hold my hat against my head and release a deep breath. Everything's been generally squared off, but I'd rather go and inspect the district for possible Safe Houses with my own two hands, not to mention…

My gaze stretches out against the large expanse of sand that is the Abydos desert where the main high school building is located, it leaves me wondering what will be found there? Will the mission be for naught? Will the power go out? Will the files reveal something?

Will Serika stop being pissed at me?

That last one is a bit harder to see than the others. I'm no stranger to failed missions, even if the reports might say something else, but people were always somewhat difficult for me. From my previous failed relationships to general friendships, I was cordial, but I was also committed to a cause. Though those that stuck around only made my commitment worse since I suddenly had more people to fight for.

Weirdly enough, I've been told this attitude makes me distant, but also approachable. I practically embody every concept that the Division stands for. I also don't hide my distaste for certain acts nor my enjoyment when it comes to teaching the kids. Hell, even my efforts to entertain the kids endear me to the people somewhat along with my general youth.

Every skill I have, from the ability to draw my gun at great speeds and shoot accurately or even some of my other more mundane skills are in an effort to comfort, entertain, and teach the kids, whether they be younger than me, older, or around my age. My gear reflects this somewhat with the exception of the Dodge City Gunslinger Holster, which was a mixture of curiosity and a bit of childish interest.

Still, I'm not sure what to do here…

Serika and the Foreclosure Task Force don't need comfort. They don't need a leading or a guiding hand, they'll be fine with or without me. Can I even do anything here?

Slowly, I huff. "Maybe I'm out of touch."

My hand seems to instinctively go to my weapon, my M9 as I draw it and begin the therapeutic act of inspecting it. "Nothing out of place, like usual." I mutter as I slip it back and look out the chopper.

I. Don't. Belong. Here.

The way I think doesn't belong here, the way I talk doesn't belong here, my armor, my habits, none of that belongs in a world like this.

But that's fine.

Reaching back to a small opening in my Go-Bag, I bring out a small book with a pen on a certain page as I open it and begin to indulge in my hobby. Puzzles, particularly sudoku.

Numbers have never been my favorite things, but when you're stuck in a place that's one step away from hell, you find something to do, and I found myself enjoying the process of bringing together things, whether they be mysteries, treasure hunts, little secrets, or just doing sudoku. Admittedly, I've never wanted to find mysteries, but I've always liked figuring them out. That said, if I ever have the time I like to bring out the little book I have out and try to figure out the numbers.

It's a calming thing for me and also helps me keep my mind off of the horrors I'd see.

"LZ spotted. Prepare for landing." The Pilot informs me as I grunt, stowing away the small book.

I didn't belong with the Division. I'll just do what I can.

One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Once more, I smile as I pick up the crate. "Thanks."

"Break a leg, Sensei!" The pilot says as I begin my trek to Abydos.

Speak of the devil.

I freeze as I spot Serika, the red-eyed cat girl doing the same once she spots me and neither of us move. That is, until I smile, "Good morning!"

She seems to instinctively move as she answers, "Goo-Wait a second. Don't act like we're friends!"

"Well, that's a shame." I mutter as I look at the surrounding area. Just as sand-covered as the last part but, "Is this the residential area? Where's your house?"

"Why do you need to know that?" She immediately asks, looking at me with suspicion. "It's none of your business anyway, pervert."

"It's called preparation." I answer as I place the box I'm carrying down, to Serika's curiosity. "I wasn't able to get in contact with Rin, so the extra ammunition will have to wait. For now, I'll set these up," I say as I bring out an Assault Turret and place it on the wall of an abandoned house.

"What's tha-ah!" She jumped back as the legs of the turret popped out and it looked around before returning to its inert state.

"It's not much, but it'll do for now." I say as I go back to the box and close it. Picking it up as I turn to Serika. "You're going to school, right? Mind if I join you."

"Wait, what was that?" She said, pointing to the turret. "Why did it have legs?"

"It's a turret." I answer. "It can't walk, don't worry." I assure her, weirdly enough, she doesn't seem very assured.

"What are you even doing here? Isn't your visit supposed to be tomorrow?" She asks and I nod, shifting my grip on the box as I tighten my grip on it. "I wish I had that much time to be idle." She adds mockingly.

"True. But I got most things for the operation squared out and just need Hoshino's permission and signing. You know, dotting the i's and crossing the t's." I explain as I fail to mention that the help I got probably wouldn't ask for permission before entering the district. "The boring part of official operations before we can get down to the actual mission." I answer as I shift slightly. "So, you going to school?"

"Why does that matter to you?" She asks and I raise a brow. "What I do is none of your business."

"It is, considering the Helmet Gang are probably still around." I answer as she turns to me in confusion.

"Huh? Did you forget, we already routed them. Ayane has been keeping an eye on them and so have the others, but no one's seen anything." She says before scoffing. "No supplies coming in or out, no extra members, nothing."

Sure, from the outside, but what about from the inside?

Kaiser has yet to leave my list of suspects, and as far as I care? It never will.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry." I say as I grab the box and walk beside her.

DC, New York, Silver Creek, all of it has taught me that people with power will do anything to get more or to cling to it. After all, it's people like these that have been impeding the re-establishment of local governments and the internet among other things.

Speaking of, I wonder how the US is doing. While I did a lot of fighting, even in my last year there, I did a lot less since I took up more of a...diplomatic/supporting position in my last year, in a way. I was still an Agent, but now that some form of a security force was being established, things were generally safer, with a few exceptions. Exceptions I'd go into and deal with diplomatically, aka using the skills I used to blackmail the SHD into accepting me, and using them to make deals. Hopefully, both sides are following through with them.

Kinda strange, during my first few months as an Agent I was shoehorned into the Support branch of the SHD and I willingly took up the position in my last few months, occasionally going out and leading the operations. It's doubly as ironic if you realize that the federal government was in the process of being re-instated and as such the SHD was in the process of being de-activated, though I hadn't heard of any Agent being de-activated before I appeared here.

"Then leave me alone and go to school already!" She yells as she runs away and I look at the box in my hands.

"...I'll just ask Hoshino where she works." Maybe I can use it as a Safe House.

As I begin to step away, my heart begins to drop as unwelcome memories begin to filter through. A similar situation as I tapped my foot against the floor and found myself unable to leave her alone like this.

I can scout out later. After the decision is made, I run towards the Abydos school. Have to set up a perimeter there then I'll look around the city.

Failing is a normal part of life, but failing as badly as I did…

Sandman is a name I got in two ways, the first was when a bunch of Agents saw me playing with kids in the sand and practically having sand fall from every crevice of my clothes.

The second way was when I failed one of those children.

I'm not looking to do it again yet it'd be unreasonable to hover over them like some helicopter parent.

What a conundrum...

---

"Finally." Hoshino says, slumping as Ayane smiles as she looks at the paper with a bit of hope. "That's done."

"Yup." I say as I stretch, my back popping as I smile in relief. "All I need to do now is contact the other team and set up the operation."

"Thank you for your hard work." Ayane says with a bow as I smile at her and wave away her thanks.

"It's fine. Depending on how things go, everything should be ready in a few days. We should hit the Stronghold and make sure nothing's left for the Helmet Gang to come back to." I say as I stand up. "The perimeter is set up and under Ayane's control and I need to scout out locations for possible Safe Houses."

"Ayane's been keeping an eye on it." Hoshino starts. "No one's left or come in ever since we took down the Control Points. They've mostly been hunkered down."

"Right. Then it should be smart to take care of it tonight." I mutter loud enough for Ayane and Hoshino to hear.

"They overstayed their welcome long ago." Hoshino says with a sour look before it returns to her normal relaxed stance as her eyes land on me. Idly, I take a bite out of my ration bar and Hoshino perks up in interest. "What's that, Sensei?"

"Cardboard." I answer as I take a bite out of the ration bar and grimace. "But if I imagine it tastes like lobster the dull taste goes away a bit."

"Uhe. That won't do." Hoshino says as she stands up, a glint in her eyes as she turns to Ayane. "It's our responsibility to show guests around. And while there's not much to see in Abydos, we do still have one thing." She says as Ayane's eyes widen in realization and she seems to get a bit excited. "So, let's go get Shiroko and Nonomi and head on to the best ramen spot in Kivotos."

"Here." Shiroko announces as she opens the door, wearing something distinctly different than before. Rather than her school uniform, she is wearing a form-fitting cycling uniform with the Abydos symbol on it among other things as I spot a few drops of sweat go down her face. It looks good.

Her clothes. Not Shiroko in her cloth-well, she do-.

I'm going to shut up.

"Hello, Sensei~." Nonomi says as she enters after Shiroko. "It's good to see you again."

"The feeling's mutual." I answer as I finish off the ration bar I'm eating. "Hoshino says you guys have the best ramen in the city? As in, Kivotos or Abydos?"

"Well~," Nonomi says as she claps her hands and brings them up to her cheek, "I don't know about Kivotos, but Shiba Seki is the best ramen I've tasted."

"Nn~." Shiroko is quick to nod in agreement. "Very good. You should try it, Sensei."

"I'll take your word for it." I answer as I notice something. "What's that in your bag?"

Her eyes practically glow. "A map." She said as she pulled it out and unfurled it, placing it on the table as she showed it to me. It was a map of the area of the Abydos school we're going to. "Hoshino helped me a bit."

Looking through the three, I could see exasperation on their features and a bit of frustration in Ayane's case, but even she seemed a bit interested. "All I said was that not everything might be lost."

"What are you talking about?" I ask as Hoshino shook her head.

"Shiroko wants to go through the school to see if we can find something." Hoshino says with a bit of resignation. "But even if I'm as old as I am, I'm sure there wasn't anything worth getting in there."

"I wouldn't say there isn't." I mutter as Shiroko turns to me in interest and Ayane's eyes widen along with Hoshino. "The power source of the server room for example. Once we extract the files we can look for it and extract it, possibly sell it off or use it here. Though, that's probably the only thing there of notable worth."

Shiroko's ears droop as my heart twinges at the act for some reason as Ayane sighs and Hoshino groans. "Uhe~, right as I had my hopes up."

"That's amazing~." Nonomi pipes up. "We can figure out what happened and we can help ease up the burden on the debt a bit!" She says, practically exuding positivity.

"True." I nod before continuing, "Personally, I'm up for that ramen now." I say as the others nod and smile.

"As long as Sensei pays. I think we earned it."

"Either that or my card declines."

---

To my confusion, as we were approaching Shiba Seki, the others were giggling, as if sharing an inside joke, even Shiroko's mouth slightly tilted up as we got closer to the classic ramen shop I've seen on my travels, particularly in Chinatown. It was wooden with a bit of stone on the inside, resembling a diner but also lacking much of what's normally in those diners, the furniture a classic wooden style and the scarce but audible slurping from within to my confusion.

"Here we are, Shiba Seki Ramen." Hoshino says as she presents the place to me. "Trust me, you'll love it." She says before leaning forward and whispering with a mischievous glint in her eyes and an equally mischievous grin, "The waitress is really pretty."

I can't help but roll my eyes. If a pretty face was all I needed to convince me to stay in one place, I wouldn't have gotten anything done. "Sure, whatever you say. Let's go." I say as Shiroko's eyes bear down on me for some reason along with Nonomi's giggles and Ayane's sigh as she enters first.

"Excuse me~." She starts as a familiar voice follows.

"Welco-eh?" Serika trails off as I file in, taking off my Go-Bag and pausing as I look at the flustered catgirl. She wore a black shirt with a light blue ribbon, lacking any tactical gear with the exception of her pistol. Still…

"You were right," I can't help but mutter to Hoshino as Serika's face slowly flushes red to my amusement, "the waitress is amusing."

"Right~." Hoshino mutters back.

"Hey Serika," I start, raising my bag as I ask, "where does this go?"

"Oh, just remove the weapons and place them on the-wait! What are you doing here?" She yells, interrupting herself as I follow her instructions, removing Safety Distance and Lullaby and placing them on the wall racks. I reach for my holster as I remember what Manny said when I first got it.

"Look at you Sheriff, looking the part already."

Shaking my head, I shift the position of the holster so that the pistol is on my left thigh, resembling the original cavalry draw with the buttstock forward.

Meanwhile, Ayane apologized to Serika for interrupting as Hoshino chuckled. "Well~, we knew you'd be here, so we decided to stop by."

"They really talked this place up." I pipe up beside them as Shiroko, Nonomi, and Hoshino go to place their own guns on the wall mount, still, each of their guns was beautifully maintained, it was an amazing sight.

"Hoshino." Serika practically growls under her breath, "I should have known."

Before she could answer, or scold me for a matter of fact, a gruff voice spoke, "Are these your Abydos classmates and Sensei?" The shiba inu with a scar under his eye spoke gruffly, reminiscent of some of the older residents of settlements. Not truly a soldier but someone who won't go down fighting. "Quit the chit-chat and take their order." He says, his eyes landing on me as mine land on Serika, for some reason. Must be the mask.

"Y-Yes, sir." She says in the same tone the civilian militia would use when I caught them doing something they shouldn't. "Follow me, I'll take you to your table." She offers as she walks off and we follow Nonomi with a pep in her step as she sits in a booth considering the customers were fairly sparse and spread out in the restaurant. Kinda empty, admittedly.

"Okay! Over here, Sensei! Sit next to me!" Nonomi said, patting the space next to her as I shrug, about to move before stopping as Shiroko speaks up.

"Um...Or you can sit here if you want." Shiroko offers, revealing the open seat beside her with an expectant look as I'm suddenly a bit conflicted as to where to sit, with Shiroko's eyes shining strangely and Nonomi's shining with excitement.

In the end, I decide to sit down beside the wolf girl, half of my body hanging off the seat as and the other practically pressed up against Shiroko as I shift to try and give her some space. "Sorry." I say, noticing how this is a bad idea. "Lemme get a chair."

"Um," Shiroko stops me, holding the sleeve of my shirt as she seems somewhat embarrassed, "it's fine."

"It's not." Serika interrupts Shiroko as she glares at us. "Move over this way or sit somewhere else. It's obviously not comfortable for Sensei."

"No, it should be fine." Shiroko insists, turning to me with intense eyes, "Right, Sensei?"

Serika's brow twitches as a vein pulses angrily on her forehead, "But there are plenty of seats! Can't you all just sit like normal people?"

In the end, Serika was right, this isn't very comfortable.

So, while Shiroko is pouting, I hook my leg on a chair and pull it towards me, sitting down and leaning back.

I'm kinda thankful I'm seated where I am, directly in front of Serika, it gives me a good view of the window.

Also, of the orange outlines representing people running on the building outside with what looks like snipers. ISAC can't seem to get a bead on their comms, so either it's someone with a robust firewall, like Millenium, or someone who can afford it like Trinity or Gehenna. Considering that the Gehenna Hot Springs Department might or might not be seen coming here, it's most likely Gehenna.

ScanTek is something I rely on greatly, but even then I'd rather be able to actually see outside rather than look through a wall.

Regardless, I settle back to normal and listen as Nonomi starts, "Your uniform is adorable, Serika~."

"I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff. Chose to work here solely based on the uniform, did ya?" Hoshino asked with a raised brow and smug smirk.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Serika stutters out, blushing. "It had nothing to do with that! I just used to be a regular here, that's all…" She trails off as Hoshino chuckles lowly.

"He~, I bet I could fetch a pretty yen if I sold pictures of you in that uniform, Serika." Hoshino says before turning to me, just as amused, "What do you say, Sensei? Wanna be my first customer?"

"As a teacher, I have to refuse." I start, as Serika seems to relax a bit before I add, "Personally," Serika's eyes narrow and land on me and I raise my hands in a pacifying gesture, "I'd rather not find out the caliber of Serika's gun while the barrel is pointed at me."

Ayane just scolds Hoshino, "Knock it off, Hoshino…"

Shiroko pipes up, "So, how long have you been working here?" She asks Serika as her blush begins to subside.

"Maybe about a week." She answers as Nonomi's eyes brighten and she clasps her hands together.

"Now I get why you were running off from time to time. I guess it was because you were working." Nonomi mutters as Serika's face begins to flush red again, but in anger this time.

"Would you shut up already and place your order?!" Serika yells and I can't help but hold a hand to my mouth as I look away, hiding the laughter that nearly came out with a cough as Serika reminded me of an angry cat for obvious reasons.

"I think what you meant," Hoshino starts, a devious look in her eyes under her tired facade as I grit my teeth and try to keep my laughter from bursting out, "was 'May I take your order?'" Hoshino said with a high-pitched tone and a waggle of her brows that'd have even the calmest of people looking to wring her throat. "Right, Serika? We're your guests here after all."

"Ugh…" Serika groans, grimacing as she takes a deep breath and smiles brightly, only a slight break in her voice and the twitch of a brow signifying how close she is to explode. "May I take your order?"

Nonomi spoke first, "I'll have the chashu ramen, please!"

Then Shiroko. "One shio ramen."

Ayane. "Hmmm, I'd like the miso ramen."

Finally, Hoshino, "I want the special miso! With extra grilled chashu!"

"I'll take…" I mutter as I look at the options. "Two seafood ramen," to their surprise as Ayane gapes at me and Serika seems unsure, after all one of those aren't for me, "and...your choice."

The last part confuses Serika, "What?"

"Yeah. I said I'd pay for your food and I meant all of you." I say as all of them seem a bit surprised. "Oh, and a pork ramen, please."

The smell of ramen is getting to me. I've only ever had instant ramen, so this opportunity…

For years, I've subsided on rations and the occasional good food, admittedly, something about this place...it's making me really hungry. Not to mention...Arona is also hungry.

Serika glares at me for some reason but doesn't say anything. She recounts the order as none of it seems out of the ordinary, except for the fact that it was all of ours but she didn't get something for herself.

"Sheesh, you sure you can eat that much, Sensei?" Hoshino asks as I shrug.

"I've only had instant ramen before and that was around...three years ago." I admit. "I'm just really hungry and that smells amazing."

"Oh right, you were a first responder." Hoshino notes before turning to me with a curious look. "You don't really look like one." She adds while looking me over. It's not like I actually am a first responder, it just so happens that responding to emergencies was the job of a Division Agent.

"Well," I trail off, memories of the bodies piled up during the first few months of the Dollar Flu coming to mind followed by the bodies of my own victims, "the disaster wasn't a nice one, that's for sure." I answer, managing to keep my voice level despite the painful memories that pop up. "At some point, it stopped being about saving and more about defending. We had to adapt, so we did." I summarized my time as an Agent, my foot tapping against the floor under all the attention.

I hope they don't continue this line-.

"What happened?" Nonomi asks, her brows furrowed in worry.

Damn it.

You can't spill your guts out Mateo. Take a deep breath and be honest. They don't need to know.

Still, more and more memories filtered through my mind as I managed to keep a straight face and keep my tone level, "A lot of things. A virus that got out of control." No thanks to the Black Tusk. "People took advantage of the chaos, they fought against each other-."

Used each other like weapons.

…

Leave it. Close it, quick.

"A lot of integral facilities were damaged and people couldn't get the help they needed. Thankfully, the government managed to get it back under control." After four years. After they conspired with the Black Tusk to propagate the Dollar Flu.

"That's a relief." Ayane says with a relieved smile as Shiroko nods.

They're your students.

The ache, the pain, the memories all wash over me like water as the words act like a lock as the rampant emotions are buried once more.

They don't need to see you break down. It's over, you've gone as far as you could, you accomplished the Directive to the best of your ability. Have faith in your allies. In the Division.

…

Yeah, let's keep that line to allies, the SHD has its fair share of people that can't be trusted, not to mention everyone else.

"It was." I answer with a slump. "It sucked being on the clock constantly. Esepecially once things started to calm down. People had this sense of freedom afterwards and just kept doing stupid things."

This part is true, though I'm not sure how time is different in Kivotos from the States, before I left people felt safe. Safe enough to 'travel'. Otherwise known as 'I should hike for a bit, these Agents do it with just a backpack, so I'll be fine'. The amount of space blankets I went through because of those idiots…

They continued asking questions and I moved it away to more interesting subjects, though I'm not sure Hoshino truly believed it.

Soon, our food was ready as in front of me, clapping my hands together with the chopsticks in hand, something I have used before. Once I remove my mask, I begin to eat the seafood ramen.

I'm gon' be real with you. Nothing registered as soon as I slurped on that first bit of ramen.

When I do return to normal, I'm sipping on some water, my stomach full and pleased as the two empty bowls rest comfortably, my chopsticks on one of them and Arona imitating me. I probably put the ramen down and slid it into the Shittim Chest without anyone noticing.

I grab the napkin and wipe my mouth as I look at myself. Clean, as usual.

Clasping my hand together, I fall back on an old habit as I mutter a small prayer in Spanish.

With that, I smile as I lean back. "Damn, that was good."

I ignored the surprised looks on all the girls as I can't help but pity them at what they probably saw.

"Uhe~, I didn't think you could eat like that and still have your clothes the same color as before you started." Hoshino mutters as I laugh.

"First responder, remember? Disaster tends to strike at unpredictable times, so I had to learn to eat quickly." I respond as the girls return to their food and I return to my surveillance of the people looking at us.

Seems like they left or changed positions. But something does pique my interest.

A pair of helmeted gangsters.

What are they doing here?

As the girls continue to chat, I look outside and grimace slightly before returning my sight to the table. Let it play out for now. We'll all reconvene later on to attack the Stronghold later, so it doesn't really matter. Might as well take them all out in one swoop.

I relax as I set my mask back in place as I call over the Master of Shiba Seki for two reasons, an offer and some help for Serika. "Excuse me…"

Soon, everyone's done and leaving, "That was delicious, Sensei!" Hoshino starts.

"Thank you for treating us." Nonomi says while bowing.

"Thanks." Shiroko simply says.

"No problem." I answer as Serika's fuse finally ends.

"Would you all get out of here already!? And never come back! You're nothing but a bunch of busybodies!" Serika yells as I can't help but burst out laughing to her increasing frustration and embarrassment.

Ayane even joins me a bit as she adds, "See you tonight, Serika!"

"I hate you! I won't forget this!" Serika adds before stomping back into Shiba Seki.

Hoshino laughs before adding, "She's got a lot of spunk, eh?"

Hopefully, the Master will follow through with my request.

With that we take our leave. Or, Abydos does, I stay behind to scout out the area.

In reality, I scale up a building, a buried and closed convenience store, and set down my TAC-50C, placing my backpack beside me as I prepare myself for a long time. "Let's wait it out then."

---

"Good job today!" Shiba Seki's Master calls out as Serika leaves her job.

"You too!" She responds with a smile before closing the door as she waits for a second before releasing a heavy sigh. "Phew." She says, stepping back as she begins her trek to the school. "It's finally over. What a busy day." She sighs. "I can't believe all of them showed up like that. And they were so loud."

Except for Sensei. A traitorous thought goes through her as she can't help the twitch in her brow. "Oh no. I'm turning into them." She sighs.

While Mateo was loud on occasion, he seemed happy just watching them talk. Even when he was slurping on the ramen he still simply...observed. It should have been creepy and it was, but…

Maybe it was the ramen he paid for her that's giving her the energy to continue, but it just didn't feel the same. "Damn you Hoshino! She probably planned to bring Sensei here after what happened a few days ago. Hmph," she harrumphs, "if you think I'll fall that easily, you've got another thing coming."

Slowly, she continues complaining under her breath as she stumbles her way through the street before pausing to take a moment and inspect the neighborhood she was walking through, ignorant to the helmeted students attempting to surround her. "This neighborhood gets emptier by the day. There used to be a lot more people. And it's becoming less safe too…" She trails off, her ears drooping in response to her mood before she stands up and shakes her head, her twintails following her movements, "No. We gotta stay strong. It's up to us to bring the school back from the brink. I can pay back a little bit more of the debt once I get my paycheck, and then-."

A gunshot rang out, a familiar one as Serika's exhaustion filtered out, the sound of the wind being cut already passing by her followed by a startled cry as she looked to try and find where Sensei was. She wasn't able to find him easily but she could see what he was aiming for. Or who.

Cerulean flames poured out as Serika's hair shadowed her expression, her red eyes almost glowing as the flames only increased and the conscious gangster began to panic. "I thought," she began slowly, "we told you to stay out of our district!"

Behind her, explosions rang out, a drone buzzing by at impressive speeds as she spotted more Helmet Gangsters. "You-."

"G-Get her!" The Helmet Gangster tried but only got a .50 BMG round to the face, shattering her helmet, ripping her clothes a bit, and sending her back with her halo flickering before it was finally gone.

Her communication device in her ear buzzes, "Serika, move now!" He orders in a tone brokering nothing but urgency as she dashes to the side. A second later, she flinches as a shell hits the location she was previously at.

"What was-." She tried again only to growl as a barrage of bullets hit her as she covers her head and slides behind a dilapidated car. "What the hell was that?"

"Flak 41." Mateo answers as Serika places her back against the car and fires her assault rifle at the Helmet Gangsters trying to shoot her. "I think I should be able to hit the drive-

"How?" Serika interrupts as she moves to the side of the car, caught in between two flanks of Helmet Gangsters. "Ayane didn't see anyone leave something as big as a tank with the Helmet Gangsters at their Stronghold."

"Probably from withi-Serika get the fuck out of there!" He yells as Serika doesn't ask and moves, it was only when she fell on her side after the explosion rang out that she realized that standing by a car that might still have gasoline in it while a Flak 41 was firing on her location wasn't a very good idea.

Mateo flinches as he hears the explosion go off. "Serika? Serika!?" He yells before he peers through the scope of his TAC-50C while cursing himself.

After Serika evaded the first shell, Mateo shifted his attention to the Flak 41, visible from his nest confident that Serika wouldn't do something stupid as he sent the Tactician Drone to tag the location of the driver and the rest of the gangsters operating the tank. Sure, the TAC-50 couldn't destroy an armored vehicle, but it's an anti-material rifle, as in it tends to go through most armor and hit the driver of whatever's being driven.

He was wrong when she was forced to take cover by a car as she was being flanked.

And he's next.

His words were confirmed as gunshots rang out and bullets began to converge on his location, forcing him to hide behind an air conditioning unit on the roof of the dilapidated shop he's in. "Shit, I should've brought a normal sniper rifle." Currently, he has around three magazines for his TAC-50C, each one holding seven .50 BMG rounds and there are more Helmet Gangsters than he has rounds while every other weapon he has is meant for close-range encounters. Well, it'll have to do.

As he grabs Safety Distance from its place on his Go-Bag, his heart drops as he hears different sounds. The whistle of artillery and an explosion as the roof of the shop he's on caves in. He grunts as he falls on his back and he sees a group of Helmet Gangsters waiting outside. "Shi-."

The artillery shell hit right beside him pain flaring through him as Arona panics, the shrapnel digging into his side, cutting his face and sending him to the side as he hits the wall roughly before landing on the floor face down, his eyes dull but not dead as his chest slowly moves up and down instead of turning him into a bloody stain as it's done to his more unfortunate fellow Agents.

Silence overcomes the area as the Helmet Gangsters sigh in relief. "Damn, that was...exhausting."

"Should we shoot him again," a Helmet Gangster asks, the broken roof impeding any light from illuminating Mateo's injured form, "just to make sure?"

"No, j-just take his stuff." The Gangster says as they move in disbelief.

They defeated Sensei, after all, sure it took a Flak 41, but he'll be fine, after all not even the best students would be able to shrug off a near-direct hit from a Flak 41. He'll be fine, a few bruises at most.

After all, the only difference between Sensei and the average Kivotos citizen is that he's a male from the textbooks and novels.

A few minutes later, they're lugging the catgirl from Abydos, chained and tied into the truck as the other gangsters were looking through Sensei's bag.

"What is this?" One of them asks as they look at a small blanket. "Tin foil?"

"Damn it." Another curses under their breath. "Why won't this tablet turn on? Is it out of battery?"

"His watch," another grumbles, tapping away at Mateo's Smart Watch, "how does it work?"

"How can he walk with all of this?" Another says, Mateo's body armor hanging off her frame as she tries to carry his Go-Bag but stumbles due to the unfamiliar weight. "It's heavy!"

"What kind of grenade are these?" One of them asks as she looks at an EMP grenade and Riot Foam grenade. She raises the belt of Chem canisters and the Chem Launcher. "And do these go together?" She asks.

"Wow…" Another trails off, inspecting Safety Distance, "this is really good." The MPX is clean and regularly cared for, the camouflaged skin on it making it stand out despite the scratches on it. "He knows how to take care of a gun."

"You say that, but what the hell is this?" Another asks as they hold up the Lullaby. "It looks worse than what we use."

"Well, with the cash we're about to get, we can just pay a Millenium egghead to activate these." Another says as they point to the multitude of SHD Tech scattered around. "'Cause I don't see an on-off switch."

"You idiot. That's what the tablet's for." The one with the tablet says as they swing the Shittim Chest around.

"Now this is good!" One of them says as they played with Mateo's TAC-50C. "Hey, think I can beat that one maid?"

They continue playing around with Mateo's Go-Bag, as the sound rouses Serika from her unconscious state. "Urgh, wha-."

"Ah shit, she's waking up." One of them says as the one with Lullaby aims the SPAS-12 at Serika as she pulls the trigger.

"Gah!" Serika's eyes widen as the entire spread of buckshot hits her square in the stomach, the recoil nearly causing the gangster with Lullaby to fall back and the force behind it sending Serika straight into the back of the truck as she coughs and wheezes, the wind knocked out of there and her halo flickering as she straddles the line between conscious and unconscious.

While Serika wheezed and coughed, the gangsters looked down at the one on the floor, the gangster looking at the Lullaby in shock and awe. One of them raises their hand as the Helmet Gangster on the floor points the Lullaby at them, the Helmet Gangsters around the one with her hand raised moving away from her, leaving her alone as the sole target to the shotgun.

The gangster lowered her hand.

Slowly, the gangster got up and scoffed. "That was revenge for right now. No one can save you now, not even that Sensei."

Slowly, Serika stopped as she realized something. Sensei...got hurt...because of me?

The singular person who tried to help them, the person who she showed nothing but contempt and distaste for, saved her and tried to help her. And he got injured because of it. All because of her…

"Now, let's get out-."

The gangsters stopped and turned when they heard someone stumble, nearly falling on his face as the gangsters squinted at the figure as one of them figured it out. "Ah shit, it's Sensei!"

"What?" One of them yelped as they pointed their guns at his figure, hidden by the shadow of the building beside the alley he was coming out of. After a bit of struggling, Serika managed to move so she could see what they're seeing as her eyes brightened.

"Sensei!" She yelled, her eyes bright with hope and exhilaration. After all, if he was as good as he was when she saw him fight, he should have handily survived the shell with minor injuries at most and still be capable enough to fight off the rest of the Helmet Gangsters.

Sadly, Mateo isn't a citizen of Kivotos.

The first to notice what happened was a Helmet Gangster with a grenade in her hand, dropping it as her eyes widened in horror and she pointed, shaking as she tried to say something as her allies turned to her in confusion. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Slowly, his foot was visible as the shadows seemed to recede enough to reveal his form, or under his neck as the gangsters stepped back in shock and horror and Serika's eyes widened.

Red stained an originally light blue shirt, bits and pieces of metal dug into his side and leg as blood drips out of his body and lands on the sand with nary a sound. One eye is closed, a deep cut over his brow as blood flowed down his face and some of it dried as he reached up, his hand inside the sleeve of his shirt as he wiped off the blood over his eye as he opened it. Gone was the original brown and replaced by orange, lacking any emotion or anything as his slumped form shifted with each breath, his broken mask hanging on by one side.

"...Sensei?" Serika asks under her breath in horror, her eyes wide as his head slowly shifts to his as light seems to return to them.

And he smiles, revealing teeth stained pink from blood before he has to cough as he spits out a glob of blood.

"I'm glad," he starts, his voice raspy as his smile is still in place, "you're okay, Serika." He releases a breath he was holding as Serika gapes and he frowns, "I'm sorry, I should have done something when I first noticed them." He apologizes.

A man practically at death's door apologized to the girl that practically caused him to be in the state he's in. He smiled at her and apologized for not doing something sooner after he interrupted their ambush on her and attempted to help her escape.

This was the man that was her teacher, the man she ridiculed and hated.

Slowly, his eyes landed on the gangsters as they stepped back from the sheer pressure exuding from him despite being injured, bloody and exhausted. "This won't even take a second."

That angered the gangsters as they aimed at the teacher, still shaky, "Y-Yeah, what can you do?!"

He doesn't answer, instead they hear something crunch in his mouth as he gulps, to the confusion of the gangsters as he seems to relax a bit.

They were too slow to react as his hand goes to the gun in his holster, still in cavalry draw from when he entered Shiba Seki, and shoots the grenade in the floor, the explosion kicking off the gunfight.

One of the Helmet Gangsters without his gear falls in front of him, her gun falling out of her grip. He steps on her gun before she can stand up as she looks up to see Mateo rearing his leg back and kicking right into the space between her throat and chin as she hacks inside her helmet as she falls on her back as she tries to scamper back. Gunfire rings out as he grabs her by the leg and pulls her in, his strength still greater than hers despite his injuries as he heaves her up and spins the M9 in his hand and breaks her visor as she yelps and he holds her to him as his eyes light up, ISAC activating the Scanner Pulse and outlining the gangsters in the cloud of dust kicked up from the explosion.

He aims at the first as the bullet sails true at the head as the dust begins to clear as their forms were shown, in the open, without cover.

The gangster in Mateo's grip tried to fight so her allies could shoot at him, but with the realization that shooting him would kill him, could they?

Mateo didn't care. His pistol shifted targets quickly and accurately, either causing their haloes to flicker by the first or second bullet to the head or hitting their head after hitting their body a few times as he gradually got closer. By the fifteenth shot, a Helmet Gangster perked up. "He's out! Tha-."

For being so wrong, Mateo made it a point to shoot the gangster five times.

"Sh-Shit! Hurry! Take her!" One of them says as the truck begins to move.

Mateo places the barrel against the temple of the Helmet Gangster he used as a meat shield and shoots her, knocking her out as he aims at the receding truck and fires at it, popping one of the tires as it swerves but continues.

He watches it go in the direction of the Stronghold as his face barely twitches. After all, going after their Stronghold was in the plan for today.

Slowly, his eyes go to the remaining Helmet Gangster, shakily aiming at him.

As a teacher, he should let them go, tell them that this life isn't for them, that they should try to be better.

Slowly, he walked towards the remaining seven as he ejected the spent magazine and slid the extra magazine he had into it and pulled the slide as he slid the pistol into the holster before placing the holster back in the right thigh and smiled kindly, causing the helmet gangsters to relax.

Subtly, his hand went behind him where he hid an old aluminum bat as memories of doing something similar came to mind. Of teaching.

Teaching thugs what happened to those who went after his students.

Of what he chose to do so his students could be safe, old and future.

But… despite his exhaustion, he couldn't find it in him to do it.

It's not like he didn't want to or wasn't willing, he was very willing to fall to his violent instincts to protect the girls, but…

"Go." He said, raspily, confusing the girls, his brow twitching. "Are you deaf? Leave!" He says, stomping his foot surprising them as they scamper back. "Do your homework, help someone, this life ain't for you. Get outta here!" He told them as they ran away before heaving a sigh.

Like in post-Dollar Flu America, "Just gotta have faith."

Faith that the Civilian militia can do their job well, which they usually do.

That his fellow Agents aren't jackasses.

That his faith in his students, delinquents they may be, isn't misguided.

That thought left a sour taste on his mouth as he breathed out a groan of anger and frustration, both at how badly he fucked up, again, and the pain coursing through him.

He wasn't sure if it was the modafinil pill or something else, but he couldn't help but grit his teeth as his body shook, the groan turning into a growl. "Fuck." He breathed out through grit teeth within the dilapidated district as he placed a hand on his face and forced it up, ignoring the warm blood on it as he ran his hands through his hair.

Finally, it bubbled out in one clear crisp voice that echoed through the nearby area. "FUCK!"

His chest heaved as he shook his head. "Not again. Never again."

Slowly, he stumbled forward, falling to his knees as he pats down the bodies of the gangsters and taking their ammunition, unable to take any of their other valuables like phones due to a lack of a Go-Bag.

Regardless, he continues on, stumbling and ignoring the pain while thanking God for the mutation that came from mixing the Cocktail and the BSAV that left him hardier than most people even if a gunshot wound still takes a while to heal and could still kill him, at least most of the injuries are scratches and very few fragments stuck into him.

He pauses as he jogs into an open shop. "Hey."

"Hel-Ahhhhhh!" The clerk yells out as Mateo ignores it.

Instead, he goes to the alcohol selection, gets some alcohol, grabs some gauze, a knife, which he used to pop open the alcohol, and then heads into the weapon section while taking a swig with a grimace. Now, if this was his old world, that'd be a very worrying detail.

He grabs a Classic M700, inspects it for a second and goes to the ammunition as he grabs a pair of boxes of the appropriate ammunition and grabs a gray sling pack on the way out, emptying the ammunition into the bag as he places it over his shoulder. Taking another swig, he grabs a handkerchief, some water, and some pain meds. "I'll be taking this, send the bill to SCHALE and contact the Foreclosure Task Force, tell them to standby and wait for orders."

"Wai-." The clerk asks but I shake my head.

"I can't, sadly, got a job to do. Take care of yourself ma'am." He says as he slings the rifle over his shoulder and walks out.

He looks up and sighs, still painful as he sits down and begins the process of cleaning and bandaging his wounds, quickly, since Serika needs help but efficiently so as to not make it worse. While first aid wasn't what he excelled at, he was relegated to Support in his first months, which included bandaging up wounds and using the right mix of drugs and advanced tech to help Agents and the militia get back in the fight and continued to do so in later events.

Soon, he was done, a slight buzz from the alcohol numbing the pain along with the pain meds as he stood up. Just another day on the job.

Slowly, he began to jog steadily to the waypoint on his HUD. Each step surprised him at how light he felt despite the injuries as he realized how heavy his usual Go-Bag is. With a shake of his head, he continues his steady jog towards the waypoint, eyes around and looking for something to make the trek easier.

...Is that a Kaiser patrol with a motorcycle?

---

I got a new bike.

Also, I've found out that pain meds, alcohol, and a drug made to help soldiers stay focused do not mix well. The blood loss doesn't make it any better with how light-headed I'm feeling, but everything else is just making it worse as the revving of the motorcycle rings out in the night.

Finally, I reach the location of the Stronghold, and it's a bit pitiful. A warehouse filled with trash and barely much in the way of extra facilities. A lacking Base of Operations, if it can be considered that. I can see the Helmet gangsters with my stuff, so now all I need to do is take them down then learn where Serika is. Well, that is after I take care of the tank a distance away.

I look out the corner of my eye as I nod to myself, it seems like ISAC understood what needed to be done, I could see a drone fly in my direction, a familiar weapon in its grasp. As it turns out, delivery drones are fairly common here, all that needed to be done was accessing the Crafting Chamber and creating what's needed.

The drone drops its payload, the box opening up as I smile at the weapon. "Hello baby." I say as I reach for the P-017 Missile Launcher, a weapon I got after taking up a Technician role, not exactly what I was best at, but I did well enough, and the skill was enough to let me access the blueprint of the weapon.

Still, this should be good enough.

"Sensei!" I hear someone call for me as I jump, turning to see the FTF coming closer, to my palpable confusion. "We're here." Shiroko says as the others follow after her, though her eyes were on my missile launcher.

"Shiroko, wait, what are all of you doing here?" I ask as I turn, as I could hear Ayane's gasp from her drone, Hoshino's eyes widen, Nonomi covers her mouth in distress and Shiroko simply stares blankly, her mouth shaking as if she wants to say something but forgot what whe was going to say. "What?"

"You're bleeding!" Ayane's drone points out as I quirk a brow.

"Yes, Ayane," I note, the slight buzz removing my filter as I sarcastically answer but stop before I could continue, "that happens when people are injured, what are you doing here?"

"We got a call that said you were here. Where's Serika?" Hoshino asks, pointedly before looking me over.

Sighing, I point at the Stronghold, "Either there or somewhere else. But my gear is definitely there."

"What happened?" Nonomi asks, worried as I sigh.

"Mistakes." I answer, "When we separated, I saw a few Helmet Gang members hanging around, they were looking for Serika so I went to set up a sniper's nest and waited for them to act. They did. They also had a Flak 41 with them that I didn't notice until it nearly got Serika the first time while the Helmet Gangsters ambushed her. I managed to take out a few, but I switched my focus to the Flak 41 and she was in cover behind a car." I say with a sigh, "It fired, the car blew up, and Serika was knocked out. I was going to go help, but then I was pinned down and got to experience what Artillery feels like far more intimately than my previous encounters." I add with a sour note. "Not a very fun experience. Kinda surprised I survived." I mutter as I look down at myself.

The girls look at me in shock as I look at them in confusion. "So, why are you here? I told you to standby."

"Because you said we were going to go to the Stronghold together Sensei." Ayane says, "And suddenly you're going on your own? While injured? That's insane!"

"Don't worry," I say as I turn to the Stronghold, "the painkillers are working." And the alcohol, drugs, and other such objects coursing through me.

"Besides," I add, frowning, "this is my fuck-up. Not yours, not Serika's, mine. I should have paid better attention, should have kept her safe, but I didn't."

Just like with Leilah.

"I messed up," I say as I pick up the missile launcher, pressing it against my shoulder, "so I'm fixing it. I'm getting my stuff back, and I'll find where Serika is."

"But this is reckless! I'll be there in a bit and-!" Before she can finish, ISAC locks onto the tank and I pull the trigger, micro-missiles flying out the missile launcher and hit the tank as it blows up a few seconds later. The gangsters inside scramble outside as I grab the M700 and pull the trigger, hitting a gangster in the head, piercing their helmet and knocking them out as two more followed in an attempt to throw me off as I rotated and pulled the bolt, the spent casing flying out before pushing the bolt back in its place.

A few seconds later, the two joined their ally with barely a lag in between, experience making the time in-between each shot notably shorter than usual. "Too late. Going in. Coming or not?" I ask as I begin to walk towards the Stronghold as they seem a bit shocked.

In the end, they shake it off. "Wait!" Nonomi calls out as she settles in the back, Hoshino moving forward taking the front and Shiroko in the middle. "You're injured, stay behind!"

"Yeah, let us take care of it." Hoshino says, though her voice was a bit unsure for some reason.

"Nn. Rest for a bit." Shiroko says, something tinging her words as she glances back.

"I won't say no, but," I start, loading more rounds into my M700 and firing at Hoshino's target, knocking them out, before doing the same to Shiroko's, "make sure to keep up." I can't help but brag to lighten my own mood a bit. Nearly dying does that to a person, especially when Shiroko looks back a bit impressed. After all, despite my preference towards assault rifles and shotguns, I lug around an anti-material rifle for a reason and it's not because it's the only specialized weapon whose blueprint I have access to.

"Hoshino, keep to the left, Shiroko, stay behind Hoshino to the right, Nonomi go to the left. Hoshino, flush out anyone on your side to the middle, Shiroko, do the same on your side but assist Hoshino for anyone outside of her shotgun's range. Nonomi, you do the same for Shiroko. My gear should be on the second floor," I pause as I aim at the window and fire before the sniper on the window could shoot, knocking them out as I load a round, "Hoshino, you're taking point once we get close enough, Shiroko, you're staying outside with Nonomi, keep an eye out and look out for anyone who wants to come back." A Scanner Pulse comes from the outside, the Helmet gangster's forms outlined as I count them out. "We do this quick enough, we can get Serika back in time to get some Shiba Seki tomorrow!"

"Right!"

"Okay~."

"Nn."

"Roger."

With that, Hoshino fired off her shotgun, jumping over a road block as the Helmet Gangster jumped back, catching a barrage of lead from Shiroko as a different Helmet Gangster tried to shoot Shiroko. Instead she had to crouch down to evade a barrage of lead from Nonomi's minigun. Hoshino crouched down, rounds hitting her shield, "Snipers!"

"See 'em!" I say as I look at the scope of the M700, placing the head of the sniper in my crosshairs before pulling the trigger, cycling the bolt and then going to the next window, the sniper taking cover before I move to the other as the sniper is peeking out, their head barely visible.

Their head jerks back as I cycle the bolt of the sniper rifle while finding cover behind a drum, reloading as I watch Hoshino move up and fire buckshot after buckshot, forcing them into the open for Shiroko to take care of while Nonomi keeps the ones going after Shiroko suppressed.

Hoshino slams her shield onto another Helmet Gangster, forcing them back as I aim and hit their shoulders before cycling the bolt and then hitting their chest twice before passing out at the third shot.

Stick to headshots when I can then.

I see the sniper peek out as the glint of the moon reflects on the scope as I duck behind the oil drum and listen to the bullet hit the oil drum. I peek out and flinch as the sniper round goes through my shoulder.

"Sensei!" Nonomi yells in horror and worry as I fire back, hitting the sniper in the head as their halo flickers.

"Snipers down! Push forward!" I order, ignoring their worried looks as I reload my sniper.

It feels way too easy compared to my usual missions back home. Maybe because the Foreclosure Task Force is just that efficient.

Then, a familiar figure appeared and I wasted no time in knocking her out as the girls moved forward.

Meanwhile, I regain my Smart Watch, strapping it to my wrist as I smile. Though I stop as a familiar glint appears as I leap to the side, a loud gunshot rings out as I aim back and fire into the sniper's chest twice before knocking them out with a bullet to the head.

My TAC-50C.

What followed was a reclamation of my weapons as we got closer and they ran out of people to send after us.

I also got my body armor back, all I need now is my Go-Bag and we'll be set.

Shiroko and Nonomi were waiting outside as I left my M700 there in favor of Safety Distance. I pull the pin of the flashbang, letting it cook before throwing it. "Grenade!"

Hoshino braces herself as the bang of the flashbang goes off as we enter, Hoshino first with her shield out as she clears the right and I aim at the left, unloading into the Helmet Gangsters as I see a pair of familiar forms.

ISAC is as cool as ever, but he was relieved if the way he relaxed was any evidence, Arona meanwhile…

"Shensei~!" Arona cried as she leapt at me. "I'm shorry~."

My Go-Bag was there as I sighed in relief, muttering, "It's good to see you both." Patting Arona's holographic form without Hoshino noticing as I remove my sling pack and empty the contents into the larger bag as I inspect the insides while trying to comfort Arona. Seems like not much was grabbed because they couldn't access it, so after stuffing the sling bag into the bag, I sling the Go-Bag onto me as I smile at the comforting weight with the rattle of the occasional trophy, like the Hunter's Axe or my mother's rosary. All feels right in this world.

Well, except for Arona holding onto me like a lifeline, I'll need to comfort her later. I look at ISAC's form, who I know has been listening through the audiometric earpiece as he begins to act.

"Right, it'll take a while, but ro-I mean loot these fools blind." I say into my earpiece as I grab the Hive and switch it out for a Restorer Hive as I activate it, taking a deep breath as I could feel my injuries closing and the pain slowly receding. "We still have that operation in a few days. Ayane, drop by and-."

"I'm already outside." She interrupts with a weird amount of forcefulness. "I'm waiting for you, Sensei, you still need to get your injuries checked." She says as I can already imagine her expression.

"Oooh~," Hoshino starts, amused, "Sensei's in trouble."

Sighing, I look towards Hoshino, who seems to be a bit conflicted as I shake my head. "It seems I am. With both of you." I say as I shake my head. "Jesus, I can't believe I fucked up this much."

Just like always, too late to save Leilah, too late to help the Castle Settlement, too late to stop Keener, always too fucking late.

She hesitates before glancing at me, "Sensei, your wounds…"

I look down and see that the red is spreading again. "Damn, sorry you have to see my sorry sight. I'll go with Ayane, get patched up, and we can-."

"Get an actual doctor to look you over." Hoshino interrupted, her eyes now steely, but also filled with something I never thought I'd see in them. Worry. "You can't take a bullet like we can, and while Ayane is reliable-." I can't help but groan in frustration.

"I'll be fine." I insist, to her own frustration as I turn to her and walk back. "Look, we need to get Serika, I'll get checked by Ayane, switch out my-urgh!"

I was interrupted as a Helmet Gangster charged at me and into a wall. Even Hoshino seemed surprised as pain flares once more and I fall back on instinct. I grab a shoulder and a leg before sweeping her to the floor as I fall on top of her, forcing my forearm against her helmet as I punch her throat. A hack coming from under her helmet as I draw my M9 and fire it into her visor, breaking it and knocking her out as I sigh in relief. Turning to Hoshino, I smile, "See? I'm fine~." I say while stumbling a bit. Looking at the thug, I see she has Serika's assault rifle, 'Sincerity', if ISAC is right. I take it from the thug. Now we're ready.

Hoshino doesn't believe me. "Sensei, stop being so stubborn."

"I would if I could. But Serika needs us. Look, just loot the place. We need all we can get for when Serika's back in fighting shape." I say as I walk down the stairs, leaving Hoshino to do her job and, regretfully, ignoring her calls.

And came face-to-face with Nonomi and Shiroko. "Sensei!" Nonomi starts as she gives me a once-over. "Are you okay?"

"I am." I answer, "Just a little scuffle." I assure them but they don't seem to believe me. "Where's Ayane? I should get this checked out." I add before they could interrupt, especially since their eyes were on my shoulder, the blood flowing from it catching their attention. Not like the injury is that bad.

"Right here." She answers beside me, her smile very much not a comforting sight from the youngest in the Foreclosure Task Force. "Now, please, come with me." She ordered, not requested, but ordered in a manner I'm quite familiar with. After all, I dated a medic for a while, and even after, the Survivalist that taught me and doubled as a medic was quite similar.

"Sure." I say as I follow after her towards the car they came in with, lacking the comforting scent of cigarettes I was used to when it came to vehicles. A second later, Ayane brought out a first aid kit.

"Sit." She orders as I get on the back seat and take off my shirt so she can inspect the bandages. I already removed the shrapnel to the best of my ability and the Restorer Hive, while capable of using nano-drone technology to repair my armor, also uses that same technology to heal me unlike the Booster, which, as the name suggests, boosts my capabilities. So any smaller injuries around my legs should be fine since my body armor took most of the shrapnel. The worst of it was a large gash on my leg, my hip, and over my eye along with the bullet that took some of my shoulder with it.

Slowly, in silence, Ayane works, a slight flush on her face as she replaces the bandage on my head and leg, my jeans now ripped up from the explosion with Arona still in her holographic form behind me. "Honestly, how can an adult be so reckless."

"You'd be surprised." I answer. Reckless was a dime-a-dozen in the SHD, most of the missions we took part in were too dangerous for anyone else to take.

Ayane glared at me for talking back while she was venting and I can't help but chuckle. "I'll be fine. Just some food, sleep and I'll be right as rain."

And a few shots of Restorer, usually in a Chem Launcher but a bit of experimentation allows for the Restorer to be capable of being used on bullet wounds and the like, broken bones, sadly, are still broken bones.

Ayane just continues to glare at me while performing first aid, "Sensei~."

The two of us enter a staring match before she sighs in resignation as she continues patching me up or replacing any wounds. "Just...please, don't-." She says with a shaky voice. "We don't like seeing you hurt. I don't-."

"Ayane," I interrupt, holding a finger to her lip as I smile sadly, "some things have to be said and others should stay secret, but in this case? I think it's best we leave it at that, or else neither of us will like what's said."

With my part done, I remove my hand from her lips as she blinks. She glares at me before huffing. "Just don't be reckless."

"Ah!" I can't help but groan as she tightens the bandage around my head a smidge too tightly before going to my other injuries.

After Ayane finishes fixing any mistakes I made or injuries I missed, I perk up and hop to my feet, surprising her as I remove my Go-Bag, "Foreclosure Task Force, on me!" I order before taking another painkiller and another pill to keep my current focus for a bit longer. Meanwhile, Shiroko, Nonomi, and Hoshino were walking towards us, ammunition and other stuff in their hands with Shiroko's eyes shining particularly brightly.

"Good work, Serika is over to the west, by the residential district. This has been a long day and if we don't move now it'll only get longer. Put everything in the car," I order as I can't help the slight twitch in my cheek as I look at the waypoint ISAC set, "this is no longer just an operation to save Serika, but a warning." I say as the drone on my backpack activates as it turns and I see ISAC appear in his human form, walking with the drone as it took in all the carnage we wrought. "They've taken one of your own, run roughshod in your district, and have made the lives of the people living here worse." I say, watching as I could see the slight exhaustion leave their bodies and be replaced by righteous anger and frustration, especially Hoshino. "This isn't the end of Abydos' troubles, that debt will take a while to fix among many things, and if that tank is any evidence," I say at the flaming remains of the tank as I see ISAC looking at the carnage as the drone takes a picture, "the ones behind the Helmet Gangster won't make it easier. So let's show them what happens to anyone who messes with…"

I couldn't help but trail off, a bit unsure before shaking unsuccessfully shaking off my uncertainty, "Who messes with y-."

"Us." Hoshino interrupts me, her eyes glinting in the moonlight with resolve, "Who messes with us. After all, every club needs its advisor, once we get Serika, I don't think she'll be one to complain."

I was shocked silent, and it must have been obvious if Nonomi's reaction was any evide-actually, my mask is broken, so my face is an open book for anyone to read. "Hehe, surprised~?"

Shaking my head, I take a deep breath to stifle the feelings bubbling up. "Thank you." I say with a smile, a genuine one. Not a rare thing, but it was something I couldn't help. "Truly."

I don't know why, but Ayane blushes and her glasses fall slightly, Nonomi's eyes widen as she blinks before shyly looking away and fidgeting, Shiroko stares and Hoshino looks away. "Uwah~, dangerous."

I laugh at Hoshino's words. "Well, come on. In the car." I say as they all get in the car and I get on the motorcycle.

Arona finishes drafting up the MomoTalk post as I look it over, showing a picture of the destruction I wrought.

After being practically abandoned, the Abydos district has had to deal with a slew of problems with only five students. After a week, Abydos finds themselves with one less problem to worry about.

Then it's a few pictures of the Stronghold and the destruction we wrought as I shake my head. Grabbing my phone, I begin to type.

Take this as my first lesson to all of you. Unless you're not willing to find out.

Don't fuck around.

With that, I post it and rev the engine as I grin. "Sensei," a voice rang out in my ear, Shiroko's, "where did you get that?"

"Spoils of war." I answer. "Some robots tried to stop me so I shot them and took their bike. I'm gonna need to paint it over though."

"Ro-Wait, are you talking about Kaiser?" I hear Ayane ask as I hear Hoshino laugh and Nonomi giggle. "You stole-!?"

"I repossessed this vehicle under extenuating circumstances that happens to fall in line with SCHALEs duty as a federal investigation club." I answer, confusing Ayane as Hoshino laughs.

"Uwah~, what an adult thing to say."

"Do as I say, never as I do. Except for looting." I say as I drive through the sand with the Foreclosure Task Force behind me. "I'll lead."

"Get back here! You're still injured!" Ayane said as I shook my head.

"No can do." I answer. "Once we're there, our strategy will change depending on the location, but the idea is to break through and cut them down."

"Nn, Sensei can act as overwatch." Wait.

"He's really good with a sniper~." Huh?

"How reliable. Thank you, Sensei." Now hold on-

"No action until we can get you to a doctor." … Well, with a tone like that...

"Wait, but-."

"No!" I nearly jumped as I turned to see Ayane driving the vehicle beside me and the other girls. "You've done enough. Let us do our part."

"Yeah!" Hoshino yelled, "Old geezers like you should let us younglings go first."

"You're not that much younger than I am." I argue. "And weren't you just complaining about your back?"

"Age is a fickle mistress~." Hoshino retorts as I shake my head.

"Fine!" I shake my head as I huff. I'm glad I kept the M700, it's no Ekim's Long Stick or even my own Carbon M700 I modified, but it'll do. Though I'm not sure if that one came in my transfer since I only see 'Named' weapons in my cache. Speaking of, I should really perform an inventory of those. Some of them need to be moved and I need to know what came in the Stash box. Maybe there's a workshop?

"There is." Arona informed me, still holding me in her holographic form. "I can show you once we return and see the Medical Emergency Club."

"What?" I mutter out loud as Arona continues.

"ISAC informed them that you'll be needing their help soon." Damn it.

Whatever, work to be done. Let's get it done.

---

Slowly, Serika comes to once more, her eyes blinking away the exhaustion as she looks around. "Huh, where-."

Her mind returns to a bleeding Sensei as he tries to help her and her eyes widen. "Sensei!" She yelps as she begins to struggle under her chains. "C'mon." She groans as she grits her teeth. "Come on!" She yells as she begins to ram her shoulder against the bars. He was injured, practically dead on his feet and he could still dredge up enough will to go and save her, an ungrateful student, how can she look at him if she doesn't even try!

Slowly, the pain became too much, her breathing heavy and her chest tightening as her eyes stung. "...I'm sorry." She mutters, her exhaustion finally catching up to her along with the aches in her body from the explosion. Her head lowers as she leans on the cold bars in hopes of some relief from the pain, "They must be worried sick about me." She mutters before sighing. "What are they going to do to me, bury me?" She mutters before her rear finally hits the floor as her back leans on the bars. "Will they think I bailed on them and left like all the other students…"

Slowly, she tried to find some light, anything as she closed her eyes to hide the tears edging from them. "Will they think I betrayed them?" She asks no one with a shaky voice. "No, I can't…" She trails off before she gulps down a whine that wants to burst out.

Finally, in the darkness with no one to see, she sniffled as a tear finally fell from her eyes.

"Wow." A voice spoke, surprising her, "Never thought I'd see Serika cry."

Turning, she sees the last person she thought would be there. "Sensei?!"

There he was, his light blue shirt in tatters and bloody, but she could see some bandages under it and some over his forehead with all his weapons and accessories back in hand. "In the flesh. Though, don't tell the others I'm here. I'm supposed to be on overwatch."

Their comms buzz for a second. "Senseeeeeei~!"

Ayane's voice rings out before an explosion rocks the wall, dust kicking up as Shiroko's voice is heard through her comms and nearby. "Visual on Serika and Sensei. She's been crying, I repeat, she has tears in her eyes."

"Awww," Hoshino cooed, "did Serika miss us?"

"Sensei is in trou~ble~." Nonomi spoke as Mateo shrugged before turning to the bars holding back Serika as he rears back a leg, cocking it long enough for Srika to move before releasing it in one swift kick, bringing down the door as the rusty hinges squeaked and the top hinge broke.

"I just thought it was easier to sneak through here with all the ruckus you girls were making." He says as he walks to Serika. "Now, this is going to be a bit uncomfortable, so I'm going to need you to have some faith."

Faith. Something every student should have in their teacher. Something she's been unable to show at all. No longer.

Nodding resolutely, Serika turns, revealing the chains around her hands. "Do what you need to, Sensei."

Mateo smiles fondly as he nods. "Got it." He grabs his M9, twirling the pistol in his hands as he aims at the chains and fires. The chains slacken as she moves her arms and twists her wrists. The first thing she did was check on Sensei.

"Sensei, your injuries-." She starts but Mateo stops her.

"My injuries will heal, but what won't is how badly I fucked up." He says with a frown. "I'll apologize properly later. For now-."

"Sensei, a third-party is entering the area and is on course to you." Ayane starts as Mateo wordlessly passes Serika Sincerity and a few magazines as Hoshino and Nonomi are already outside, covering both sides of the shanty she was held in. "I can't see very well, but-."

A second later, the revving of an engine got closer as Mateo pulled Serika behind her, dropping a Booster Hive at their feet as their contents were injected into all of them but mostly Mateo and Serika, perking her up and preparing her.

Then, they saw the Helmet Gangsters, "There they a-!"

The moment they appeared and prepared to fire, a vehicle ran them over, drifting as Mateo could see someone driving while someone else was hanging off the side, grenade launcher in hand. But what was noticeable was the Gehenna symbol on the side as Hoshino moved to aim but Mateo stopped her.

Then, they drifted to a stop in front of them, the girl hanging off stepping off and showing off a blue nurse's uniform with gray hair and dull amber eyes filled with resolve. "The Medical Emergency Club has arrived, where are the corpses?"

That silenced everyone as they looked at her in confusion, "Eh?" Hoshino started as ISAC outlined the students and Mateo smiled.

"Himuro Sena, right?" Mateo asks as he steps forward, Sena's eyes landing on his injured form.

"Are you one of the cor-I mean injured we were informed about?" Sena asks as her eyes roam around Mateo's form as she frowns, "You don't seem badly injured."

"I have overprotective allies." Mateo informs before shrugging, "Or the pain killer is working."

Before he could say anything, the two turn back at the crowd of Helmet Gangsters as Sena's frown deepens and Mateo narrows his eyes at them. "I'm sorry for the change in schedule, but would you be open to assisting us?"

"You are Sensei, correct?" Sena asks as she looks atop his head. "If so, then we'd be glad to do so. After all, healing cannot be done well under gunfire."

"Then I'm glad to have you on our side, Sena." Mateo answers before grabbing his M700 and pulling back the bolt, "Sena, our operator, Okusora Ayane, is in that direction, she's not in any trouble, but I'd rather not try my luck, circle around and pick her up for us then and fire off a few grenades to scatter them."

"Affirmative." Sena says as she hops up on the side of the vehicle and begins to drive away.

"Ayane, you're getting a pick-up. Who knows what they have up their sleeves, but I'd rather not test it out."

"Right."

"Hoshino, up front. Shiroko, take the left flank, Serika right, Nonomi open fire once you see Sena's grenade, I'll-."

"No." They all said as one as Mateo flinched while raising his hands, slightly sheepish.

"I'll stay in the back." He relents with a sigh.

Then, the first grenade was heard. "Nonomi!"

"Here we go~!" She cheered, a veritable wall of lead stopping the Helmet Gangsters while Hoshino pushed up once Nonomi stopped as they peeked over or around their cover.

Their head jerked back as Mateo shoots one of them before going to the next as he rotates the bolt, pulls, and pushes as the spent casing ejects.

With a tap of his Smart Watch, the Firefly came to life as the thugs looked at it in confusion. A bright light blinds them as they stumble out and Serika and Shiroko unload into them while Hoshino pushes forward like the bulwark she was, her underclassmen following after her as Mateo fires at another sniper before she can crouch behind cover as her head jerks back and her halo flickers. His crosshair swivels to the minigunner as he ducks behind a pile of tires and reloads.

Meanwhile, Hoshino takes a buckshot and chuckles, "Eh~, that was a bit weak." She notes before aiming her own shotgun at the other shotgunner's leg and forcing them to a knee before unfolding the Iron Horus and then uppercutting them with the edge of her shield into the Helmet Gangster's chin as she falls back after a slight stint in the air. "There."

Some of the Helmet Gangster's look on in shock as Shiroko takes the opportunity to push up and crawl under a car, ignoring the sand getting on her as she sees her target. She grabs the leg of the assault rifle wielding Helmet Gangster as she looks down, "Wha-Ah!" She disappears a second later under the car as Shiroko draws her own pistol and unloads into her side, weakening her struggles as she pulled her out on her own side before unloading the rest of her magazine on the Helmet gangster and stomping on her helmet, causing it to crack sickeningly as the other gangsters shiver.

Mateo can't help but note that they're taking his little lessons to heart. Style and substance are two different things, but efficiently using either is integral to any Agent's job. Kicking a man's leg when they're struggling in your attempt to slit their throat is one thing, but doing that thing when shit's going down is unneeded. On the other side of the spectrum, shooting a man while attempting to go stealth is just overkill, but after you've slowly taken out every group on the outskirts and cut off access to calling reinforcements? Announcing your presence when they think they have backup before killing them?

It's something he picked up during his time in New York going against smaller groups or more focused groups as well as spying on Hunters when he could or even learning from turning the tables on them and hunting them down, engraving the same sense of futility that was engraved into him when he fought his first Hunter. After that, he'd track down more specialized groups like ex-special forces or similar to improve on his 'executions' as he called them among other skills.

He'd give Shiroko an A and Hoshino a B. After all, he is partial to doing what Shiroko did. Of course, both of them seemed a bit uncomfortable with the brutality involved so I won't say much.

Still, it did its job and the Helmet Gangsters seemed reluctant.

"Sensei, I'm with Sena. What would you like for us to do?" She asks.

"Drop a package for healing and tell Sena to pick us up." Mateo says. " You see any tanks?"

"I do! Three bearing on your location!" Ayane warns as Mateo nods. Activating the Tactician Drone, he begins to scale a house to its roof.

"Foreclosure Task Force, the rest is up to you." Mateo tells them as he unfolds the stock of his TAC-50C. "Cover me."

Serika slaps a new magazine into her gun as a blue flame bursts from her. "With pleasure!"

As the girls wreaked havoc on the Helmet Gangsters, Mateo aimed at the tanks as he waited.

Then, his HUD lit up, their forms appearing as he smiled.

The first gunshot rang out, piercing the armor of the tank and the ammo rack, causing it to explode.

He moved onto the next one, performing it again as the tank blew up again.

The third tanks had all of the members shot before they could fire back as I nodded. "Mission complete, waiting for exfil."

The squeal of tires rang out as the Medical Emergency Club's vehicle came closer and Mateo jumped down. It drifted as Ayane opened the back. "Everyone in!"

Soon, all of them filed in as the car drove away, Mateo and Hoshino propping the doors open for Serika, Shiroko, and Nonomi to unleash lead on all of the remaining Helmet Gangsters as they drove away.

Slowly, they watched as the rest of the Helmet Gangsters ran away, the Medical Emergency Club's vehicle slowing as they reached the Foreclosure Task Force's own vehicle.

Gradually, the Foreclosure Task Force filed out, Mateo about to join them but he yelped as Sena yanked him back into the car along with Serika to everyone's but Ayane's surprise. "Let them." Ayane said, her voice airy and laced with awe as she watched the group that's been harassing them for so long run away. "We-We have to go and loot the place, maybe we can find out who hired them if we inspect their weapons or the tank pieces."

"The singular tank Sensei shot the driver through?" Hoshino asked, amused before sighing as she slumped. "We had Serika to save when he said that, so I couldn't ask, but…" Hoshino groaned again, letting her gun fall as she followed a second later. "Wake this uncle when we're ready to leave."

"They're leaving." Shiroko notes, looking at the trails left behind by the Helmet Gang. "We don't have to worry about them anymore."

"Now, we can worry about other things instead." Ayane muttered with a sigh. "It just never ends."

"Well~," Nonomi starts, "at least Sensei will be with us, right?"

"Yup." Hoshino confirms as she sits up, "Sensei is a softie after all, he won't leave us until we find an answer."

"Even if it's at the cost of his well being." Ayane notes as everyone falls into silence with worry and a bit of guilt.

"Nn." Shiroko agrees.

"Then let's get to it." Hoshino says as she stretches. "If it's the Medical Emergency club, they'll be fine by tomorrow."

---

"So this is a corpse?" Sena asks as she looks me over. "Fascinating."

I can't help but laugh, "If you do ever see a corpse, it'll be too early for you and far too late for me."

"Corpses do not talk in such a deprecating manner." Sena reminds me as she continues stitching up my wounds within the back of the vehicle. "And you've lost a lot of blood, how does that usually feel?"

"You don't know the symptoms of blood loss?" I ask, suddenly worried about who ISAC called to patch me up.

"In theory." She answers. "But I'm curious to ask someone who's experiencing it."

I glance forward and I can see that one of the members, the one that wasn't driving, was holding a notepad and even the driver herself was paying attention.

Turning, I see Serika already swaying. "Serika, get some rest."

"But...I'm already patched up, I should be-."

"Sleeping." I interrupt, thankful for the painkiller and the fact that Sena was working under a sheet of paper I couldn't see through. "Sena just said you needed some rest, the effects of the Booster and Ayane's payload should be enough for now. I'll be here tomorrow and then the day after." I say as I reach out for her hand, gently grasping it, her eyes barely open. "For now, listen to your teacher and get some rest. I'll square everything tomorrow."

"Mmh, 'kay Sensei." She mumbles as she finally falls asleep, leaving me smiling before I sigh.

"How troublesome." I note with the shake of my head.

"You aren't any better." Sena interjects, as I look back at her, "If what you said is correct, you, an adult without a halo, took a Flak 41 round and survived. For all intents and purposes, you should be a corpse. Is this how you lived your life before coming here?"

"Yes." I answer. "Also, blood loss makes you feel light-headed if it's quick, slower just makes you tired."

"Thank you, Sensei." Sena responds. "Now, what's this scar?" She asks as she points to Kajika's little 'gift'.

"That's a cut from a knife." I answer as Sena nods. "It didn't cut the bone but the impact hurt. A lot."

"Fascinating." Sena says, one of her clubmates scribbling down the information while probably sketching the injury itself. "So the bone is that durable? How long did it take to heal?"

"Not as long as normal. My immune system is...different." I answered as she gazed at me in confusion. "My line of work required for me to be injected with a cocktail of different vaccines. Sadly, something happened that involved a virus that I wasn't immune to, so I was also injected with something called the Broad Spectrum Antiviral. It mixed and basically I heal twice as fast as usual but I also use up my nutrients twice as fast."

"Interesting." Sena says. "If not a bit implausible."

"Hey, I don't know what to tell ya." I answer. "Now, the alcohol is starting to wear off," and the drugs, "so I'll be falling asleep."

"Rest well. We'll leave you in Abydos."

"Your assistance is appreciated greatly, Sena." I mutter as I begin to fall asleep.

Still, maybe I should go check out Trinity. I heard that's where most churches are located and I haven't been in one in a while.

Besides, I have a promise to keep.

---

A/N: I've said this before, but I take a lot of inspiration from other, better, fanfics, like The Courier for Kivotos or the Sensei of the Imperium. In those stories, this one too, Serika's kidnapping is a defining moment, for the Courier it was a show of Endurance, skill and Luck that allowed him to hold on and wait for reinforcements, for Ciaphas Cain it was the moment where he realized how integral he was to the girls.

Mateo is not either of these characters. He wasn't raised in a Wasteland and taught how to shoot, he wasn't raised in a society with multiple planets to their name and in constant war, he was raised in a tenuous time with hard working parents with a normal life, better than average grades, a caring disposition, and a natural curiosity. He's smart but he's not a technician, he's strong but not the strongest, his endurance is unnatural and long but that's a byproduct of long fights, traveling, and the BSAV interacting with the Cocktail.

His single best trait is his adaptability to any situation, his experience, both mundane and combat-wise, and his status as an Agent. These three things are what make him stand out to me and I hope to all of you too. Sure, he was trained by soldiers and others, as stated in the story and as a few deviations from canon. But at his core, Mateo has lived through twenty-one years in a time similar to Kivotos, with corporate corruption and other problems he couldn't fix, and even as an Agent, most of his problems couldn't be fixed without a bit of violence.

What I'm trying to say and I hope I'm conveying correctly: Mateo is protective, he will be aggressive, and he could probably figure things out before it even begins. After all, Mateo is fresh off his time as a Support Agent, he's probably better at investigative work than fighting at the moment, and even as an Agent, he was pretty good at investigative work.

Or, to simplify, I don't know how to feel about this chapter. I liked it, but it's not something I'm too sure about considering the Division franchise isn't over and the games are pretty linear in that there aren't many options within the game of how to complete certain missions, so I've taken a few liberties on that end.

Still, I hope this cleared up a few things to some people (or you can ignore it, this is as much for me as it is for anyone else who's interested).

In the end, you guys tell me how you feel about…well what I've said.

Anyway, I realized something, and that is that the Division is…if it wasn't for the Dollar Flu, the Hunters, and other things, they're pretty overpowered in a mundane setting.

Fun fact, did you know that the scene where Mateo and Serika could have gone very differently?

The original scene, or the first draft, had Serika successfully running away but leaving Mateo to be captured by the Helmet Gangsters, the second draft is virtually the same as the current one, but Sensei was far more...delirious in that one, his time as an Agent all hitting him in a PTSD kind of sequence, where he reverts and deals with the remnants...a bit more violently than he did here but not enough to truly draw blood, just be very painful.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story.

Also, for bolt-action rifles, is it cycling a round or cycling the bolt?