A/N: Am I angry about the Division 2 update? Kinda. From the beginning, it felt like the story was going to go that path, from the themes and a lot of the events, but…it feels cheap and while I'm kinda over it, the Brooklyn DLC better be worth that year of waiting or I will fight the Ubisoft executives. First Watch Dogs, now this?
Anyway, this means I'll have to go back and fix a few things, but that's for future me once the Division 2 no longer has updates, not to mention the fact that I kept the chapters vague enough that I can go back and change up a few things with only minor changes. Hopefully.
Now, onto reviews:
ikmal . aizad11: That is true, logic and rationality is good and all, but sometimes a good ol' emotional response is what's needed. And yes, all of those are next, Hina is gonna have her work cut out for her.
GoldStar77: Thanks, though I'm not the first to have a raid segment. Admittedly, Problem Solver 68s iconic vibe was difficult to capture, but I hope I did well, that said it's good Kayoko didn't hit Mateo, he has a lot of restraint but I'm not sure he'll be able to stop himself from moving with that much fear coursing through his veins. As for what you said on the romance, keeping it vague…doesn't feel like a good idea, for one I hate stories that are incredibly vague for so long but also because it makes no sense for it to be as vague for as long as it'll be, considering Blue Archive is a gacha game and the Division is a live-service game series this might go on for quite a while, sure I'll stretch out the relationship development far and long because Mateo is a very moral character, but one day something will happen and like dominoes, it'll fall. Still, how I want the relationships to develop is still up for thought, whether to follow the 'canon' where everyone is attracted to Sensei or to limit it. Guess we'll see how I write it. I know that one, and that wasn't the inspiration but a different one. Sadly, Arona didn't see anything as ISAC was covering her eyes…or something, goddamn you Ubisoft for making us wait till next year!
Martian720: This means a lot since I was unsure if people who didn't know a lot about one franchise could enjoy this crossover. Thanks, and I don't know much about titanfall but a blue archive fanfic is always good.
Gonsmoss: First, maybe, depends on any changes to the franchise and my own whims. Secondly, of course he would, after all it's easier to pay attention to something that is within human comprehension rather than whatever Binah is. Third, it's not like he did those suicide runs by choice, its what has to be done when you're the only Agent in a Settlement or area. But yes, Mateo is a crazy latino.
That's it, I hope all of you enjoy the chapter!
Rin's heels click against the floor as the occasional GSC member moves to the side, all of them aware of her bad mood as she tries to keep it from showing.
Though, it's understandable, the last she heard of Sensei was the singular paperwork he submitted that had no mistakes and was about an operation happening in Abydos with the help of the FTF and the Hot Springs Development Department. While the two names were surprising, reading through it Rin couldn't help but be a bit worried considering where it is, but she let it go, after all he outlined why he was doing it, and she believes that extracting the files of the school would be a fruitful activity, maybe they can send that file they have on Binah. Still, reading it, she couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved with the language. It was very pointed and, while subtle, made no effort to hide the disappointment or frustration he felt at the situation. Not to mention the supplies request he put in for materials for Abydos.
Monthly.
But now, she gets the information that he's bedridden in SCHALE for some reason with bad injuries?
She's going to give him a piece of her mind on his use of social media, his paperwork, and this entire thing.
With heavy blinks I release a breath, recognizing the room I'm in, or at least I know I'm not in a hospital or the medical wing of a Settlement or a Base of Operation. So I must be in SCHALE and its medical wing.
Well, more like a Nurse's Office rather than a medical wing since I'm in a bed and there's a curtain concealing the outside, but the room is large enough to be one and well-stocked too. The mechanics and security also have their own sections but for all intents and purposes, SCHALE is me and me alone. Conceptually anyway.
Before I could continue, someone opened the curtain as I glanced at them.
Red watch. Red Smart Watch. ROGUE!
For a second, instincts take over as I move, ignoring the pain and the yelps as I pat my side to look for my thigh holster but don't find anything as I finally look at who the rogue is…
And find a pretty girl with red glasses, red halo and elven ears as the absurdity shocks me back.
"Sensei!" Ayane yells in surprise as she looks at me. "What are you doing? You still haven't recovered!"
Swallowing audibly, I look at Ayane, her worried glare pinning me down as I take a moment to calm down. "Right." I nod, releasing a breath of relief. "Sorry," I say, smiling, "Nightmare, kinda jumpy."
Ayane's glare softens as yesterday filters back into my mind along with all the realizations and anger.
"I understand, but you still need to rest." Ayane suggests gently as I sit back down on the cot, my body sighing in relief as I pat my face. "Your wounds reopened during the fight, the medical staff said you should be fine in a day or so and as long as you don't do any extreme activities, you'll be fine in a few days." She says as I nod, looking down at my body. I was wearing a pair of underwear and a hospital gown as I can see the bandages tied around my injuries well.
"Right, where's my stuff?" I asked as Ayane sighed.
"They're out here." Ayane says, moving to the side to reveal my Go-Bag and body armor in tatters. "Do you need some help-."
"I'm injured Ayane, not missing a limb." I answer as I get up and ignore the slight limp to my step, slowly getting used to movement again. Looking at the bag, I sigh, "That's troublesome…"
Despite being covered in armor, my Go-Bag is heavily damaged. Nothing I can't fix, but there's also a bunch of sand in it.
First though, I need to get washed up and have some breakfast.
"S-Sensei, You shouldn't mo-." Ayane starts, worried.
"I'm going to take a shower." I stop her as I begin to move and she blinks.
"But what about your bandages?" She asks, worried, "You should be resting, not moving around."
"I'll just tie them back up." I answer, feeling kinda guilty since I was a medic for a while, both field and normal, and nothing is more bothersome than trying to talk down a stubborn idiot, which makes me understand my ex a bit more.
"No." Ayane says, glaring as she grabs me and sits me down on a chair. "Wait here, I'll go get a rag and a bucket."
So, I did. Ayane came back with a towel and some water as she told me to rub myself down with the water for now as she stepped out while I did so. After drying myself up, I was sitting on a table and cleaning out any sand that got in my Go-Bag as Ayane gave a report of what happened, some of which I remembered.
After arriving at Abydos, Problem Solver 68 bid their farewells and I was strapped onto a bed and carried onto a transport helicopter with Ayane, to the consternation of her classmates as some of them pouted. The Hot Springs Development Department also went their own way soon as I wasn't really in the shape to give farewells.
So, after the flight, I was looked over by the doctors and nurses within SCHALE, consented to giving my medical information since nearly everything was blacked out, and heard them talking to Hibiki so who knows how that's going to go.
And that's how we are where we are, me finishing up fixing my Go-Bag, looking through the spreadsheet Kasumi sent me while drinking some hot chocolate and eating a sandwich prepared by Ayane.
Like always, more work for me and SCHALE, at least Ayane's cooking was good, something I said to her embarrassment as I work. Seems like Kasumi marked some things she and the rest of her club would like and how much they'd pay for it. Now I can either buy it with SCHALE funds and re-sell it or just find someone to sell them to.
Of course, there's also the matter of contacting the owners of lost or forgotten items and giving it to them, going through the info on the devices we found, and other things, a simple thing with Arona and ISAC.
Like usual, paperwork for SCHALE and me to sign off on. But paperwork that has to be done correctly unlike all my previous reports or other paperwork that I submitted before today.
After all, I can hear the clicks of Rin's heels as I turn to Ayane. "Hey Ayane, can you do me a favor?"
"Yes, Sensei?!" She asked, sitting up straight since this was the first time I actually asked her to do something instead of trying to get up and doing it myself before being forced back down and doing it herself.
In return for her being so overprotective, I had ISAC lock the files, with the exceptions of a few while he ran an antivirus on them, among other things so that Abydos' system wouldn't be infected and Ayane could relax. Well, I think that's how it works. I can program, but I'm a script kiddie when it comes to hacking, since that's more ISACs thing.
"Can you talk to the mechanics? Tell them to head to Abydos to go and test the computers and other objects you found." I say as Ayane reluctantly nods.
"Right, then excuse me." She says before walking out, leaving me to sigh in relief before straightening as she narrows her eyes at me. "Don't move, Sensei." She leaves a second later.
There. That should be enough time for what's coming.
"Excuse me." Rin's authoritative voice rang out as she opened the door, the two of us looking at each other, Rin's displeasure clear on her face and I just waited. Despite the displeasure, I can see relief in her features, along with frustration and exhaustion. "You seem to be doing well."
"You look like you have a foot in the grave." I retort, to her surprise, "Not...well, kinda insultingly meant. Have you been getting enough sleep?" I am genuinely worried. I dislike bureaucrats and politicians, but Rin? She's a victim of circumstance.
She doesn't answer for a while before glaring, "Is that how you normally talk to people?"
"Is that how you try to evade questions?" I ask right back as she looks away. "Look, you need a day off? Just tell me and I'll take care of the lion's share of paperwork."
"Like you've been doing?" Rin starts glaring as her anger boils up, "The wording in most of them isn't appropriate, the other half only barely follow the outline, and the stamps look like you just tapped it lightly. Do you think your position is a joke?" She rants with narrow eyes as she continues for a while on varying subjects, scolding me as I listen with half an ear like usual.
Her breathing is heavy as I wait for it to even, rolling a hand as I ask, "Is that all?"
"You're insufferable." Rin continues before glaring at me, her chest heaving before slumping back down. "At least do the paperwork correctly, the other administrators are getting on my case about it."
"That's outside of everyone's control." I answer with a smirk, "But, I'll try. Just send them back and I'll fix them up."
Rin was something of a teacher's pet. She diligently did her work as she was told and rarely stepped out of line, the complete opposite of the GSC President who regularly got in trouble and did her best to circumvent the pesky paperwork.
Despite this, she found herself enjoying the President's friendship even if she constantly got into trouble. In a strange twist, Sensei was similar. He worried over her diligence, his laid back attitude was always assuring, and he never seemed to break under pressure.
And like the GSC President, they're fairly protective. While the President was more subtle about it, colder in a way and usually narrowing her attention on one person, Sensei was…
When Rin stepped into the room, the very atmosphere changed. His eyes landed on her and they softened. The atmosphere didn't. He was genuinely worried for her but he was also angry. He made no movement to show it, but he was. It was almost suffocating in a way she couldn't explain it.
"So," Rin started slowly, trying her best to gather the courage for the next part, "I'm guessing you have your own grievances to air?"
"Personally?" He starts, smiling as if nothing was wrong, an act made far more unnerving due to his lack of mask and armor strangely, "No, not really. I'm a teacher, an outsider too. How you guys govern isn't for me to really say much about. Not like there's much to say, bureaucracy is as slow as usual, it sucks."
"Is that so?" Rin notes.
"Granted, I'd like to say mine never left a district to die, but hey," he says with an exaggerated shrug as Rin has to hold back a flinch, "I'm not an expert."
His smile disappeared a second later, his brown eyes practically burrowing into her, "But I also have a duty, a responsibility. To you," he says pointing to Rin, "and all the other students in this place and to myself. And I'd be absconding two of those if I didn't try. So tell me Rin. What should I do?"
Rin found herself unable to answer under the pressure of his eyes, his voice, all of it told her one thing.
To listen.
"I hate bothering you, I truly do. You're already incredibly busy, and it'll only get worse. So why wasn't it done before?" He asks, each word like a nail driving through her heart. "Why does it have to devolve to this," he says while signaling to the surrounding area, the general situation, "before the GSC can get off their ass? Why do I have to figure out there's a giant snake in a dying district and be injured because of it for anyone to care? I don't know what regulations, paperwork, laws or anything that exist that couldn't allow for the GSC to intervene, but did none of you think 'hey, maybe we should check out this place that was thriving and is now dying'? Something that will inevitably affect Kivotos and its surrounding districts."
He didn't say anything else and Rin couldn't say anything, his eyes continued to bear down on her with a mix of worry, anger, frustration and so much more that seemed to only make it more severe.
After all, there are regulations and rules that must be followed. Even before her own emotions.
Slowly, she could hear him slip out of the bed as he continued, "Do you wanna know what happened when someone ignored a problem like that where I'm from? The reason why my service record or whatever is blacked out to the max? The reason why that paper extends to four years? I'll give you a hint, all of them are connected and it all started from the willful ignorance of one. Single. Person." He practically hissed out, Rin's head low as he stood in front of her, close enough to hear the anger in his voice. Close enough to hear the indignation in it. Close enough to get the feeling that it's a bit more personal than that.
For a second, there was silence and neither said anything, Rin unwilling to look up and Mateo still looking at her with an impassive expression. Finally, Mateo sighs.
"Listen," he began, far more gentle as he crouched down in front of Rin while resting a hand on her head, "Rin, I know you have Kivotos' best interest in mind. Which means, you usually have to overlook small things, generally it's not an idea I can get behind, but it's one I understand."
After all, he had to do something similar in his time as an Agent on occasion. It's what led to his growth in skill, refusing to let things stand whenever he could.
"So, I'll leave it at that." He ends softly as he tussles her hair slightly. "There's more I want to say, but you probably already know it." Gently, he reaches out and wipes away a tear from Rin's eyes. "To ask, no, demand perfection from you...that's not what a teacher should do, that's not what an adult should do, and it's not something I want to do. So, as long as you're fine with it, I want to help you."
Rin, meanwhile, remembers the President's note as she glares at him, something that's less effective than she hoped with the blush on her cheeks. "Womanizer."
"I'll have you know I'm the most moral person you'll find in my organization." He answered with confidence and a chuckle as he stood up, the tense atmosphere dispelled.
"It's a shady organization to begin with." Rin answers with a smile as Mateo shrugs.
"I'll have you know I blackmailed my way into letting me join." Mateo answers as Rin gapes.
"That's not something a moral person would do!" Rin answers before blinking in realization. "So you were a womanizer!"
"Hell no!" Mateo responds to the accusation. "I'm good at talking, charming is another thing entirely."
Rin looks at him in disbelief, after all he saw how Ayane walked out. That smile she had doesn't come from just 'talking'.
Finally, she sighed as she held a hand to her forehead. "Fine. I'll get it ready for today."
"Yeah! Also, we hired some fixers for the fight with Binah-."
"Speaking of," Rin interrupted as she leaned forward in interest, "a few years ago, the Abydos student council was supposed to send a file on sighting of Binah. You wouldn't happen-."
"Acquired and sent." Mateo confirms. "Now, about those fixers…"
Rin simply sighed, "Aren't soldiers and PMC units usually at odds against each other?"
"I will put Kaiser in the ground." Mateo quickly asserts with confidence and distaste in his voice as Rin groans.
"Please don't, they are a very important component to everyday Kivotos life." Rin answers as Mateo gives her a raised brow, his expression laced with suspicion. "...I have no comment."
"Anyway, nah, these kids…" Mateo says, amusement clear in his voice with a bit of admiration and nostalgia, "they're good. Like really good. I also think that they were hired to take over Abydos."
"...Excuse me?" Rin asks as Mateo sighs dramatically.
"Think about it. We run off the previous gang and suddenly a group of fixers appear." He explains as he reaches to the side, where his Go-Bag is, his usual loadout of an M4 and the Cuelebre there as he brings out a ration bar. "And who do you think has the most to gain from the loss of a desert, an uninhabitable wasteland with no people, an unimaginable size, and, above all, full of secrets."
Rin doesn't answer, instead she seemed confused, because anyone could benefit from such a thing.
Mateo knew she wouldn't understand what he said, but he still said it. "New Mexico."
Rin simply looked at him in confusion as he closed his eyes, waiting for the day he can put those Kaiser pricks down, and he has the perfect way to do it.
In America, you have to have a reasonable suspicion to search someone, maybe a tip or something.
In other countries though?
Well, let's just say Kaiser is going to be hit with either impeding an extrajudicial officer or something else depending on how feasible the plan he has in mind is.
For a while, Rin and Mateo talk of nothing in particular until she has to go, feeling a bit better as Ayane returns.
Considering nothing much is being done, she decided that it'd be a good choice to get them all together for a meeting.
Still, Mateo steps out, he has a phone call to make, after all.
Currently, Aru and Haruka are doing something long overdue. They were watching the videos of Sensei on his first day.
From a purely practical standpoint, to Kayoko, the moves he used when the students got close were practical, almost savage, in dispatching them. Aiming at joints, throat, and anywhere that'd hurt but with a hesitation that Kayoko couldn't help but notice. Almost like he was used to doing one thing but he decides against it at the last second, though considering the victim was usually knocked out by the end, that didn't make it any weaker.
Stylistically, it was cool.
Emotionally, it was needed after the call from their contractor as Aru managed to fumble her way through it and her eyes only looked slightly dead inside.
After all, they just lost their most ludicrous job yet because she decided to help Abydos with Binah, the large worm still in her, and the other's, nightmares even a day after. Of course, Kayoko was there to listen to her spit drivel with Haruka believing every word of it and even Mutsuki didn't comment.
After all, they had something else to worry about. "So," Kayoko starts, her eyes landing on the magazine of solid gold bullets on the desk, "what do we do with it?"
"He said to hold it for him." Mutsuki says, "So, maybe he'll call us soon?"
Haruka wasn't answering as she was already setting up a claymore. "I'm not worthy to see such beautiful things. Much less from Sensei…"
Sensei, a common theme in their conversations, after he saved Haruka, he led them all despite his own exhausted form.
He didn't even ask for the ammunition back.
As if summoned, the rotary phone began to ring as Aru coughed into her fist and spoke confidently. "Problem Solver 68, if you've got the dime, we'll do the crime, how may I help you?"
"That's a fancy way to introduce yourself, eh?" Came Sensei's voice to Aru's surprise.
"Sensei!" Aru said with a slight smile. "I didn't think you'd be calling this soon."
"Why not? Debts are best settled quickly, I'm actually surprised you didn't call sooner. Getting the second-degree from your old employer?" He said with an amused tone of voice as Aru froze.
H-How did he-?
Quickly, Aru coughed into her hand, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Trust me, my own employer isn't any better." He whispers to Aru's surprise and slight amusement, "Still, employers aside, I think you're the first fixer group I've had the pleasure of meeting that'd abandon a contract over a vague promise." He chuckles as Aru flinches at the reminder. "Still, like I said, I keep my word and some debts are best settled quickly. Though I think the FTF girls want to show off their own appreciation in their own way, so maybe go see them at some point. One of them should be working at a good ramen stall, she might be willing to give you a discount, or maybe even give you some in the house."
At the mention of ramen, all of their stomachs grumble audibly to their embarrassment. From the other side, they heard Sensei snicker, making their embarrassment worse before he releases a sigh. "Right, I'm rambling, I have no idea how your rates work, but you were there to save me and carry the slack the FTF couldn't so…" He trailed off as Aru was about to stop him but then he spoke a ludicrous number that even had Kayoko with wide eyes and Mutsuki too.
The silence must have worried him, "Aru? You there?"
"A-Ah, yes! I am, it's just…" Aru coughed into a fist, she had to keep up to look reliable, "it's a good amount for such a simple task."
"So you want me to lower it?" He asks as Kayoko slaps her head and Mutsuki giggles.
"A-Ah, no, I-um," Aru stutters as they hear Mateo sigh.
"Aru, take this advice, but never talk about prior payments when speaking about a job. Fake or no. It'll give the client an opening to lower the original payment and if you backtrack, that'll just ruin your credibility." He advises to Kayoko's surprise. That was surprisingly good advice.
"R-right. You seem knowledgeable about this, Sensei." Aru notes as Sensei chuckles.
"Well, let's just say that I've never been the type to be tied down." He says enigmatically as Aru's back straightened and her eyes glowed.
That was so outlaw-like.
"You should be getting your payment soon. I suggest going to Shiba Seki later since Serika isn't there yet. I hope you don't mind if I keep the number, SCHALE has its own fair share of jobs and I can't exactly do 'em all. See ya." He finishes as Aru slowly lowers the phone in its place as her eyes glow.
That was cool. From the smooth voice and the confident tone. Aru couldn't help but admire it.
A second later, the payment is put through, and for the first time, Problem Solver felt like their luck was turning around.
With that call over, I can't help but smile, she's such a dork. Well, not like that's a bad thing.
I walk back into the room, watching as Ayane is done setting up a whiteboard with the word 'Debt' on it in bold. She perks up at the sound of the door closing as she turns to me, before visibly brightening. "Ah, Sensei, welcome back, how was your phone call?"
"It went smoothly. Though Serika might have some familiar guests during her shift." I answer as I turn to the setup. Just a small table with a laptop, the camera recording it as I nod at the other girls. "It's good to see all of you are in good shape."
"We should be saying that. Morning Sensei!"
"Uhe, morning~." Hoshino answers after Nonomi.
"Are you sure you're okay to walk around?" Serika asks. "You took a beating, far worse than we ever could." Thanks to Arona, I'm fine.
"Your endurance is impressive, Sensei." Shiroko says, her own eyes glinting in interest. "How do you usually workout?"
"Trust me, my working out days are over." I say, the memory of running the lengths of entire states when we couldn't use helicopters or other vehicles constantly with me despite my best efforts.
Shiroko's ears droop as she looks down, her impassive expression shifting into one of slight disappointment as she mutters. "Oh."
"Look at what you did, Sensei!" Hoshino says, hugging Shiroko and glaring at me, "You hurt her feelings!"
"Yeah~. How are you going to fix this?" Nonomi says with a slight warning in her voice and a dangerous smile in place.
Sighing, I shake my head, "Technically, my workout was just walking around a few sta-I mean district lengths."
There was a beat of silence. "Walking?" Hoshino asked as Shiroko perked up. "Uhe, there's two of them now."
"Really?" Shiroko asks, her eyes practically shining. "Would you like to bike through Kivotos with me?"
Slowly, I smile, though I have a feeling like the smile didn't reach my eyes. "Shiroko."
"Nn?"
"No."
"Nn…"
"But I might do shorter distances." I relent as Shiroko practically lit up.
"Nn! It's a promise." She says, her eyes sparkling as I shake my head.
"Alright!" Ayane interrupts, as she continues, "The circumstances are a bit different as not only are we in completely different areas, but Sensei is also with us in his first Foreclosure Task Force meeting with us. So I expect there to be a bit more decorum than usual."
"'Sup." I said as I sat on my bed, body armor back on after stopping by the Crafting Chamber to get a new one with some sweatpants and a white shirt on. My mask was set back in place, cleaned and ready for action.
"Already cleared for movement and the armor's back on." Hoshino notes out loud. "Honestly, it's practically glued onto you."
"What weapon are you using?" Shiroko asks in interest as I look at my Go-Bag leaning to my side.
"The usual." I answer as I check my thigh holster, empty by Rin's recommendation that I go visit later. "I've got some other things to do as well, so let's get this show on the road."
"Okay~." Nonomi said.
"Naturally." Shiroko added.
"Right!" Serika said.
"Let's get down to business and discuss the key items on our agenda," Ayane says with a nod as she trailed off before circling the large word 'debt' on the whiteboard, "How do we settle the school's debt? Discuss. If anyone would like to share their thoughts, raise your hand!" She smiled, probably hoping for a reasonable answer.
Naturally, I had one, but I felt it would go unappreciated. Blow up the creditors...or debtors… What's the word for the ones offering a loan? Anyway, that was usually how I'd take care of problems like these since the credit used for transactions wasn't something meant to be hoarded and most people were comfortable with a barter system. Still, even then loan sharks existed and I was more than happy to take care of it usually. The less said about the Black Tusk, the better.
Serika did first, "Ooh! Me! Me!"
Right, I turn to her in interest, since obviously, the most suspicious of the lot would be able to come up with a good idea.
"Yes, first-year Kuromi Serika."Ayane says with a bit too much decorum. Then again, I was used to being around veterans, soldiers, Marines, and the occasional special forces group and amongst the lessons and skill taught to me by all of these groups, the one that stuck the most was that a fair fight isn't one worth fighting. So what do I know about decorum, right?
"Seriously, again with the formalities?" Serika asks, exasperated as she seems to share my opinion. "I hate it when you do that…"
"Why not?" Ayane asks, a bit sheepish. "This is our first formal meeting in ages." She points out while fidgeting a bit.
Hoshino piped up, smiling sleepily, "Yeah, what's the big deal? It's nice to pull out all the stops once in a while. It's not everyday we get to run a meeting with Sensei." Hoshino points out as she smiles in my direction and I do the same.
"This is the only time we've had a meeting with Sensei in attendance, to be precise." Shiroko corrects as, to my scant experience with translating Shiroko's tells, she seems anxious? Excited?
"That's right! It's like we're a proper task force now~!" Nonomi pipes up excitedly.
Serika sighs with a shake of her head, "Fine. You guys do have seniority here, I guess…" Though she quickly perks up and continues, "Moving on! The school is on the verge of bankruptcy. And I'm the treasurer, in case you forgot, so I really mean it! Abydos will seriously get shut down at this rate. Got it?"
"I wouldn't say it's that desperate." I interject. "I've been looking at some auctions and stuff, some of what we got would sell pretty well." From the solar battery packs, to the old electronics, and even some discarded weapons and ammunition are pretty good, all that'd need to happen is that we extract the data for the electronics and make sure everything else is in good condition. "Ayane had a few of the SCHALE mechanics go over there to inspect it, so don't be too surprised if they come." They might also arrive with something else considering the paperwork I just signed on the Shittim Chest.
"Ah, thanks Sensei~!" Nonomi said as Serika smiled.
"Thank you, it'll help put a dent in the debt. But we're paying eight million yen monthly alone." Monthly? That's like eighty thousand, how on god have these girls been doing it? "We're doing everything we can to hold on, but that much is barely keeping up with the interest. There's only so much we can do by just arresting wanted criminals or taking care of civilian requests."
Arre-Oh! I forgot, bounties are usually supposed to be brought in alive. Hm, maybe I can send a few their way, after all ISAC has access to such information but it probably won't be the most accurate. Glancing at him, his orange form leaning on the wall glances at me and he brings up a different screen as Arona looks over in interest.
"We're royally screwed unless something changes. What we need is something big! Huge, even!" Serika says while leaning forward as I can't help but frown under my mask.
"Something…big?" Ayane asks in simultaneous interest and anticipation while Serika reaches into her pocket and unfolds a paper, Ayane visibly paling and the others simply looking on in amusement
"I got this flier downtown!" Serika says as she shows it to us with a big smile as I lean forward and read it.
"'Ready to become a boss babe billionaire? Get rich qui-'." I stop reading and lean back in silence, holding my hands to my mask in shock as I stare at Serika. This is the cat I met with Shiroko? The same one who was looking to shoot me?
"What do you think? I met these cool guys downtown-." Serika started but I just sighed heavily, interrupting her as I had to stop myself from crying. In amusement. It's just so ironic it's kinda hilarious. The same cat that couldn't even trust me at first is falling for one of the most obvious scams known to man. Granted, it's ironic and hypocritical coming from me since I nearly fell for it the first time but this was only once, and if the reaction the rest of the FTF have is accurate, this isn't a very uncommon thing.
"Serika." I started, trying to hold my amusement back. "It's a scam."
"Proposal denied." Hoshino said exactly what I was thinking to Serika's shock.
"B-But it can't be-." Serika started in a bid to defend her proposal. "You didn't even finish reading it!"
"I don't have to." I answer confidently as I lean forward, "Serika, were you pressured into going, had to sit through a seminar where they talked about some great business model, and had to pay for something at the end?" Serika doesn't answer, or she tries to, but it sounds more like gaping as I sigh. "There we go, you were scammed."
"Serika is so gullible it's cute~." Nonomi says to Serika's embarrassment.
"Aw, you can be so naive, Serika. Sweet, but naive. You'd better start wising up, or else you're going to have your life ruined by one of these schemes someday." Hoshino points out as Serika's ears droop.
"B-But it sounded so convincing. I even skipped lunch so I could buy these…" She trails off while looking at a pair of bracelets.
Nonomi closes in and holds Serika comfortingly, patting her, "There, there, Serika. It's okay. Why don't I treat you to lunch?"
Serika sniffs as she leans into Nonomi's embrace. "Awww. Nonomi…."
"Well, then," Ayane starts, her smile twitching, "that's it for Serika's suggestion. Anyone else?"
"Me! Me!" Hoshino stands up, almost like a child as Ayane seems to grimace.
"Okay. President Takanashi Hoshino has the floor…" Ayane trails off.
"Thank you. Ahem." Hoshino starts, standing up as she clears her throat. "You know what this school's problem is? It's that the entire student body is just us. More students mean more money." I nod along, already familiar with a representative democracy, "Think about Trinity or Gehenna with their five-digit enrollment numbers. Then think about how much they must be raking in with monthly fees alone!"
Now everyone's nodding along in interest, but something told me that the answer isn't the one we're looking for, but it's interesting. "I suppose...And?" Ayane asks with a bit of trepidation.
"So we need to increase our enrollment numbers! That's our top priority." Hoshino explains, "We'll also get more representatives and have a better say with the General Student Council." Right, again, representative democracy.
"Yeah, representative democracy and whatnot." I interrupt as I lean forward in interest. "But how are you going to do that? Kidnap a student?"
"Are you insane?" Hoshino asks, her face scrunched in confusion, "Honestly, what kind of people do you take us for?"
"Right, right." I say, waving a hand as Ayane seems to sigh in relief. "Sorry."
"Yeah." She said, keeping up her outraged expression for a second later before it turned into a lazy smile. "Just one student wouldn't change much anyway. A school bus full of them on the other hand? Now that is where it's at."
"Excuse me!?" Ayane yelped in shock and I burst out laughing in shock and amusement, my injuries throbbing but I ignored it amidst my laughter.
"We hijack a school bus full of students on their way to school, and we hold them hostage until they agree to transfer their enrollment over to our school. This is sure to get our enrollment numbers up." Hoshino explains with a smile and a bit of bloodlust as I manage to calm down, seems like she's still holding a few grudges, "See, Sensei seems to like it."
"Wait, that-ha!" I can't help but laugh as I put a fist in front and cough into it as I shake my head. "Oh, that was good. Still, I don't think it'd work as well as you'd think." I say as I release a breath. "Millenium has high-tech gadgets, Gehenna students are known for being rowdy and Trinity has Tsurugi. All of them will put up a fight."
Hoshino's eyes twinkle at the idea along with Shiroko. "Oh, will they?"
"Trinity isn't Millenium or Gehenna, so we should hit them first. Sensei," Shiroko starts as she seems to gain a sour look, "can you distract the Justice Task Force's President?"
"No! We are not going to hijack a school bus!" Ayane yells, her eyes frantically moving to and fro between her clubmates. "And don't take that as a challenge!" Ayane yells as she takes a moment to recompose herself. "Can you please try to take this meeting seriously?"
Immediately, Shiroko stood up as she spoke. "I have an even better idea."
Ayane releases a deep breath of resignation. "Fine. Go ahead, second-year student, Sunookami Shiroko."
"We rob a bank."
Wouldn't be the first time I've done it…
Wait…
Do-Does the Treasury count since I took some bars for myself and some magazines with golden bullets? Well, I technically did go into a vault before that and I might have taken a few stacks, sue me, but is that a bank robbery? I turn to ISAC and he nods. I hum as I lean back, so I have robbed a bank.
"What?!" Ayane yelps as I could see her patience begin to lower at a fascinating rate.
"It's a surefire plan, and we already have the perfect target. Let's hit the First Central Bank downtown." She explains while looking through the cabinets of the room as he brings out a paper bag. Reaching in, she extracts a map and unfurls it as I nod along. "I've already mapped out everything from the location of the vault to the positions of the guards, blind spots for the security camera, and even the armored car's transportation route." She explains with shining eyes.
Ayane's voice goes up a decibel as she asks, "Is this what you've been working so hard on lately?"
"We can earn one-hundred million yen in five minutes flat. In-and-out, easy. Here, I even brought masks." She says as she reveals a bevy of balaclavas of varying colors and numbers
100 mil?
"Where did you find the time to prepare all of this?" Ayane asks
In five minutes?
"Say less."
"Sensei!?" Ayane said as Shiroko's eyes glowed while Hoshino looked over in interest.
"If you give me some time, I can make you a mask." Shiroko says with a hint of bashful excitement in her voice.
"No," I say as I begin going through my Go-Bag, "I have the perfect thing."
"Whoa! Did you sew these yourself, Shiroko?" Hoshino asks, impressed as I wonder if I left it somewhere else.
"Wowie! Check it out! Don't I look like a luchador?" Nonomi asks as I frown. Where did I put it?
"Dang...It's so obvious! You gotta risk big to win big! Isn't that what life is all about, Serika?" Hoshino asks as I look up and have to stop myself from sputtering at Shiroko's blue balaclava with a '2' on her forehead with her ears poking out while Nonomi's hair was in a bun under her green balaclava with a '3' on it.
"Heck no it isn't! Absolutely not! Denied!" Serika argues as that seems to shake Ayane out of her stupor.
"She's right! We can't possibly stoop to crime!" Ayane yells and I shrug while going through my bag. Well, it's not a crime if the law doesn't apply to you.
Regardless, Shiroko removes her mask and sits back down, pouting as Ayane notices, "Pout all you want, Shiroko, but there are some lines that can't be crossed!" Ayane sternly says before sighing, "Seriously! If no one comes up with a real idea soon…"
"I think we found one." Hoshino points out, slowly grabbing a mask. "Sensei seemed particularly interested in the bank robbery."
"Sensei…" Ayane practically sobs while giving me a long suffering look.
Shiroko's eyes light once more as Nonomi pouts, "I couldn't even propose my idea of becoming pop idols." Po-What?
"What?" I can't help but ask as Nonomi perks up.
"Yeah! Nothing revitalizes a dying district more than pop idols. You see it all the time in anime!" Really? Huh.
"Denied." Hoshino swiftly shuts it down. "I don't wanna deal with creeps anytime soon."
"Aww, but I even had a pose and a name all figured out." She says before standing up and posing, emphasizing her assets in a very...pleasing way with a peace sign. "Christina of the Mizugi Girl Gang~."
Serika took exception to that as the three bickered and Ayane sighed. "This meeting is just going in circles now."
"Found it." I interject as I bring out a mask as I remove my normal mask for the new one. "Right. Let's do this!"
Ayane is silent as the others look at each other in varying levels of amusement and resignation. "Well, if Sensei says so." Hoshino says as she slips on her own mask while I fix mine, a ballistic mask with the eye area painted white and dubbed the 'Angel' mask. One I pilfered from the corpse of one of the Hunters scattered in D.C.
"Alright~." Nonomi says, sounding a bit disappointed but also excited.
Shiroko slipped her mask on, practically beaming, "Might as well go big or go home. Right Ayane?"
Slowly, Ayane spoke with closed eyes. "Obviously…"
"Really?" Serika asked in disbelief.
"Obviously not!" Ayane roared, her hands on the table as she flipped it over in a show of strength, taking the laptop with it as I feel like I'm watching a car crash in slow motion as the laptop hits the ground, breaking as Ayane freezes.
Thankfully, it was a SCHALE laptop.
Within the hour, Ayane is done apologizing for the outburst and the laptop as I assure her that it's fine and find myself with a new nurse.
Serina Sumi is a student from Trinity in the Remedial Knights club. Sounds simple enough, her uniform was fairly standard with minor modifications and she has short pink hair with some of the hair kind of...shifting to become a feather. Her halo was yellow with a kind of cross shape resembling a shield and her Enfield L85A1 assault rifle had a syringe similar to a bayonet. The gun was something that I had a bit of an interest in since I've never seen it in my time as an Agent or my time being in charge of maintenance of the weapons.
"Hello, Sensei." She introduced herself with a bow and a smile. "It's an honor to formally meet you, I was worried about the bullet wound on your leg."
That's how she introduced herself. By mentioning a wound I got in the time between the reclamation of SCHALE and my first day on the job. A wound that ISAC suggested I have the Remedial Knights check.
"Sensei?" Ayane asks with a confused and worried look. "What is she talking about?"
"Ah, I'm sorry." Serina starts before turning to Ayane with a sheepish smile. "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Sumi Serina."
"N-No, it's fine." Responded the flustered Ayane, "I'm Okusora Ayane."
"Right…" I reluctantly let out. "Well, I have to go do a few things with Rinny." I say as I get up, ignore the slight lances of pain coursing through my legs. "I should be back in a few, so don't wait for me."
"I'll accompany you. While you are cleared to move, you aren't completely better yet." Serina explains as she waits for me.
"You really don't have to." I say as I sling my Go-Bag over my shoulder, stumbling slightly as Ayane moves to help but I find my balance quick, "But if you insist." I relent before turning to Ayane. "I shouldn't be out for too long, so you should go back there and give them a piece of your mind."
"Alright." Ayane says with a dark smile. "I will."
Not to mention, I need time to decide what our next move is. Thankfully, I can do so through public transit.
Idly, Serina and I begin to make our way to the GSC building as I think.
We have a target. Kaiser. Probably their PMC, but unlike the Black Tusk and unlike my old world, this world hasn't been ravaged by a supervirus, killing off most of the population. Which means that things like corporations and governments matter, and if the representative democracy of my world is any evidence, the GSC representatives are usually bought off by Kaiser to hide their dirty laundry or to bail them out.
What we need now is evidence, but how do we do that? There's Problem Solver 68, but despite Aru being a huge dork, she's genuinely serious about the whole fixer thing, and for any contractual service, well, client confidentiality is important, even if the clients were assholes and they were let go.
But now? We need evidence, and not just simple beliefs, but videos, recordings and pictures. Sure, a few charges of impeding an extrajudicial officer's investigation isn't good, but it also isn't what I want. They've gotta have outposts in the-.
"Dish attacked." ISAC speaks in my ear as I straighten up to Serina's confusion.
"Is something wrong, Sensei?" She asks and I shake my head.
"No, I'm fine." I answer as I look away and mentally ask, "What the hell do you mean?"
"The dish that was scrambling the people of Abydos' signal. They're trying to get through the firewall, but I'm not letting them." ISAC answers. "What would you like me to do?"
"Find out where it's coming from and let them do so." I answer. "Do you have the location of the other devices scrambling the signal?"
"Yes." ISAC answers.
"Good." I think back as ISAC disconnects as I go back to thinking. Maybe it's time I check out the Black Market.
"Interesting." Black Suit says as he gets the report. "Kaiser has regained control of the cell tower while Horus and the rest of her entourage join the Fixers in some food. Seems like that's one hypothesis that's wrong." On a notepad, Black Suit crosses off a sentence.
Territorial, might act hastily if something that's 'his' is being attacked.
He twirls his pen as he hums an excited tune. "The single act that no one noticed, the recuperation of the dish, was integral to your efforts, but it was not one worth doing. While the difference might be noticeable, it's not something the people noticed, so there was no real need to do so. Yet, when it was attacked, you let it go, not even asking your students to defend it. Why did you liberate it?"
Then he perked up, "Hmmm, maybe it has to do with the satellites? Satellites that, when moved, scramble the signal to GSC satellites, but not Kaiser? But why would SCHALE have access to such technology? Did he not relinquish all the power that came with the Sanctum Tower?"
Black Suit's smile widened as the mystery deepened. "What could it be?" He wondered. Then, he perked up, the cracks on his face shifting to make an 'o' shape where his mouth would be.
Again, he looks at an image of Mateo, specifically, his eyes glowing orange. "At first, I thought those were quirks like ours. But," his face returned to its smiling facade, "could it be the answer?" His eyes then went to his watch and the brick on his backpack. "Now, what will your move be, Sensei?"
Closing his eyes, Black Suit stood up. "How riveting. Sadly, I believe any other move would be counterproductive. Either I ramp it up too highly and you decimate our forces faster than the SRT could and any other move would take too long to set up and enact before you're supposed to return."
It's a shame the Demons had the sense to cancel the contract with the Part-Timers, it would've been nice to see the choices they made when forced into action.
Still, Kaiser might be on his side, but they have their own beliefs and practices.
"You're here." Rin notes as I enter the lobby. "Good. I see the Remedial Knights have been taking care of you." Her eyes land on Serina, who bows as Rin does the same, but to a lesser extent. She turns to me and continues, "You already seem visibly better."
"I heal quickly." I answer with a shrug. "Sadly, not that quick." I add before looking around. "So, what's this all about? You told me not to come with a sidearm, which is making me a bit anxious, admittedly."
"Sadly," Rin says with a sigh, "it's tradition. As you might have guessed," she says as she turns around and I follow after her, Serina trailing behind, "each Academy has a style of weapons, so to speak. Not simply in modifications either."
True, from Problem Solver, to the Gourmet Research Society and Chinatsu's pistol, all of them were German in nature. Same thing with Trinity that seems to be more British and I haven't seen much of Millennium's weapons. "Yeah, I've noticed."
"Good. The General Student Council also has a similar style as well." She answers as she reveals her own weapon, a Desert Eagle, to my surprise, before holstering it. "The General Student Council is made up of students of different schools, so while they can keep their original guns, its tradition for the President to present them with a new weapon. Sadly, since she's not here, I'll be the one to walk you through it."
Soon, we reach the armory. "Right, from here, this is a more personal thing, so-."
"I'll wait here." Serina says as she steps back. "Just don't get hurt, Sensei."
"It's an armory." I point out, "Unless some idiot forgot to turn the safety off, I should be fine."
Well, not like my faith in many of the GSC, aside from Rin, is really that high. So, with that, I follow Rin into the armory, the guards closing the door behind us as we walk in silence, the silence of my steps contrasting with the clicks of Rin's heels. "Wait, am I even part of the GSC though?"
"You are not." Rin agrees. "But, you are working for Kivotos. I say GSC mostly because while the other districts work for theirs, we mostly work for all of Kivotos."
"Makes sense." I say as I look around at all the weapons. "So, do the GSC mostly use handguns?"
"Yes." Rin answers. "We are bureaucrats after all. There's no need for us to use any heavier weapons unless it's to defend ourselves." She stops as she looks forward. "We're here."
Slowly, in front of us is a wall of pistols, revolvers, and other weapons as I blink in surprise at how many there are. "Choose whichever one feels right, Sensei." Rin says as she steps back and I give her a confused look, which she ignores.
"...Okay, like…whichever?" I ask and Rin doesn't answer, still ignoring me as her eyes are locked onto my form. "How cruel, Rinny."
"Don't call me that." She snaps back as I huff in amusement and return to looking at the weapons. So it seems like this is like a personality test, huh?
Still, none of them really click. Sure they're nice, but…
I don't know, I want something nice. Not something based on survival, or even really banking on the idea that it'll be replaced later. Not something I took from a corpse, but something that's mine in a way.
That's when I see it, a small box under the table as I crouch down and reach under it. It was a simple black box with nothing of note. Opening it, I see a M45A1, white with a sort of silverish triangle additions that make it glint against the light and blue and an extended magazine as I pull back the slide and look into it.
ISAC comes in a second later as it points out more details about the pistol, like the flashlight, the iron sights, extended magazine, and a strange quote.
Why must I enter a place I do not see myself as an outsider to?
The M45A1 was a pistol that was in the process of being decommissioned when the Dollar Flu hit, a variation of the ever-reliable and classic M1911, at the time the Marines was looking for something to replace it.
And the name…
Adam's Key.
In Eden, depending on what version you're reading, Eve deceived Adam into eating the apple and caused them both to be exiled from Paradise and when they found themselves on Earth, they were lost in a place they were supposed to belong in.
Heh. Kinda ironic. A weapon, brought back in the process of it being decommissioned and bearing the name of the first man who was abruptly ejected from Paradise.
Standing up, I flash the weapon to Rin. "This one. I like it."
"Is that so?" Rin says, an unreadable look on her face before shaking it off. "Then-."
Before she could finish, I checked that the safety was on and slipped it into the waistband of my jeans before lowering my shirt as I hummed. "Yeah, that works."
Rin hit me with another unreadable look, but this time, the meaning behind it was more palpable.
Why are you like this?
The SCHALE mechanics were looking over the stuff Abydos got while unloading the GSC munitions and equipment.
Well, technically, it's SCHALE munitions, but through the power of Mateo just not caring, he sent the SCHALE munitions and just had the GSC send the supplies meant for Abydos to him. Is it supposed to be like that? Maybe not. But does he really care? Only enough that his students are fine. Though Ayane herself didn't know it. Instead, she was fine slurping on ramen as she glared at her fellow classmates. "Honestly, I can't believe you…"
"I can't either." Hoshino retorts, a smug grin as Ayane flinches at the reminder. "Honestly, breaking one of SCHALEs laptops? How irresponsible."
"Nn." Shiroko agrees. "You should be more accepting."
"I wouldn't have done that if you took it seriously-!" Ayane began, a flush on her face before sighing. "Forget it." She says, downcast and returning to her ramen.
"There, there~." Nonomi said while patting her head as Ayane's brow twitched.
"Stop patronizing me! I'm not a child." Ayane retorted as Serika watched in disbelief.
"That's fine and all, but did you guys seriously have to come back here again?" Serika asked as she looked at the Foreclosure Task Force in the booth.
"Want some more chashu, Ayane?" Shiroko asks.
After chewing a bit, Ayane responds, "Yesh."
The door to Shiba Seki ramen opens as Serika turns to it, walking towards it with a smile, "Welco-oh."
In front of the door is Problem Solver 68, the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force turning towards them and brightening. "H-Hi." Haruka says, holding her shotgun to her tighter than before.
"Foreclosure Task Force, it's good to see you." Aru says as she looks around, slightly fidgeting as she looks around. "It seems like Sensei isn't here…"
"Aw," Mutsuki started, leaning to the side, "disappointed, Aru?"
"N-No! Not at all." Aru said, a blush on her face.
"Uhe~. I didn't expect to see you guys here." Hoshino says as she waves them over. "Come, sit with us, we'll pay for your meal. It's the least we can do for your help."
"O-Oh, well," Aru says, feeling guilty as she looks away but accepts, "if you insist."
Soon, Problem Solver 68 and the FTF were in booths side-by-side. "Still, it's a miracle you guys were there when you were." Hoshino starts, her eyes on Kayoko and Mutsuki, who noticed her gaze as Kayoko straightened up and Mutsuki's smile became more mischievous.
"It was." Ayane says with a smile as Aru's shame only burned deeper as her smile twitched and Mutsuki giggled behind her, "if it wasn't for you, who would've known what would have happened to Sensei."
"Yup~." Nonomi says as she scratches the side of her cheek, "Binah's last attack had us all knocked out."
"Nn." Shiroko said with a nod.
"O-Oh," Aru stuttered despite internally screaming, "i-it's nothing. We were in the neighborhood anyway."
"You're from Gehenna, right?" Hoshino asks, taking a sip from the water as she looks at them from the edge of her glass, her eyes narrowing on Aru. "That's a long way from this sandy ol' place, what brought you here?"
"Oh you know," Aru tried as she suddenly found herself reluctant to talk. Coughing into a fist as she tries to answer, "a job…"
Ayane's eyes widen as she bows, "I'm sorry if my request interrupted your previous one."
"Oh, it did," Mutsuki said, "I'm sure our previous employer would have loved for us to refuse your offer."
Slowly, the atmosphere in the ramen shop visibly darkened, Serika stopped talking in the middle of taking someone's order, Hoshino's eyes narrowed, Nonomi began to frown, and Shiroko glanced at the gun on the rack while Ayane frowned.
Even the normal people seemed to stall for a second as the master ignored it all and continued cooking the noodles.
Leaning forward, Hoshino gently placed the glass of water down, "That so? Who might this employer be then?"
"Th-That's-um," Aru stuttered under the gaze of the Foreclosure Task Force, "c-client confidentiality…" Aru started as she had trouble keeping eye contact until Kayoko sighed.
"You don't have to worry about that." Kayoko interrupted, "We got the boot 'cause we helped you."
"Kayoko!" Aru interrupted as Kayoko looked at Aru in exasperation.
"Kinda sucks," Mutsuki says with a laugh, "we probably won't be getting paid for a while after our stunt. Not to mention that we might have a month at most with what Sensei paid us before we're back to begging for jobs in a par-."
"Mutsuki!" Aru yelped, her dignity in tatters as Kayoko sighed, Mutsuki laughed and Haruka looked around in confusion.
Hoshino frowns, her eyes softening and everyone relaxing. "Ueeeh~." Hoshino muttered. "You're a lot less scary than before."
"Nn." Shiroko said with a nod as Aru gaped in shock, "You looked more dangerous yesterday."
"Here." Serika says, the first bowl of ramen placed on the table with a complicated expression on her face. "Eat up."
Meanwhile, the Problem Solver girls gaped at the amount of toppings on it, the smell, the quality, everything had their empty stomachs rumbling and their mouths drooling, even Mutsuki lost her teasing nature. "Um, excuse me," Kayoko asked, "we didn't order all these toppings."
"It's on the house." The master said, his deep baritone ringing out in his shop, "You might be fixers, but you did something half of the General Student Council can't even do, and that's doing your job. You saved the man who's doing his best to help this place when no one else would. We're grateful for that." The shiba inu said with a bow, as some of the other patrons did the same before returning to their food.
"He's right, you know." Hoshino said, her eyes serious. "If you guys didn't step in when you did…"
While Hoshino left the sentence open, Kayoko understood immediately.
He might have died.
"I-it's no problem." A-Aru said sheepishly.
"Then eat up." Hoshino starts, an easygoing smile back in place, "It'll get cold otherwise."
"Nn, it's really good." Shiroko adds.
"Well don't mind us." Mutsuki says as she grabs a pair of chopsticks.
"I-Is someone like me really worthy of eating such food?" Haruka asks despite grabbing a pair of chopsticks as well.
"Let's enjoy this while we can. To a successful job!" Aru says. Pride in her eyes as all of the rest of Problem Solver cheer, with Kayoko being the most reluctant before putting the noodles in their mouth.
While Problem Solver is eating, Ayane frowns. "That's weird…"
"Something wrong?" Nonomi asks as Ayane frowns at her tablet.
"Something's scrambling the signal, it's as slow as it was before Sensei came." Ayane notes as she scrunches her face at it. "There also seems to be some seismic activity.
"Where is it coming from?" Shiroko asks as Ayane proceeds to look into it.
In a few minutes, the girls of Problem Solver finish their ramen. "That was delicious~." Mutsuki groaned as Haruka nodded.
"R-Really. But do I really deserve something like this?" Haruka asks as Kayoko shrugged.
"If the GSC knew what happened, they might have given us more." Kayoko pointed out. "This is Sensei we're talking about."
"What's that mean?" Aru asks, as Kayoko sighs.
"Nothing." Kayoko waves away as they hear Ayane mention a familiar address. "What was that?" Kayoko asked as Ayane perked up.
"Hm?" Ayane said. "No, it's just that there was seismic activity in the area and there are Kaiser units going there, for some reason."
As one, all of Problem Solver 68 slowed as they realized what that meant.
"Excuse me!" Aru yelled as she ran out, the rest of Problem Solver in tow as the FTF looked at each other.
Soon, Hoshino, Shiroko, and Nonomi dashed out, a drone following after them a few seconds later.
Soon, they reached the location, bereft of Kaiser units with nothing but the remains of a few as Hoshino whistled. "Wow…"
"Guess they didn't need our help." Shiroko says as she slung her assault rifle on her back.
Before they could continue, a phone began to ring as Hoshino checked it, brightened up and answered, "Hey, Sensei~. What's up?" She asks as Shiroko and Nonomi turn to her.
"Nothing, just checking in. What's up? I'm guessing you met Problem Solver?" He asks as Hoshino chuckles.
"Yup. They're pretty active gals, huh?" Hoshino points out, resting her shotgun on the floor and leaning on it.
"If you get the chance, tell them that they should stop by the school, if you're fine with it." Mateo says to Hoshino's, Nonomi's, and Shiroko's interest.
"Why's that?" Hoshino asks.
"We need to plan our next move." He answers as Hoshino perks up. "I have a few ideas, but they'll need some more people to really work."
"Ho~." Hoshino says. "Alright then, I'll tell'em when I see 'em."
"Good. I'll see all of you tomorrow." He says before ending the call.
"What'd he say?" Shiroko asks. As Hoshino gets closer to the ruckus.
"Just planning out his next move." Hoshino says. "And they're a part of it."
"It's a good thing Haruka set up those bombs, huh?" They heard Mutsuki's voice come from the building followed by Aru's shocked yelp.
"Hehehe, that's what they deserve, for thinking they can take Lady Aru's stuff." Haruka adds as Kayoko sighs.
"C'mon, let's clear out before more come." Kayoko says as they exit what was probably their stuff as they pause when they spot Hoshino, Nonomi and Shiroko.
"Yo~." Hoshino says, "Need somewhere to stay?"
Problem Solver 68 looked at her in confusion.
Despite my skill with building weapons, repairing them and other items, and even upgrading a few, I was never part of the SHDs R&D Department, I was part of the Support Department and later a Field Agent. It's how I got good at paperwork and leading operations from all the way in the back, and occasionally, I'd revert to my post as a Support Agent if I was badly injured.
If I had the medicine Kivotos had, I'd have never had to wait longer than a day before being able to be put back on the field.
"Your injuries seem to be coming along nicely, Sensei." Serina notes as her eyes follow my movements. "I'm glad."
"Well," I say while biting into my ration bar, "like I said, I heal quickly, the medicine just speeds it up further."
"That's great, now, I suggest you rest-." Serina starts but I stop her.
"Can't, I've got things to do." I stop her as she pouts while glaring at me.
"Sensei~, you're still not fully healed, you need to rest at some point." Serina warns me but I wave it away.
"I'll rest when the job's done." I answer. The job, obviously, refers to Abydos.
Serina seems like she wants to argue but stops. "...Fine. But," she stops me before I could stand up, "only if you let me check up on you on occasion."
"I can live with that." I answer, reaching for the Shittim Chest as I sign off on Serina's application and she smiles.
"That's good. Now, I have to return to Trinity, please visit us at your convenience, Sensei." Serina says with a bow as she leaves.
Sighing, I watch the strange girl go as I sigh. "She's a bit strange."
Regardless, I return to the Shittim Chest as I hold a hand to my chin. "Now, what can we do?"
There is a problem, Kaiser is the reason, but how do we get to that answer? How does Kaiser reach the conclusion that Abydos is a prime target?
Obviously, there's the fact that Abydos is a prime weapons-testing area as a desert, but what else could it be? What could be in there that'd make them endure Binah and possible trouble?
And even then, how the hell do you revitalize a place like Abydos?
The dishes...obviously they scramble phone signals, except for Kaiser's.
So, first thing's first, the girls should be in the process of settling in with the materials they were sent and I already got the report on all the materials.
Then, we need to loosen Kaiser's grip on the area, and that's by resetting those dishes. Then, we need justification. Kaiser might own some areas, but it's still Abydos, so we need evidence of their obvious crimes.
Finally, sending a message.
That's going to be personal. I'll need it after all for practice, but retaliation…
They can only really retaliate physically, they can try legally, but that'll only get them in trouble if we manage to get evidence and even if they do, it'll seem like an invasion-.
-which will leave Kaiser in a pinch legally.
Black Suit continues thinking, watching the Kaiser PMC Director quake under his gaze. It was amusing, watching the robot think he can actually go against an adult like Sensei or him.
Even Black Suit found himself in a pinch when thinking on how to deal with him. He can't go against him legally as Mateo has done no crime but he also shouldn't incite him into action as he will leap into action, confusingly enough, to protect his students.
Sadly and imperceptibly, he sighs, it seems like he might have to abandon an experiment, how sad.
That still leaves another problem. Abydos itself is under Kaiser control along with most of the shops-.
-within Kaiser land will still have to pay them. And even if they were, the revitalization can't happen without a policing force…
It can't…
Hmmmmm.
Oh, that…
That might just work-I'll need to check a few laws, but-
-a simultaneous revitalization and repayment of a debt is near-impossible.
So he'll have to play the long game.
Investigate as much as possible, gather evidence, and try to talk it out. Like adults should.
Under my mask, I can't help but smile. Just like back home.
Exploit as much as possible. How fascinating.
A/N: So, I've made one of the most ironic weapons in history, I think. There's a bunch of layers to Adam's Key. Also, the last section was an alternating perspective of Mateo and Black Suit giving an idea as to what they think. Aside from that, he got a new weapon!
With this chapter, the poll is officially closed, here's the final count for the question as to whether Mateo should get into a relationship here:
Absolutely(Harem route): (12/17)
Yes(Single pairing): (5/17)
No: 0
Well, thank you for your thoughts, still, like I said, romance won't be the main point of this story and it'll be a gradual thing.
Also, the Rin scene, it's something I thought up due to a bunch of things, mostly to kind of try and put their relationship in a more stable light and to show how the two are going to be interacting in general. No Orange Archive, for now anyway.
For now, this is fine, tune in for the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one!