As she told herself she'd do, Hikari waited until classes for the day were done before starting her search. Kousei was still missing by then, necessitating the proper reaction. Naturally, she sent messages to friends and classmates asking them if they had seen him and to keep out for her brother. Most of them replied that they too last saw him at lunch, putting that at a dead end.

Well, time to go higher.

Unfortunately— "Of course he disappeared in a blind spot," Hikari grumbled as she checked the security footage. Kousei had exited the restroom in the cafeteria building, turned a corner and simply disappeared. The next closest camera did not see him; seeing as she had already gone through the building before coming to the faculty building, he was definitely MIA. "Where could he have gone…?"

While the current situation was not great, the other person with her could not help but giggle and make a comment. "Like father, like son. I remember Ritsuka frequently got into trouble when he first arrived," Theresa hummed in nostalgia as she recalled events years past. Whether it be Honkai Beasts, zombies, or even them, Hikari's father always somehow managed to get caught in the middle of things. "And if he's anything like your father, he'll be fine."

"I know he will, but I'm still worried," replied Hikari with a frustrated sigh.

"Do you want me to call your parents or do you want to do it yourself?" Theresa then asked with Hikari choosing the latter. If anyone should break the news, it should be her. "Then I'll leave you to it. I'll have security comb through the campus and get some of the teachers to help with the search." They were down one teacher with Mei, who was still on maternity leave, but they would still do what they could.

"Thank you, Aunt— I mean, Miss Apocalypse," she quickly corrected herself as Theresa giggled again.

"It's my job after all. Your parents entrusted you two in my care while you're here so I have to do everything I can, don't I?" The Headmistress of St. Freya proudly nodded. "Once you're done with your call, meet me in the lobby; Griseo and I will be there waiting."

Hikari thanked her again before watching Theresa leave. She took out her phone again and opened her contacts; she scrolled through them before finding the one she was looking for. The young woman took a deep breath before pressing it.

One ring.

Two rings

Three— "Hello? Hikari, what is it? You don't usually call this time of the day."

"Hey dad… We have a problem."

"Why can't we just keep trying with that machine?" That was the first question asked; some of the Servants just wanted him back and to deal with the potential problems afterwards. Mash could understand where they were standing but that was too little foresight for the situation.

The second question naturally was whether the new kid was truly Ritsuka's son. Despite seeing for themselves how much he resembled their Master, some didn't believe (or did not want to believe) that Kousei was actually the child of the missing Ritsuka. Mash, of course, told them they already confirmed it and turned to Sion to back her up.

The Atlas researcher, however, did not reply immediately as she was now double-checking the results. "Hmm… That's strange…" She muttered. For a brief moment, there was hope that they did make a mistake but Sion then noticed the eyes on her. "Oh, no. Kousei is most definitely Ritsuka's son."

"Then why did you say there was something strange?" Goredolf questioned, trying to get a look at the results for himself. "...I don't understand any of that," he then sighed.

"Well, to put it simply, some of the tests show Kousei is not fully human," explained Sion. "I was so focused on his DNA that resembles Ritsuka that I didn't check what parts didn't."

"And… it's not human?"

"Somewhat. I need to do further research but it's more like it's been genetically altered. Though perhaps that's just how things are over there." That was an equally valid theory, and there were a couple of ways to confirm it. "Can you three go ask young Kousei what his mother is like? I'll go back and run more tests on his DNA."

Seeing as it was either that or trying to get all the Servants under control and Mash knew which one she wanted to choose. The Servants were also interested in the former option as expected; with everyone in silent agreement (and despite their earlier decision to let him rest), the group made their way to Kousei and Kadoc.

"—best of friends despite being like an 8-year difference between them. He and Aunt Mei just recently had another kid so I've not seen either of them in a bit." Mash could hear Kousei talking from the other side of the door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door before opening it.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Kousei, but… Oh… so this is where you all were." Why was she not surprised to find some Servants already listening to him…?