Vol 1. Chapter 9 – Amn's Guidance

"It must be hard having to coordinate so much," I commented as Ayane and I walked down one of the streets leading to Abydos.

The bespectacled secretary sighed, a tired smile on her face as she gazed out into the distance. "Yeah… We have the debt payment today, I need to finish up on info gathering, and I have my lessons on top of all that." She sighed again, before turning to me with a much brighter smile. "But we're making progress thanks to your help, Sensei."

"I am happy to be of help," I replied as I returned her smile. "How goes your search for information about those Students that attacked us?"

"Ah, I just finished compiling the intel last night. I'll have it sent over to you later. Those girls are students from Gehenna Academy and…"

Ayane trailed off as both of us heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching us. We turned to look down the side-street the noise was coming from, and immediately spotted a very familiar platinum haired girl rushing down towards us. She came to a stop just in front of us and looked at both of us from top to bottom.

"Wow!" The girl said with a wide grin. "If it isn't Sensei! Hey there!"

Then without any warning, the little scamp actually tried to jump up and hug me. Unfortunately, she miscalculated something. I wasn't sure if she overestimated her abilities, or underestimated the height difference, but the net result was that her jump caused her to slam into my chest and bounce right off. She fell backwards, carried by the momentum, and tumbled into the sandy street.

She rubbed her head sorely for a second before laughing. "It wasn't what I aimed for, but I think I still got more than I was hoping for!"

Ayane was still staring at the girl, aghast, so I stepped in and offered the girl a hand. "Am I wrong to assume you are unharmed?"

She looked at my hand, before looking at me with a smirk. "Isn't it rude to offer your hand to a lady without introducing yourself?"

"My apologies, you are absolutely correct," I answered her smirk with a beaming smile of my own. "I am Nelson, Adviser to the Federal Investigation Club Schale, and Club Adviser to the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force."

"My, so well mannered! Asagi Mutsuki, Problem Solver 68. It's nice to meet you," Mutsuki answered with a teasing smile before playfully grabbing my hand and pulling herself up. I ignored how she chose to interlace our hands in doing so. "You must have practiced a lot to be like this."

I frowned at that particular statement. "Practice?"

She looked at me, with a curious look in her eyes and a smirk on her face. "You know, thinking of the lines and the poses! Making sure nobody can see through the act!"

"Is being courteous really so strange?" I asked, frown deepening. "It is no act; I can assure you of that."

She stared at me, before laughing. "Aru's going to be so mad about this! Her rival in her own shtick isn't even trying!"

Before I could get Mutsuki to explain further, Ayane seemed to finally reboot. She suddenly shot forward, pushing Mutsuki and myself apart and forcing the little gremlin to let go of my hand. "What do you think you're doing with Sensei!?"

Mutsuki laughed. "I'm just having some fun, Little Miss Four-Eyes. You should try it sometime!"

"What part of assaulting people randomly is fun?!" Ayane asked, voice stressed as she visibly fumed.

Mutsuki didn't seem bothered at all. If anything, the smirk on her face grew even larger. "You seemed a lot more polite when we ran into each other at the ramen place a few days ago."

"That was before you attacked us! What are you doing here, and why are you trying to be so buddy-buddy all of a sudden!" Ayane shouted, visibly upset as she ground her shoe against the asphalt. She stilled, frown deepening. "And my name's not Little Miss Four-Eyes, it's Ayane!"

Mutsuki met Ayane's glare with a put-off pout. "What? It's not like we have anything against you guys. Like we said, it was just business." The pout slipped, dropping into a sly smirk as she leaned in close to Ayane's face. "We can make nice when we're not fighting."

"Are you actually trying to tell me not to take things personally after what you've done?!" Ayane shouted as she stumbled back, the slightest hint of colour on her face.

"Okusora," I interrupted, stepping between the two. "You do not need to forgive them for it, but there is no reason to start a commotion when they are greeting us under friendly flags."

I could see Ayane and Mutsuki both stare at me. After a few quiet moments, Ayane sighed and stepped back. "If you say so, Sensei." She peeked around me to glare at the shorter Gehenna student. "But I won't let you or your friends off easy if I see even a hint that you're thinking of being a problem!"

Mutsuki laughed at Ayane's declaration, meeting her glare with a smug smirk. "Like that'll stop us. We have a business to run, and Aru isn't going to let us go unemployed."

"As for you, Sensei," Mutsuki said, grabbing my hand as she shifted her attention to me. I felt something slip into my hands as she looked up at me with a smug smile. "You should stop by our office anytime. I'm sure Aru and the others would be thrilled to have you."

With that, Mutsuki broke the contact and slipped back down the street she came from. She paused to wave cheerfully at the two of us. "Well, bye-bye! See you next time, Miss Ayane, Nelson Sensei!"

"There'll be no next time!" Ayane shouted at her, actually shaking a fist at the retreating form of Mutsuki. "I'll shoot on sight if I catch you in our district again!"

"Whatever~!"

Ayane was still fuming as the Robot teller from the Kaiser Loan Company drove off, muttering and mumbling vague threats and promises under her breath. Serika, meanwhile, was despairing or raging at the repayment schedule. Well, the impossibility of the repayment at least.

With my normal sources of reliable information distracted, I looked to Hoshino. "Is it normal for loan companies to take their payments in cash? Especially given the nearly 8 million monthly payments?"

"It's been like that since I've been here. Kaiser won't take EFT or cheques because of the school's 'untrustworthy' record," Hoshino answered with a shrug.

Nonomi frowned, a rarity for the fellow blonde. "Now that Sensei mentions it, I always wondered why they took cash. It can't be cheap hiring armoured vans every month."

"Exactly," I followed up, snapping my fingers. "The cost of securing transport is one issue. Furthermore, cash is typically preferred in illegal activity. It is quite easy to fake receipts and costs when there is no physical record."

Shiroko turned her attention away from the departing form of the van, looking at me with a curious glint in her eyes. "Do you have experience, Sensei?"

I shook my head with a frown. "No, not as the one committing the crime. But I certainly have enough memories of being the one to investigate and punish such crimes."

"Well maybe you can use that experience to figure out a better way to pay off this debt," Hoshino said with a wistful sigh. Despite that, she still carefully watched the armoured van turn the corner. "There's not much else we can do but focus on what's right in front of us."

A variety of nods, sighs, and agreements answered her. But, without any solid plans for now, all we could do was head back inside. Ayane did have news for us, after all.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Ayane was standing next to the whiteboard, looking at each of us sitting around the plotting table in the newly named 'Operations Room'. "We need to go over two issues."

Hoshino raised her hand, forcing Ayane to stop her speech. She stared at the tiny president before pointing to her. "Yes, President Takanashi?"

"Isn't that the whiteboard from the club room?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you drag it down here from upstairs?"

Ayane blinked at Hoshino's question. The confusion in her eyes intensified as she looked around at the rest of Abydos, and was all met with expectant and curious nods. Finally, she looked to me with eyes shining as if hoping for support.

I chuckled lightly, running my hand down my hair in thought. "I must admit I am curious. It certainly is redundant with all the equipment acquired from the Council."

"I just like it, OK?" Ayane muttered, pushing the board with her shoe. "This fancy new stuff doesn't feel right. But that's not the point! I have information about some important things!"

Ayane pulled a laser pointer out of her pocket, and pointed at several profiles stuck to the corner of the whiteboard. "I have more info about the attack the other day. The culprits are from a club called Problem Solver 68. They're a notorious group of delinquents from Gehenna Academy who act like a fixer agency, but are really more like a freelance errand group."

"That… does not sound particularly dangerous?" The description and air they put up certainly seemed to encourage a dangerous feeling, but their actual performance and behaviour didn't quite match.

Ayane shook her head, a concerned frown on her face. "They've never done anything serious but they're wanted by the Prefect Team for being a general nuisance. They're not big. Their members consist of their president, Aru." The laser pointer moved to a very familiar smug horned girl. "She's the one who was calling herself the Boss. She has three employees beneath her: a chief of staff," the laser moved to the silver haired scamp from this morning, "a department head," the serious-looking girl with two-toned hair, "and an entry-level employee." Ayane's laser ended on the final profile of the anxious looking girl.

"They really do mean business, huh?" Hoshino muttered lazily. "They must be a menace if only four of them got on the Prefect Team's radar."

"I can't believe she's an executive at her age though! That's impressive!" Nonomi said with a cheery smile, head propped up on her hands.

Ayane cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Their titles are just self-proclaimed. I suspect they're currently operating out of a location close to Abydos, especially since we ran into one of them this morning."

"They must be within walking distance. It seemed Ms. Asagi was on errands of some sorts."

Ayane nodded in agreement. "They can't be too far from our district."

"Does Gehenna Academy officially recognize what they're doing here?" Shiroko asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"I wouldn't think so," Ayane answered, shaking her head, "I bet they took whatever contract they're under to attack Abydos because they need the money."

"So, they're just violating school regulations by doing operations in Abydos without our permission," Nonomi casually pointed out, the smile never leaving her face. "Strange, they didn't seem all that bad or malicious. But I guess that's why they're wanted by the Prefect Team, huh?"

Everyone seemed to pause and look at Nonomi. She noticed our gazes, and simply waved at us with a smile. "I mean, it just makes sense, right?"

"Yes," I said slowly, processing what I just heard and witnessed. "That is a surprisingly astute assessment. It would not surprise me if they were working for the Helmet Gang's weapon supplier."

Ayane nodded in agreement. "Exactly, Sensei. Our old attackers suddenly get much more firepower? Then another group attacks us after the Helmet Gang gets sent running? It's too suspicious. But, I've got a lead."

Ayane flipped the Whiteboard to its other side. A spider web of yarn, string, and floss connecting various items together were strung together in an elaborate web. "I finished analyzing the material reclaimed from the Helmet Gang, and found out most of them are no longer on the market."

There was that casual reminder that Kivotos had a booming arms industry, catered almost entirely to children. That was still quite up there on the weirdest things myself or my Crew's Memories ever expected.

Hoshino hummed in thought, both eyes staring curiously at the Secretary. "So, it's been discontinued?"

"Not just discontinued, recalled," Ayane answered with a frown.

Serika tilted her head, gears visibly spinning behind her eyes. "If these weapons have been recalled, then how did they get their hands on them?"

The laser pointer moved across the maze of pictures and evidence, onto a map pinned in the center of the map.

"The only place you could find weapons like that is the Black Market."

I frowned at that. Bringing a bunch of Students to a literal black market seemed to be a bit too on the nose. "I take it the Black Market is not named that for its safety and adherence to the rules."

"You're right, Sensei," Ayane answered. "The place is a gathering spot for delinquents and criminals. Not to mention a place for unauthorized clubs to do illegal activity."

"Clubs like Problem Solver 68?" Shiroko asked, staring intently at the map.

Ayane nodded. "Exactly. Rumours are that they have been responsible for several events in the black market already."

"Ah!" Nonomi exclaimed, excitedly pointing at a spot next to the map where all the strings converged. "That's our link!"

"Correct. Whatever they're up to, whoever delivered the weapons to the Helmet Gang… They're all connected."

Hoshino yawned, before stretching her arms. "Well, it's obvious what's next: Let's go to the black market and take a look around. You never know what clues we might find there."

It wasn't quite ideal, but it seems like Abydos was set on taking a field trip to the black market. A literal black market which, by the size of the map, was at least the size of a small town. Still, if there was going to be an investigation, that meant a lot of evidence collecting. At least there would be time on the ride there to double check the laws about that.

The call finished with a quiet *clink* as Aru hung up, placing the elaborate handset back on the antique dial-up phone. There was a pause and a beat, before she let go of a breath that she didn't know she was holding in.

The situation was bad. It was very bad. She had just promised the client to attack Abydos in a week. There was no way that was going to work out. They didn't have the funds or the manpower to take on Abydos, even before she accounted for the wildcard that was the Sensei of Schale.

That was definitely one of the most terrifying discoveries that Kayoko had uncovered. The rumored Adult contracted by the General Student Council was real. Not only were they real, but all those tall tales circulating the criminal underworld of her exploits weren't that exaggerated.

And this Nelson-Sensei had aligned themselves with Abydos, making her their opponent.

"You don't look so good, Aru." For once, Mutsuki wasn't teasing her. Aru almost wished she was. It made the situation somehow feel even worse for her.

Kayoko's worried frown just compiled another weight on her shoulder. "You can't be serious, right?" The black and white student asked, concern etched into her expression, "You're not really planning on starting another fight, are you?"

"Truth be told, I don't think we have a choice. I don't know a lot about the client, but I know they're not one to be messed with. We don't want to disappoint them," Aru answered her friend. She really wished she spent more time getting details about the client, but that was not possible now.

Mutsuki frowned, absently playing with the handle of her duffle bag as she spoke, "Can we even beat them? Those Abydos kids were way stronger than we thought. That's without that Sensei from Schale trying to fight us too. We already used up our budget on the last fight, so how are we going to fight them, even if we wanted to?"

The four of them sat in silence, staring at the floor as they tried to think of a solution. None was forthcoming. Finally, Haruka broke the dam of uncomfortable silence with a question. "S-Should I start looking for some people to hire?"

"No, don't bother. I don't think we can afford anyone who can fight Schale and Abydos," Kayoko answered with a sigh, leaning back into the sofa. She stared at the ceiling of their office with a frown. "Remind me why we signed a lease for this office," Kayoko mused, looking at nobody and nothing in particular. "It's a waste of money we could have used for our jobs."

"Sh-shut up! A proper business needs a proper workplace!" Aru answered, voice ratcheting up in range and stress, "Nobody would hire us if we didn't look presentable!"

"Aru has a point," Mutsuki added, glancing at Aru with a smirk. "But I wouldn't really care if we went back to doing business out of a tent in the park like we used to."

Aru was really beginning to feel the stress of it all. But if the problem was money, then… "We'll get a loan."

Everyone snapped towards her at her decision, various expressions of shock or surprise visible. Mutsuki was the first to recover. "You can't be serious, Aru! How are we going to get a loan? I thought your credit was in the dumpster!"

Ah. That was right. Her credit score was trash thanks to a few missed payments. Still, that wasn't really her fault. "My credit's not bad, my bank account was just frozen because of a bounty!"

"Really? Is that what happened?" Mutsuki asked her, frown not leaving her face even as the tiny girl's face screwed up in concentration. After a second, she snapped her fingers. "Right, I remember now. The Prefect Team did that."

"Those jerks… I can't believe they'd stoop so low."

"Still, how are you going to explain that to the bank? We'd be laughed out of the lobby!"

Aru stood up from her chair, one hand slamming on her desk. "Then we don't have to go to the official bank!" She schooled herself, slipping the practiced smirk back on. "If the regular banks won't give us a loan, then I can think of one place that might."

"You can't be thinking of-" Kayoko started, before Aru cut her off with another slam of the desktop.

"Yes!" Aru shouted, letting her smirk grow manic. "We'll get a loan from the Black-Market bank! I promised those stupid Abydos twits that they hadn't seen the last of us, didn't I?!"

Everyone continued to stare at her, but nobody rejected her plan. It seemed their plan was set. It wasn't exactly the one Aru would have picked, but at least they had a plan now. After they get their funding, they can figure out what to do then.

And how hard can a trip to the black-market bank be anyways?

The call finished with a quiet *clink* as the contractor hung up, and the adult stared at the phone in his metal hands. Behind him, the lights of the city spilled through the windows of his high-rise executive office.

"How has this suddenly gone so wrong?" He asked aloud, trying to make sense of the sudden turnabout. "As far as I know, the data we have on Abydos should be accurate. They shouldn't be able to resist this much. Was there an error in our calculations?"

A low chuckle snapped him out of his musing and back to his… guest, seated across from his desk. A man dressed in a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, and black gloves. That itself was fairly standard. Terribly drab, but not out of the normal. But what was strange was the man's appearance. Skin like obsidian in colour and sheen, with cracks that emitted white light and smoky black flame. The smoke and flame obscured any facial features, but he got the distinct sense the man was smiling.

"Bad news, Director?" The suited man asked.

They were partners, but the Director didn't like this suited man. Unnatural appearance aside, there was something about his presence that just felt skeevy. Still, they were equals in their current endeavor.

"No," the Director finally answered. "Just unexpected news. There must be an error in our predictive model. Those Abydos students have a bit more fight in them than expected, based on the data we have."

The suited man chuckled as he leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk as his single unblinking eye staring into the Director's face. "No, on the contrary, your predictions accurately predicted the outcomes using your old data. But what has changed are the students. They have somehow grown in strength."

The man might have had a point, but this level of growth in such a short time was not possible. "That's preposterous. Don't tell me you believe these silly rumours as well."

"Well, all rumours have a seed of truth in them." The man responded, shrugging as he stood up. "It'd be in our best interest to investigate this new variable and uncover its mystery. Pardon me."

The Director watched as the suited man walked out of the office, closing the wooden door behind him. A few moments passed and, when he was absolutely sure they were gone, he spoke again to nobody but the air. "Creepy fuck."

The last thug rolled out of her cover as Hoshino bulldozed through the divider. She spun around, firing from the hip in an attempt to suppress the rest of us. It might have even worked, if she wasn't already in my reach. I grabbed the rifle by the shroud and shoved it into the ground, the burst of rifle fire sending stone chips into our legs. As she struggled for control of the rifle, the heel of my handgun slammed into her temple. She let go of her rifle with a pained shout and stumbled backwards while clutching her head.

"My apologies," I remarked dryly as I brought up the handgun and fired all 8 rounds into the thug. She collapsed to the floor, her halo blinking out moments later.

Abydos and our new guest stood there, letting the silence settle before I heard Ayane call "You're all clear for now".

With that, the tension bled out of the street we were on. I twisted my handgun back into storage as Serika and Nonomi gathered around the Student we had just protected from these thugs, curiosity clear in their eyes. Hoshino started to walk over as well, and I followed suit. It seemed everyone had questions for the new girl.

Well, everyone but Shiroko. She had immediately taken to removing the weapons and any usable equipment from the unconscious thugs. She was still glancing over at the rest of her friends and listening, but her attention was clearly divided.

The girl was of average height with long honey blonde hair tied into two loose pigtails. Her clothes were rather plain by Kivotos' standards. Her uniform consisted of a white button-up sweater with school insignia, sailor collar with large yellow ribbon, plain dark blue pleated skirt, and tights. Most bizarrely, she wore a distinct mascot backpack that I'm fairly certain I've seen before. Wasn't it from that franchise known for its adorably ugly character designs?

She was in the middle of thanking the rest of Abydos by the time Hoshino and I rejoined the group. "... bad enough I snuck out here on my own. If something had happened... it's giving me a headache just thinking about it!"

"I am happy to have been able to lend assistance, Ms...?" I said as Hoshino and I entered the circle of girls. The new girl looked up at me, wonder clear in her eyes, before she caught the hanging question.

"Ah! It's Hifumi! Ajitani Hifumi of Trinity General School. It's nice to meet you, Nelson-Sensei!"

I blinked. Hoshino blinked. The rest of the girls continued to ask Hifumi some questions even as I gave the tiny president a sidelong glance. She met my eye and gave me a concerned frown of her own, confirming my suspicions. I hadn't introduced myself yet. There wasn't any time between bumping into the girl and the subsequent fight.

I tilted my head towards the blonde Trinity Student, one eyebrow cocked in an unspoken question. Hoshino shook her head once. I nodded in acknowledgement. It was safer to lean on Hoshino's judgment, given the amount of politics possibly present from the mere presence of a Trinity Student.

With the conversation settled, Hoshino stepped forward and cleared her throat, snapping the attention of the Students back to her. "Say, Hifumi, what's a Trinity student doing in a dangerous place like this place?"

"It's kind of a long story," Hifumi said with a laugh, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "I came here looking for something out of production, but I heard that it shows up in trades every now and then on the black market."

Shiroko popped out from behind me at Hifumi's comment, startling the poor girl. "Is it a tank?"

"A contraband firearm?" Hoshino's contribution.

Nonomi tapped her chin, deep in thought, before snapping her fingers with a cheery smile. "It must be a biochemical agent!"

Hifumi looked at the three of them as if she was looking at aliens. After a long second, she turned her stare to me, eyes begging for an explanation. I smiled brightly at her expectant gaze. "You get used to it."

Hifumi didn't look any more reassured at that. "No, it's none of those! It's… a limited edition piece of Peroro merchandise."

"Peroro?" "Wait, Peroro?" Serika and I said. The catgirl was frowning in thought, while I frowned at the familiar name.

Hifumi nodded, a smile on her face as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a very familiar mascot chicken toy, choking on an ice cream cone. She didn't hear my muttered cry of "You can't be serious", nor did she notice Hoshino's head tilting, confusion etched into her frown. The blonde continued, showing the toy to Serika. "Yup! It's this thing right here! A limited edition plush from the Peroro and 31 Ice Cream franchise collaboration! I just paid for it before those thugs tried to kidnap me."

"Wow, I love Momo Friends too!" Nonomi said, skipping over to the Trinity Student. The two of them began to descend into a friendly chatter about the franchise, leaving Serika to confusedly keep pace with the two blondes. Meanwhile, Shiroko returned to her previous task of looting the thugs and leaving Hoshino and I alone.

"So, what do you think?" Hoshino drawled quietly, both eyes open and locked onto the conspicuous Trinity girl. "Is she telling the truth?"

My hand rested on my chin, rubbing it as I went over every interaction we've had with Hifumi so far. She was certainly well positioned to help us, but not overtly suspicious. But the timing of it… "I believe she is, but I also believe someone else stands to benefit from her presence here."

"I'm pretty sure you might be right." Hoshino nodded in agreement as the two of us uneasily watched Serika and Nonomi banter with the blonde. "Whoever sent her, I hope they're not gonna try to take a run at us."

The gaggle of Students continued to talk a bit more when we discovered something. Hifumi, despite being a self-proclaimed "stand-up student of Trinity", knew a lot about the Black-Market district. A frankly disturbing and concerning amount. Things like how the corporations engaged in combat to control the illegal trade. Or how the Black-Market had its own bank and police.

So, after a bit of discussion, Hifumi agreed to lead Abydos and I through the Black-Market. Much like everything else, despite her claims of only having done "a little bit of research", the Trinity Student was oddly well-versed in navigating the labyrinthine district.

But we were still nowhere close to finding any signs of the weapons we came here for. Serika sighed as she took a sip from her bottle. "I'm beat, how long have we been here?"

"I don't know, but it feels like we've been walking for a day…" Nonomi muttered, checking her phone. "But it's only been a few hours."

"I'm getting too old for this kind of thing. My knees and back are killing me," Hoshino drawled, sitting on the curb.

I blinked, turning to stare at the tiny president. "Takanashi, I am 6 years your senior. I, of everyone present, should be complaining before you."

"Really?" Hifumi looked at me with innocent curiosity, frowning as she visibly tried to calculate my age. "How old is Hoshino then?"

"Like I said, we're all pretty much the same age. Nelson-Sensei is the only odd one out," Serika answered as she put her bottle back.

"Nn." Shiroko grunted in agreement next to me, ears twitching as she looked about. That was until she froze with a frown. Slowly, she turned to look up at me. "Sensei… how much older than Hoshino did you just say you were.?"

"I said I was-" The rest of my answer was suddenly cut off when Nonomi cheered and pointed at a stall down the street from us.

"Look over there! They're selling taiyaki!"

"Hey, they really are," Hoshino said as she stared at the stall Nonomi was pointing at. "I didn't know they had street vendors here."

"Should we grab some snacks and take a break? I'm buying!" Nonomi said with a cheerful smile, marching down the street towards the stall.

"What?!" Serika shouted, running after the bubbly blonde. "Nonomi, are you gonna use your card again?!"

Hoshino laughed as she slowly walked after the pair, Hifumi following the pinkette. She called out after them as Serika and Nonomi made a beeline for the stall. "We could always use Sensei's card instead!"

The rest of the group pulled ahead, leaving Shiroko and I behind. The wolfgirl stared at me with an inscrutable expression. Finally, I answered. "I am 26, Sunaōkami. I must have misspoken early."

Shiroko continued to stare at me for a few more moments before nodding. "Right. You must be tired too."

"Of course, it must have simply been mental fatigue."

With that the two of us continued down the street towards the rest of the group. But still, I couldn't help but get this troubling feeling that I had given the wrong age again.

"Ah, that's just what I needed," Hoshino said with a happy sigh, wiping her hands off with a serviette.

The group of us were arranged in a rough circle outside the taiyaki stall, having chosen to stay and rest for a break. Hoshino and Shiroko were sitting on the curb, Nonomi on a nearby planter, and I was leaning against the wall next to the stall with Hifumi and Serika on my flanks.

I nodded in agreement, having already thrown away the trash from my bag of snacks. "It certainly helps to take a break, especially given our lack of success."

"It's so strange we haven't been able to find any leads about those weapons you're looking for…" Hifumi muttered next to me, fingers drumming the strap of her bag. "I'm sure they're here somewhere, but we haven't tracked down a single clue."

"I take it this level of obfuscation is unusual?" I asked the oddly informative blonde.

She nodded enthusiastically; face scrunched up in thought. "It is! There's not even a paper trail. No records of transactions, storage logs, transportation logs… It's like someone's trying to hide the whole transaction.

Even the corporations shouldn't be able to manipulate the black market to this extent."

Shiroko nodded in agreement, a thoughtful expression on her face. "It is pretty strange."

"You're right. Corporations usually don't go through all this trouble to hide their illegal business in the black market," Hifumi agreed with a nod. She pointed to a building, just down the street from us. It was quite large and rather opulently built with marble clad walls and heavy expensive wooden doors. "For example, that's the black market's infamous Stygian Bank."

"The Stygian Bank?" "That seems rather elaborate for a bank." Serika and I both remarked.

"That's right. It's one of the largest banks in the black market. About 15 percent of all illicit profits from Kivotos's illegal activities flow through that bank."

That was a concerning amount. Kivotos was massive, easily the size of North America of my time. I didn't have census data on hand but I'm certain the population must be similar. Even in my time the criminal networks of Europe alone were massive, and the trade generated in it a constant headache. "15 percent of all illicit activities? That seems rather extreme."

Hifumi nodded in response. "All activities. Extortions, robberies, abduction, tax fraud, and written off debt collections are funneled through Stygian Bank by criminals and corporations. Then the bank loans that same money out to fund illegal weapons for additional criminal activity."

"That sounds…" Serika muttered, frowning as she put the pieces together.

"It's a never-ending cycle," Hifumi concluded for her. "So long as people don't tell them where the money is coming from, they can pretend to be innocent."

"Goodness, they're just as complicit as anyone else. They sound like they're a criminal organization themselves," Nonomi remarked, voice even-toned as she stared at the building.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "It is an unfortunate reality of life. Illegal harbours such as these will exist so long as there are desirable goods which are not easily available."

"Seriously?!" Serika growled, scowling as she glared at the bank. "Why isn't the General Student Council doing anything?"

"Were it so easy. Perhaps the Council was able to do so in the past. However, they are certainly unable to do so now; given the chaos caused by the President's disappearance and the current deadlock in governance."

All the Students seemed surprised by my frank answer, turning to stare at me or to look at the ground in thought. All except Hoshino, who continued to stare at the building with a perfectly neutral expression. After a moment Shiroko spoke, voice wistful. "It looks like the real world isn't all sunshine and butterflies like we thought. We really are sheltered within Abydos."

Any further conversation that was to be had was interrupted by Ayane's voice suddenly cracking onto our headsets. "Hang on, everyone! There's a heavily armed force heading your way! I don't think they've spotted you, but you should take cover just in case."

We didn't need any more prompting than that. Fortunately, there was a small alley right behind us as we all took cover before they arrived.

Row after row of black clothed and helmeted thugs, combat droids, and armoured vehicles rolled down the street. I couldn't quite count them all from my hiding place behind a large column of air-conditioning units, but there certainly was a large force of them.

"Who are they?" I heard Serika whisper, peering out from around the corner of some orange crates.

"Th-those are Market Guards!" Hifumi hissed, peeking out into the street from behind me. "They're the top enforcers for the Black Market. They protect the criminal interests of the gangs and corporations that operate in this district!"

I frowned as even more troops rolled by. "This seems like a rather large number of them."

"I don't think this is just a routine patrol," Hifumi agreed, squinting at the troops.

Just as we said that a truly massive armoured truck, looking more like one of the half-tracks back home than a civilian vehicle, rolled past our alley. Shiroko whistled quietly as it appeared, eyes glinting in the dark of the alley. "That's one of the Kaiser produced high value armoured trucks. Someone must be dropping something off."

Kaiser produced…?

"You don't think…" Hoshino muttered, as the last of the Market Guard marched past our alley.

Serika shook her head. "No, that's impossible. It must've just been bought by a gang."

The group of us edged towards the entrance of the alley, watching the armoured truck slowly roll to a halt next to the bank. A suited Robot exited the bank with a clipboard in hand. After a moment, the back of the truck opened.

Abydos cried in shock, dismay, and surprise as what appeared to a Kaiser Loans Teller jumped out of the truck. He appeared to be the exact same one as the one from this morning, in fact. Right down to the clothes. He had several large briefcases in hand and walked up to the waiting Stygian employee.

"Okusora," I whispered as I triggered the mic on my headset. "Can you confirm the identity of the Teller? As well as what they're doing."

Ayane was quick to respond. "Let me zoom in!" There was the sound of some furious tapping and clicking before she sighed, defeated. "That's not just the same Kaiser Loans employee. That's the same Kaiser Loans truck as the one that picked up our money this morning. It has the same license plates."

After a moment, Ayane hummed in thought as the Teller did something. We couldn't quite see from the alley but, fortunately, the overhead drone controlled by Ayane had more than enough vision. "He's giving the briefcases to the bank employee… and signing some sort of ledger?"

The Teller stepped back and bowed to the Bank Employee before reentering the truck. Meanwhile the employee turned around and walked back into the bank, briefcases and ledger in hand.

Abydos, Hifumi, and I were once again standing in front of the taiyaki stand. Serika glowered at the nearby Stygian bank. Shiroko was staring at the bank as well, although her expression was flat and inscrutable. Nonomi was sitting on a nearby bench, absent of any cheer. Hoshino was quietly seated on the curb again, staring at the ground in deep contemplation.

Hifumi looked from one of the Abydos students to another, before speaking in a quiet but firm tone. "I didn't know Abydos owed money to Kaiser Loans."

"You've heard of them, Hifumi?" Hoshino answered, breaking away from her thoughts to look at the blonde. Hifumi squirmed for a moment under the scrutiny of the pinkette, but she didn't hesitate to reply.

"Yeah, that's the infamous Kaiser Corporation's loan shark company…"

Shiroko perked up at one particular word. "Infamous? Is it a criminal organization?"

"Not exactly?" Hifumi replied with a frown. "They don't do anything explicitly illegal, but they're definitely shady. They're constantly toeing the line between legitimate and criminal activity."

I was frowning as well as the pieces began to line up, forming a truly unfavourable image. "I presume Kaiser has been an issue in Trinity as well?"

"They've been trying to expand into Trinity as well. The Tea Party has been watching them like hawks to make sure they don't cause any problems for the students."

If the Kaiser Corporation drew the attention of the Tea Party, Trinity's ruling student council, then they were definitely up to no good. I couldn't quite think of any good reason that they would draw ire from any ruling body if they weren't at least negligent.

But on that thought, why did Hifumi know what the Tea Party was doing anyways?

Hifumi, meanwhile, had returned her attention to Abydos with a concerned look. "This debt you guys owe is to Kaiser Loans?"

"Weeeell, technically, we weren't the ones who originally owed the debt," Nonomi answered.

"It's kind of a long story," Hoshino added, staring at the departing form of the armoured truck. "Ayane, can you hack into that armoured truck?"

"I'm trying, but the truck must be working on a closed network. I can't access anything on it even with this new drone."

Nonomi's frown deepened, visibly noticeable now. She spoke aloud, her voice uncharacteristically serious. "Do you think this is why they're so adamant about cash only?"

The question stilled everyone present, the Abydos Students visibly freezing while Hifumi looked back and forth with growing worry. Then, a sound of groaning steel drew everyone's look to me, and the white-knuckle grip I had on my bicep. I steeled my nerves with a deep held breath and exhaled.

"I fail to see any other reason why they would be so insistent."

The reactions to my agreement were instant. Hoshino flinched as if struck, Nonomi actually looked angry, Shiroko's ears and expression fell, and Serika stumbled back onto a planter.

"So we've essentially been funding criminal activities for the black market this entire time?!" Shouted Serika, hair and ear… fur? Bristling in anger.

"W-we can't say that for sure yet…" Ayane muttered over comms, sounding as if to reassure herself more than anyone else. "We don't have anything concrete to back it up. Not until we figure out where that truck came from and where it's going."

Silence settled over everyone again, contemplating the next course of action, and leaving Hifumi to glance from person to person. After a few seconds she seemed to build up enough nerve to speak what she had in mind. "Well, wouldn't the transport documents that the Kaiser employee signed tell us?"

Shiroko perked up at Hifumi's question, ears shooting straight as a contemplative look crossed her face. "Nn. The papers should say how much money was deposited, even if it was cash."

"And it might even say where it came from…" I added, finger drumming my bicep.

The atmosphere immediately lifted as a new target was found. Except there was just one problem…

"But those papers are in the bank," Hifumi pointed out, frowning once again in thought. "It wouldn't do us much good unless we can get them somehow. And I don't think the bank would just give it to you… how else can we do this…"

"No."

Everyone stopped and turned to stare at the sudden declaration. Shiroko was standing straight, staring at the bank with burning determination in her eyes. She nodded to herself confidently, the slightest hint of a determined grin on her lips. "There's no other way."

I got a feeling where this was going, especially with our conversation this morning. And from the expressions of the rest of Abydos, so did they. The only one left out was poor Hifumi, who looked at the wolfgirl with clear confusion. "Pardon?"

"Are we really going to do it?" Hoshino asked, one orange eye staring at Shiroko. "There's probably other options."

"It's our only option, Hoshino," Shiroko declared as she rummaged through her schoolbag.

Hoshino grinned, baring teeth as she chuckled. "Well, you make a good point."

"Come again?" Hifumi asked, looking at everyone.

Nonomi clapped cheerfully, her smile firmly back on her face. "We're going to use THAT plan, aren't we?"

"Hold on. You can't be serious!" Serika shouted, snapping to attention as she looked from Shiroko, to Hoshino, to Nonomi. "You three aren't thinking what I think you're thinking… are you?"

"Like Sensei always says," Shiroko started as she finally found what she was searching for. "She who dares, wins."

"Seriously?!"

Hifumi looked at me, looking more lost than a greenbeak sailor on their first sailing. "What are they all talking about, Sensei?"

Her confusion quickly switched to concern when she saw me, standing there next to her, with my face firmly in my hands. I sighed deeply as Shiroko answered in my stead, "It's finally time."

With one smooth motion, Shiroko pulled a dark blue balaclava out of her bag and tugged it over her head. One that barely covered her face and left her eyes, mouth, wolf ears, and halo clearly visible. The forehead had a large number 2 proudly stitched into it in black cloth. In her hand were several other different coloured balaclavas. Somehow, she was beaming with pride while keeping a perfectly neutral expression as she spoke in a dead serious tone.

"We're gonna hit the bank."

AN: What's in an age anyways? Plenty of people forget their age.

Anyways, It's not an Abydos arc without a bank robbery. However, some seeds of what might happen have been seeded in previous chapters so you might be able to guess how Nelson's presence in this will play out. I will say, it is pretty funny how bad the disguises are for them.

Thanks as always to my friend for beta reading.