Blood-Archive

by mgman

Kivotos is ravaged, the student council stripped of its power and unable to intervene, Students left without any kind of guidance or direction, truly it is hopeless. But soon everything will change, a hunter, somebody who knows only bloodshed and carnage will be tasked with leading those who lack direction.

8. Rescue Mission!

Hello friends!

I don't know if it comes across in my typing, but I am absolutely thrilled right now.

I managed to get this chapter finished and a reasonable time frame for once in my life! (With a completion time from start to finish of only just 7 days)

Meaning that for the first time in my Fan Fiction career, I managed to release two back-to-back chapters for the same story in a single month.

Obviously this doesn't mean much to all of you, but I consider it an absolutely phenomenal considering this is a long time personal goal that I have been working towards for a very long time.

Anyway, I don't have much more to say other than I hope you enjoy the chapter, and without any further ado, I present to you Chapter 7 of blood archive.

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*Ding Dong*

The gentle sound of the doorbell rattled through Ayane's ears as she let out a quiet but noticeable yawn. It was incredibly early in the morning, to the point where most students would consider her mad for getting up and going to school at this time.

But her and her friends were a bit different from students, considering that they also had to run the school as well as keep up its maintenance. So waking up this early in the morning was something that, even though she didn't like, Ayane and her friends had gotten used to.

However, as she suppressed another yawn she couldn't help but feel somewhat confused as Serika's flat front door remained closed, and as the glasses wearing girl removed a bit of stress sleep from her eyes, she couldn't help but feel slightly concerned as no answer was received from inside.

Ayane quickly reached out a hand, pressing the doorbell button, creating the gentle tone omitted once again as she followed it up by speaking.

"Serika? Are you there, Serika?" Ayane could feel the worry in her chest begin to grow as she received no response once again. The apartments front door continued into remain locked up tight, with no sign of anyone coming to open it.

After several moments of uneasy silence, Ayane finally decided it was time to take action, as she quickly knelt down in front of the door, pushing aside the welcome mat which revealed a small key hidden underneath it. Despite the concern in her chest, the glasses wearing girl couldn't help but smile slightly, because only Serika would hide her spear front door key in such an obvious spot.

But as quickly as it came, the smile disappeared as she quickly rose back up to her feet, the key in hand as she stepped forward and placed it into the key lock and turned, the door's locking mechanism letting out a satisfying click as after a moment of hesitation, Ayane gently pushed to the front door open.

Stepping into the threshold of Serika's apartment, Ayane couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty for doing this, because even though it wasn't uncommon for her and her friends to enter each other's homes unannounced, considering how close they all were.

That didn't mean that she didn't feel somewhat awkward about it, however, that sense of awkwardness could wait as she quickly close the door behind her.

Yet, as Ayane went to remove her shoes, she noticed something that made her pause as well as feel a sinking feeling beginning to form in the pit of her stomach.

Serika's casual shoes were missing entirely from the shoe rack, along with her school bag, which she used for both school and casual related business.

However, instead of immediately jumping to the worst conclusion, Ayane suddenly reminded herself that despite the fact that her black-haired friend was known for being incredibly neat and tidy with her belongings.

She as well as everyone always have those particular moments where they simply disregard neat and tidiness for the sake of just throwing things around and dealing with it later.

As such, quickly removing her shoes and placing her bag down next to them, Ayane made her way deeper into the abode, a feeling of uneasiness growing within her when she noticed that the entire place was and silent, with unmistakable signs that nobody had been several hours.

"Serika, are you here?" Ayane again received no response as she passed in the kitchen, ideally noting that there were still lots of unwashed dishes from the night before arranged neatly on the kitchen side.

'Serika, always, washes her dishes before going to bed'

Ayane subconsciously noted to herself as she paused to look at the stacks of dishes, the feeling of concern now graduating into full-blown fear and almost panic as she resumed her pace, although far faster than last time, quickly making a rush for the only place that she hoped her friend would be.

"Serika?..."

Ayane came to a stop in front of her friend's bedroom door, her voice echoing off the dark and dreary hallway as she stood in front of the door for a moment, hoping that her friend would respond from the other side.

Unfortunately, no response came as she continued to look at the sign plastered across the door and that read in kanji *Serika's room, keep out!*

With the dread almost ready to explode out of her, Ayane took a deep yet shaky breath as she quickly grabbed a hold of the door handle and gently pushed it open. The hinges squeaking slightly as she poked her head around the half open door.

"Serika, are you... here..."

The words died in her throat when she saw what she feared, a completely empty and deserted room, the bed still neatly made and ready for its occupant. However, the person that was meant to be in it was completely absent, as if she had never existed to begin with.

Opening the door fully, Ayane quickly stepped into her friend's room, the feeling of her trespassing into a space that she didn't belong in, completely becoming overpowered by her fear as she looked around the deserted room.

One thing that she immediately noticed was Serika's phone was absent as well as another important items such as her wallet.

"What's going on… D-did Serika never come home last night?" Ayane spoke to herself, the stutter in her voice noticeable as she continued to look at the deserted from around her.

Before she abruptly turned on her heels, fear and panic welling up within her eyes, as she quickly made her way back to the entrance of the apartment. Hurriedly putting her shoes on and then grabbing her phone from her bag as she hastily dialled Hoshino phone number.

Ayane was not entirely sure if Hoshino would actually pick up, considering that she was probably still asleep about now, but eventually after a few seconds of ringing she had a familiar sounding yawn on the other end of the line as Hoshino finally picked up.

*Yaaaaawn* "Ayane, why are you calling me this e-"

"H-Hoshina! Serika... didn't come home last night!... S-She's missing!" Ayane sad frantically into the phone, silencing Hoshino words in the process, as she stood in the doorway of her friend's empty and deserted apartment.

However, instead of receiving any kind of reply from her pink head friend, the other end of the line remained completely silent for several long almost agonizing moments, before eventually Hoshino finally responded, her voice having a sharp and almost furious sounding edge as she spoke.

"Ayane, go to the school, I'll tell the others, and we'll meet you there"

Was all that Hoshino said before she abruptly hung up, leaving Ayane completely alone with the phone still pressed to her ear as after several months of Standing There.

She quickly did as instructed, making sure that her friend's front door was shut and locked. Before returning the key to it's hiding place underneath the Welcome mat, before the glasses wearing, elf girl took off in a sprint, intent on getting to the school as quickly as possible.

…...

Ayane finally made it to the school grounds, it felt like it was burning with her heart beating so fast that for a second she thought that she was going to have a heart attack.

Yet despite the pain she felt in her chest and the lightheadedness that came as a result of it, she kept pushing on, running through the school grounds into the school building and then up the sets of stairs that lead to the clubroom.

Throwing the door aside, she came to a skidding stop in the clubroom, only now letting herself catch her breath as she felt her legs starting to give out. Fortunately, before she could fall to the floor from oxygen deprivation, she felt somebody quickly catch her.

And after taking deep breaths, she looked up and saw that it was none other than Nonomi, the expression on her face being one of concern.

"Ayane... take some deep breaths and catch your breath" Nonomi said with a tone of voice that almost reminded everyone in the room of a concerned mother.

Ayane despite wanting to argue, ultimately did as instructed taking deep and long breaths which thankfully managed to dissipate the light headedness she was feeling, although her chest still felt like it was on fire.

Once she was satisfied that her friend was no longer going to collapse on the floor, Nonomi gave the elf girl a reassuring pat on the back before moving away from her and towards the centre of the room where Hoshino and Shiroko were gathered.

"If her house was locked up tight... then that means the only possibility is that Serika didn't come home last night" Hoshino said after a moment of silence. The familiar sleepy and dopey expression on her face now entirely gone and replaced with a very serious and slightly angry expression which have friends noted was very unlike her.

Nobody immediately responded to her words, all of them trying to think of an exact reason why Serika wasn't at her home. After all, it was incredibly unlike her to do something like this, especially considering that she was usually a very straight laced girl.

"I don't understand... why she didn't make it home last night, I saw her before I went home myself..." Shiroko finally broke the silence with her words. The expression on her face being one of confusion and possibly even guilt. Because she was the last person to actually see Serika last night, which in her mind made her guilty of her friend's disappearance.

Nonomi quickly stepped forward, and placed a comforting hand on her junior classmate shoulder. Even though Shiroko usually was not the most expressive girl, Nonomi had known her for long enough to see the small changes in her face that conveyed that she was feeling somewhat guilty about Serika's sudden disappearance.

"It's alright, Shiroko. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself" Nonomi said with a reassuring smile, keeping her hand on her junior's shoulder as the wolf girl suddenly turned her head to look up at her. Shiroko eyes which were usually emotionless now being filled with fear and guilt.

"Nonomi is right, Shiroko it's not your fault... But where exactly did you see her before you went home" Hoshino quickly stepped forward, offering a look of reassurance herself. However, she was more interested in exactly what the grey haired wolf girl had to say in regard to seeing Serika.

Shiroko didn't immediately respond, the look of fear and guilt on her face dissipating somewhat, yet it didn't fully fade away as she began to think exactly about the events of last night. Nothing about Serika's behaviour seemed out of the ordinary, with perhaps the only exception being that she seemed overly quiet and somewhat withdrawn.

"I saw her... About a block or two away from Shiba Seki ramen. I met her there to... talk about something with her" Shiroko said after a moment of silence.

She could have said more, specifically revolving around the conversation she had with Serika. But she decided against it considering ultimately it wasn't relevant and because it was somewhat personal.

Hoshino, Ayane and Nonomi all looked at the grey haired wolf girl. All of them having various looks on their faces ranging from confusion to curiosity, however Hoshino was the one to finally speak as she asked another question.

"What exactly did you two talk about, Shiroko?... Did Serika seem any different from usual?" Hoshino asked with an almost pleading tone in her voice.

She was desperately hoping that her grey-haired junior classmate would be able to shine some light as to why Serika had seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth.

Yet instead of immediately answering with words, Shiroko noticeably hesitated for a moment, a look of indecisiveness making itself at home on her usually expressionless face.

"We... She didn't seem like there was anything wrong..." Shiroko said after a moment of hushed silence, her words immediately making Hoshino's frown noticeably grow in size.

"Shiroko... What did you and Serika talk about, exactly?" Hoshino asked, her tone remaining somewhat soft. Yet everyone in the room could recognize the subtle edge that her voice now had as she stared intently at Shiroko, waiting for her response.

Shiroko however didn't immediately respond, squirming somewhat uncomfortably under Hoshino somewhat intense gaze. In all the time that she had known her, Shiroko had never seen Hoshino look at anyone like this, especially her and her friends, as such she couldn't help but feel incredibly uneasy.

"Shiroko, answer me" Hoshino suddenly said, catching everyone off guard due to the fact that her voice had a noticeably much harder edge now. In fact, all of them were surprised and somewhat off put to see her eyes narrowing dangerously, as if she was getting angry with Shiroko for her lack of a response.

"I'd rather not say... it was S-something personal T-T-that I don't think Serika would not want me to discuss" Shiroko found herself uncharacteristically stuttering her words out. The more Hoshino looked at her with that intense gaze, the more the grey haired wolf girl felt like she was about to be crushed under an immense weight.

Hoshino continue to stare at her junior classmate, not realising that her gaze was now turning somewhat aggressive, as she quickly let out a frustrated sounding sigh, which made Shiroko flinch slightly in response.

"Shiroko-"

*Slam!*

Hoshino's words were silenced by the clubroom doors abruptly and harshly thrown open, to the point where they almost came flying off the rails they were attached to as they bounced and rattled in their frame.

The sudden noise made everyone jump as they all turned to look at the doorway, all of them noting that one of the windows in the door frame was now noticeably cracked, yep that wasn't what pulled their attention the most.

Because standing in the doorway was none other than sensei, his usual pristine and elegant looking clothes were noticeably dishevelled, however be somewhat deteriorated state of his clothes wasn't what court all of their attention immediately. It was the look in his eyes, a look that made all of them instinctually shiver in fear, because in sensei's eyes they saw something that they had never seen him express before.

Rage...

Pure unrestrained rage.

The hunter stood in the doorway for a moment, before he eventually took a breath, yet everyone noticed that it was incredibly jittery and uneven. As he suddenly stepped into the room his expression noticeably softening yet the rage and anger in His gaze never left as he said four simple words.

"Serika is in danger"

His words made everyone stop for a moment, not because it wasn't a true statement. But simply because they weren't aware that since they knew about Serika disappearance, considering that he had left together with them after they had all finished their meal.

As such, the fact that he somehow knew about Serika's disappearance and the fact that she could potentially be in danger threw them through a loop.

However, before Shiroko, Ayane or Nonomi open their mouths to respond to sensei's words, Hoshino suddenly stepped forward, the aggressive and angry look in her eyes only growing with intensity as she got closer to the Hunter.

"How do YOU know that!?" Hoshino said with an aggressive tone of voice, coming to a stop in front of the hunter as she aggressively poked him in the chest with her finger. The anger and frustration that was in the hunter's eyes, which wasn't specifically directed at her, was momentarily replaced by confusion and surprised at her assertion…

However, before he could respond, Ayane suddenly came to his defence, stepping between Hoshino and the hunter and managing to put some space between them.

Because while she wasn't afraid of sensei trying to hurt Hoshino even by accident, the same couldn't be said for Hoshino considering her erratic behaviour over the last couple of days.

"Hoshino! Don't be so rude! Seriously, what's got an into you lately?!" Ayane shouted loudly.

She wasn't sure why Hoshino was acting like this, especially towards sensei, but the exact reasoning didn't really matter at the moment, considering that from her perspective Hoshino had been nothing but horrible to sensei over the last couple of days for seemingly no reason.

Hoshino didn't instantaneously respond, a look of bewilderment making its way onto her face as she simply stood there for several moments, as if she couldn't believe that Ayane had really come to sensei's defence.

Yet as quick as the look of shock came, it was suddenly replaced by something that nobody expected. A look of genuine frustrated anger as Hoshino suddenly stepped forward again.

"What's gotten into me? Ayane! Why are you defending him!? The fact that he knows that something happened to Serika means that he's most likely responsible for it!" Hoshino didn't even try to hide the anger and suspicion in her voice as she pointed a finger at the hunter.

Ayane, Shiroko or Nonomi all felt their mouths practically fall open at the accusation, each one of them having a look of utter disbelief on their faces, at the fact that Hoshino would accuse sensei they have such a thing.

However, before Ayane could think of something to say in Defence of the Hunter. Shiroko suddenly stepped forward, getting between Hoshino and Ayane and by extension The Hunter, how strong being part of a defensive one as an angry look made its way onto her usually blank features.

"How dare you, Hoshino. Saying... O-or even implying that sensei would do something like that... is just out of line!" Shiroko did not raise her voice, yet the sharpness and aggressiveness was easily present as she stared proverbial daggers at her friend.

Hoshino didn't instantly respond, the angered scowl on her face once again being overtaken by something that resembled utter shock and confusion. Yet it didn't last very long, as the anger suddenly came back, and even more harsh and fiery than it was before.

"Of course I would say something like that, Shiroko! Because isn't it just a little bit suspicious, that he left with all of us last night, Annnnd! yet he somehow miraculously knows that Serika is missing!?" Hoshino once more pointed a finger at The Hunter, who despite his growing frustration chose not to respond, as Hoshino after a moment of catching her breath quickly continued speaking.

"Don't you guys think it's just a little bit strange how he just randomly shows up out of nowhere one day, and then weird things start to happen! I never have or will believe in coincidences! The pink haired girl finally finished yelling, her chest now cramping from how out of breath she was after her rant.

Ayane after a moment quickly step forward, a confident and angered expression on her face as she quickly spoke in response to what Hoshino had just shouted.

"He came because I sent that letter Hoshino! He's here to help us for crying out loud and all you're doing is being incredibly rude and mean to him... B-besides if I remember correctly! You said that writing the letter to Schale was a decent idea that was worth a shot!" Ayane who was usually quite mild-mannered and reserved didn't even try to lower her voice as by the end of her rant she was nearly shouting at full volume.

Hoshino didn't respond to the words, being somewhat caught out by what the glasses wearing girl had just said because ultimately she was right. In some small part she was reason that Sensei was even here, was because she had foolishly given Ayane the go ahead to make and send that letter.

But after that small amount of self critique Hoshino suddenly shook her head, the irate look on her face returning full force as she step forward in a somewhat aggressive manner. Which made Ayane step backwards slightly by reflex even though her angered facial expression did not change.

"That doesn't matter Ayane! He's an adult! You, I and everyone else know that adults should never be trusted no matter what!" Hoshino shouted loudly, her anger finally getting the better offer as her feet began to move with the intent of doing something incredibly stupid.

Yet thankfully before she could act on this sudden impulse. Somebody stepped in front of her, their hands quickly placed on her shoulders as she looked up in surprised fury to see who it was.

"N-Nonomi!?" Hoshino spluttered as the taller girl looked down at her with an expression that was very uncharacteristic of her.

Nonomi was known for being an incredibly easy-going and bubbly individual, to the point where none of her friends couldn't remember a time when they had ever seen her furious. However, looking into her eyes now, Hoshino couldn't help but instinctively take a step backwards, because the gaze that Nonomi was giving her, was both incredibly cold and threatening.

"Hoshino! That's enough! You seriously need to calm down! You're not acting like yourself" Nonomi said with a firmness in her voice that was almost completely unlike her.

Unfortunately, However that didn't matter at the moment as she kept her hands placed on the smaller girls shoulders keeping her in place and preventing her from doing anything rash.

Hoshino didn't respond straight away, her surprised and angry expression remaining as she looked at the girl with obvious confusion. Yet as quickly as that came, it was replaced by more anger as she quickly and abruptly removed Nonomi's hands from her shoulder, catching the larger girl off guard completely as she violently jabbed a finger into Nonomi ample chest.

"Nonomi... Get out of my way" Was all that Hoshino said, yet the few words that she did utter were more than enough to convey the message she was trying to get across.

Yet Nonomi despite her momentary surprise did not back down, her face taking on a very uncharacteristically hard and determined visage as her entire posture went completely stiff, seemingly preparing herself both physically and mentally for whatever Hoshino was about to dish out.

Because while it didn't occur very often and hadn't happened for several years, this wasn't the first time that both seniors had squared up to each other over a disagreement.

And yet, just when it seemed like either one of them was about to make the first move, somebody unexpected quickly appeared between them. Almost materialising with a gush of wind as he quickly put a hand on both of their chests and abruptly pushed them apart.

Hoshino and Nonomi both looked up and surprise not expecting to see the hunter looking at both of them with an expression that conveyed his frustration and anger with not just the situation at hand. But also the fact that one of his dear students was currently unaccounted for, with the possibility of her being immortal danger being a significant one.

"Both of you stop this instance... you are friends and friends should not fight" The hunter said with a forceful and aggressive tone. His voice leaving no room for argument as after a moment of looking between both girls, he turned his attention to Hoshino and spoke to her bluntly

"Hoshino... I cannot begin to know why you have such a disdain for me, or you don't trust me... But at this moment in time, frankly I do not care. I am more than equipped to handle the attitude and disrespect you have been giving me... Yet the fact that you would even consider turning that horrific attitude of yours against your friends... And heaven forbid consider hurting them, is beyond redeemable and out of line!" The hunter quickly took his hand off Nonomi's chest and did something completely unexpected.

Without warning, he suddenly jabbed a finger into Hoshino chest while at the same time removing his hand and placing it on her shoulder and squeezing, just enough to make her feel discomfort but not so much where he would cause her any physical harm.

Hoshino along with everyone else in the room was completely stunned by the hunters sudden outburst. While they had seen him somewhat irritated before. They have never seen him furious like he was now, and the fact that his anger was directed at no one else, but a student was even more surprising, even if Hoshino did deserve it for how she was behaving.

"If you do not trust me... Then that is your choice Hoshino, and I cannot force you to change your mind... But if you don't trust in me, then you should trust in your friends, and more importantly treat them better instead of taking out your anger on them" The hunter wasn't sure if his words resonated with Hoshino at all, considering that all he saw in her eyes was anger and confusion.

Yet after a moment of looking into her eyes she abruptly tried to swap his hand away from her shoulder only to fail utterly because of his grip simply being too strong for her to overcome.

Still as she tried a couple more times to move backwards and free herself, the hunter did not let go, instead choosing to speak after a moment of silence with his words managing to stop her attempts at escape.

"Hoshino... do you want to find Serika?" The Hunter saw the anger and confusion in her eyes momentarily vanish being replaced by complete surprise at his words. But after a moment, the surprise quickly vanished as it was replaced by anger.

"What do you think!? A senior student's job is to keep the juniors safe!... A-And yet she vanished right from under my fucking nose!" Hoshino said with anger in her voice, using profanity both because of how frustrated she was and to get her point across.

However, thankfully it appeared that her anger was no longer solely aimed at the hunter as after a moment he responded.

"Well then we have common ground Hoshino... Because a teacher's job is to protect the students under his care" The hunter said with an unwavering voice as he finally removed his hand from her shoulder, allowing Hoshino to quickly bring a hand of her own up to it and rub it gently.

Hoshino didn't immediately respond, the rage in her eyes not being solely directed at The Hunter, yet she still felt incredibly furious with him. Even though there was no evidence for it, she believed that everything bad and negative that happened to her over the couple of days was the hunters fault. However before she could verbalize this the hunter suddenly spoke again.

"I am not seeking to be your friend Hoshino... you made it very clear to me as soon as we met that you did not trust me and that you despised me... but what I am seeking is that we both work together for the sake of those we are supposed to protect" said with a matter of fact tone his face noticeably softening as the frustration and anger that was directed at her almost entirely evaporated.

Hoshino's feeling of rage on the other hand did diminish somewhat. Yet did not fully vanish, as after a moment of silent silence between the two adversaries, the hunter spoke once again accompanying his words by holding out a hand.

Both as a momentary peace offering and as a sign he wanted to work with her to find Serika before anything bad happened to her.

"Will you work with me Hoshino? Will you help me and more importantly your friends find Serika before anything bad happens to her" The hunter continued to hold out his hand in front of him.

He was entirely expecting Hoshino to completely reject his offer considering how stubborn she appeared to be. And also because of the hatred and distrust she evidently had for him.

Yet nevertheless after several tense moments of quiet, Hoshino eventually offered a hand, a noticeable amount of hesitation and her face and her body language. Before she ultimately clasped the hunters hand tightly, her face remaining serious and slightly angered looking, yet in her eyes The Hunter could see a small amount of acceptance in her eyes.

"I suppose I don't have a choice, Sensei... And you're right, I don't trust you... B-but, I guess I'll have to put that to the side for a moment, because Serika's safety is far more important than my opinions of you" Hoshino said with her eyes narrowing, as she seemingly scrutinised the hunter one last time.

Trying to find any kind of deceit in his gaze yet failing to do so as she quickly shook his hand firmly, with a strength that the hunter found quite surprising for a girl of her stature.

"I couldn't agree more, Hoshino... That is also very adult and responsible of you to say" The hunter said with a smile immediately forming on his face as he reciprocated the action, shaking his hand. However, he noticed his words elicited a surprised look from her before it ultimately quickly receded as they both separated from their handshake.

Hoshino quickly turned away from the Hunter, her gaze coming to rest on her friends, who were still looking at her with angered and saddened expressions on their face. And after a moment of them staring at each other, Hoshino suddenly bowed her head, a look of deep shame making itself at home on her features as she spoke.

"E-everyone... I'm sorry-"

Hoshino didn't get a chance to finish as Nonomi unexpectedly moved forward, making Hoshino closed her eyes expecting to be struck. Yet instead of being physically attacked, she found herself quickly enveloped in a tight embrace, her face been pressed into an ample bosom that reminded her of a certain somebody she had lost long ago.

"Hoshino... We are your friends, we only want what's best for you and to help you... if there's anything wrong then all of us will always be willing to listen and help in whatever way we can" Hoshino managed to wiggle herself away from Nonomi's embrace just enough so she could look up.

And instead of a face of anger like had been there before. Nonomi's visage now held an expression of sadness but also understanding. In fact, looking into her eyes made Hoshino realise just how horrible she had been not only to Nonomi, but also Shiroko and Ayane.

Yet, as Hoshino opened her mouth to speak and tell her friends about what had happened to make her so erratic recently. She abruptly stopped closing her mouth after a second, much to the Confusion of her friends.

"Hoshino... Is there something you need to tell us?" Ayane quickly stepped forward, a worried look on her face when she noticed the look of uncertainty and what could have been fear in her friend's eyes.

Hoshino however didn't respond right away, the look of uncertainty on her face remaining before she suddenly shook her head. Her pink hair flying around wildly as she abruptly slapped her cheeks hard enough to seemingly get a hold of herself but not to hurt.

"I'm... fine, Ayane. Whatever hang-ups I have are not important. Finding Serika and making sure she's safe is what should be our top priority"Hoshino said with a smile, trying to show that she was fine.

However, everyone including the hunter could see that she was clearly lying. Yet ultimately they had no choice but to simply take her at her word, considering that unless she shared it willingly, there was probably no way they would ever know what was troubling her.

Shiroko after a moment suddenly stepped forward, a look of conviction on her face as she quickly retrieved her rifle which was laying on the table nearby.

"We need to try searching for her. We could start where I saw her last night, and then we work our way out from there" Shiroko backed up her words by quickly chambering a fresh round into her rifle, as well as retrieving her personal drone which was not too far away.

While it was meant for combat considering it hard small rocket launchers mounted to either side of it, it could also be used for searching because it's surprisingly had quite a long range even though it was only a battery powered drone.

Ayane, Hoshino and Nonomi all thought about Shiroko's idea, while it wasn't a bad idea, it simply wouldn't be feasible considering the size of the district and the fact that they didn't know exactly where Serika had disappeared from on her route home.

"It's not a bad idea, Shiroko... but I don't think that would get us anywhere" Ayane pause for a moment, seeing the dejected look appear on Shiroko's and feeling somewhat guilty for it.

Yet, she quickly continued on after a moment. "For all we know she could have disappeared right outside her own house, and if she did, then she could be anywhere by now" The glasses wearing girls said, leaving everyone again at a loss on what exactly to do and where to start.

However, Hoshino suddenly stepped forward, speedily retrieving her shotgun which was resting on the table next to her, and quickly released the bolt lock, chambering a fresh round as a determined look appeared on her face.

"We shouldn't spend any more time standing around here, the quicker we get out there looking for her, the quicker we can get her back safe and sound" Hoshino did not give her friends anytime to respond, as she quickly took a step towards the clubroom door.

Although, before she could make it any further than a couple steps, she suddenly felt someone put a hand onto her shoulder. Instantly bringing her advanced to a dead stop as their grip was tight, yet not so to be uncomfortable.

Turning around, Hoshino found her irritation momentarily flare when she saw that it was none other than the Hunter, an understanding yet stern look on his face as he opened his mouth to speak

"Hoshino, I understand that you are eager to get out there and find Serika. But you must not be rash, we must think of the appropriate pan of action before we proceed in trying to locate Serika" The hunter finished his words, noticing the expression on Hoshino face momentarily turn furious, before she suddenly closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.

The hunter satisfied quickly removed his hand from her shoulder, taking this as an incredibly good sign that even though she admitted she would never be able to trust him, she was at least willing to listen to his advice.

Ayane quickly step forward, a grim look forming on her face as an idea suddenly occurred to her, one that she had initially considered but outright dismissed yet now made more sense than ever considering recent events.

"If Serika just disappeared out of nowhere... then you don't think..." Ayane let herself trail off, fear quickly making itself at home on her face, as the rest of her friends and the hunter suddenly realised what she was suggesting.

"It would seem that the helmet gang was not driven off after all" the hunter suddenly said out loud, everyone abruptly feeling a chill run down their spines as his words washed over them.

The hunter's voice was usually quite warm and friendly with a tone of voice that resembled that of a father, yet now his voice had none of that, simply being cold and sharp like the bitter cold wind of night.

It was unnerving to hear, yet thankfully the four students managed to quickly recover as Hoshino suddenly spoke, a slightly annoyed expression on her face as she held her shotgun close.

"I thought you said that they were all gone from the district?" Hoshino didn't even try to hide the irritation in her voice, staring at the hunter with a slightly critical and irritated gaze.

However, the hunter if he noticed didn't seem to acknowledge her as he simply stood there for a moment, his eyes continuing to slowly narrow, as after an uneasy silence he finally spoke, although just seemingly no one by himself.

"It would appear that I was mistaken" The hunter's voice was barely above a whisper. Yet it might as well have been an explosion going off in everyone's ears as they felt another chill race down their spine.

They had never seen him like this, and it was beginning to scare all of them. Even Hoshino despite not having a fondness for the hunter couldn't help but feel momentarily and irrationally scared of him, as if he was some kind of malevolent entity who would only just now decided to reveal himself.

"If it was the helmet gang, then she's in serious trouble!" Nonomi said with a worried expression on her face. Hastily reaching for her minigun which was resting under the table and hefting it up, showing her intent to want to rescue her junior classmate as quickly as possible.

"We already took care of their hideout, so where do we even start looking!?... the Abydos District isn't exactly small" Ayane felt herself beginning to panic.

If the helmet gang was indeed behind her friend's disappearance, then it would be almost impossible to locate them, considering that they didn't know where their new hideout was. And this wasn't helped when she considered an even worse scenario, that being that the gang had decided to simply leave the district after kidnapping Serika.

"What are we going to do!?" Ayane quickly put her head in her hands, pushing her glasses aside as she tried to rub some tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

However, as she did so she unexpectedly felt a hand be placed on her shoulder, causing her to look up and through teary eyes, see the hunter looking at her with an expression she couldn't quite read due to how blurry her vision because of the tears and the fact that her glasses were not in place.

"Calm yourself Ayane, there is no need to be alarmed, I have the perfect solution to find Serika" The hunter said with a resolute to tone in his voice, which went a long way to make Ayane feel somewhat better. As she quickly rubbed away the tears from her eyes and put and put her glasses back into place so she could see properly again.

Satisfied that she was no longer about to burst into tears, the hunter quickly removed his hand from her shoulder and reached into his overcoat, yet before he could pull out what he needed, he suddenly heard a critical voice speak to him.

"How exactly are you going to find Serika from here, Sensei? The last time I checked you aren't exactly some kind of all-powerful and omnipresent being" Hoshino said as she quickly slung her shotgun over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest, a somewhat critical and dismissive look in her eyes.

'If only you knew truth, Hoshino'

The hunter didn't verbally respond to her words, simply looking at her for a moment before he finally retrieved the object he needed from his overcoat.

Nonomi, Ayane and Shiroko all quickly gathered around the Hunter, their expressions falling flat with confusion when they saw that the object he had just pulled from his overcoat, was in fact nothing more than a completely ordinary looking smart tablet. Similar to the kinds of one that Ayane used for controlling hydrophones.

"Sensei... how exactly is this tablet going to help us find Serika?" Ayane ask with a confused expression on her face. She didn't want to doubt sensei, but she simply couldn't help it, seeing that to her the tablet didn't look like anything out of the ordinary, except for the fact that it didn't have any kind of brand logos on it.

The hunter didn't straight away respond, turning his gaze from the tablet to look down at Ayane's confused expression. He couldn't reveal to them exactly how the tablet worked, considering that it housed his AI companion, whose existence was to remain a secret for now.

But he decided that he would at least tell them how he was going to find the information that he sought using the tablet.

"Well my dear Ayane... this tablet will help us because it's unlike any others, it has the ability to access all the information that resides within the general student council" the hunter finished his words by quickly powering on the tablet the familiar home screen quickly appearing in front of him.

As Nonomi, Ayane and Shiroko, and even Hoshino who had come over to look at the tablet in confusion curiosity. Found themselves completely shocked by his words. Because what he had said simply shouldn't have been possible, considering that the general student council's databases were some of the most heavily encrypted in the entirety of kivotos, with the only way that data from them could be viewed was by making a request to the general student council themselves.

"Sensei... Are you pulling our leg or something... because I don't think now is the best time for it" Nonomi said with a slightly nervous, while don't she didn't want to think that sensei was lying.

She simply couldn't bring herself to accept what he had just said, was true considering that while she was no tech expert, even she knew that the general student council's data and records, were heavily encrypted, to the point where even the best hackers couldn't get in.

"Nn" Shiroko simply responded by making a quiet noise and shaking her head in agreement, Nonomi.

She trusted the hunter more than anyone here, yet even she couldn't bring herself to believe his words, simply because it sounded too good to be true.

The hunter didn't respond to their words, yet he wasn't offended by their dismissal of what he had said, in fact he couldn't help but smile somewhat cheekily as he quickly typed in his password into the tablet before pressing enter.

However, as he did so he suddenly felt the urge to close his eyes which he didn't fight as he did exactly that and after remaining in darkness for a moment, he suddenly opened them again finding himself inside the familiar classroom with a certain little AI waiting patiently for him, a slightly worried look on her face as she turned to him.

"Sens-" Arona didn't finish her greeting, as a surprise look suddenly sprung up on her face, making the hunter look at her perplexed as he opened his mouth to respond while moving forward to close the gap between them.

"Whatever is the matter, Arona?" the hunter asked, not realising that his voice was slightly muffled as he came to a stop in front of his AI companion. Swiftly kneeling down so he was more at her level as she continued to look at him with a confused and slightly surprised look.

"It's nothing serious sensei... it's just that... your clothes" Arona quickly picked up a piece of straight glass from the Rubble the scattered on the floor. Wiping away some of the water from its surface as she handed it to the hunter, who reached out and quickly took it, holding it close to his face so he could see his reflection in the semi-transparent material.

However, he was surprised to see not his own face looking back at him, but instead of the visit of the bone Ash mask. It caught him completely by surprise as the piece of glass fell from his hands, splashing into the water that surrounded his feet and shattering into a thousand pieces at the same time.

He wasn't sure exactly why he was back in his bone Ash attire, yet it suddenly occurred to him that maybe this digital plane of existence was far more similar to the dream world than he could have possibly imagined.

Because in the dream world, he was able to freely change his attire and even his appearance at will. To the point where his attire and appearance often directly mirrored his emotional state, and considering how he was feeling currently, it seems that his emotions in this space, had changed his attire to reflect how he was currently feeling.

"I must say I'm also quite surprised" The hunter said is he quickly flexed his gauntleted hand in front of his face. Curling and extending his fingers several times, the familiar sound of the metal pieces clinking together reaching his ears before he returned to the task at hand.

"Arona, I'm in need of your ser-" The hunter didn't get a chance to finish, as the smaller AI girl quickly held out a hand in front of her, silencing his words as a smile made its way onto her face.

"I already know exactly what I need to do, sensei!" Arona said excitedly, a determined look making its way onto her face, as she quickly brought her arm back down to her side.

The hunter, despite his face being hidden by the mask once again, was incredibly surprised by her declaration, eventually managing to find his voice as he asked how exactly she knew what he needed her to do.

"How precisely do you know what I need, Arona?" The hunter asked with curiosity in his voice.

He was extremely perplexed how the little AI companion was seemingly able to read his mind, considering that, even though she was an incredibly advanced piece of technology herself. He wasn't aware that she possessed any kind of supernatural powers like he did.

Arona quickly giggled, her halo turning pink and taking on the shape of a love heart as she spoke between her laughter.

"I know what you want me to do, sensei, because I was listening to you and the Abydos students the entire time!" Arona said with an excited giggle.

The hunter was completely at a loss for words as he simply stared at his small companion before eventually a chuckle of his own quickly escaped his lips, which only made Arona giggle even louder.

"I see... I must say that it's quite devious and mischievous of you Arona" The hunter said with a chuckle, however as quickly as the laughter started, it came to an end as the hunter remembered that the situation at hand was indeed a serious one.

Arona abruptly stopped laughing as well, her face taking on a slightly more serious and concerned one, as she waited patiently for the hunter to execute the command that he needed that he needed to say, for her to get to work on what he wanted.

"Arona I need you to access the student council's archives, I am unaware exactly how mobile phones work, but from the little I know is there any way for you to track Serika's current location using her own?" the hunter asked. He wasn't exactly sure if it was possible for Arona to do something like that, but considering all the other things she had proven herself capable of doing, he hoped that this wouldn't be too much for her.

Arona didn't immediately respond, a thoughtful look forming on her face, she imitated the Hunter's thinking pose with her hand on her chin before her eyes lit up. Her halo taking on a green and spiky appearance, reflecting her surprise and joy as she answered the hunter's request.

"Yes, I can do that, sensei! All communications and cellular data goes through the general student council servers, so if Serika's phone is still on, we should be able to track it using that data!" Arona said excitedly as she quickly closed her eyes.

Her face taking on a look of deep concentration as she quickly bypassed the security measures that the student council have put in place. And began to sift through all the communications and telephone data she could see.

The hunter meanwhile simply smiled underneath his mask back up to his full height, he quickly reached a handout and gently patted Arona on the head, thanking her for her efforts.

"You are a great asset to me Arona, I am forever in your debt" the hunter stated with a gentle tone of voice. The smile hidden behind his mask growing wider as Arona's face suddenly took on a slightly dopey and happy expression, her eyes momentarily opening so she could look at the Hunter.

"You're welcome sensei! I'm just happy that I could help" The hunter smile as he saw the AI girl's bright and cheery expression.

Still, he did internally note to himself that in her eyes he could see small green lines flying past. Seemingly a representation of the data she was sifting through. However, this did not last long has her eyes quickly returned to normal as a satisfied expression made itself at home on her face.

"There we go, sensei! I have her location!" Arona said proudly, as she puffed out her chest with pride. The hunter chuckled as he quickly patterned her on the head once again, even so as he finished he suddenly felt the overwhelming feeling to close his eyes which he did

And opening them again after a split second, the hunter found himself back in the abydos classroom. Hoshino, Ayane, Shiroko and Nonomi all still gathered around him and staring at the tablet with confusion in their eyes. Indicating to The Hunter the only a second or two had passed, even though for him, it felt much longer.

Nevertheless, looking down at the tablet, he was surprised to see what looks to be some kind of map with a small red blinking icon moving at speed across it. He didn't need to know exactly how the technology of this world worked to freak out that this was a map that was telling them exactly where Serika currently was.

"S-Sensei!... How did you..." Ayane found her words failing her.

Being the most tech-savvy of the abydos task force, she simply couldn't understand how exactly this was possible, because the tablet from her perspective have done exactly what sensei said it would do. And had seemingly giving them Serika's exact location in real time.

"Well, it seems that Sensei is full of surprises" Hoshino jokingly said, turning away from the tablet and unslinging her shotgun from her shoulder, a steely expression making itself at home on her face.

Shiroko and Nonomi quickly followed Hoshino's example, determined looks appearing on their faces as they ready their weapons as well. They didn't know exactly how Sensei had done it, but quite simply, it didn't matter, considering that they now knew where their missing friend was, and they were determined to get her back no matter what.

"I believe it's time for us to make our move... The longer we wait, the more danger Serika could possibly be in" The hunter added to his words by quickly placing the tablet back into his overcoat for safe keeping before turning to Ayane and speaking again.

"Ayane, I believe we'll be in need of some transport" the hunter said with an expecting look in his eyes.

Ayane immediately replied, the bewilderment still apparent on her face. Yet after a moment it suddenly vanished does she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She didn't know exactly how it was possible, but she supposed that the exact how and why didn't matter at the moment considering that they had Serika's location and that's all that mattered.

"Yes sensei! Everyone follow me, will use one of the trucks in the carpool" Ayane quickly opened her eyes, a look of determination flashing across her face as she quickly retrieved her own tablet and pistol from the table. Making sure that both of them were secure on her person before motioning for everyone to follow her.

Which they all did, everyone filing out of the Classroom one by one as they all quickly made their way to the motor pool, before racing off into the desert. Intent on tracking down and retrieving Serika from her predicament, as well as dealing out a punishment, to those who had kidnapped an abydos student and thought they could get away with it.

…...

"Everyone prepare yourselves, we are approaching Serika's position"

The hunter's voice called out as the Jeep suddenly went over a particularly rough spot in the desert, causing everyone to momentarily be jostled in their seats.

Yet, as Hoshino, Shiroko and Nonomi nodded their heads, none of them complained as they made sure that their individual weapons were prepared for what was to come.

Ayane also nodded her head in agreement, but making sure to keep her eyes on the sand head are she continued to drive the car at a speed that would be incredibly reckless and most likely get her arrested.

However, consideration for the rules of the road didn't matter, reckoning that they were currently driving across the open sand dunes that bordered the outskirts of abydos, and the fact that Ayane simply didn't care at the moment.

"Nn, look over there" Shiroko quickly pointed forward out the front windscreen of the car, her fellow students and the hunter all following where she was pointing, as they all saw a massive plume of dust being kicked up in the distance. And as they crested over a small sand dune, they finally saw what was causing it.

"It appears this fight will be far more intense, than we could have foreseen" the hunter said as his eyes narrowed dangerously while looking at the incredibly large convoy.

He wasn't worried about himself, but the same couldn't be said for his students, considering that even though they were incredibly durable to the point where bullets were non-lethal to them. The fact that the convoy was so large and seemingly had dozens of large armoured vehicles scattered within it, made him momentarily reconsider the plan to attack them head-on.

"Looks like this isn't going to be easy... But who says that a couple of tanks is going to stop us from getting Serika back!" Hoshino spoke. A determined look in her golden blue eyes, as she quickly racked the bolt on her shotgun as she prepared for the battle ahead.

The hunter quickly turned to look at her, both of them staring at each other for a moment before they suddenly nodded at the same time. At this moment in time, Serika's safety more important than anything else, including even their own well-being.

"Shiroko" the hunter said abruptly, causing the wolf girl to be momentarily surprised before she turned to look at him, an expecting look in her eyes.

"I want you to use that flying machine of yours as a destruction, they are greater and have more artillery than us... But if we can catch them off guard and sew confusion amongst their ranks we will prevail" The hunter explained with a determined his voice.

Which was reciprocated by Shiroko, who nodded her head as she quickly turned around and crawled out of the back door of the truck and onto its flatbed, where her drone was currently resting.

"You can count on me Sensei" Shiroko had to raise her voice slightly so that she could be heard over the whirl of the wind rushing past her and the sound of the car's noisy engine.

"Operation, save Serika! Is officially a go!" Nonomi shouted loudly, her usual bubbliness returning somewhat as she quickly flicked off the safety catch on her minigun ready to deliver a world of hurt to any delinquents that got in their way.

Using Nonomi's words as a jumping off point, the hunter suddenly reached into his coat and retrieved his own weapon, his beloved Evelyn pistol. Which he quickly pointed upwards out the window next to him before pulling the trigger, the rapport of the Evelyn somehow echoing across the desert and initiating the rescue operation in full.

"Shiroko, now!" the hunter boomed at the top of his lungs.

Shiroko quickly complied, pulling the ripcord on her drone which immediately started its engines and making its propellers roar to life, and subsequently propelling the drone into the air as it very quickly overtook the jeep. Racing towards its intended target, which in this case was an unsuspecting delinquent-operated armoured car.

"This is what you get for kidnapping one of my friends" Shiroko shouted with unmistakable anger in her voice as her drone quickly closed in on its target.

Bearing down on the armoured car with speed and ferocity as it quickly open fired once it was in range.

The armoured car didn't know what hit it, as it was suddenly lifted off the ground by several explosions, it's forward momentum causing it to tumble and roll, giving the delinquents inside quite a wild ride as after rolling for several hundred feet it came to a stop laying upside down.

The rest of the convoy, which had been frenzied by the sudden explosion and taking out of one of its vehicles, rapidly scattered. All coming to a stop in different locations as they tried to identify where exactly they had come under fire from.

"Ayane! Punch it! Before they figure out what's happening" Hoshino yelled loudly as the glasses wearing girl did exactly that,

Quickly, putting the Jeep into 5th gear and putting the accelerator all the way down to the floor. Everyone was thrown back in their seats, even the hunter couldn't overcome this sudden momentum as the Jeep continued to race at dazzling speeds towards the stopped convoy.

However, as they approach the convoy, the hunter finally realised it was time for him to execute his part of the plan. A part that he hadn't actually told anyone else about, because that they would very likely not want him to go through with it.

The hunter didn't say a word as he abruptly kicked open the car door, the students immediately turning to look at him in surprise as before they could say anything or shout out to him the hunter quickly jumped out of the moving car.

"Sensei!"

All four abydos students shouted at the exact moment as they watched the hunter tumble from the car. However, Ayane suddenly pulled hard on the steering wheel, only just managing to avoid an explosive shell from destroying them and the car.

However, as Hoshino, Shiroko and Nonomi recovered from the unexpected swerve, they all looked back to see what had transpired to a hunter. Only for astonishment to wash across their faces when they saw that he was completely unscathed, simply wiping away some of the sand from his overcoat as he quite literally stared down the entire armada all by himself.

"Sensei! What the hell are you doing!" Hoshino cried as the Jeep came to a screeching halt, allowing her to quickly hoist herself so that she was sitting on the door's windowsill and making it so she could see over the roof of the car to where sensei was standing.

The hunter didn't respond, glancing in the direction of the Jeep that contained his students before turning his attention back to the large gathering of delinquents, and their heavily armed convoy of vehicles, which was staring him down.

In his hand was the Evelyn, one of his most beloved and treasured weapons, while his other was completely empty, although unconsciously clenched into a tight fist. However, as he continued to stare down the convoy, he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to him.

An arrogant and pompous voice that immediately made him feel irritated.

"Well, well, look who it is! It's that stupid teacher who thought he could get the best of us!" the hunter couldn't help but narrow his eyes dangerously, as he watched a very familiar looking delinquent abruptly poke her head out of one of the turrets of the armoured cars.

Even though her face was hidden from view, the hunter knew just by her voice and the unique colouring of her outfit, that it was the leader of the delinquents that he and the Abydos students had beaten during his very first day in Abydos.

"And look! He even brought those stupid abydos brats with him as well!" The leader of delinquents shouted as she gestured to the Jeep which was not too far away from him, the abydos students still inside watching the exchange with confusion and fear.

The hunter didn't respond, simply narrowing his eyes even further to the point where they were almost slits. Which had to decide effect, as the leader of the delinquents noticeably shivered and flinched when she saw just how angry and even threatening the mysterious adult's gaze truly was.

However, she quickly recovered as she managed to put on a false sensor bravado, pointing her gun at the hunter which signalled for the rest of the convoy as well as the numerous delinquents that had gotten out of their vehicles to all point their weapons at him as well.

"So then what are you going to do, old m-" The leader of the delinquents didn't get a chance to finish her taunt as the hunter suddenly spoke. His voice somehow carrying across the desert and almost being impossibly audible even though he did not raise his voice considerably.

"Young lady, I am not in the mood for games! Surrender and give me back my student, and I will make your punishment less harsh!" The hunter wrapped up his words a company quickly by raising his pistol and pointing it squarely at the leader of the delinquents.

He knew from prior experience, that even though the Evelyn was extremely Powerful, it wouldn't kill the delinquents in just one shot, which was why he was more than willing to use it now.

None of the delinquents including their leader responded to his command and threat. Whether it was out of shock or momentary fear. The Hunter could not say and quite simply at this moment in time he did not care, as he continued to square up against the delinquent horde and their arsenal of powerful armoured vehicles.

"What the hell is he doing! That idiot teacher is going to get himself killed!" Hoshino shouted angrily as she and her friends took cover behind the Jeep, all of them now having exited it.

Considering that they wouldn't be able to get any closer, due to, the elemental of surprise had been taken away from them by sensei's completely ridiculous and unexpected actions.

Ayane, Shiroko and Nonomi nervously looked between each other, fear and confusion written across their faces as they all, except for Hoshino. Quickly poached their heads out from around the Jeep. Seeing that sensei had not moved from his position and neither had the delinquents, both of them seemingly daring each other to make the first move.

Yet after several moments of Silence with the only sound being the howl of the wind across the desert, the leader of the delinquent suddenly started laughing like a mad woman, pointing her pistol in the direction of the hunter as she mockingly addressed him.

"Man! You really have a screw loose, don't you old man! Do you think you can take on all of us with an old pistol and win!?" The delinquent shouted with hysterical laughter, causing the rest of the delinquents gathered around her vehicle and the rest of the convoy to start laughing and giggling amongst themselves as well.

The hunter however didn't respond or even rise to her insults, his cold and sharp gays simply remaining locked onto her as unexpectedly he pulled the trigger on the Evelyn.

The pistol let out a colossal bang that sounded like a thunderclap that echoed across the entire desert. The blood infused Silver Bullet tearing through the air, and practically splitting the very air itself as it impacted only an inch away from the delinquent head.

Silencing hers and everyone else's laughter as she slowly turned her head, to see the scorch mark and considerable dent in the tank's armoured Hatch left by the bullet.

"Young lady! I am in no mood for games!" The hunter finally did raise his voice, shouting loudly as his voice was accompanied by a sudden dust of wind, knocking a few of the delinquents off their feet as it also kicked up a significant amount of sand, and momentarily blinding the delinquents as they struggled to recover.

"That's it! Have fun been turned into a red stain on the sand!" the leader of the delinquent shouted. As she quickly smacked the top of the armoured car's turret, indicating to the driver to put her foot down, which the driver did in short order as the armoured car jerk forward.

Hastily accelerating the top speed and almost throwing the delinquent leader from her chair. As the armoured car smashed through the dust cloud, and came out into the open with the hunter in front of it.

However, despite the delinquent leader's glee that the Hunter have not moved from his position, she couldn't help but find it a bit strange that he didn't even attempt to move or even dodge as the distance between him and the front of the armoured car continued to dwindle.

"Sensei!" Shiroko suddenly shouted, quickly moving to come to the hunters, yet as her friends jumped out to stop her, and before she could make it no more than two steps.

Something completely unexpected happened. A moment that shocked not only the abydos students, but also the delinquents who had been watching with glee as the hunter was about to be turned into a red stain on the desert sand.

The hunter didn't try to move, he simply let the armoured car come at him. However, just when it was about to finally hit him and kill him, the hunter finally played his trump card.

Reaching into his overcoat faster than any student could perceive, he found the exact tool he needed for the situation. Bringing it out, the hunter pulled his fist back, Which was now adorned with a massive piece of raw iron, finger holes roughly carved Into it's rough and uneven surface as the hunter finally let his fish thrash forward.

He didn't get many opportunities to use it. But the Fist of Gratia, much like any Hunter tool, had its uses and the right time to use them.

All of it happened so fast that nobody was quite sure in the moment exactly what happened. Yet if any of the students and delinquents that had the reaction time to perceive what had happened, they would have seen the armoured car come to a dead stop in front of the hunter, before its momentum caused it to literally somersault over him.

It's entire heavily armoured front plate now completely crushed inwards, as it seemed to hang in the air over the hunter for a moment, before plunging back down to the ground now completely inverted and resting on its top.

And subsequently skidded to a halt, a massive plume of sand being kicked up by the several tonne vehicles hitting the ground. However, that wasn't all as after the armoured car came to a crashing stop, now resting comfortably on its top. It's engine suddenly burst into flames, letting off a subsequent very loud explosion, as the hunter suddenly whirled around, the motion of him flicking his arm down causing his overcoat to act more like a cape as it billowed almost majestically in the wind.

Nobody could believe their eyes. One moment, the hunter was about to be taken out by the speeding armoured car. And the next, said armoured car was now nothing more than a crumpled heap of iron, steel and rubber.

It's entire heavily armoured front completely smashed in like it had hit a brick wall, with its engine engulfed in a raging Inferno. And most importantly the fact that the several ton armoured vehicle was now flipped onto its top, as if it was nothing more than a small toy car

"H-how... How the hell is that possible!?" Hoshino was the first amongst her friends to speak, having to pick her jaw up off the floor as she honestly couldn't believe what she just witnessed.

She had heard rumours that on his first day in kivotos, sensei had somehow managed to destroy a tank by himself, but she had simply disregarded those as gossip. However, now seeing what he had just done to the armoured car made her reconsider that assessment.

But before anyone else could speak, the hunter suddenly raised his voice, pointing his strange brick like weapon into the air as he unexpectedly shouted at the top of his lungs, his words propelling all the abydos students into action.

"Nonomi, Hoshino, Shiroko! All of you! Strike now while they are confused!"

…...

"Ugh... My head" a groggy voice spoke into the darkness, as the owner of said voice sluggishly opened her eyes.

Yet, instead of her comfy and warm bed like she was expecting, she was met with cold hard steel that was seemingly vibrating due to an unknown source.

"Huh?"

Serika's groggy eyes suddenly shot fully open, her surroundings were shrouded In darkness, to the point where she can only just make out vague nondescript looking shapes in the darkness.

Panic began to flow through her veins, as the cat girl tried to push herself to a sitting position, only to completely fail because of the lack of strength in her body. But also more importantly for the fact that her arms were seemingly bound behind her back.

Trying to loosen the knot in whatever was keeping her restrained, Serika felt her heart begin to sink when she realised that she was tired at the wrist, with something that was incredibly durable and didn't have any given it whatsoever.

Yet even if the bindings did have enough flexibility for her to work with. The lack of strength in her muscles would have made it impossible for her to do anything, considering that even just craning her neck slightly, so her head wasn't resting against the cold steel surface below, nearly drained her of energy entirely.

"W-w-where... A-am I" Serika managed to mutter, any strength in her voice completely absent as she simply looked around at the cold dark place she found herself in.

Yet, as she did this, she suddenly felt herself get violently jostled around, making her go from a position on her side to laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling of the confined space she was in.

"Is this... A car" Serika's quiet and weak voice echoed around the dark confined space, with the darkness itself not offering up an answer.

However, after several moments of muffled rumbling, her words were answered by the unmistakable revving of what sounded like a truck engine, followed by another jolt. Which made her grown in pain, considering that the cold, hard steel didn't exactly do a good job of cushioning the sudden jolt.

Realisation and panic suddenly exploded within Serika's chest, she again tried to pull herself upright. Yet wholeheartedly failed to do so, both because of the restraints tied around her wrists and angles and due to the fact she simply didn't have any strength to do so.

"Have I been kidnapped!?" Serika said to herself, panic starting to creep into her voice as her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness.

Allowing her to slowly make out the objects that she was surrounded by. Which happened to be crates of various different sizes, shapes and colours holding materials that she couldn't identify.

"The helmet gang... It must be them! But where the hell are they taking me" Serika somehow managed to find some strength to struggle against her restraints. Unfortunately, this did not last very long as after frantically trying to pull her knees and wrist apart, she found that the bindings would not budge whatsoever.

"Dammit!" Her voice bounced off the confined interior of the truck, as Serika tried a few more times to Break Free of her bindings.

Yet, still much like the first time, every attempt resulted in failure as she quickly felt the small amount of strength she had managed to gather quickly dissipate, as she was left a tired and panting mess.

"I have to..." (pant) "keep..." (cough) "trying..." Serika managed to say between her ragged breaths and coughs, somehow finding just enough strength to wiggle herself into the right position so she could push herself into a somewhat sitting position. However, what ever strength that allowed her to do this was quickly spent, as she felt her head begin to spin violently.

But thankfully, instead of falling onto her back, a sudden Jolt from the truck going over a rough spot, caused her to fall sideways and be propped up by a stack of nearby boxes.

Yet even despite this momentary luck, Serika felt nothing but crushing defeat as she closed her eyes. Her chest continuing to heave heavily as she struggled to get air into her body.

It was completely hopeless! There was simply no way for her to escape. And even if she did manage to find some way to get out, she didn't have a weapon or anything on her, meaning that if there were Gang members out there waiting for her, which the most likely was. She wouldn't get very far before being recaptured.

"It's no use..." The defeat was easily perceptible in Serika's voice as she rested her head against the boxes that had acted as her impromptu support.

Closing her eyes, she couldn't help but begin to think of the worst. Because judging from the sound she could hear outside, it seems that she along with her captors were somewhere on the outskirts of the District. Which meant that the prospect of anyone coming to look for her was practically non-existent at this point.

"W-what are they... G-g-going to do to me..." Serika said with a shaky and trembling voice. She already began to assume the worst of what the Gang would do to her once they arrived at wherever they were heading to.

"A-are they going to… B-bury me somewhere in the desert, so no one can find me?" Serika found herself tremble with fear at the possibility.

She had seen that in a movie once, where the main villain would kill his victims and bury them in the middle of the desert so they could never be found.

And she feared that the helmet gang would do the exact same thing to her, making it look as if she had simply just disappeared.

However, as Serika continued to simply sit there, her head resting against the boxes. An even worse scenario entered her mind, one that made her begin to cry profusely as the prospect of it washed over her.

"Maybe everyone will think that I bailed on them... A-and left like all the other students" Serika knew that she was now crying like a baby. Yet, she simply couldn't help it, as the idea of all of her friends being incredibly disappointed with her smashed into her like a freight train.

"W-will they think I betrayed them?" Serika's voice was now barely above a whisper, as another Jolt from the truck going over a rough patch.

Sending her tumbling onto her back, yet she didn't even try to pick herself up, as she simply looked up at the dark ceiling of the trucks' interior. Tears continuing to fall down her cheeks as she finally realised that this was how it was going to end.

However, as she continued to lay there, Serika's mind began to be flooded with negative thoughts, ones that she battled with every single day, yet always managed to overcome by maintaining a positive attitude as well as the encouragement of her friends.

But now completely alone and with the prospect that her friends would think that she was a deserting traitor. The negative thoughts came back in abundance, reminding her of just how bad she felt about herself.

"I'm so... useless..." Serika whispered quietly. The bitterness in her voice grew considerably as her face contorted into an almost physically pained look. "Maybe... it's better this way... maybe they'll do just fine without me" the cat girl said bitterly.

Yet the Malice and her voice was not directed at her friends...

But at herself.

She had always been the weakest link of the foreclosure task force, the one, always needing to be rescued or needing help to accomplish her missions. Serika smiled bitterly, even though her friends never complained about her always getting herself into trouble or making a mess for them to clean up. She always had a sneaking suspicion that they secretly resented her for it.

'Serika! For crying out loud, you know that's not true!'

A small piece of herself said in her mind, trying to reassure her that what she had just considered wasn't the truth. After all, her friends were incredibly accepting and kind people, so they wouldn't think about her like that or even abandoned her to her fate...

Would they?

'Your friends love you, they wouldn't think so little of you'

Her subconscious kept telling her, however, the bitterness that had taken hold in her heart quickly fought back with a venomous retort.

'No they don't! I'm just a liability to them! They were probably just looking for an excuse to get rid of me!'

Serika's face scrunched up in bitter anger as she suddenly felt the truck come to a stop. Her ears not even registering that there was some kind of explosion outside the truck as she continued to argue internally with herself.

'That's a load of crap, you know it! These are the same people that welcome to with open arms when you first enrolled!'

Her subconscious pushed back hard with something that in reality couldn't be argued against. However, the resentments that continued to eat away at her like a vicious cancer managed to find something to say in response.

'That was just a lie! They were just being nice to meet because I was the newbie! As soon as they saw how useless I was, they already wanted to get rid of me...'

Serika could feel the tears just starting to run down her face once again as her subconscious didn't respond back. She had completely resigned herself to this fate, knowing that have friends wouldn't come looking for her. Because why would they want such a useless student like her back in their ranks.

However, as a quiet sob escaped Serika's lips, she suddenly became aware of a commotion outside the truck, which momentarily halted her tears as she tilted her head to one side, streaming both her human and cat ears to try and hear what was going on.

She couldn't make out exactly what was being said due to the thick steel walls of a truck muffling it, but one of the voices that sounded awfully familiar to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it due to how distorted and muffled it sounded.

Yet as she continued to listen the voices suddenly went silent, and just when it seemed like that the silence would last forever. Serika suddenly heard the sound of a revving car engine accompanied by the sound of screeching tyres, as the sound of the engine quickly grew distant.

This confused her to no end, yet that confusion did not last long, as she suddenly heard something that almost sounded like a car crash, which was quickly followed by an explosion and then a voice that made her eyes widen and surprise.

"Nonomi, Hoshino, Shiroko! All of you! Strike now while they are confused!"

Serika quite simply couldn't believe her ears, as she heard gunfire quickly open up all around the truck, the concussive booms from the guns making the inside of the truck rattle considerably as she found hope slowly returning to her.

"Did they... did they really come for me?" Serika said quietly as the intense gun fight outside continued.

The negative part of herself tried to argue that it was simply just the Gang getting into a scrap amongst themselves, however she was no longer listening to the negative emotions in her heart. As the hope that she would be rescued continue to grow as the gunfight outside sounded like it got more and more ferocious.

"S-stay away from-" *BANG!*

Serika found herself closing her eyes by reflex as the voice outside the truck was abruptly silenced by the almost unnaturally loud gunshot. She could feel the sound waves literally ripple through her body, making her feel slightly nauseous as she opened her eyes.

However, that's when she heard it

Slow and methodical footsteps accompanied by the sound of crunching sand beneath them.

It made her instantly feel afraid, mainly because it reminded her again of something she saw in a movie. Where the monster would slowly stalk towards its prey, deliberately taking its time and exaggerating its movements as to scare its victims as much as possible before it killed them.

But even if she did have the energy to run, she couldn't because of her restraints, meaning that all she could do was simply lay there and wait for whatever was coming to finally end her.

Yet instead of something tearing its way into the truck to kill her, the footsteps came to a stop outside the truck's doors. The sound of the gunfight outside, still going on but being noticeably less intensive than before, indicating to the cat girl that one side of whoever was fighting was now winning.

"W-what's going on, out-" Serika didn't get a chance to finish her words as she suddenly heard what sounded like something hitting the doors of the van hard.

In fact, the force from whatever it was. It was so violent that the entire truck lurched forward violently throwing her around in the process as after a moment of surprised it suddenly happened again.

This time, as she recovered, she noticed that in the doors of the truck, was a new very large looking dent, the likes of which had not been there only seconds ago.

However, before she could panic at the thought of something breaking into get her, there was another colossal bang on the truck doors. Accompanied by something metallic snapping, which was the truck's central locking mechanism, most likely breaking from the sheer impact.

And then it happened.

The truck doors were suddenly thrown open with enough force that the truck jerked once again, yet Serika couldn't see what had done it due to the light flooding in. And momentarily blinding her and forcing her to shut her eyes, due to the fact that they had grown accustomed to the dim light of the dark truck interior.

However, after groaning from the pain of having her eyes being assaulted by the impossibly bright light, she suddenly heard a voice, that made her eyes shoot open, even though they have not fully acclimatised to the bright outside light.

"Serika!"

The black haired cat girl's eyes struggled to adjust, only just managing to make out of vague silhouette, partially backlit by the bright sunlight. However, as her eyes came into focus, Serika finally realised who exactly it was standing before her.

"S-sensei?" Serika managed to utter, her voice barely above a whisper as her eyes finally fully adjusted, allowing her to see the absolutely petrified look that was on sensei's face.

This confused her for a moment, because she had never seen sensei look this upset or concerned about anything. Yet as she watched his facial expression turn from one of fear to a genuinely relieved smile, Serika finally realised why exactly he looked at her like that.

"Y-you really... came for me?" Serika could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes again. Although instead of sadness and anger, this time they were tears of relief and joy as the hunter smiled warmly at her.

"Of course I did, Serika, I would never abandon one of my students" The hunter said affectionately as he quickly maneuvered his way into the back of the truck. Making his way over to Serika and kneeling down next to her.

"Hold still and just wait one moment, Serika. I will cut you free of these bindings" the hunter gently pushed the cat girl onto her side. Normally she would have tried to stop him from touching her, but at this moment in time, she didn't have the energy to do so as she simply followed his lead.

Serika couldn't see exactly what the hunter was doing, but she got the general idea of what was going on, when she heard the sound of something sharp and silvery cutting through her bindings, freeing her arms and legs.

"Can you stand, Serika?" the hunter asked cautiously as he helped the blackhead cat girl to sit upright, holding the hand behind her back to act as support when he noticed how weak she was.

However, instead of replying verbally, Serika simply shook her head from side to side. She barely had enough energy to keep her head upright, so standing and walking was completely out of the question.

"I see… in that case" The hunter said with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Serika found this somewhat confusing as she opened her mouth to ask what he was thinking about. Yet she didn't get a chance to actually say anything, as she suddenly found herself being lifted into the air. The hunter's strong yet gentle arms tenderly wrapping around her torso and legs as he carried her bridal Style.

The revelation that the hunter had just picked her up and was carrying her, made Serika blush profusely. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to actually argue about it, as the hunter looked at her with an expression that conveyed whether she was ready to leave.

And after a moment of looking embarrassed, the cat girl simply nodded her head, just wanting to get out of this dark and dreary truck and never see it again.

"Hold on to me, Serika" Was all that the hunter said, as he began to move, holding onto the girl tightly as she somewhat hesitantly and weakly began to hold on to the front of his shirt.

And it was only now that she noticed just how dishevelled his entire outfit looked, which was a stark contrast to how she remembered it looking the previous night when he had showed up at the Ramen restaurant with the rest of her friends.

However, as both her and the hunter emerged into the light, Serika couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty as her face contorted into a slightly guilty expression. Even though she had not said them out loud, she had thought all of those terrible things about her friends, and it only made her feel incredibly ashamed of herself.

Of course, they would come looking for her, after all they were her friends, no... they were her family! And family always sticks by each other no matter what.

Serika closed her eyes, as the sun assaulted her, once again the feeling of the hot desert, which was usually something that she hated. That was now a familiar Sensation that she didn't know she had missed until it was taken away.

Though, as she opened her eyes, she felt them nearly fall out of their sockets when she noticed the sheer chaos around her and sensei.

Unconscious delinquent were everywhere, their weapons scattered all over the ground, yet that's not what caught her attention. It was in fact the numerous and destroyed armoured cars that surrounded the truck that had been her prison.

All of them, looked like they had been taken out with various kinds of explosives, however one of them in particular was the one that stuck out to her the most. Because it was literally flipped upside down, the entire thing a burnt out husk of what it used to be as it continued to billow black dirty smoke into the sky.

"Sensei... What happened here" Serika ask cautiously, looking at the sheer destruction around her in absolute awe.

Because while she had been in some pretty intense firefights before, the sheer level of destruction around her was on a completely never level that she wasn't used to. In fact, again to use another movie analogy, it felt like something out of a destruction movie where the world was coming to an end.

The hunter followed the tired cat girl's gaze, looking around himself at all the destruction that he and his students had wrought in their attempt to rescue Serika. And now looking at the destruction he was personally responsible for, made him only realise now, that he had truly lost his temper, something that he almost never did.

"Nothing that you should worry about Serika... let's just say that there were some... obstacles in our way" the hunter said with a genuine relieved smile. He was a bit perturbed at the fact that he had somewhat lost his temper and subsequently taken his anger out on the delinquents.

But more importantly, he was just happy that Serika was safe and sound, with seemingly no permanent physical injuries to speak of.

Serika looked at the hunter, staring into his big and compassionate eyes as they made her feel calm and safe. However, as she subconsciously tightened her grip on his overcoat, she suddenly realised something about what he had said.

"Our?" Serika said slightly puzzled as she looked up at The Hunter, one of her black cat ears drooping slightly, physically conveying her confusion.

Which the hunter had to admit was quite adorable. Yet before he could open his mouth to answer her, another voice suddenly interrupted, relief and happiness practically dripping from the single word that was uttered.

"Serika!"

Serika's eyes widened as she somewhat sluggishly turned her head to the source of the voice. Only to see that it was none other than Hoshino. The pink haired girl running towards her and sensei with a speed that was uncharacteristic for her, considering her usual sleepy and dopey mannerisms.

However, she wasn't the only one as Serika quickly spotted Nonomi, Ayane, Shiroko all making a beeline for her position. Happiness and relief written across their faces as Serika notice that much like sensei, they all looked noticeably dishevelled, with some of them even having holes and tears in them, as well as them being covered in sand and general grime.

"Sensei! Is she ok!?" Hoshino asked as she came to a screeching stop next to the hunter and Serika, quickly leaning in and inspecting every inch of the cat girl, much to her surprise and slight discomfort. As the rest of her friends came to a stop next to her and since they as well.

"She is fine how Hoshino, she is a little bit weak, but I think that will pass with a good night's rest and possibly even a day off school" The hunter said with a happy tone in his voice that immediately made Hoshino exhale out a relieved sigh

Serika silently watched the interaction between them, noticing that Hoshino and the Hunter, seems to be actually cooperating with each other. This was a surprise to her considering how the pink headed girl had been acting in the Ramen restaurant last night.

"Ohhhhh Serika! You poor little thing~" Nonomi spoke in a tone that reminded everyone of a concerned mother as she quickly put her minigun down on the sand in front of her and close the gap between herself and Serika.

The cat girl being caught completely off guard as she and the hunter, by extension, were enveloped in a tight but the gentle embrace, the likes of which were Nonomi's speciality.

However, unlike most times when Serika would try to escape from such affectionate embraces, this time she simply let herself be consumed by the warm hug.

Appreciating the immense amount of comfort and momentarily as she closed her eyes, the content and safe feeling that she got from being carried by sensei only being multiplied by Nonomi's embrace.

Yet the embraced did not last very long as unlike most times, Nonomi unexpectedly ended the embrace, the look on her face being one of relief at the fact that her junior classmate was safe and sound.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Serika... We were also worried about you, as soon as we knew you were missing we came looking for you" Nonomi said softly. Her words being accompanied by knobs from the rest of her friends, who all chimed in with their own words.

"It's good to see you still in one piece, Serika" Shiroko said casually, her voice remaining mostly monotone, yet her usual blank face had a noticeable look of gladness and relief, as she gently rubbed some dirt and sand away from my cheeks.

Serika felt the relief and joy in her chest continued to build. Hearing all of these words that her friends were saying, filled her chest with such happiness and relief that she felt her eyes beginning to water.

But unlike usual didn't try to stop the tears, as Ayane quickly stepped forward, wrapping the blackhead cat girl and Hunter, who was holding her, in a tight but short-lived embrace as she spoke herself.

"I'm just glad you're safe Serika... when we realised you were missing we dropped everything to find you" Ayane quickly separated from the embrace, tears of relief beginning to fill her own eyes as she quickly removed her glasses and tried rubbing them away.

Serika by this point felt the tears running down her cheeks freely, however even then she still didn't stop them as the Hunter spoke himself.

"They are all correct, Serika. We were all willing to go to the ends of the Earth to find you and bring you home safe and sound... I would have defied cosmos itself to see that no harm came to you" The hunter said with a determination in his voice made the cat girl feel that his words were true.

Even if they sounded somewhat ridiculous with him saying that he would defy the cosmos. But ultimately that didn't really matter to her as a smile made its way onto her face, the tears still continuing to roll down her cheeks.

"T-t-thank you,E-everyone" Serika struggled to say between her tears as her smile quickly morphed from a small one into a full-fledged, very toothy grin.

This made the rest of the students and Hunter smile to themselves, with Hoshino taking it upon herself to lighten the mood with a bit of humour at the expense of Serika.

"Aw, look, Serika is crying! She must have really missed us. I have no idea she cared so much" Hoshino said with a giggle, which was quickly reciprocated by Nonomi, Ayane, Shiroko as they all began to chuckle together.

Serika tried to make herself look angry because of the comment, yet she simply couldn't bring herself to be genuinely angry. As after a moment, the smile on her face somehow grew even larger and wider than it had before as she quickly burst out into laughter of her own.

"God, you guys so annoying... I'm… S-so happy to be back!" Serika said as more tears of happiness continue to roll down her cheeks.

All sharing more laughter between each other for several moments, before eventually the Hunter finally brought the entire thing to an end by quickly clearing his throat with a cough.

"Well I believe it's time for us to head back, the sun is starting to hang low, and we do not want our precious little Serika catching a cold out here, do we?" The hunter said with a jovial tone in his voice. As he motioned for Nonomi, Ayane, Shiroko and Hoshino to follow him back to the Jeep, which they all did in short order as they all said in unison.

"Yes Sensei!"

…...

A gentle wind blew through the ruined buildings, occasionally kicking up a few straight particles of sand, and caused them to glisten almost beautifully in the pale moonlight. The site was beautiful in its desolation; however, sadly was nobody around to comment or enjoy its beauty...

Except for one and his digital companion.

"Man, what a day! I like action as much as the next AI. But sensei you really need to stop doing crazy stuff like that" The computerised voice had a noticeably tired sounding quality to it as it spoke. Whoever it's owner was, they were practically exhausted yet the concern in their voice was easily recognizable.

"I suppose you do have a point, Arona. I must admit that I did lose my composure there for a few moments, leading to my very impulsive and reckless actions" a calm and gentle voice responded to the owner of the other voice.

Which was turned out to be a man, as a figure quickly stepped out from the shade of a half collapsed apartment building.

Revealing himself to be none other than the hunter, his clothes still looking just as dishevelled as when he had declared farewell to his students for the day.

However, the reason why the hunter found himself here, surrounded by the gutted husks of sand-covered buildings basking in the Moonlight if they would gigantic animals. It was as much of a mystery to him as anyone else.

He had initially planned on returning to Schale, so he could review the day's of events as well as freshen up somewhat considering his rather dilapidated looking appearance. Yet instead of heading towards the train station like he had planned, he found himself instead walking with seemingly no direction.

His feet simply carrying him forward with no rhyme or reason. However, despite not knowing exactly where he was going or what he was looking for, the hunter couldn't ignore the slight feeling in the back of his mind.

It was almost like something was gently tugging him along in a certain direction, even though he had no idea exactly what it was.

Arona didn't respond with words, yet, even though the tablet was inside his overcoat for safe keeping. The hunter could feel the AI looking at him with a seriously set expression. Which made him chuckle somewhat because it almost reminded him of a mother scolding her child who had misbehaved.

But as he continued to walk somewhat aimlessly, occasionally looking up at the buildings that surrounded him, he heard a familiar sounding yawn come from within his overcoat.

"Sensei... I'm tired, if it's alright with you, I think I'm going to go to sleep now" Arona said with a noticeably sleepy look in her eye, as she let out another yawn to prove her point.

The hunter stopped in his tracks for a moment, chuckling quietly to himself as he quickly retrieved the tablet from his overcoat, so he could see Arona face to face before she retired for the night.

"That is more than fine, Arona. You have done me a great service today, so a restful sleep is more than deserved" the hunter put on a warm and happy smile.

His words were truthful and sincere because after all, if it wasn't for his little AI companion. Then he and his students most likely would have not been able to find Serika before it was too late.

Even though the expression on Aurora's face was a very sleepy looking one, she couldn't help but let out a cute and goofy looking smile as she uncontrollably yawned once again.

"Ok, sensei" Yawn* "Please don't stay out all night. You need your rest too after all" Arona said with an assertive tone and her voice making the hunter chuckle as he quickly nodded his head.

Although he did subconsciously apologise to his companion. Considering that he didn't think he would be giving much sleep tonight, because even if he did have the need and the desire to do so, He simply couldn't right now considering there was too much on his mind from the previous day's events.

"I promise I will not stay out too long Arona, now get some rest. You've more than deserved it" The hunter said with a kind smile as his companion let out another yawn.

Looking absolutely drained as she tiredly waved at him before finding one of the desks in the far corner of the flooded classroom that was her home, rapidly sitting in the chair and then resting her head on the desk.

"Goodnight... Sensei" Arona was already half asleep when those words exited her mouth. Her Halo quickly blinking out of existence as unconsciousness took her, quiet snores slowly started to emanate from her lips as she slept.

Seeing this, the hunter couldn't help but smile, finding it quite cute as he quickly pressed the 'off' button on the tablet before placing it back into his overcoat for safe keeping.

Yet, as he did this, something tug hard at the back of his mind, making him stop dead in his tracks as he narrowed his eyes. Looking around at the surrounding area, trying to determine what was making him feel this way.

"This feeling... it's... familiar" The hunter whispered, his quiet voice cutting through the cold night air like a hot knife as he continued to scrutinise the surroundings. All he saw was deserted and desiccated buildings with sand piled up high around them.

Yet that's when he saw it, a dark patch on the sand.

One, that most people would have missed or simply disregarded as a shadow in the Moonlight. Yet, with his enhanced senses, he was easily able to perceive it. Quickly walking over to it, the hunter knelt down as just at that moment, the moon which had been partially obscured by a wispy cloud suddenly came out from behind it.

Illuminating the area much more than had been previously and finally allowing the hunt to see what it was that caught his attention.

"Blood..."

The word slipped from his mouth unconsciously as the hunter quickly reached down and plucked up a few grains of the blood soaked sand.

Quickly removing one of his gloves with his mouth, the hunter gently rubbed the bloody sand between his now exposed fingers. Being able to judge from how it felt that this blood was relatively fresh, maybe less than 24 hours old.

Dropping the sand back down to the ground, the hunter quickly pulled himself back to his full height, his eyes now focused as his entire body was on high alert for any potential danger. However, even despite that, he still did something that he would normally not do as a hunter in a situation like this.

"Is there anyone here?" the hunter asked, his voice giving away his position to anyone that could have been watching,

For a split second, he thought he saw something move out of the corner of his eye through the dark shadows cast by the decade husks of the surrounding buildings.

However, despite his Instincts now telling him that something was definitely out of the ordinary, the hunter still decided to call out one more time. Hoping that if the blood did belong to somebody who was in peril, then he could hopefully help them

"Hello... Are you in need of assistance" The hunter's voice echoed off the decayed buildings around him, making it sound like his voice was coming from everywhere.

Yet, as the residual echoes of his voice continue to bounce around off the buildings, the hunter suddenly snapped his head in a particular direction. A subtle sound, being the cause of his sudden action as he saw a dark figure obscured by the shadows of the buildings.

Just as the hunter opened his mouth to ask if the individual was alright. A pungent odor suddenly struck his nose, making his eyes widen in surprise and shock as he quickly assumed a combative posture almost by pure instinct.

The figure, was lanky and completely inhuman looking. As it began to slowly hobble out from the shadows, revealing something that made the hunters' heart fill with dread, but also something that excited something deep within him, a part of himself that he usually kept under control.

"By mother Kos..." the hunter said slowly to himself, as the horrific beast continue to lumber into the Open.

It looked exactly how he remembered the Beast's of yharnam looking, with the majority of its body covered in thick matted black fur, that seemed to absorb the very light around it. The limbs of the beast were very noticeably out of proportion, with the legs being incredibly long and one of its Arms being noticeably more slender and disfigured than the other.

Nonetheless, as he continued to stare at the walking abomination, he couldn't help but notice there were also differences from the beasts that he remembered. The biggest difference was the fact that it was nowhere near as large as the scourge beasts, that he had encountered in Old yharnam.

In fact, it was practically tiny by comparison, to the point where it almost resembled the Beast infected townsfolk of yharnam that old Djura had so lovingly watched over.

The creature snarled viciously as it suddenly turned its head up to the sky, and let loose a deafening howl, the likes of which caused the hairs on the back of the hunter's neck to stand up on end. However, as the creature brought its head back down to stare angrily at him, the hunter noticed that there was something else wrong with this creature.

It was already wounded?

The hunter found this incredibly strange as the creature began to stumble towards him at a speed that would have worried most, but to him was of no concern. As he continued to simply stand there and inspect, it's injuries from a distance.

It's left arm was completely non-functional, with it only hanging onto the shoulder by a few strands of muscle and flesh. But that wasn't the worst of its injuries, as the hunter could easily see the majority of its chest cavity blown open by something.

With the creature's ribs and organs on display for the entire world to see. It's left leg was also damaged as well, although it seems to be localised to the hip area, being the reason why the creature had an awkward and stumbling gait.

However, any more inspecting of the creature came to an abrupt end, as it suddenly launched at him, the hunter effortlessly moving out of the way, as the creature quickly crashed to the ground where he had been standing.

Noticeable amounts of blood leaking from its wounds and onto the sand as it struggled with its one somewhat functional and distended arm to get back to its feet.

"How peculiar" The hunter quietly mused as the creature finally got back to his feet, quickly spinning on the spot and lunging at him once again.

Yet, thankfully, the hunter faster once again as he dodged the creature's frenzied attempt at attacking him, only making it fall to the ground once again as it struggled to get back up.

However, as the creature was in the process of doing this, the hunter suddenly noticed something that made him pause. Something that compelled him to do the unthinkable as he quickly rushed forward.

Grabbing the beast from the ground and holding it at arm's length with both hands. The Beast began to thrash around wildly, desperately trying to bite and claw at any part of the hunter it could reach. Yet in spite of this, it simply couldn't do much as the hunter continued to scrutinise it closer, now able to see details that he had missed before.

Despite how far along its transformation was, he was able to see the remnants of clothes hanging to the creature's body, as well as what appear to be actual human hair mixed into the creature's black fur atop its head.

The creature continue to flail wildly as the hunter's eyes narrowed. The stray strands of hair that were mixed into the black fur looked oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite place exactly where he had seen that colour of hair before.

However, as his eyes trace the downwards inspecting these scraps of clothes that continue to cling to the beast's frame, a horrifying feeling suddenly overcame him as his eyes widened in aghast.

"N-no! It can't B-be!" The Hunter uncharacteristically stammered as he suddenly dropped the creature to the ground.

The sudden Impact of it hitting the ground causing the creature's already useless and limp arm to detach entirely from its body. Making it momentarily yell in pain as it desperately clawed at the stump where it's arm used to be.

The hunter's face took on a look of absolute dread, as he quickly stepped back, he knew why the strands of hair and clothing fragments looked familiar to him. Yet despite what was laid out before him and the evidence for it, he didn't want to believe it.

It simply couldn't be the case!

He refused to believe it.

Yet... The evidence for it was right in front of him.

The Beast... no. the creature that was once Tomo suddenly looked up and into the hunter eyes. Its face continued to be twisted into a vicious snarl, yet the hunter saw something else in those pale, milky eyes.

A small part that, maybe... just maybe, was a small sliver of whom this vicious creature used to be.
Something that pleaded... No! Begged him. Not with words, but a cry from the very depths of a tortured soul.

Please, make it stop... please kill me.

The Hunter and the transformed Tomo, continue to stay at each other, the beast that was once a young girl continuing to grow as it tried to get up. Yet, ultimately, was unable to do so now that it was missing one of its limbs.

The hunter felt the pain in his chest continued to build as he watched the creature continue to try and get up to attack him.

He knew what needed to be done, and he knew that he had the strength to do it…

Yet…

His promise.

He had made a promise, a promise that he wanted to keep no matter what.

"I failed again... just like last time" the hunter spoke softly, his voice full of bitter regret as the beast finally managed to push itself onto its knees in front of him.

However, instead of rising back to its feet, the creature simply knelt there, seemingly no longer having the energy to get up.

The hunter took in a breath, one that was noticeably shaky and uneven, as he finally accepted that there was no alternative.

"I'm sorry child... I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... But I can at least end your pained existence so you will suffer no more" The hunter didn't even try to hide the sorrow in his voice, as his words cut through the cold night air like a blade.

The creature despite growling at him still didn't have the energy to get up or even try and swipe at him as the hunter quickly reached into his overcoat.

"I'm sorry Ume. But I could not bring your sister home like I promised..." the hunter's voice trembled as tears began to leak from his eyes. His hand finally grasped exactly what he needed as he quickly retrieved it from his overcoat.

At first what was revealed was a strange looking handle with a very ornate almost bone looking curve in it, yet that was quickly forgotten as the rest of the object was revealed.

It was a blade.

A long and wickedly curved blade

One seemingly made of coarse and rough metal, seemingly glistening in the moonlight. And giving the weapon an almost ethereal quality to it as the Hunter finally retrieved his the blade.

However, that was not all, as he quickly reached to his back. Grasping an object that had not been there moments ago, as in one lightning-fast motion it quickly unfolded, the handle of the blade suddenly slotting into one of the ends. While the hunter quickly spam the entire apparatus around in his hand several times before catching it with both hands, revealing exactly what it was.

"I'm sorry, old friend... But it seems you have to take another life this night" The hunter spoke with overwhelming pain in his voice, the streams of tears continued to run down his cheeks, as he looked down at his weapon.

The Burial Blade

The weapon of the first Hunter.

A weapon that had taken the lives of countless beasts in both anger and pleasure. Yet on this night, it would not take a life for the sake of the hunt or bloodlust, but instead as an act of mercy.

The hunter pulled the burial blade back, raising it high into the sky as the wicked curved blade sparkled dangerously in the moonlight. Making it look as if it was glowing with an unknown cosmic energy, as the hunter made sure that it was in the right position, so his swing would result in a swift and painless end for the beastly transformed Tomo.

Nevertheless, before he brought it down, the hunter closed his eyes, tears continuing to leak from them as he gave a short prayer. One that would not reach anyone's ears but his and Tomo, but one that he still gave as a sign of respect.

"O flora, of the moon, of the dream. O please take this young one into your embrace, and cherisher her for evermore. Make it so that she never experiences suffering again"

The hunter's words carried across the desert like the cold wind. As he brought the burial blade up even higher over his head.

But for just a singular moment the hunter held the blade there, a small amount of hesitation forced its way into him, before he abruptly exhaled.

The beast's last breath finally came...

And Tomo's suffering was brought to an end that night.

---

Oh boy, that was certainly one hell of a chapter in my opinion! In fact, even though I don't consider my writing to be all of that good, I genuinely think this is the chapter I like the most considering what happened in it.

I guess it also helps, that this chapter occurred pretty much in the exact same manner that I envisioned it, with everything falling into the right place with the events that I managed to cover in it.

Also, as you can probably imagine from that ending, this is where the story will start diving into some darker elements that fit more in line with bloodborne then blue archive.

However, despite me wanting to make this story somewhat darker than most other blue archive FanFiction. I am not going to completely get rid of the overall happy and light tone that blue archive is known for.

After all, my goal is to merge the tones of blue archive and bloodborne together, instead of having one overshadow or outright eclipse the other. Basically what I'm trying to say is the dark moments will be dark, the happy and bubbly moments will be happy and extra bubbly.

But I'm reaching the end of what I have to say for now. Although, I will just say that I don't know if I'm going to release another chapter before year's end, mostly considering that Christmas is coming up, and I have a feeling that I will be extra busy this Christmas season.

Yet I will be sure to keep you all informed (be sure to visit my space battles page for updates) If I do end up having more time to write than I think I will, and who knows, maybe I will be able to release another chapter before the end of the year.

But if that doesn't occur, then until next time have a good day / night and Christmas season everyone!