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.

12. To gain insight, is to know the truth

Hello friends.

I don't have a lot to say beforehand other than, this chapter might be a little bit light on action or drama, considering the particular chapter of the blue archive story that this one parallels.

But I did try to add a little bit of action to keep it interesting and make the chapter feel like an, and make the chapter feel like it's an unnecessary one.

Anyway that's enough rambling from me, without any further ado I present to you chapter 11 of blood archive.

---

"It seems that those girls, have been getting themselves into more trouble than I initially thought"

The hunter mused softly to himself as he continue to type away at the computer in front of him. Going through various reports and news articles of a particular group of students causing trouble and getting themselves involved with individuals that they really shouldn't be, considering their age.

Letting out a huff, the hunter pushed himself away from the computer for a moment, remaining seated in the swivel chair as he turned to face the large windows. A deep and thoughtful expression manifesting on his face as he held his hand up to his chin and crossed his legs over each other, leaning back in the chair ever so slightly as he began to reflect.

When he had first laid his eyes upon Aru Rikuhachima and her band of trouble making miscreants, the hunter had initially assumed that they were nothing more your run-of-the-mill troublemaking delinquents and nothing more than that.

However, upon looking into problem solver 68 as they called themselves, he had found out that they were no traditional group of delinquents, and were far more prolific than the nameless and faceless delinquents that he had encountered up until this point.

In fact, quickly pushing himself back to the computer and typing away at it at a speed that was impressive for somebody who would only recently learn what a computer was and how to operate one.

The hunter brought up several reports, all of which detailing the sheer nuisance and trouble that problem solver 68 had managed to get themselves into over the last couple of months, in particular, it seemed that Gehenna which turned out to be the school that all members of the group originally came from, before being expelled or kicked out. And was particularly eager for the arrest and deportation back to the Gehenna campus for appropriate punishments to be dished out.

"Indeed, it seems that problem solver 68 has been quite the headache for the prefect team" The hunter spoke quietly as he brought up a photo of the team in question, immediately recognising a face amongst them which was none other than Chinatsu. Yet instead of the usual calm and quiet smile, that he had seen her with during their meeting, it was completely absent in the photo, replaced with a hard set expression that befitted somebody who was part of a disciplinary committee.

The other individuals in the photo were completely unknown to him, although one of them stood out to him, which was none other than the leader of the disciplinary committee, Hina Sorasaki.

Examining the photo further, the hunter noticed that Hina had a rather petite and short stature, which was somewhat unusual for someone of her age. And despite her overall appearance looking elegant and refined, nothing about her actually stood out to him as somebody who was qualified to lead a disciplinary committee.

Even so, as the hunter push themselves away from the computer desk one more time, he knew from personal experience, that judging somebody based purely on their physical appearance was often a grave mistake. And despite her seemingly harmless appearance, he knew deep down in his very bones that, Hina Sorasaki, was not somebody to be trifled with.

In fact, as the hunter stood up from his chair and walked over to the large double story windows that looked out over the city, he couldn't help but mentally tell to himself.

'Hina Sorasaki... She is somebody I will keep an eye on... After all, much like Hoshino, she may look harmless... But hidden behind the facade, there is something fearsome that should not be taken lightly'

The hunter hardened his face as he looked at his own reflection in the glass, after all, he was similar. Because despite his relatively normal-looking appearance, he was at the end of the day not human... Not any more.

Bringing his hand up to his reflection, the hunter let out a slightly frustrated sigh as he turned away from the window, intent on returning to the computer and getting some more work done. Especially because a particularly large stack of documents, that had accumulated over the last couple of days and that he had not been able to attend to just yet.

However, as he sat down in the relatively uncomfortable computer chair, the hunter suddenly felt something behind him, causing him to turn his head slightly only to see that it was none other than Arona. Her holographic body slightly transparent as she smiled warmly at him, which the hunter reciprocated as she began to speak.

"Good morning sensei, there's somebody here to see you" Arona said excitedly, her words making the hunter turn away from the computer to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

As far as he was aware, he wasn't expecting any guests, especially at this time in the morning.

"I see... I must say to see me so early in the morning is a bit unexpected" The hunter accompanied his words by momentarily turning his gaze to the digital clock that was displayed on the computer's home screen.

And despite feeling strange to him, he had to admit it was far more convenient than carrying around a pocket watch or having a grandfather clock in the corner of the room, like he was more familiar with.

"Considering how people are talking about you on momo talk... I'm surprised it took somebody this long to come see you in person" Arona smiled brightly as she spoke, her words completely catching the hunter off guard because he quite frankly was not familiar with this momo talk that she spoke of.

And judging from the facial expression that appeared on her holographic face, Arona also realised that the hunter had no idea exactly what momo talk actually was. And where before she would have questioned him for not knowing what the concept of social media was, now with the added context that he came from a world that had no kinds of digital technology to speak of, it made perfect sense that he wouldn't know what she was talking about.

"Momo Talk is a Social Media platform sensei, it's basically an electric form of letter writing, allowing you to instantly communicate through text with anyone you wish" Arona explained not wanting to make it sound like she was patronising him for not knowing.

The hunter didn't say anything for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he thought about what his companion just said. While the concept of an email was something that he had worked out relatively quickly. The thought that it was possible to instantly communicate through text was both foreign but also intriguing to him, nevertheless those kinds of thoughts could wait for another day as the Hunter spoke.

"Well, either way, I suppose we shouldn't keep this guest of ours waiting. Would you be so kind as to let them in, Arona?" the hunter said lightly. His words making Arona smile brightly as she responded.

"Of course, sensei, I will let them in right now!" With those energetic and happy words, Arona's holographic body quickly vanished into thin air, as if she had never been there to begin with.

Letting out a chuckle, the hunter couldn't help but find his companion's enthusiasm genuinely refreshing and almost infectious, as he turned himself to face the double doors that separated his office from the hallway outside, waiting patiently for his guests to arrive.

Yet, as the hunter waited, the sound of the individual's footstep slowly becoming audible to his superhuman hearing. He suddenly remembered something that made the pleasant and happy expression quickly vanish from his face, as it was replaced by a foreland and concerned one.

"How am I going to tell Ume about... Tomo"

The hunter spoke with a quiet and sad tone as he reclined deeper into the somewhat uncomfortable swivel chair, he could already imagine her reaction to the news that has sister was no longer in the land of the living. Yet he couldn't even begin to imagine what her reaction would be when he told her the reason for her sister no longer being alive was because of his own actions.

After all, how exactly could he get her to understand let alone explain to her that her sister had turned into a vicious bloodthirsty beast, that was no longer even remotely human, let alone a creature that can be reasoned with.

'And the more pressing issue... is how exactly did the old blood manifested here'

The hunter accompanied this thought by quickly reaching into his overcoat pocket, and retrieving the small glass vial, its interior stained a deep red. His eyes narrowed considerably as he scrutinised the object.

He was still missing much of the puzzle that much was certain, but it was readily apparent that the old blood that had been in this vile, was the reason why Tomo had undergone her horrific transformation into a vicious frenzied Beast.

Yet the biggest piece of the puzzle that was missing and the part that frustrated him to no end was how exactly, and more importantly WHO exactly had managed to get their hands on the old blood, and give it to Tomo.

Knock knock

Any further thought on the subject, was pushed aside when the hunter heard the familiar sound of gentle knocks on the office door, forcing him to swallow his own emotions and put on a calm face as he collected himself and put away the glass vial back into his overcoat for safekeeping.

"You may come in" The hunter waited for a moment as the door gently opened, however he found his eyes widening slightly in surprised when he saw that his unexpected guest was none other than Yuuka.

The purple haired girl looking like a true sight for sore eyes considering he had not spoken to her since his first day in Kivotos.

"Good morning, sensei, I came to..."

The hunter observed with quiet confusion as Yuuka quickly trailed off with her greeting, her eyes widening in apparent surprised when she laid her gaze upon him. And despite confused by this, it didn't take the hunter long to realise, that she was caught off guard by his appearance.

Considering that the last time they had met, he had been wearing his bone Ash Hunter attire, instead of his current less intimidating but still unusual Cainhurst knight attire.

Chuckling quietly to himself, the hunter quickly got up from his chair, the action surprising Yuuka as he gave a polite bow in return to her greeting.

"Good morning to you as well Yuuka, I must say it's quite a pleasant surprise to see you again, especially after our hectic introduction to each other" the hunter quickly straightened himself, flashing a polite smile at Yuuka, which made the purple haired Millennium student blush considerably which in turn made the Hunter chuckle some more as Yuuka managed to finally find her voice.

"Y-yes, sensei, it's been awhile..." Yuuka found herself once again trailing off, her words ultimately failing her as she stared at the Hunter's face, being very surprised by how he actually looked under the mask.

This did not go on noticed by the Hunter, who smiled as he walked over to the clearly flustered and surprised young girl, which only made her blush intensify as he approached.

"You seem to be quite surprised by my appearance, Yuuka" The hunter couldn't keep the amusement from his voice, as he stopped less than an arm's length away from the Millennium student. Who, despite her embarrassment and surprised, quickly managed to find her voice.

"It's not like that, sensei! It's just that... I'm surprised that you looked like that under your mask" As the words left her mouth, Yuuka, couldn't help but groan, her eyes widening in shock when she realised exactly what she had just said.

After all it came across as extremely rude and inappropriate because to Yuuka at least it sounded as if she was implying that under his mask she had assumed that he was an ugly beast.

However, the hunter was not offended by her words as he simply laugh softly, deciding to brush the matter aside for the moment and address why Yuuka had decided to see him today.

"Pushing aside the matter of how you thought I looked... What exactly can I do for you today, Yuuka. Because while it is pleasant to see you again after so long, I suspect that you are not here to simply catch up?" The hunter waited patiently.

Seeing the embarrassment recede from Yuuka's as it was replaced by a look of realisation, and after taking in a deep breath and then letting it out, the Millennium student finally spoke.

"You're correct sensei... As much as I wanted to see you today and catch up, I'm afraid that I'm here on official Millennium Business" Yuuka followed up her words by quickly reaching into her jacket pocket and retrieving something that made the hunter look at her in slight surprise as he turned his eyes downwards to stay at what she had retrieved from her pocket.

"As the treasurer of the Millennium Academy student council, I was selected to give you this invitation to meet the student council president of Millennium Academy" Yuuka finished her words by handing the letter to the hunter who after looking at it in puzzlement for a moment gently took it into his hand, looking over the envelope with slight scrutiny before turning his eyes back up to Yuuka, who was now looking somewhat uncomfortable, the blush returning to her face and she continued to unknowingly stare at the Hunter's face.

"I must say I'm both flattered and surprised to receive such an invitation" The hunter's spoke politely as he gently put the envelope into his overcoat pocket. Much to the surprise of Yuuka who, despite her embarrassment, watched with confusion as the Hunter did this.

"However, despite that… I'm afraid that I cannot except such an invitation just yet, as my schedule is rather full at the moment" The hunter made sure to make his tone apologetic, noticing the slight sadness and concern that appeared on Yuuka's she responded to him.

"Does that mean that you're refusing… And that you don't want to come and see our school?" Yuuka said with a sad and almost defended tone in her voice, which made the hunter look at her in surprise before he quickly explain himself.

"Of course not Yuuka, I do plan on accepting the invitation, after all I have already made preparations for visiting each of the major academies to introduce myself. However, I simply cannot accept the invitation at this exact moment as I am already quite busy with my duties as a teacher" The hunter exhaled a silent sigh of relief when he noticed Yuuka's sad and concerned expression quickly vanish, being replaced by a look of happiness and understanding as she spoke in response.

"Oh ok that's understandable sensei" Yuuka voiced with an understanding look in her eyes.

As the one and only treasurer of Millennium Academy, she could certainly sympathize with sensei, considering that her own workload was often immense. And wasn't helped by a certain games club that was determined to simply burn money with their ridiculous antics.

Satisfied that Yuuka was no longer sad about his seeming refusal at the invitation, the hunter quickly turned away from her for a moment, retrieving the letter from his pocket and placing it on the table next to the mountain of paperwork, which was something that immediately caught the purple-haired girls eyes.

"Sensei... What is that!?" Yuuka asked with a stupefied and puzzled expression on her face, quickly pointing at The Towering pillar of papers.

Her words made the hunter turn to look at her, his eyebrow raised in confusion at why the stack of papers would be surprising to her.

"It is accumulated paperwork, that unfortunately I've not been able to get around to filling out in the appropriate manner... Why exactly do you ask Yuuka?" the hunter responded, his words were not exactly a lie, considering that the vast majority of the paperwork was accumulated simply because he hadn't the time to actually start filling all of it out.

Yet the main reason why he had not tackled the growing mountains of paper just so far, was because the more he looked at it the more he felt his head hurt, considering that there was nothing more tedious in this world than filling out paperwork.

Yuuka didn't look impressed by the hunter's response in the slightest, as she turned to look at him with an expression that can only be described as complete and utter disappointment. As if the hunter was a complete failure of a human being who couldn't even do the simplest of tasks.

However instead of saying anything verbally, Yuuka let out disappointed sounding sigh as she quickly moved past the Hunter, and much to his surprise retrieved one of the spare swivel chairs and abruptly sat down in it, moving herself closest to the table are she retrieved a spare pen and began to work.

"Honestly sensei, I would have expected someone like you to know how to manage their time better... like seriously, I know that you only became a teacher recently, but that's not an excuse to let your paperwork get this bad!" Yuuka emphasised her words by pointing at the stack of papers in front of her as she quickly began to fill out one, finishing it in record time and then moving on to the next.

The hunter despite his surprise couldn't help but chuckle, his laughter making Yuuka glance at him with a slightly critical look before he swiftly joined her, retrieving his own slightly larger swivel chair and sitting down next to her.

And despite trying to remain mad and disappointed at The Hunter for his seeming lack of time management skills.

Yuuka couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face, as the Hunter quickly retrieved his own slightly more ornate looking pen and began to follow her lead. Both student and teacher filling out paperwork together in mostly happy silence.

…...

"Sensei... is everything alright?"

The hunter was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he came to a stop in the middle of the sand-covered Street. His companion, which was none other than Ayane dressed in her usual abydos school uniform, also coming to a stop as well, her face holding a look of concern as she waited for the Hunter's response.

Gazing back at the glasses wearing elf girl, the hunter wasn't quite sure how to respond, simply because there wasn't just one thing on his mind. In fact, it would be fair to say that there was a myriad of things that he was contemplating at this exact moment. The two biggest ones being the the subject of how exactly the old blood had somehow manifested in kivotos, and how exactly he was going to break it to Ume about her sister.

Nevertheless, eventually the Hunter let out a slightly dejected sigh, which didn't go unnoticed by Ayane, yet before she could ask again what seemingly had sensei so down, the hunter finally responded managing to force a smile, that thankfully was enough to fool Ayane.

"Everything is quite alright Ayane... I was just a bit lost in my own thoughts for a moment, but it is nothing do you need to worry about" The hunter breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the concerned look in Ayane's eyes disappear.

And her smile, that had been there when he had first met up with her this morning, quickly returned, which in turn made him feel somewhat better, as he tried to push his negative and troublesome thoughts aside and recentre his mind on the task at hand.

"Ayane, please forgive my forgetfulness... But can you please remind me why today is so important?" the hunter said politely. He had not forgotten in the slightest exactly why today was so important for Ayane and the rest of her abydos school classmates, but he wanted to reconsider their collective focus on that subject.

Ayane for her part, looked slightly confused by his words, before a look of understanding appeared on her face as she quickly spoke.

"O-Oh. We have an interest payment on the school's debt today, there's always lots of prep work that goes into it, so we all often end up running around like headless chickens trying to get it done" Ayane finished her words by letting out a quiet giggle, the mental image of her and her friends wearing comically oversized and ridiculous looking chicken suits while running around making noises, being incredibly humorous to her.

And regardless of the hunter not knowing exactly what was on the girl's mind to make her giggle as such, he reciprocated. Chuckling quietly to himself as he began to walk once more, motioning for her to follow, which she did, both of them once again walking down the deserted street side by side.

"I usually get to the school early to take care of all the preparations... And do some planning for how we'll move forward" Ayane quickly trail off, a barely noticeable blush appearing on her face. Because to her ears it sounded like she was boasting and taking all the credit, when in reality it was a combined effort between her and her friends.

The hunter noticing her slight embarrassment couldn't help but smile as he quickly reached out and placed his hand on her head, making the girl jump in surprise as he gently rubbed her head for a moment before removing his hand again.

And Even though Ayane felt really embarrassed after what sensei they had just done, she quickly recovered, wiping the aggressive blush off her face as she continued speaking, her eyes taking on a slightly serious look as she did so.

"Also, sensei, I managed to compile some intel on those girls that attacked us the other day. I'd appreciated if you would take a look" Ayane quickly brought out her smart tablet, typing away at it for a second before holding it out to the hunter who, looking at it with a slightly raised eyebrow, took it into his hands, being careful with the devices as he brought it close to his face.

"I see... I must say your ability to gather information is unparalleled Ayane" The hunter turned his eyes away from the tablet for just a moment, only to see the bright and almost overpowering look of happiness that appeared on Ayane's as she heard his words of praise.

"However, while I appreciate the fact that you are willing to share this information with me... I'm afraid that it is ultimately unnecessary as I also did my own research into those girls" The hunter followed his words by gently handing the smart tablet back to Ayane.

Who, after a moment of looking surprised at his words, silently took it back, holding it close to her chest as the Hunter turn to his gaze back to the path in front of them, the abydos main school gate now visible at the end of the Street.

Yet, as both teacher and student continued to walk in silence, the hunter suddenly became aware of a strange feeling, one that made him become hypervigilant auntie began to observe his surroundings with a scrutiny that no human could do.

"Ayane! Take cover right now!"

The hunter suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, his words catching the glasses wearing student completely by surprise, and unfortunately that meant that she could not react in time as a hail of bullets followed by the deafening sound of automatic gunfire suddenly erupted from nowhere.

Moving at a speed that was impossible for anyone but him to perceive, the hunter quickly wrapped Ayane in a tight protective embrace as the bullets travelled towards.

"S-sensei!"

Ayane wasn't entirely sure what happened, one moment her and sensei walking down the street, with her feeling somewhat dejected at the fact that sensei had already done his own research therefore not needing her own.

And the very next instant, sensei was quite literally on top of her, his arms protectively wrapped tightly around her as the sound of automatic gunfire reached her ears. And to her growing horror, she saw sensei's face scrunch up in pain as she felt shock waves radiating through the hunter's body and by extension her own as the bullets that were seemingly meant for her impacted him. .

The hunter groaned as the bullets continued to fly, most of them missing, yet a few of them striking him in the back and puncturing deep into his body, the pain was excruciating to the point where he felt like he was going to collapse, yet through the sheer force of will that only a hunter could possess, he kept himself upright. Using his own body as a shield to protect his beloved student.

Internally, some small part of him did admit that it wasn't entirely necessary to do this considering that students of all types were immune to automatic gunfire... But still his actions were not compelled by logic.

They were compelled by a deeper instinct, something that was so deeply ingrained into his being that he could not fight against it.

'My child is in danger... and I must protect her at all costs!'

The thought that entered the hunter's mind was a completely subconscious one, nevertheless he was quickly brought back to the present, when he noticed the gunfire quickly subside. Which was accompanied by a startled yell from Ayane, as he found himself quickly falling to his knees, the strength leaving his legs as he found himself struggling to breathe, most likely because of the bullets now lodged in his chest cavity.

In fact, as he heard Ayane's concerned and muffled voice in his ears, asking if he was ok. The hunter couldn't help but Marvel at the fact that he was even still alive.

A normal man would have most certainly perished from taking so many bullets to the back, yet his physical body could count on the nature of being a hunter, which granted him a durability that surpassed the most normal humans.

However, as the hunter felt blood beginning to rise up in his throat, most likely as a result of a punctured of lung, he knew that even though his Hunter body was vastly more durable than a normal, it could still die. And looking down at Ayane, who was looking up at him with horror, confusion and alarm in her big teary eyes.

He vowed that he would not put his students through the prospect of watching him die, even though he could easily return like he always did.

So As such summoning strength that his injured body didn't have, the hunter quickly got to his feet shocking Ayane, yet before she could process this. He quickly dragged her towards a nearby alleyway, taking cover behind the corner just in the nick of time as another hail of bullets quickly rained down on the position where he and Ayane had been only seconds previously.

Finally letting go of Ayane, the hunter found the strength that he had called upon instantly vanishing as his body collapsed, his breathing now becoming almost impossible both due to the collapsed lung and blood that was clogging his throat. Yet despite the bodily urge to try and cough out the obstruction, he chose not to, mostly because he didn't want to traumatise Ayane by letting her see him bleed.

"S-sensei! Your hurt!" Ayane managed to say between her cries, instinctively retrieving her pistol from its holster and holding it close, yet paying more attention to the hunter as he continued to sit there, clearly struggling to breathe.

However, just when she reached out a hand to try and help sensei, he suddenly used the little strength he had, to gently but forcefully push her hand away. Managing to somehow flash her a smile, that despite the situation at hand, made Ayane feel for just a split second that everything would be alright.

"It's ok... A-Ayane... I W-will be fine" the hunter tried to say.

Managing to swallow the blood in his throat, which did somewhat alleviate his breathing problems but only by a marginal amount. As he quickly, with the little strength he had left, reached into his overcoat pocket, the action making Ayane look at him in confusion and fear as after a moment he pulled his hand out, retrieving the item he was looking for.

Holding the small Vial in his hands, the hunter brought it up to his face for a moment his vision beginning to blur, yet he could still identify that it was in fact a blood Vial, which is exactly what he needed. However, the strength in his hand suddenly failed, causing him to drop the blood Vial.

Yet, before it could smash on the ground and spill its lifesaving contents. Ayane managed to catch it in her hands, her pistol resting nearby as she looked at the strange Vial containing the mysterious liquid, before turning her gaze back up to the hunter, who she could tell was not doing well.

"Ayane... I know this is much to ask of you... but I need you to inject that Vial into my arm" The hunter managed to say, reaching out his arm which was shaking because of the amount of physical exertion it took just to do this simple action.

And just when his strength finally left him and his arm began to fall, Ayane quickly caught his arm, holding his hand in her much smaller one as she looked at him with a slightly scared look before doing as she was instructed.

Normally in any other situation, she would have been hesitant to do something like this, especially considering that she didn't know what the Vial and it's contents actually did. But the situation at hand was such a dire one.

So that any kind of questioning attitude she would have had was completely thrown out the window, as she studied sensei's arm for a moment before taking the Vial and slamming it into his arm.

"Sorry If that hurts, sensei" Ayane said with an apologetic tone, watching with a morbid Fascination as the red liquid that was the contents of the vial, quickly began to disappear from the bottle and into sensei's arm.

However, as she watched the contents of the vial continue to disappear, she failed to notice the immediate effect that the blood vial had on the hunter.

"There is no need to worry Ayane... for the physical pain I feel… is nothing compared to the fury I feel in my blood for who try and hurt my student!"

Ayane quickly turned her eyes upwards, only to have them widen in shock when she saw that sensei who were moment to go looked like he was on death's door. Now looking almost completely healthy again, the colour which had drained from his face returning almost instantly as he flashed her a kind and thankful smile.

Yet, as she hesitantly reciprocated the smile, and moved back slightly, so sensei could get to his feet. Ayane couldn't help but notice in His Eyes was a look of absolute anger and rage.

She had never seen sensei look this angry and if she was being completely honest it made her feel slightly afraid of him, and more importantly feel incredibly sorry for the person that his anger was now going to be directed towards.

Now standing at his full height, the hunter quickly reached a hand down to Ayane, who despite looking confused and surprised by his sudden recovery. Accepted it, allowing him to pull her to her feet as he flashed her another thankful smile before turning away from her.

Yet nonetheless, as he did so, Ayane couldn't stop herself from gasping in shock, bringing a hand up to her mouth as she saw just how extensive sensei's injuries had truly been. The clothes on his back were tattered and torn to the point where there was very little of it intact, and the little that was was completely soaked with blood.

Which also extended to his skin that, despite now having no bullet wounds to speak of was still covered in a thick layer of now drying blood, which just the sight of, made Ayane feel incredibly queasy.

"Now then, where are you!" the hunter spoke into the air, not even trying to hide the fury in his voice as his keen eyes scanned the entirety of the seemingly empty street.

And even though he could not see whoever had shot at him and Ayane, he could still feel their fear in the air.

"Ayane! Can you pinpoint the location of where the gunfire came from?" The hunter suddenly asked.

Ayane who was still recovering from her shock, looked at the hunter with a confused look for a moment, before she realised exactly what he was asking and even though she wanted to ask so many questions, particularly how he was able to recover so quickly after having the Vial of mysterious liquid injected into him.

She ultimately comply with his request, quickly retrieving her tablet which was laying nearby and tapping away at it incessantly, and after a couple of moments of this, occasionally interrupted by the sound of automatic gunfire from the mysterious shooter, she finally had an answer for sensei.

"The target is 50 metres in front of us and 5 metres to the left... So it would be the destroyed house on the left at the end of the street!" Ayane spoke urgently, turning her eyes up to the hunter who looked back at her with a thankful expression.

Before turning his now hardened gaze back out to the street, and having his eyes come to rest on the particular building, that Ayane had surmised was the location of the mysterious shooter.

With his target's location now identified, the hunter quickly reached into his overcoat, the action causing Ayane to look at him with an almost expecting look because every time sensei did this, he usually pulled out something that shouldn't have realistically been there.

This time was no exception, as out came something that she honestly wasn't quite sure what to make of. It appeared like an old style shield, the likes of which might have been used by a knight in shining armour, but it also looks much more ornate and artistically designed than any kind of Shield that she was familiar with.

In fact, as the shield came to rest at the hunter's side, she couldn't help but think it almost resembled a stained-glass window of a church, complete with the overly elaborate ironwork that would be responsible for holding such an old style window together.

The hunter looked down at the loch shield for just a moment, using a shield was something that Hunters were not known for, considering that they often relied more on their speed and agility to avoid attack.

But in a situation like this, utilising it would be for the better, considering that even though he could dodge automatic gunfire, for what he was planning to do, it certainly wouldn't have been a bad idea to have a bit of extra protection on his side

However, as he brought the shield up, reading himself ready to make his move as soon as the automatic gunfire ceased once more. The hunter couldn't help but think it was kind of ironic that he was using the shield now.

Because after all when he had first acquired it from the research Hall in the hunter's nightmare, he had ultimately disregarded it to the bottom of the hunter's dream lockbox, because he had never been particularly strong with the arcane. Instead, favouring weapons that required blood tinge and skill to use.

But now with him being ascended to the status of a great one, he could male utilise the Shield to its fullest, bringing out its true power at last.

The hunter's ears suddenly perked up when the sound of almost deafening automatic gunfire finally ended, which meant that his moment had finally come. Yet just before he made his move, the hunter felt somebody quickly come up behind him, causing him to look back abruptly, only to have his eyes wide slightly when he saw that it was none other than Ayane.

A slightly determined yet scared looking in her eyes as she held her pistol at the ready while her smart tablet even put away into its protective vest.

"Sensei, I've got your back, we can do this together!" Ayane said with a confidence that the hunter did find admirable, considering that she was usually quite timid.

And even though he wanted to argue with her choice because he didn't want her to be injured, the look in her gaze was enough to convince the hunter that she probably wouldn't have listened to him even if he tried.

So as such, after looking at each other for a moment, the hunter quickly nodded as both student and teacher quickly jumped out from behind the piece of cover they have been using.

The hunter taking the lead and using the Shield to cover himself and Ayane as both of them ran together. And as both of them ran as a group, Ayane took it upon herself to fire several shots in the general direction of where she suspected the shooter was, although she knew that there was not much she could actually do, considering that she was not very good at shooting on the move, and she was only using a pistol.

However, the hunter was grateful for her effort regardless as the both of them continue to run, although the hunter did have to pace himself.

Fntentionally slowing himself down, considering that the glasses wearing student behind him would not be able to have a chance of Keeping up with him if he were to use his Hunter reflexes and speed.

"Ayane! Stay behind me!" the hunter shouted at the top of his lungs.

Unexpectedly coming to a dead stop, which in turn made Ayane collide into his back. And despite being confused by his sudden words, she suddenly understood exactly why he had said them as a hail of bullets suddenly rained down upon them, the sound of the automatic gunfire now being almost deafening due to their closer proximity to the mysterious shooter.

Yet regardless of momentarily closing her eyes by pure reflux, Ayane quickly open them again when she realised that the hunter, who was in front of her, was holding strong. The shield covering the majority of his body and by extension protecting her from the onslaught of bullets.

However, as she watched the bullets impact the shield, instead of them simply bouncing off or being completely absorbed like she had expected and was familiar with when it came to ballistic Shields. Instead, the bullets did something that made absolutely no sense to her yet mesmerised her to no end.

They were somehow absorbed by the Shield, the bullets almost looking like they were disintegrating into nothing, as they came within proximity of the almost glass-like surface of the Shield.

And this strange almost dissolving effect that the bullets were undergoing, was accompanied by a mysterious almost shimmering white aura, that was now completely encompassing the Shield.

Ayane didn't have much time to watch this any further, as the hunter suddenly turned his head to her, the look in his eye compelling her to follow along, as he quickly began to walk forward. Completely disregarding the effect of the automatic gunfire as his mysterious and alien shield absorbed it completely.

The stream of automatic gunfire felt like it went on forever, however eventually it finally ended, making Ayane breathe a momentary sigh of relief. However, as soon as the gunfire came to an end, the hunter suddenly took off.

Leaving her behind in the dust as he quickly closed the gap between their position and the mysterious shooter's position. Yet even though have no hope of Keeping up with him, Ayane still began to run anyway, keeping her pistol level as she was determined to assist the Hunter.

The Hunter couldn't help but silently apologise to Ayane as he continues to run, after all, he was practically leaving her behind. Considering that the lapse in fire from the mysterious shooter wouldn't last long, he was determined to end the situation now, so that the potential of his students get hurt would be decreased.

As such, quickly making it to the position of the mysterious shooter, the hunter didn't even try to contain himself as he quickly smashed through the partially broken down wall that the shooter had been using his cover and an improvised bipod for her machine gun.

And to his satisfaction he had caught her in the middle of reloading, allowing him to quickly swot her weapon away with a flick of the Shield, and grappa by her wrists, effortlessly lifting the girl into the air and staring at her with an angered gaze.

Yet, as he stared at The mysterious girl, the hunter's eyes suddenly went wide as he realised exactly who the mysterious shooter actually was.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The hunter said with an unimpressed tone as he quickly turned on his heels, holding the lock shield in one and keeping his prisoner aloft despite her Furious protests to escape.

Passing through the partially destroyed wall and being sure to step over the rubble, all the while the girl in his group continuing to protest, the hunter saw Ayane finally managed to catch up.

The poor girl, who was not used to physical exertion like this, nearly collapsing onto her knees because of how hard and Ragged her breaths were. Because if there was one thing that she was not good at, it was extraneous physical activity.

However, despite her now dishevelled and exhausted state, Ayane's eyes still went wide behind her glasses when she saw that the mysterious shooter, was none other than one of the very girls that had attacked with their school the previous day.

"H-hey! It's you from yesterday!?" Ayane managed to say between her ragged coughs and breaths, desperately trying to force as much are into her lungs to stop her head from hurting.

All the while as the mysterious shooter, which was now revealed to be none other than Mutsuki Asagi continue to struggle, and unsuccessfully try and break free from the hunter's almost iron tight grip. Her usual smug and mischievous demeanour completely absent, as her facial expression held nothing but contempt and anger for the Hunter.

The hunter looked at Ayane for a moment, a slightly concerned glint in his eye considering how much the girl was coughing, however she quickly flashed him a smile that said she was alright, which was accompanied by another cough.

And even though the hunter was still concerned for the Ayane, he ultimately turned his attention back to Mutsuki, who, despite still displaying a clear angry expression, flinched considerably when she saw the hunter's completely frustrated and angry face.

Although despite Mutsuki clearly being afraid of the hunter, this did not stop her from furiously trying to kick him in the chest but ultimately these attempts at some kind of physical attack failed, considering that her short and skinny legs couldn't reach him because of the hunter holding her out at arm's length.

"If you are here... then I can only assume that this attempted attack was orchestrated by your dear and powerful boss Aru Rikuhachima?" the hunter injected just a little bit of sarcasm into his voice.

Which had the desired reaction, as Mutsuki attempts at attacking him increased considerably, with the angry look on her face now transforming into a look of pure rage.

"Keep her name the hell out of your mouth! And no, she didn't order me to do this. This is personal!" Mutsuki accompanied her words by trying to kick the hunter once again.

This time actually managing to swing herself just close enough where her foot connected with his chest, however despite the blow and the shocked reaction from Ayane, the hunter didn't react to the kick, not even registering it in his mind as he continued to question Mutsuki.

"If I choose to believe you that is the case, then what exactly have I done to you, that would warrant such an attack against me and my student?" The hunter inquired with a slightly aggravated twinge in his voice, narrowing his eyes considerably as he stared intently into Mutsuki's own eyes.

Mutsuki didn't respond to the hunter's question, the angry and rage filled look in her eyes never leaving as she continued to try and kick him in the chest. However, after several attempts of unsuccessfully of doing this and an uneasy silence that feel the air, she finally responded, her voice full of bitter hatred.

"Isn't it obvious! I'm here to kick your ass after what you did to my gun!" Mutsuki shouted at the top of her lungs. Kicking her feet in an incredibly childish manner to emphasise her point.

The hunter did not respond, his face taking on a completely blank and unreadable expression for several moments, before he eventually let out a sigh, his expression turning into a frustrated and almost confused one.

He wasn't the only one, as Ayane who had her pistol pointed directly at Mutsuki quickly lowered it, her face taking on a completely surprised and almost dumbfounded look. At the reason why the problem solver 68 student had decided to attack her and almost kill sensei.

And even though Ayane could somewhat understand Mutsuki's position considering that most if not all students her self included amongst them, took extraordinary care of their firearms, to the point where they were often treated more like companions rather than simple tools to be used.

However, going to such lengths to seek revenge over something, that at the end of the day was an ordinary piece of metal that could be repaired or outright replaced if necessary, was completely and utterly insane to Ayane.

"You almost killed sensei... because he broke your gun! Are you actually insane!?" Ayane suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her face taking on a look of almost incandescent rage as she quickly ran towards the currently immobile Mutsuki, forgetting her pistol and intent on beating the girl with her bare hands for almost killing sensei over something so outrageously trivial.

Yet luckily before she could actually lay a finger on Mutsuki, Ayane suddenly found herself stopped in her tracks by a hand pressing against her shoulder and turning her rage filled eyes upwards, they widened in surprise when she saw that it was none other than sensei, an understanding yet almost disappointed look in his eyes as he spoke.

"Ayane you should calm yourself" The hunter urged with a firm yet gentle tone as Ayane looked up at him with confusion in her eyes.

"While your frustration is understandable, taking out your anger on somebody who is now defenseless is not the right thing to do. After all, you wouldn't want to be like Mutsuki and her friends who do deplorable things, would you?" Finishing his words.

The hunter emphasise them by motioning to Mutsuki, who, despite feeling incredibly insulted by his words, had by this point mostly giving up on her efforts to try and escape. Seeing as, the hunter's grip was too tight for her to wiggle free from.

Ayane didn't say anything for a few seconds, her surprised and questioning gaze turning to look up at The Hunter for a moment. Yet it did not remain there for very long, as she quickly turned her eyes back to the object of her, the aggravated look appearing on her face once again.

However, as quickly as it came, it disappeared as Ayane let out an angry sigh, closing her eyes for a moment as she pinched the bridge of her nose before ultimately complying with the hunter's request, managing to swallow her anger and let it settle deep within her belly.

Satisfied that Ayane was no longer about to tear Mutsuki limb from limb any more, the hunter turned his attention back to the girl who was simply hanging there, the anger and frustration never leaving her face, even though she had long since stopped struggling.

"Now then where were we...? Oh, yes!" The Hunter thought for a moment, before it occurred to him as he remembered that the girl's attack against him, was none other than the fact that he had damaged her weapon in the battle yesterday.

And while he knew that students took great care of their weapons, to the point where he made him and his meticulous care for his own weapons look modest. The fact that Mutsuki would go to such lengths to attack him and by extension Ayane was mildly intriguing, but mostly concerning.

Mutsuki didn't say anything in response to the hunter's words, the rage never leaving her face as she let out an angered huff, accompanying the sound by flicking her head to the side, choosing not to look at the hunter any more which in turn made her long side ponytail whip around wildly.

Still, despite her dismissal of him, the hunter did not rise to her childish display of disobedience, instead choosing to keep his emotions level and even so that the situation could be resolved.

After all while he would be more than willing to issue out an appropriate punishment to the girl and by extension have friends for their stunt yesterday. Ultimately there were more pressing issues that needed attending to, as such after a moment of the hunter realised what he needed to do.

"Hmmmmmm... While a more severe punishment would be an order after what you did Mutsuki Asagi, I suppose that this will have to settle for now as I have never the time nor the patience, to deal with a troublemaker like you" The hunter followed up his words by quickly letting go of Mutsuki's wrists.

The sudden action catching the girl off guard as she looked up at him for a split second before falling to the ground, her skirt billowing out beneath her as she landed on her butt, the sudden Impact causing her to yell out in slight pain but mostly surprised.

However, the hunter wasn't done as in one swift motion he quickly reached down with his long arm and picked up Mutsuki's light machine gun from the ground, holding the weapon by the carry handle as he looked at it for a moment.

Before turning his eyes back to Mutsuki's who despite rubbing her rear end had managed to get to her knees and was looking at the hunter with a shocked and angry look in her eyes.

"W-what are you doing with my gun?!" Mutsuki managed to say with a stutter as she quickly got to her feet, ignoring the pain in her rear end as the hunter continued to look at the light machine gun in his hand for a moment before turning his gaze back to her.

"I am confiscating it" The hunter said matter-of-factly.

Lifting the weapon high into the air, just in time so it was out of reach of Mutsuki, who quickly dashed up to the hunter, standing on her tippy-toes desperately trying to reach for her gun, and all of a sudden, jumping into the air her fingers just grazing the grip but otherwise being still too out of reach for her to get.

The hunter couldn't help but watch with mild amusement as the girl continued to jump, trying to retrieve her light machine gun, and he couldn't help but be reminded of some kind of angry puppy or kitten that was desperately trying to get a treat that was being held Just out of reach.

Ayane from her position beside the hunter didn't say or do anything, yet she kept her pistol at the ready just in case that the problem solver 68 members decided to do anything funny to sensei.

However, she had to silently admit to herself that it was kind of funny and also satisfying to watch Mutsuki get a taste of her own medicine, considering how her mischievous behaviour had annoyed Ayane to absolutely no end, both in the previous day's battle and their encounter at the Ramen restaurant.

"Confiscating it? You can't do that!" Mutsuki cried loudly, still desperately trying to jump as high as she physically could to retrieve her light machine gun from the much larger adult.

Yet, ultimately this was to no avail, as the hunter simply looked down at her with an expression that was blank and calm, but in his eyes, Mutsuki could see just a small hint of amusement as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm afraid my young Mutsuki Asagi that I can" The hunter accompanied his words with a slight chuckle, which made Mutsuki look up at him in confusion as he continued.

"As an extrajudicial and autonomous organisation, Schale operates outside the usual rules of Kivotos and all of its academies. And as the sensei of Schale I am able to do as I wish... And as I wish just so happens to include the confiscation of student firearms if they have misbehaved and misuse them" The hunter finished his words with another chuckle, only this time it sounded much more menacing and almost boastful.

Which made Mutsuki feel deeply aggravated but also incredibly intimidated, because she had assumed that the hunter was nothing more than an ordinary adult.

But now with the reveal of him being none other than the head of Schale, an organisation that from the little reading she and her fellow problem solver 68 members are done, was essentially above the law, which meant that sensei could essentially do anything he wished, regardless of the law and without any kind of recourse.

However, before Mutsuki could actually process the revelation, the hunter suddenly turned on the spot, giving her one last look over his shoulder, rifle still in hand as he motioned for Ayane to follow him.

Which after a moment of staring daggers at Mutsuki she quickly did both student and teacher, quickly leaving a frustrated and thoroughly humiliated Mutsuki behind.

"If you ever wish to retrieve your firearm, then stop by Schale headquarters... and I will determine whether you deserve to have it returned to you" The hunter spoke over his shoulder just loud enough so Mutsuki could hear him over the distance he had put between her and him.

And despite not being able to see her reaction with his own eyes, he could feel the angry look that she sent his way as she angrily skulked away, most likely intent on returning to her friends at problem solver 68. Now would be an embarrassing story about how her rifle had been confiscated by the sensei of Schale after trying to gun him down in cold blood.

"Sensei, are you sure that's a good idea... What happens if she tries to kill you again?" Ayane said with a concerned tone of voice, momentarily looking back over her shoulder.

Her pistol at the ready, just in case Mutsuki decided to follow them, which thankfully she didn't.

"There is no need to fear Ayane, even if she did decide to foolishly try and attack me at Schale, I will be perfectly alright because I will have the home field advantage" the hunter followed his words with a slight chuckle.

Quickly slinging Mutsuki's light machine gun over his shoulder to make it easier to carry as Ayane turned her eyes to look up at him, her gaze full of concern.

"If You say so sensei... but please just be careful from now on... seeing you so badly injured was almost too much to bear" Ayane said with a somewhat timid and quiet voice, as she quickly turned her gaze downwards. The look in her eyes turning into one of fear, but also embarrassment at the words she had just spoken.

Not saying anything in response, the hunter looked at his companion for a moment as they both walked, the school gate in front of them just a few steps away, and eventually he chuckled discreetly, raising his free hand up and placing it on Ayane's shoulder.

The sudden action making the girl panic slightly as she quickly turned her eyes to look at him in surprise.

"I will be sure to take that to heart... now why don't we pick up the pace a tad? After all, we have much to do and so little time" the hunter accompanied his words by smiling gently at Ayane who, despite her surprised at the hunter touching her out of the blue, couldn't help but smile back.

The concern in her eyes finally vanishing as both of them stared at each other for a moment before picking up their pace, which eventually turned into a light jog as they ended the school grounds and began to prepare for today's loan payment.

…...

"A 7,883,250 yen payment on your loan, including variable interest and additional interest, has been confirmed"

A robotic and slightly cheery voice filled the air, as its owner, which was a football shaped head robot in a smart blue suit, quickly accepted the large amount of physical cash that has just been handed to it.

And after looking over the physical mountains of cash in his arms, the two blue dots on the robot's faceplate that represented its eyes, quickly changed into what could be presumed to be a happy expression.

"All money paid in cash, and no issues to report. Thank you once again for doing business with kaiser loans. See you again next month"

The blue suited robot quickly turned on his heels, not even bothering to say goodbye as he abruptly got into a van, money in hand as the van began to drive away at a considerable speed kicking up a large dust cloud that made the gathered students and one teacher cough slightly.

However, as everyone recovered from the kicked up dust cloud, not a single word was uttered. Every single member of the abydos foreclosure task force completely and utterly silent as the only sound that could be heard was the quickly softening sound of the kaiser van that had taken the money away.

Out of everyone, Ayane looked the most dejected, her face contorted into a deep unsatisfied frown which was reciprocated by all of her friends which silently looked between each other.

After all, despite having paid back some of the money from their loan for this month, so that the school could remain open. That did not change the fact that today of all days was always the one where they felt at their lowest, simply because it felt like paying the money each month was a losing battle, which it really was.

But as everyone continued to stew in their silence, the hunter was the one that finally broke it. His words accompanied by a frustrated sounding sigh as he quickly brought his hand up to the side of his head, gently tapping his temple with a finger which conveyed how frustrated he was.

"This is ridiculous, how can those snakes get away with this?"

All members of the foreclosure task force turned their eyes to sensei, each of them feeling somewhat sorry for him because he now understood just how much stress they were under when it came to paying back their debts.

"Uhe! I understand your frustration sensei, but what kaiser loans is doing is completely legal... even if it's morally reprehensible" Hoshino accompanied her words by letting out a tired sounding yawn, stretching her arms over her head to relieve the tension in her shoulders.

Turning his gaze to Hoshino, the hunter couldn't stop himself from frowning noticeably. While he had done quite a bit of reading to familiarise himself with the laws of kivotos, it didn't make any sense to him out something like this which was essentially extortion of children could be legal in the slightest.

"Even if it's legal, it definitely shouldn't be" the hunter said matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms over his chest. The frustrated scowl on his face remaining present as he looked off into the distance, where the Kaiser loans van had departed to.

"Why don't we look on the bright side for a change? We managed to keep the school open for another month, so that's all that counts, right?" Hoshino quickly stepped out in front of the group, using her words to try and pick everyone's spirits up.

Yet nobody responded to her attempt, simply continuing to stare off at nothing or amongst each other in silence.

But ultimately, Shiroko finally broke the silence, asking a question that had been on her mind for some time now, and even though her face remained blank and emotionless, the frustration and helplessness in her eyes was more than enough to make Hoshino's heart ache.

"How much longer to go, until it's all paid off?" Shiroko said quietly, her voice even and calm. Yet there was just a small hint of frustration in it as she waited for a response, which came from none other than Ayane.

"At the rate we're going, the entire loan will be paid off in... 309 years" Ayane followed up her words by letting out a tired sounding sigh.

Even after coming to terms with the ridiculous amount of time it would take her and friends to repay their debt, it still didn't seem real that kaiser loans actually expected them to pay such a ridiculous amount of money back over a ridiculous amount of time.

'Although I suppose when we're dead... we won't have to worry about it any more'

Ayane didn't say that last part out loud, but the though brought a somewhat cynical smile to her face, because it really felt like that death would be the only way to be free from this ridiculous debt.

"Geez, Ayane, thanks for bringing up just how screwed we are! Like seriously, if I hear any more talk about how long it's going to take, I think I'm going to snap!" Serika quickly grabbed her twin tails and pulled them slightly.

When she had first heard how long it would actually take to pay off all the debt, she couldn't believe it, but now having it said again reminded her just how hopeless the situation was, which only frustrated her to no end.

However, before anyone could say anything, Hoshino, Shiroko, Serika, Nonomi and Ayane all suddenly jumped in surprise when an unexpected sound broke the silence.

SMASH!

Everyone turned to the source of the startling noise, only to have their eyes widen in surprise and shock when they saw it had come from none other than sensei. His fist, which had been at his side a moment to go, now firmly embedded in the partially destroyed brick pillar, that made up the abydos main school gate.

"Sensei!"

Ayane was the first to move, quickly rushing over to sensei, trying to remove his hand from the broken and destroyed pillar. Her paranoia about sensei's health and safety being on overdrive ever since this morning after watching him nearly die.

The hunter didn't say anything as he quickly pulled his first from the pillar, his frustrated and angry face, looking at his now bloodied and shredded knuckles for a moment, before he let his hand drop to his side, a sigh departing from between his lips as he apologised.

"Forgive me everyone... I let my temper get the better of me there for a moment" The hunter accompanied his words by offering up an apologetic smile, but in spite of this everyone could see the frustration and anger still present in his gaze.

Yet that did not stop Shiroko, Serika and Nonomi from crowding around him, each of them having a concerned expression on their faces, although Serika did look slightly angry mostly because of the now damaged gate pillar.

"Sensei, your hand... it's bleeding!" Nonomi quickly scooped up sensei's hand into her own and much to the surprise of the hunter and slight jealousy of Shiroko and Ayane, she retrieved a handkerchief from her cardigan pocket, and began to gently and astutely dab away the blood on the hunter's knuckles.

However, before Nonomi could get much further with wiping the blood away from the hunter's damage knuckles. He quickly but gently pulled his hand away and grab the handkerchief that she had been holding, flashing her a thankful smile as he quickly got to work using it to clean his own knuckles.

"I appreciate your concern Nonomi, but I will take care of my own injuries... After all, what kind of teacher would I be if I were to rely on my students to take care of me?" the hunter finished his words by letting out a quiet but Jovial sounding chuckle.

Which, despite not completely relieving everyone's moods, did go somewhere to making them feel better as a smile appeared on each of their faces except for Hoshino who simply watched the entire scene with a blank expression.

Yet, after several moments of everyone standing around in silence, Hoshino opened her mouth to speak.

"Come on everyone why don't we head inside, the longer we stand out here twiddling our thumbs the last time we'll have to figure out some kind of solution to our debt problem" Hoshino ended her words by quickly turning on her heels motioning for everyone to follow which they quickly did.

But as everyone began to make their way inside the schools main gate and towards the main building, the hunter found himself slowly coming to a stop, his head turning so he could look over his shoulder and back out to the Main Street, and specifically in the direction that the Kaiser van had disappeared into.

His eyes narrowing considerably because something about all of this didn't feel right to him, after all, why would a loan company only accept cash payments and not even bother having any kind of security present at the transaction.

He wasn't exactly sure yet, but something told him that the money and the debt wasn't the reason why kaiser kept harassing abydos.

"Sensei come on! The longer you stand out there, the more likely you are to get heat stroke"

The hunter found himself abruptly turning his head to the source of the voice, seeing that it was none other than Serika.

Waving to him from the school's main entrance, with the rest of her friends looking on with slight confusion at why the hunter had seemingly stopped mid-pace.

However, without saying a word, Hunter quickly began to walk again making his way over to the main school entrance and reuniting with his students as the group continue to make their way towards the main clubroom.

…...

"Alright, let's begin, shall we? We need to go over two main issues" Ayane quickly rise up from her seat and stepped in front of the main table. Tablet in hand as she looked at it for a moment before continuing.

"First off is yesterday's assault. The culprits belong to a club called Problem Solver 68. They are a notorious group of student delinquents from gehenna Academy" Pausing for a few seconds to make sure that everyone was following along with her words, Ayane quickly typed away at her tablet for a moment, bringing up the necessary information she needed before resuming her speech.

"They present themselves as a fixer agency, but they are more like a freelance errand centre. The club president is a girl named Aru, she was the one who was calling herself the boss" Ayane typed away at her tablet some more, hang up more information before continuing.

"According to the information I've gathered, she apparently has three supposed employees beneath Her. A chief of staff, department head, and entry level employee... at least that's what they call themselves anyway, but it seems that there is no official structure in their group" Finishing her report, Ayane quickly sat down in her chair once more, allowing the silence in the air to persistence as everyone absorb the information that she had relayed.

However, after a moment of contemplative silence, Hoshino was the one to break it, stretching her arms above her head and letting out her trademark yawn as she chose that moment to speak.

"Man, they really mean business, huh?" Hoshino immediately followed her words by letting out another yawn.

Although despite her sleepiness and her seemingly overall relaxed demeanour, it was clear to everyone that she was taking this very seriously, considering that problem solver 68 could be a very big nuisance if not dealt with soon.

"She's an executive at her age? That's impressive even if she is a troublemaking delinquent" Nonomi suddenly interjected, offering a backhanded compliment because even if Aru and the others were delinquents who were not worthy of respect.

It was at least somewhat commendable that she was able to hold such a position and yet not even be out of high school yet.

"I highly doubt that she's actually some kind of executive Nonomi, her title is most likely self-proclaimed. Also, I suspect that they are currently operating out of a location close to abydos- especially considering that me and sensei ran into one of their group early this morning" Ayane quickly commented, casting her eyes over to the hunter for a moment before turning her gaze back to everyone else who was gathered around the table.

However, before anyone else could speak, the hunter chose that exact moment to instead talk himself.

"Indeed we did have a bit of a scuffle with one of their group this morning, also I suspect that Ayane correct in her assertion, that they are most likely operating somewhere nearby" The hunter paused for a moment allowing his words to wash over the gathered students before continuing.

"After all, it would only make perfect sense for them to set up a home base nearby and use it as the temporary hub of operations" Ending his words, the hunter crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back slightly in the rather small but still comfortable chair as he waited for a response.

Yet, after a moment, Serika turn to look at him, a slightly confused look in her eyes as she motioned to the unfamiliar dark pink machine gun that was resting nearby.

"If you run into them this morning... Then where exactly did you get that gun, sensei?" Serika asked curiously, not wanting to make it seem like she was praying into his business.

But after seeing sensei this morning with the unfamiliar machine gun that didn't suit him or look like something he would use, her curiosity had been piqued and now finally got the better of her.

The hunter turned himself to look at the curious blackhead cat girl, a small smile forming on his lips as he spoke.

"Well my young Serika, this weapon belongs to none other than Mutsuki Asagi, who is the very same member of problem solver 68 who tried to attack me and Ayane this morning" The hunter finished his words by chuckling loudly, still remembering the somewhat comical image of Mutsuki hanging by her wrists, desperately trying to free herself and attack him at the same time as if she was some kind of overly angry puppy.

Serika didn't say anything for a moment, a confused look appearing in her eyes as she tilted her head to the side slightly, which was a physical indication that conveyed her confusion. And as the hunter watched her do this, he couldn't help but be reminded of a curious little cat.

"So... you're telling me that you took her gun?" Serika finally spoke, while the prospect of having a weapon taken away from a student wasn't entirely alien, considering it could be done by law enforcement. The fact that sensei had done so, was genuinely confusing to her.

"Yes, I confiscated it from her... As a punishment for her reckless behaviour" The hunter shed matter of factually, motioning to the machine gun that was resting in one of the weapons racks nearby which made Serika look at it for a moment before her eyes went wide.

"Wait! You can do that?" Serika try to hide be surprised tone in her voice, while she knew that sensei was able to do things that were outside the law, considering his position at the head of Schale.

But the fact that he was able to confiscate a student's firearm without going through the proper channels was genuinely surprising to her.

However, before Serika could proverbially pick her jaw up off the floor at the reveal of what sensei had done, Shiroko chose that moment to speak.

"Ayane, is what problem solver 68 is doing, officially recognised by gehenna Academy?" Shiroko accompanied her monotone voice by quickly retrieving her rifle, racking the charging handle and holding it at the ready, because if the answer to her question was yes. Then she was more than prepared to go to war with the entirety of gehenna if needed.

Being completely caught off guard by Shiroko's question, Ayane's eyes widen behind her glasses as she realised exactly what Shiroko was prepared to do, if the prospect of gehenna attacking their Academy was confirmed.

"I doubt it, Shiroko. I suspect they simply took whatever contract they could get their hands on" Ayane breathe they sigh of relief when she saw the fiery and almost excited look in Shiroko's eyes quickly vanish.

With it being replaced by a downtrodden expression as she put her rifle down, which was accompanied by her ears drooping down in sadness.

"So they're in violation of school regulations... that seems a bit strange if you ask me... while they are backstabbing troublemakers, they didn't seem all that bad or malicious" Nonomi said with a pondering look on her face. While the prospect of being friends with them wasn't exactly on the table any more, she could honestly say that if things had gone differently then it was possible that they could have been good friends.

Ayane as well as everyone else turned to look at Nonomi, blank looks on all of their faces before they let out a collective sigh.

"On the contrary. They are known for being troublemakers and causing headaches at gehenna as well" Ayane accompanied her words by letting out another sigh, this one sounding much more tired than frustrated. However, she quickly picked herself up, reminding herself that Nonomi despite her overly accepting attitude did mean well.

"And now they're targeting our school! So we need to make sure we take this seriously, all right, everyone?" Ayane didn't raise her voice, yet the seriousness in her tone was enough to make her friends all not in agreement.

After all, despite having a myriad of problems on their plate, especially when it came to paying off their debt, if they let problem solver 68 continue doing as they did, then it would only cause bigger problems for them down the road.

"Maybe we could capture and interrogate them... After all, since sensei confiscated one of their weapons, they would be down some firepower and be easier to incapacitate" Hoshino spoke clearly, the sleepy and dopey expression now completely absent as she spoke with a serious tone.

Because, even though she often seemed like she didn't take anything seriously, when the chips actually came down to it, she would always take things seriously.

Ayane, Shiroko, Serika and Nonomi all looked between each other for a moment, while the plan was an incredibly risky, it certainly had some merit. Considering that, much like Hoshino had said. Sensei had relieved one of problem solver 68 members of their firepower, meaning that they would be easier to take on.

"For once, I agree with Hoshino. However, we go about it, we need to take some initiatives and nip this problem in the bud before it can get worse" Ayane finished her words by slamming her hand into the table, just loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

However, before she could continue speaking, she suddenly heard somebody get out from their chair followed by a hand being placed on her shoulder.

"Ayane please take a moment to calm yourself... getting overly frustrated will cloud your mind and make you unable to think clearly" The hunter spoke with a calming tone as Ayane turned her eyes up to look at him.

The anger and frustration in her gays remaining for a moment before dissipating as she let out a calming breath.

"Sensei has a point Ayane... you really need to calm down about all of this before you have an aneurysm or something" Serika didn't even try to hide the slightly concerned tone in her voice as she offered a compassionate hand out to her friend. After all, if Ayane hurt herself from overstressing, then where would they all be without her.

Ayane turned her gaze to Serika, staring at the black headed cat girl for several long moments before a slight smile appeared on her face. It genuinely warmed her heart to know that her friends were worried about her.

Seeing this display of camaraderie, the hunter couldn't stop himself from smiling as he removed his hand from the glasses wearing girl's shoulder. Putting both of his hands behind his back as, he chose that moment to push the conversation along, specifically to the next subject that needed discussing.

"I believe the next thing that needs discussing is who exactly is behind the helmet gang and their abduction of Serika" The Hunter watched everyone turn their eyes to him, slight confusion on their faces before they realised exactly what he had said.

And recovering quickly, Ayane took over the conversation, retrieving her tablet once again and typing away at it for a few seconds.

"Sensei is right. After analysing the weapons we recovered from the last battle... I ended up cross-referencing their serial numbers with all publicly known databases, and guess what?" Ayane waited for anyone to take her up on her question, however after several moments of silence it was none other than Hoshino who decided to speak.

"The serial numbers were not found, were they?" Hoshino said with a serious tone of voice, the look in her multicoloured eyes one of complete graveness as she waited for Ayane's response.

"Yes, but it's worse than that... the serial numbers won't just miss they were actively scrubbed from any public database... almost as if somebody was trying to hide them from the police and the general student council" Ayane finished her words by typing away at her tablet some more, bringing up several pictures of the weapons and their serial numbers and showing them to her friends which all looked curiously at them.

They hadn't noticed at the time when examining the dropped weapons of the delinquents, but now they could easily see that several of the weapons actively have their serial numbers scraped away to the point where they were almost legible.

"If these weapons technically don't exist in any database... then how the hell did the helmet gang get the hands on them?" Serika tore her eyes away from the photos on Ayane's tablet, her face taking on a frustrated, contemplative expression.

As she tried to rack her brain, how a bunch of delinquents who were known for being very unorganised were able to get their hands on weaponry that for all intents and purposes didn't exist.

"The only place you could realistically get unlicensed weapons like this... is the black market" Shiroko said with a matter of fact tone, her words making everyone look at her in surprise.

"A black market, you say... I have to admit I'm surprised, I didn't think Kivotos would have such a thing" The hunter spoke with a genuinely surprised tone.

While he knew that black markets were a thing that most Society suffered from, he genuinely didn't think that Kivotos would have such a problem, considering it was primarily run and occupied by students.

"Unfortunate as it is, sensei. Something like that is reality. All sorts of people are drawn to such a thing, dropouts, burnouts on leave flunkies... The black market is a gathering place for delinquent of all stripes. Not to mention a place where unauthorised clubs go to do business" Ayane couldn't stop herself from grimacing.

While she had never been to the black market herself, mostly out of moral principle, that did not mean that she hadn't read up about it several times out of curiosity. Because even though it was something that was supposed to be secret and away from the prying eyes of the law, that certainly didn't mean that people didn't talk about it, which was where most of the information about the black market came from.

The hunter didn't say anything for a moment, quickly bringing a hand up to his face and rubbing his chin in deep thought, much like he always did when pondering. However, before he could speak again, Shiroko chose that moment to speak instead.

"If the black market is a meeting ground for unlicensed clubs... then do you think problem solver 68 might have done business there?" Shiroko asked with an expecting glint in her eyes.

If problem solver 68 had indeed been to the black market, then it might be possible to backtrack the people who had hired them to attack their school.

"Yes Shiroko, problem solver 68 have already caused quite a bit of trouble at the black market already" Ayane spoke confidently. She already had an idea of what the next suggestion would be, but she wanted to hear it from her friend's just in case her gut was telling her wrong.

"If that's the case, then there's our link! If we do a bit of snooping around, maybe we'll figure out who hired them!" Nonomi spoke with her usual energetic voice, as she quickly jumped up from the table. Her ample bosom bouncing from the sudden motion as she excitedly grabbed her minigun which was resting nearby.

"Nonomi is more than correct. If problem solver 68 has done business in the black market then there is a high likelihood we might be able to track down whoever hired them to harass you lot" the hunter spoke calmly as he watched all the students and not in agreement.

While he didn't like the idea of taking his beloved students to such a place as a black market, it was ultimately something that needed to be done.

Considering that, problem solver 68 and the black market was their only lead to have any chance of figuring out who was behind all this mess.

"I agree with sensei and Nonomi. If there's any connection we should find it there" Ayane finished by quickly getting up from her seat, her tablet safely in her hand, and pistol resting comfortably in its holster, as the rest of her friends quickly followed suit of them grabbing their respective weapons.

"Well, it looks like it's time for another impromptu field trip... Sensei would you be kind enough to join us" Hoshino turned to the hunter her shotgun resting over her shoulder as she picked up the iron Horus.

The hunter promptly smiled at the pink haired girl as he gave a polite bow, reaching into his overcoat at the same time and retrieving his beloved Evelyn. The redwood of its pistol grip and the silvery engravings glistening in the artificial light of the classroom as he straightened his back.

"There is no need to ask Hoshino. What kind of teacher would I be if I was to let my students go to such a dangerous place without any kind of supervision" The hunter voiced with a humorous expression, as he quickly turned on his heels. His overcoat flowing majestically behind him as he motioned for everyone to follow him, which they quickly did.

All of them shuffling out of the Classroom and into the hallway before making their way to the motor pool where a vehicle will be waiting for them.

---

Well that was certainly interesting wasn't it, everyone.

I suspect the people that are familiar with the story of blue archive are probably questioning why I decided to make the relationship between the hunter and Mutsuki such a turbine one.

And the main reason why I decided to do that was because I thought it would be more interesting for the story if not every student in the entirety of the city magically liked sensei upon meeting him.

Which is very much something that is present in the games, mostly for gameplay and story reasons, but still I thought it would be more interesting to have students that actively don't like sensei.
Also, the reason why I decided to include Yuuka in this chapter, was because it allowed me to set up a future story beat, specifically with the hunter visiting millennium Academy. And meeting a certain big sister who has had her eyes on the Hunter since he arrived.

But that's enough of me rambling about my silly story, have a good day / night everyone and until next time I'll catch you all later.