Chapter 12: To gain insight, is to know the truth: part II

"A true hive of scum and villainy if there ever was one... I failed to understand how the general student council can allow something like this place to exist"

The hunter didn't even try to hide his disgust, as he wrinkled his nose at the site before him. While the black market seemingly looked clean and well-organised, unlike what he was expecting, that did not change the fact that just being here felt dirty, as if he was committing some kind of great sin.

"So this is the black market..." Serika said with a small amount of awe in her voice, keeping her rifle close to her chest as she gazed at the black market in all of its entirety.

The biggest thing that jumped out to her was the fact that despite it being essentially an illegal gathering place for criminals, it was incredibly busy to the point where it didn't feel much different from any other heavily populated district.

"Wow, there's so many people here! It's nothing like I expected!" Nonomi said, somewhat excitedly, she looked around at the massive crowd of people going about their business.

When she had heard of the black market, she was expecting something a bit more shady and low-key, much like what you would see in old crime movies, but everything around her was more like any other school district than an illegal black market.

"Seriously. I was expecting a small operation, but this is more like a city unto itself. I would have never guessed that an unauthorised district could be this busy and populated" Shiroko kept her rifle close, her eyes darting around at everything around her.

Because while the black market was nothing like she was expecting, that didn't change the fact that it was essentially enemy territory, so she needed to keep herself on guard for any potential attack.

However, she suddenly felt a hand he placed on her shoulder, making the wolf girl jump slightly as she turned her eyes to look who it was. Only to see that it was none other than the Hunter.

"I must agree with you, Shiroko. The fact that a place like this can exist right under the student council's nose is an absolute travesty" The hunter didn't even try to hide in the disgust and disappointment in his voice, as he saw students of all stripes going about their business. Some of them looked like your run-of-the-mill delinquents, which he expected.

But what more disappointed him, was that the majority of the inhabitants of the black market seemed to be normal looking students, perusing the various stools of legal weapons and items to their hearts content.

'So many lost souls, and so little time'

The hunter accompanied this thought by letting out a tired sounding sigh which didn't go unnoticed by the abydos students as they all turned to look at him with slight concern before none other than Hoshino chose that moment to speak.

"While I wasn't expecting it to be this big and busy. It's not all too surprising considering that we rarely ever leave abydos. There are lots of weird places outside our district" Hoshino followed up her words by quickly letting out a tired sounding yawn.

She also slang shotgun over her shoulder, so she could stretch her arms above her head, a quiet but satisfying pop sound emanating from her spine as she finished yawning and stretching.

"Have you ever been here before, Hoshino?" Shiroko suddenly asked, catching the pink haired third year student completely off guard as she turned to look at the grey-haired wolf girl in surprise.

"No, but I've heard stories about all kinds of strange places across the city" Hoshino said matter-of-factly, she didn't need to lie because it was the honest truth.

Because even though she had often scouted out the outskirts of the black market during her nightly patrol's, she had never actually entered the black market before, simply because there was never a reason to.

However, after a moment of silence, Hoshino decided to change the subject, bringing up something that made her almost giddy with delight.

"Apparently, there's a giant aquarium somewhere, too! We should all go there next time. Heh, heh. Just think of all the fishes..." Hoshino finished her words by laughing loudly.

She didn't exactly have any hobbies, but if there was something that almost classified as such, it would be her interest in marine wildlife. Especially considering the amount of fishy and whale plushies that she owned in her home.

"Not but I know, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say this place is nothing like an aquarium" Serika let out a sigh, of all times for Hoshino to start going on about her peculiar interest in fish now we certainly not the time.

Although at the mention of fish, Serika couldn't stop her mouth from watering for some inexplicable reason before she quickly pushed the thought away and returned to the task at hand.

"Everyone, cut the chit-chat and keep your eyes Sharp, we are in the heart of illegal arms and weapons trading territory, so be ready for anything!" Ayane quickly spoke, silencing any further small talk, as everyone looked at her for a moment before nodding their heads and agreement.

"Ayane is more than correct... We are in the heart of Enemy Territory, so we should keep our guard up" Hunter accompanied his words by quickly reaching into his overcoat and redrawing his own weapon which was none other than his beloved Evelyn the weapon.

The exquisitely ornate and elaborate flintlock pistol looking incredibly out of place much like the hunter himself, surrounded by students in their uniforms and their modern weaponry.

"All of you should stay close to me while we navigate this location... Who knows what could happen if any of you become separated, and more importantly I would never forgive myself if any of you came to harm" The hunter spoke with genuine concerning his voice as he turned his head to look at all the abydos students gathered around him.

Who looked back at him with confusion and surprise in their eyes, because while they knew that sensei did care for them. Hearing him stated in such a straightforward and almost parental like manner both warmed their hearts and made them feel somewhat embarrassed.

However, before any of them could say anything in response to sensei's words, everyone's ears were suddenly assaulted by a familiar sound, one that made every single member of the abydos task force and the hunter immediately go into battle mode with their weapons at the ready.

*pop* *pop* *pop* *tat* *tat* *tat* *pop* *pop*

"Gunfire!" Shiroko said to nobody in particular as she quickly brought her assault rifle up, flicking off the safety and aiming it in the general direction that the sound of the gunfire was coming from.

This was followed by everyone else in the group, including the hunter, doing the same thing, pointing their weapons in the general direction of the gunfire expecting to be ambushed.

Yet, instead of them being the ones that came Under Fire, nothing happened as the gunfire continue to come closer.

Until a student with a white uniform and blue skirt quickly appeared around a distance street corner, a large bag with bird like features, on her back with a pink and white assault rifle slung over her shoulder.

"W-wwwah! No, no, no! P-please, stop chasing me" The girl cried loudly as she continued to run, hands gripping the straps of her backpack as tears flow from her eyes.

Her hair was a light brown colour with it be tried into two long twin tails, her halo consisted of two concentric circles with the Outer Circle having a set of almost wing like structures.

However, as the girl continues to run and cry, a group of delinquent suddenly emerged around from the same corner that she had moments ago, shooting their weapons wildly and deliberately inaccurately in her general direction, clearly to intimidate and scare her more than actually hurt her.

From his position, the hunter idling noted that these delinquents look different from the other that he had encountered so far, with them wearing what could almost be described as a more normal looking uniform, with the biggest exception being masks with x's on them, they wore over their mouths.

"Hey wait a minute. That uniform..." Ayane spoke quietly, keeping her pistol at the ready as the hunter shifted to look at her in slight confusion, before turning his gaze back to the mysterious student. However, before he could ask exactly what Ayane meant with her question.

The mysterious student and the delinquents that were chasing her quickly approached, and before any of the abydos students and the hunter could react. The Unknown Girl quickly collided with Shiroko, sending both girls to the ground in a heap and leaving them both slightly dazed from the impact.

"O-Ow... Sorry about that!" The unfamiliar girl quickly exclaimed, getting to her knees and retrieving her rifle and backpack, which had fallen from her during the impact.

Yet, Shiroko recovered quicker, rising to her feet and dusting off her skirt and blazer before offering a handout to the girl, Who after a moment accepted it.

"Are you OK?... Though I guess being chased answers that question actually" Shiroko turned her eyes upwards, seeing the group of delinquents quickly moving closer as she helped the girl get to her feet.

"Who the hell are you? Get outta the way! We've got business with that Trinity student!" The leader of the delinquent quickly shouted.

Coming to a stop in front of the abydos students and the hunter as she and her compatriots all aimed their weapons at the group.

"Un... but I don't have any business with you" The Trinity student spoke with a scared tone of voice, quickly hiding behind Shiroko as the group of delinquents continued to try to intimidate them.

"Oh that's right! That uniform belongs to Trinity General School, one of the largest academies in the entirety of Kivotos!" Ayane suddenly blurted out, only now realising why the uniform that the mysterious girl was wearing look familiar to her.

The hunter turned his eyes away from the delinquents for a moment, looking at Ayane for several seconds before turning his gaze back to the delinquents, an eyebrow raised as he asked a question that needed answering.

"What exactly is your business with this girl if I may inquire?" The hunter already had a decent idea of what the delinquent wanted, but he would rather hear it from their mouths first before jumping to conclusions because after all he was always prepared to be proven wrong.

However, it would appear that this time his gut Instinct was proven correct once again much like it always was, as a delinquent with black hair tied in a ponytail and sharp piercing eyes excitedly responded.

"Isn't it obvious, you old fart! That girl is our meal ticket! She's from Trinity, so kidnapping her will be sure to have a big ransom!" The delinquent said excitedly, laughing maniacally as she did so.

However, her laughter made the hunter's eyes quickly narrow, as he stepped in front of the abode students and the unnamed Trinity student, the gesture as clear as day he put himself in between the delinquents and their target.

"Well, unfortunately for you lot. I'm afraid that I cannot allow that to happen" The hunter spoke with an icy cold tone, that made all the delinquents shiver noticeably as he held his ground, his eyes now almost slits as he directed his cold and now dark gaze at them.

But despite the clear fear they now felt for him, the delinquents did not back down, managing to rally enough courage to hold their ground as one of them quickly shouted.

"What the hell are you going to do about it, old man! You can't stop us!" A delinquent shouted as she aimed her SMG at the hunter, however despite the threat he did not back down.

Instead, choosing to take a defiant step forward which made all the delinquents step back in fear, yet even despite their fear of him now being almost overwhelming, they still did not back down.

Which the hunter did find somewhat commendable but misguided as he quickly held up his free hand and and suddenly clicked his fingers.

The delinquents were caught off guard by the sudden clicking sound, each of them flinching and momentarily closing Their Eyes, expecting something horrible to happen to them.

However, after a moment nothing happened, as they all opened their eyes, seeing the hunter still standing there. And after realising that nothing had happened to them, their confidence suddenly grew as they began to laugh at him.

"Is that it!? Man you really are all bark and no bite aren't you you old geezer!?" The leader of the delinquent laughed maniacally as she quickly brought her minigun up.

The weapon quickly spinning to life as she prepared to gun the mysterious stranger down, yet as she did this, she suddenly noticed that something about the picture in front of her was different, that being that several of the students that were behind the mysterious adult were now missing.

And after being momentarily confused by this, it suddenly dawned on her much too late as she suddenly felt a presence beside her, and slowly turning her eyes to the side she saw that one of the students that had been with the mysterious adult, was now or less than an arm's length away, with her rifle now squarely pointed out the delinquent's temple. And as the delinquent gazed into the grey headed wolf girl's eyes, which held nothing but contempt and rage, she couldn't stop herself from beginning to shiver in newfound fear.

"Shit..." Was the only thing the leader of the delinquents could utter before she suddenly found herself being struck over the head by the butt stock of a rifle.

Which was quickly followed by her companions suffering the same fate as all of them quickly fell to the floor, pain overwhelming all of them.

Nonomi and Shiroko stood over the now incapacitated delinquents, their expressions conveying different emotions, yet the sentiment was the same. The delinquents had decided to try and pick a fight with them and more importantly, sensei, and they weren't going to allow it.

"Bad guys have to be punished, no exceptions!" Nonomi said excitedly, accompanying her words by quickly pointing her minigun at the now incapacitated delinquents.

Making her point very clear that any further resistance would result in 5.56 mm hollow point rounds to the face.

*Nn* Shiroko simply nodded her head in agreement with the statement, a quiet sound emanating from her lips as she pointed her assault rifle at one of the delinquents, silently hoping that they were trying to resist so that she could let loose with her rifle.

However, instead of trying to resist, the delinquents looked between each other for a moment before suddenly scrambling to their feet, collecting their weapons and the beginning to run down the street.

Yet, before they disappeared around one of the distant street corners, the leader of the delinquents quickly turned back tears in her eyes as she screamed. "You'll pay for this, you lot!"

The hunter didn't dignify the comment with a response, simply shaking his head in disappointment as he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh... Oh, dear" The Trinity student followed up her nervous sounding words by laughing uncertainly.

Only just now realising the kind of situation she always got herself, which definitely would have got her into extreme trouble if the school found out.

"Are you alright, my dear" The girl suddenly jumped when the voice entered her ears, causing her to quickly turn to its source, only to see that it was the mysterious adult who was with the students.

And it was only now looking at him closer without the Threat of delinquents kidnapping her, that he was not only a man but also had no Halo of any kind.

"Y-yes! Th-Thank you so much. I would have been in so much trouble with my school if it wasn't for you. It's bad enough that I snuck out on my own, but if something had happened to me... Ahhhhh it's giving me a headache just thinking about it" The girl finished her words by quickly grabbing the sides of her head, and letting out a cry at how bad of a situation she could have found herself in through her own stupidity.

Watching her do this, the hunter couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, but also find her general attitude quite humorous. And he extended a hand and gently placed it on her shoulder, much to the girl's surprise, as she quickly turned her brown eyes up to look at him.

"Well in that case, it's quite fortunate that you ran into us my dear" The hunter stated with a kind tone as he offered a polite and caring smile to the girl, who after looking at him with confusion quickly smiled back, with a smile so bright that it was almost overwhelming.

However, this did not go unnoticed by the rest of the abydos students who, with the exception of Hoshino looked on with slight jealousy, at how close the stranger was seemingly getting to sensei after only just having met him.

Yes! I'm so lucky... Oh, where are my manners! My name is Hifumi, Ajitani Hifumi! And I am a second year at Trinity general School!" Hifumi said with a happy and bubbly tone, finishing her words by giggling loudly, which made the hunter's heart almost melt because of how innocent and cute she looked.

"I see. It is nice to meet you, Hifumi. I am the good hunter or if you wish you can call me sensei" the hunter exclaimed quietly as he quickly pulled his hand away from Hifumi's shoulder, and quickly offered a polite and elegant bow.

Which, despite being incredibly strange to Hifumi, she almost instantly forgot about when she registered exactly what the hunter had just said.

"W-wait! If you're called sensei, does that mean you're... F-from Schale!?" Hifumi abruptly shouted, her voice catching the attention of multiple passes by before they resume their business, choosing to not pay attention to the strange scene.

The hunter didn't say anything for a moment, looking between all the abydos to students, silently trying to gauge whether it would be a good idea if he revealed his true identity. However, after seeing the innocent and curious expression on Hifumi's face, the hunter decided to answer truthfully, simply because he couldn't lie to an Innocent and cute face like hers.

"Yes I am. As the leader of Schale, it is a pleasure to meet you Hifumi" The hunter didn't bow this time instead of choosing to simply smile, which was quickly returned by Hifumi as her impossibly bright and overpowering innocent smile washed over him like a wave of tranquil water.

"Hold on a minute. You said your name was Hifumi, right? So what's a Trinity student doing in a dangerous place like this?" Hoshino suddenly interjected, asking the most important question on her mind.

Because to her at least, it didn't make any sense why a Trinity student, who were known for being prim and proper, would be doing in a dangerous place like the black market.

Hifumi was momentarily caught off guard by the question, her face taking on a slightly embarrassed look as she began to laugh nervously. "A-Ahaha... it's kind of a long story. I came here looking for something... it's something that's out of production, but I've heard appears in trades every now and again in the black market"

The hunter listened silently to what Hifumi was saying, a cautious look appearing on his face because it seemed that he may have misjudged Hifumi, because going by her looks and overall innocent disposition.

He had initially assumed that she had found her way to the black market by accident, either by a getting lost or taking a wrong turn somewhere.

"What exactly were you looking for, something like a... tank!" Shiroko hurriedly asked, incredibly intrigued by what kind out of production item could lure a Trinity student to come to the black market.

"A contraband firearm?" Hoshino quickly followed Shiroko's question, unexpecting locking her eyes onto Hifumi because she also wanted an answer.

"A biomechanical agent?" Nonomi audibly interjected, her incredibly bizarre suggestion making everyone turn to look at her in stunned silence before Hifumi finally found a chance to respond.

"What?! No, of course not! It's...a limited edition piece of Peroro merchandise!" Hifumi giggled excitedly, the expression on her face transforming into a happy and dopey look. As she quickly reached into her bag, rummaging around for several moments trying to find the item that she had managed to collect.

"Peroro?" Serika started to say, confusion on her face.

"Limited edition merchandise?" Shiroko finished, her unusual blank expression replaced with a puzzled look as she tilted her head to the side slightly.

Yep! It's this thing right here!" Hifumi quickly pulled the item from her backpack, revealing it to be a small, demented looking plushie of a white bird of some description. A giant cartoonish ice cream cone and a scoop of blue ice cream with sprinkles forcefully shoved into the creature's mouth, making it look as if it was choking to death on it.

Leaning in slightly, the hunter stared at the strange bird plushie with a complete and utterly confused expression on his face, while stuffed animals as a concept was a familiar one to him, considering that lunar often likes to sew and stuff her own stuffed animals as a hobby.

This strange stuffed bird was completely and utterly alien to him, to the point where he couldn't see any kind of appealing quality about it, that would make it desirable for a girl of Hifumi's age.

"It's a limited edition plush from the Peroro and doki doki ice cream franchise collaboration! Only 100 of them were ever made, and I never thought I'd have one!" Hifumi giggled ecstatically, quickly walking up to Shiroko and holding the slightly insane looking stuffed animal out to her.

"What do you think? Cute, right?" Hifumi practically shoved the stuffed animal into Shiroko's face.

Shiroko however, didn't say anything, her face taking on a slightly uncertain look as she stared at the stuffed animal. But despite wanting to say that the stuffed animal looks kind of demented, she held her tongue, seeing the look on Hifumi's face.

"Wow! I love momo friends too! Peroro is so cute! I'm a fan of Nicholai personally" Nonomi suddenly stepped forward, unintentionally saving Shiroko from her fate as both Nonomi and Hifumi began to gush over their shared love momo friends.

"Oh my gosh, right? The way Mr Nicholai philosophers is just so dashing! In fact, I recently bought a compilation of Mr Nicholai's work." Reading beyond the pale moon and the great ones "! It's a first edition, too!" Hifumi couldn't hide her joy as her and Nonomi continue to bond over their shared love of momo friends.

The hunter's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the pale moon and the great ones, nevertheless, despite filing the information away into his brain for potential investigation. He ultimately disregarded it as a mere coincidence...

But even if it was a coincidence, it was certainly another one to add to the pile of strange coincidences that he had encountered during his relatively short time in kivotos

As both Hifumi and Nonomi continue to excitedly discuss amongst themselves about their shared love of momo friends, Shiroko, Serika, Ayane, Hoshino simply stood by.

Unsure what to do or say simply because they either had no interest in momo friends or in the case of the hunter had no idea what exactly momo friends actually was.

"I have no idea what they're talking about" Hoshino exclaimed quietly, accompanying her words by letting out a slightly awkward sounding chuckle. Even when she was a kid, she had never really been into overly cute things, with the exception of fish.

"It would seem that we are in the same situation Hoshino" the hunter crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke, watching both Hifumi and Nonomi continuing to excitedly discuss their shared interest.

However, despite not having any knowledge about what they were discussing, that didn't change the fact that it was quite pleasant to watch both the girls act like teenagers, with the scene bringing a smile to his face as he just continued to watch.

"You never really cared for cutesy stuff, Hoshino" Serika said with a small annoyed huff. While she had been into momo friends when she was much younger, thankfully she had grown out of it.

"Huh, I guess I just don't get young people these days" Hoshino accompanied her words by exaggerating a hunched over posture, trying to make herself look like an old person as she giggled slowly to herself.

Serika didn't say anything for a second, simply looking at her pink haired friend for a moment with complete and utter inattention on her face, before she suddenly let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she spoke. "We're practically the same age..."

"Anyway, I came here looking for the plushie, but ended up getting targeted by those thugs. Either way I would have been in deep trouble without you guys" Hifumi quickly put her prized item back inside her bag before quickly bowing her head in thanks to the abydos students and the hunter for saving her.

Yet as she brought her head back up again, a thoughtful look suddenly crossed her face as she asked a question that had popped into her mind.

"But, what brings abydos students to a place like this anyway?" Hifumi asked with an innocent but curious expression on her face.

Failing to notice the surprise looks that appeared on the abydos students faces as they all looked between each other for a moment, genuinely surprised that she knew their school by name.

But quickly Hoshino responded, deciding to push that aside for the moment.

"The same thing as you, actually. We're looking for something important" Hoshino answered with a slightly reserved tone of voice.

She didn't want to reveal too much to Hifumi, simply because while the girls seemed to be nice and innocent, that didn't mean that Hoshino trusted her just yet.

"Yeah, we're looking for something that's out of production and now hard to find. But we heard we might be able to find it here" Shiroko quickly followed up Hoshino, revealing just enough information so that Hifumi could understand, but not enough where it would give away exactly what they were looking for.

Hifumi didn't say anything for a second, a surprised but understanding look appearing on her gentle features as she adjusted her backpack, making sure it was snug and secure on her back before responding.

"Wow, great minds think alike I suppose" Hifumi followed her words by letting out a cute and petite laugh.

While she didn't know the abydos students very well just yet, something in her gut told her that they were going to become very good friends.

"There they are!"

Everyone including the hunter and Hifumi turn the eyes upwards, only to have them collectively widen in surprise and shock, when they saw the same group of delinquents they are chased off earlier return. Only this time with many more in their group than they had originally left with.

"You're going to pay for messing with us!" The leader of the delinquent now surrounded by the rest of her gang, stated aggressively as she pointed her weapon at the Hunter and his gathered students.

"Looks like the same gang from earlier, and it looks like they brought company" Hoshino said with an even and flat growl.

Quickly retrieving her shotgun from her shoulder and tugging at the charging handle, her expression changing from its usual dopey and sleepy look to one of hard set steel.

"Nn if it's a fight they want, then that's what they're going to get" Shiroko quickly followed Hoshino's example, retrieving her own weapon and racking the charging handle as she prepared for the upcoming battle.

This was also promptly followed by everyone else in the group, each of them preparing their weapons with the exception of Hifumi, who despite having her weapon on her looked around nervously.

"Good! I've been itching for a fight, especially after what those delinquents did to me" Serika practically snarled as she retrieved her own weapon, more than willing to teach these delinquents a lesson and also to relieve some stress.

The hunter didn't say anything for a brief period as he looked at his students and the delinquents that they were now facing.

He didn't want this to devolve into a fight, but it seems that there were no other options. As such, retrieving the Evelyn from his overcoat, he pointed it at the leader of the delinquents as he quickly shouted.

"Everyone! Let's show these troublemakers that they should not take us lightly!"

"Yes sensei!

Shiroko, Hoshino, Serika and Nonomi quickly spread it out, staying in groups of two as they quickly found positions to take up just in time as the delinquents open fire.

Ayane and the Hunter, along with the addition of a very confused and slightly scared Hifumi, quickly took up position behind they conveniently parked car. Ayane quickly pulling out her tablet so she could have a bird's eye view of the Battlefield and provide any support if necessary with her drones.

However, the Hunter decided that hiding would not be the best option, as he quickly stepped out from behind the car, much to the considerable protest of Hifumi, and slight protest of Ayane.

Narrowing his eyes, the hunter observed that the delinquents were approximately 15 in number, with each of them having a distinct and diverse weapon.

But what he quickly noticed was that they lacked any kind of formal structure, instead choosing to simply stand out in the open, firing that weapons wildly in every direction.

"I don't think this will be too much of an issue" The hunter acknowledged discreetly, his voice being completely drowned out by the cacophony of gunfire.

Yet, that did not last long as he suddenly shouted, his voice somehow managing to be heard over the deafening gunfire.

"Shiroko, Hoshino, Serika! I want you three to advance right down the middle! Their formation lacks structure and cohesion, one well place strike will shatter them!" The hunter followed his words by quickly aiming the Evelyn at the leader of the delinquent and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The leader of the delinquents didn't know what hit her as a blood infused Silver Bullet impacted her squarely between the eyes, the force knocking her off her feet and sending her flying backwards several feet before landing on the floor hard.

Several delinquents quickly turned to their leader, surprise and shock written across their faces at the fact that she had been taken out by one shot from what looked to be an ordinary flintlock pistol.

But the few delinquents that actually saw what happened to their leader, didn't have time to process the information as the group as a whole came under focused fire from the abydos students, with Shiroko, Hoshino, Serika all advancing as a group.

"Nonomi, give us some covering fire!" Hoshino shouted at the top of her lungs, quickly planting the Iron Horus into the ground as both, Shiroko and Serika stayed behind her and the shield.

But Serika suddenly and without reason jumped out from behind the protective cover of Hoshino and her ballistic shield, rage filling her eyes, as she quickly began to shoot in the direction of the delinquents.

"Serika! The hell are you doing?" Hoshino shouted.

Yet her words failed to reach the cat girl in time as Serika suddenly came under focus fire from several delinquents, the bullets missing her at first but quickly finding their mark and quickly knocking the cat girl to the ground.

Cursing under her breath, Hoshino quickly picked up the Iron Horus, and hardly repositioned, planting it back down into the ground in front of Serika, who was being helped to her feet by Shiroko.

However, before Hoshino could ask what had gotten into Serika to make her do something so stupid, Nonomi reacted to Hoshino's original request for supporting fire.

"You've got it! You should prepare for your punishment, you troublemakers!" Nonomi explain excitedly as she effortlessly jumped up on a parked car.

Her minigun spinning to life before spring a shower of automatic gunfire in the general direction of the delinquents, making them scatter like ants as they tried to escape from the unyielding amount of fire. However, this was exactly what the hunter was hoping to happen as he quickly shouted out his next order.

"Ayane, now is your time to strike!" the hunter turned his gaze to the glasses wearing girl, who was completely caught off guard by his words, before nodding her head in determination, as she quickly typed away at her tablet before pressing enter on the smart screen.

And as the delinquents continued to run for cover trying to get out of Nonomi and her miniguns line of fire, they suddenly became aware of a new sound.

One that was hard to distinguish at first due to the deafening roar of automatic gunfire, but quickly they realise exactly what it was, as a small horde of drones equipped automatic machine guns quickly descended from the sky, the weapons mounted to them quickly opened up spraying led in their direction.

"H-hey what the hell!"

"That's not fair!"

Several of the delinquents shouted, trying to avoid being shot by the Drones, while also trying to avoid getting taken out by Nonomi and her minigun. And to make it worse, also trying to avoid being shot by Shiroko, Hoshino and Serika who had used their confusion to quickly close the gap.

"This is what you get for trying to pick a fight with us!" Serika followed up her anger fuelled rant by quickly gunning down a delinquent who tried to shoot back, before quickly moving on to another and shooting her in the forehead as well.

*Nn* Shiroko made a quiet noise as she quickly closed the gap between her and a surprise delinquent, and delivered a swift and Powerful roundhouse kick to the delinquent's chest. Sending the girl onto her back and winding her from the sudden kick.

However, Shiroko wasn't done as she quickly shot the delinquent several times in the face, knocking her out cold before moving on to another.

But as, she quickly shot another delinquent in the torso several times, knocking the less than fortunate girl to the ground.

The delinquents now collectively decided that the fight was no longer worth it, as they quickly began to retreat, picking up the incapacitated compatriots and their weapons before turning on their heels and running like cowards.

"This shit isn't worth it! Let's get out of here!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!"

"Those girls are psychos!"

The delinquents continue to run, completely giving up on any kind of counterattack as the abydos students continue to shoot at them, not caring in the slightest that they were now retreating and were essentially no longer a threat.

"The enemy is retreating! We've won!" Ayane exclaimed excitedly is she jumped out from behind the car she had been using as cover, watching with satisfaction as the delinquents disappeared around a distant street corner.

"Are they going to bring more reinforcements like last time? If so, fine by me!" Shiroko finished her words by quickly dumping the spent magazine out of her rifle, before quickly inserting a fresh one. Racking the charging handle to chamber of fresh round as she looked forward to the prospect of shooting more delinquents.

Hifumi finally emerged from her hiding spot, breathing a sigh of relief that the gunfight was now over, yet she couldn't help but look at Shiroko with surprise and confusion, not understanding why the girl would want another firefight with the delinquents.

"W-wait a second! We can't just keep engaging the delinquents like that?" Hifumi spoke with a concerning her voice.

While she had been in her own fair share of scaffolds involving firearms. The prospect of actually going out looking for a fight, especially with delinquents of all things, was a completely alien concept to her.

Shiroko exchange glances with the rest of her friends, each of them shrugging their shoulders not really seeing what the problem was, because after all of them were more than used to being in prolonged firefights

"I don't see why not, that's how we do things in abydos" Shiroko answered in a nonchalant manner.

Feeling a little bit of pride in herself, because while the abydos way of doing things may have not been the way that most of our academies would do things. That didn't change the fact that it was the way that her and her friends operated.

"The black markets enforces might crack down, and that's if we make any more of a scene! And will be in big trouble if that happens. So we should get out of here!" Hifumi finished her words by quickly looking around for any potential escape routes.

And Quickly managing to find one, which was none other than a nondescript looking alleyway, and quickly directing everyone's attention to it.

"I believe that Hifumi is more than correct, while the fight with the delinquents was inevitable, we should try to keep a low profile... after all we are still in unfamiliar and evidently dangerous territory" the hunter quickly put a hand on Hifumi's shoulder making the girl jump in surprise at his sudden touch as he talked to the abydos students.

Because, while Hifumi seemed like a trustworthy person, that did not change the fact that the Abydos students had only met her some more minutes prior, meaning that they would be less likely to trust her at her word.

And after several long moments of Silence, with the five Aberdare students looking between each other, clearly contemplating sensei's words. Because if sensei told them it would be best to move on, to do not get in trouble with the black market authorities, then it would be for the best that they do so quickly.

"You make a good point sensei" Hoshino accompanied her words by quickly slinging her shotgun over her shoulder and folding the Iron Horus back into its storage configuration before turning her gaze to Hifumi.

"Alright then Hifumi, you seem to know more about this place than we do, so take the lead" Hoshino answered with a slightly serious but still kind expression.

After all, despite not completely trusting Hifumi just yet. She could at least say that the girl seemed to be genuine and not intentionally untrustworthy.

"Tch. Those delinquent should consider themselves lucky!" Serika spat with venom in her voice, her eyes still trained onto the general direction of the delinquents had run off to.

However, before she could act on the sudden impulse to run after them and keep shooting them until she felt better. She felt a hand on her shoulder, one that made her snapper vicious gaze to its owner, only to see that it was none other than sensei looking at her with an empathy but stern expression.

"Serika your frustration is understandable, but the fight is now over, it would be best if we moved on" the hunter spoke with an understanding yet stern voice, making it obvious to the cat girl that there would be no room for argument.

Which she appeared to accept, as Serika let out a frustrated sigh before quickly flicking the safety catch on her rifle and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Alright sensei" Serika voiced with a small amount of frustration, which was not directed at sensei himself, but entirely because to her, it felt like she had been off her game recently ever since her kidnapping.

In fact, as the group quickly marched into the alleyway, Hifumi urging them to follow her as she directed them where to go. Serika couldn't help but feel a deep sense of inferiority and self loathing wash over her, making her face scrunch up in a noticeable frown.

Because after all, what use could she be to the Abydos task force if she was consistently underperforming like this?

"I think... W-we lost them..." Hifumi quickly doubled over onto her knees, her breaths hard and ragged as she tried to force as much oxygen into her body as possible. Physical education was always something that she was never particularly good at, even since junior high.

However, as she continued to desperately try and get her breath back, Hoshino, Serika, Shiroko, Ayane, Nonomi and the hunter quickly emerged from the alleyway behind her.

The five abydos students breathing a collective sigh of relief that they had managed to lose the black market enforces, while the Hunter cast a slightly concerned eye over to Hifumi.

"This place really lives up to its reputation after all" Shiroko muttered mostly to herself, as she looked around at the New Street that they had found themselves on. It was much more dark and dingy looking than the previous one, which was more befitting of what she expected of a black market.

Hifumi despite still having and puffing, trying desperately to get oxygen into her lungs, quickly responded to Shiroko.

"I guess you could say that. It's one of the areas outside the general student council's jurisdiction... The black market's operational scale is equivalent to a small Academy. It definitely shouldn't be underestimated" Hifumi managed to say between her breaths.

But before anyone could respond to her words, Hifumi managed to recover enough to quickly follow along from her previous sentence.

"Especially since there are corporations here battling for control, overall sorts of illegal trade and activities. The black market even has its own bank and law enforcement, if you can believe it!" Hifumi raised her voice slightly, trying to emphasise just how powerful the black market was and why you didn't want to make an enemy of them.

Nobody said anything for several moments, all five abydos students looking between each other with genuine surprise and also slight concern on their faces.

Because while they knew that the black market was indeed a powerful entity, they didn't realise that it was so powerful and widespread that it had its own institutions completely separate from the rest of kivotos.

"A bank and police force?! That can't be legal, can it?" Serika impulsively said, her eyes filling with genuine confusion and surprise.

Because the prospect of the black market being so powerful, that it had its own completely homegrown organization like a bank and a police force, was one that was hard for her to wrap her head around.

"It isn't Serika... And the fact that something like this exists, is a travesty of the law" The hunter proclaimed with a clearly displeased tone in his voice.

Crossing his arms over his chest as he turned his gaze to look at the black market alley, they found themselves in. His eyes narrowing considerably just looking at it as a feeling of revulsion washed over him.

While he had initially underestimated just how many problems, kivotos was undergoing. It was now impossibly clear to him that it wasn't just the students that needed guidance, but the very city itself.

"Sensei pretty much hit the nail on the head, the fact that a black market like this even exists in the first place is ridiculous" Hoshino quickly followed up the Hunter.

Simply because, even though she didn't display it on her face, she felt as equally disgusted as the Hunter when it came to the prospect of the black market being so powerful and well-organised.

"Yeah, I'm honestly surprised how well organised it is! Like I expected a couple small shabby shops with real hard and criminal types you know?" Nonomi replied with surprise evident in her voice.

Looking around at all of these stools and shopfronts that if it was in any other situation, she would have taken for simply just being another incredibly busy district of any academy.

"Oh, yeah! You especially don't want to get involved with their police force. Take it from me... The best thing to do when something happens is to just run away and take cover" Hifumi couldn't help but shiver, remembering her very brief and few encounters with the black market police force.

"You sure seem to know a lot about this place, Hifumi" Hoshino suddenly asked, catching the girl in question completely off guard, as Hifumi turn to look at the pink haired abydos student with surprise evident in her light brown eyes.

"Do I? I did a lot of research before coming here because of the stories..." Hifumi answered with a nervous voice, her eyes starting around nervously because it felt like she was being judged.

However, after several moments of silence that made Hifumi feel incredibly uncomfortable, Hoshino finally responded, a happy and relieved expression spreading across her face much to the confusion of Hifumi.

"Then it settled! Hifumi will be coming with us until we've got what we came for!" Hoshino giggled excitedly, as she quickly closed the gap and patted Hifumi on the back, making her look around in absolute perplexity about what was going on.

"W-wait I will?" Hifumi managed to stutter as the rest of the abydos students quickly nodded in agreement with Hoshino, her suggestions sounding like a good idea to them.

And even though he didn't say anything, the hunter also nodded in agreement with the idea, because after all, Hifumi seemed to know her way around the black market better than they did.

"Wow! That's a brilliant idea, Hoshino!" Nonomi responded excitedly, happy to have another member added to their group, and also because it meant that she could continue to talk about momo friends with the Trinity student.

"A kidnapping. Good thinking, Hoshino!" Shiroko spoke with an almost menacing glint in her eyes.

However, her words made Hifumi look at her in surprise and fear, as the Trinity student subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, fearing what the grey haired wolf girl would do to her after those words are just come out of her mouth.

"E-excuse me?!" Hifumi managed to say, the fear in her light brown eyes now easily visible to everyone. Yet, before anyone could say anything, the Hunter quickly intervened trying to smooth over the situation as he sent a slightly disappointed glance at Shiroko, before turning his attention back to Hifumi.

"Please forgive Shiroko, she is somewhat... unaware how to talk to people. What she actually meant is that we would like you to be our guide, if that is alright with you Hifumi" The Hunter spoke with a calm and genuine tone trying to make it clear to Hifumi, that he or anyone else in his group did not mean her any harm.

And after looking at him with fear and confusion for a moment, Hifumi finally calmed down breathing a sigh of relief yet still remaining slightly wary of Shiroko, who looked rather downtrodden after sensei's non-verbal scalding.

"I'm not sure if I'd really be that helpful, but sensei and you abydos folks helped me out of a jam... so I'll do my best!" Hifumi accompanied her declaration by giving a mock salute, which made the hunter chuckle quietly as he extended a hand out to her.

"We are glad to have your assistance Hifumi... now lead the way, we will follow" the hunter said with a confident tone. Because while Hifumi didn't think that she would be of much help, the hunter knew deep down in his very bones that Hifumi was much more capable than she gave herself credit for.

"Alright sensei!" Hifumi smiled brightly as she quickly turned on her heels, adjusting the straps on her backpack as she motion for everyone to follow her, which they did. The group now with an extra member, advancing their way through the black market with Hifumi's assistance.

*Riiiiinnnnnnnnnng* *Riiiinnnnnnnnnng*

"Aru... ignoring the phone isn't going to make it stop ringing"

Aru didn't respond to the words, continuing to lean back in her comfy office chair, arms crossed over her chest while glaring actually object that had offended her, which was none other than the currently ringing phone on her office desk.

*Riiiiinnnnnnnnnng* *Riiiinnnnnnnnnng*

"Seriously, Aru, would you just answer the stupid phone? The thing is starting to give me a headache!" Mutsuki suddenly interjected, her usual smug and cheeky demeanour completely absent and instead replaced with a considerably agitated expression and attitude.

And even though she had told her friends why she was in such a foul mood, considering what had happened to her this morning and the previous day, that did not change the fact that seeing her without her usual smug demeanour was certainly a change of pace.

"Aru..." Haruka spoke with her quiet and nervous voice, bringing Aru's attention to her, as the leader of problem solver 68 stared at her purple hair subordinate, before eventually giving In.

After all, despite wanting to, ignoring the phone and more importantly the client that would be on the other end wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she simply just had to grit and bear it despite how unpleasant it was.

Without a sound, Aru quickly reached for the phone, picking up the receiver, which immediately cease the annoying ringing emanating from the device as she put the receiver to her ear.

"Hello... this is problem solver 68" Aru spoke clearly into the phone handset, having a hard time of keeping her voice even and professional sounding as she leaned back further into her chair waiting for a response from the other end.

And somewhere else across the city, the individual on the other end of the line, which was now revealed to be a rather well-built robot man dressed in a black suit with orange accents.

Who held a phone in his large hand, and waited for a moment before finally speaking. A curious and almost amused tone emanating from his digital vocal cords.

"Well. That was certainly interesting. I had a fine time watching you get warmed up. So tell me, when will the real operation begin?" The large robotic man quickly stood up from his comfortable reclining office chair, choosing instead to pace around his office like he usually did when taking calls with business associates

Aru from the other end of the line felt her blood run cold as a shiver ran down her spine, and before she could stop herself, she quickly blurted out, "Uh, what? But that was the real op..."

Yet Before she could finish, Aru quickly brought a hand up over her mouth silencing what she was about to say, as she began to cough slightly trying to retain her professional and boss like image.

"I mean... what I meant to say was that the real operation will be underway soon, that is to say, it will be in a week, Yup..." Aru said into the phone with much fake confidence as she can manage, hoping that it would dupe the person on the other end of the line.

However, as the words left her mouth, Kayoko, Mutsuki and Haruka all exchange surprised looks with each other.

Because as far as they were aware the real operation had already come and gone and there were no plans for any further counter-attacks against the abydos students, yet before any of them could actually voice this to Aru, she quickly continued speaking.

"Hahaha. That's right. You have nothing to worry about. Your request will be followed to the exact letter!" Aru finished her boastful words by laughing with confidence that was entirely fake, yet she hoped was enough to fool the client on the other end of the line.

But instead of saying anything the phone suddenly went dead, the line being disconnected from the client's end leaving everyone in silence.

Yet that silence did not last long as Mutsuki, let out a distressed and tired sounding sigh before saying

"We're so screwed"

In his large office, the Kaiser PMC director, quickly put his smartphone into his suit pocket, a frustrated growl escaping from his robotic vocal cords as he turned away from his office chair, and instead choose to look out upon the city Below from his office window.

"I don't understand. As far as I know the data we had on the ground should have been accurate" He said to absolutely no one in particular, crossing his arms over his broad mechanical chest as his digital gaze hardened considerably.

"Could it be that there was an error in our calculations?" Again he spoke to no one, his question hanging in the air like an oppressive bad smell as he quickly brought a hand up to his sharp and angular metal chin.

Gently rubbing it as he began to think on how exactly the abydos students had managed to repel his continued assaults despite seemingly being on their last legs.

Yet as he continued to ponder silently to himself, he failed to notice somebody enter his office, an individual of tall and Slender stature wearing a black suit.

But instead of a human face, this person's face to put it lightly, was completely and utterly alien with it resembling more of a black featureless mannequin with black smoke and almost fire emanating from its head and hands.

And the only feature on the mysterious individual's face that could be remotely considered a facial feature, was a single almost blindingly white eye, that almost blended in with the rest of the glowing white cracks that ran across his face.

"You seem troubled" The mysterious individual said as he quickly came to stand next to the Kaiser PMC director, who despite not showing any physical indications was momentarily caught off guard by the appearance of the mysterious black suited individual.

"No, I am not troubled. It must have been a simple calculation error, that's all, those abydos students just happened to have a little bit more fight in them than expected, based on the data" The Kaiser director finished his words by quickly letting out a digital sign.

Adjusting his orange tie before turning away from the window, heading to his desk and sitting down in his comfortable office chair as the mysterious suited individual continue to stare out of the window for a moment before turning to the Kaiser PMC director.

"On the contrary. I can assure you that the data was completely flawless" The black suited individuals said with an almost playful tone, watching with amusement as the director, despite lacking any facial features to convey it, looked at him with confusion and perhaps a little bit of anger.

"The only way that this can be interpreted is that the students of abydos have somehow grown in strength" the mysterious black suited man said, joy and intrigue almost overwhelming in his voice as the crisscrossing cracked lines on his face began to shift around. Accompanied by the black smoke and Fire emanating from his head, increasing in intensity, seemingly reflecting his emotions.

"That's bulshit and you know it!" The kaiser director retorted, choosing not to hold his proverbial tongue as he pointed an accusatory finger at the black suited individual.

"Besides, those abydos brats are the least of my worries right now, I want to know what the hell is going on with project ascension! You promised me results, and yet I've had absolutely nothing so far" The director finished his words by quickly slamming his mechanical fist onto his desk, the sheer force from the blow leaving a significant dent in the oak wooden table as well as scattering numerous office supplies across the floor.

However, the black suited individual was not phased by this, simply adjusting his tie as the cracks and black flames on his face once again changed in accordance with his emotions.

"Unfortunately my friend, project ascension has run into some... unforeseen complications" the black suited man was not phased by the reaction of the Kaiser director who quickly got up from his chair.

His mechanical and robotic gaze conveying anger and rage at what he had just heard. And even when the much larger robot man walked over to the black suited individual and suddenly jabbed him in the chest with a metal finger, he still didn't react.

"What do you mean complications! You told me if I backed your research that I would have an army of unstoppable soldiers better than the ones I have now!" the Kaiser director emphasised each word by jabbing the mysterious black suited individual in the chest with his finger, but even despite that, he did not react to the physical blows, simply again grabbing his tie and adjusting it before responding.

"Unfortunately, it seemed that the test subject and her mystic were incompatible with project ascension... Resulting in a failure, yet again" The black suited man said with an almost sad tone to his voice, turning his unnatural face away from the Kaiser PMC director as he thought about just how many failures there had been so far. Yet despite each failure and set back, he was positive... No, he was certain that project ascension would succeed with the right test subject…

And more importantly, allow him to unlock the secrets that kivotos and the students that inhabited it, truly concealed

The Kaiser director didn't say anything for a moment, simply continuing just stare at the black suited individual with a look that conveyed contempt, frustration and anger all-in-one.

However, despite the urge to sucker punch the black suited man, he ultimately relented and ignored the impulse, letting out an angry sigh as he backed away from the mysterious man.

"If I don't see results from project ascension soon, then I will be pulling my support... And make no mistake, Black suit. My money can and will be spent better elsewhere if I do not see results" The director said with a much calmer, yet still deadly sounding tone as he pointed a finger at the mysterious man which was now identified by the name of Black suit.

Who despite still looking out of the window, couldn't stop himself from chuckling, already beginning to formulate his next plan.

"There is no need to worry. I can assure you that you will see results soon, because I have already scouted a new test subject" Black suit accompanied his words by chuckling quietly to himself, his mind already envisioning the next test subject, which just so happened to be a certain abydos student with black hair and cat ears.

Still, as the image entered his mind he couldn't help but think about the mysterious new player that had been fielded onto the board.

That being none other than the mysterious and enigmatic sensei of schale. Somebody who was a halo lacking adult, much like black suit and several other members of his group. And even while knowing nothing, black suit couldn't stop himself from smiling at the prospect of meeting this mysterious sensei.

Because from the very little information he had of him, if he was able to bring this sensei to his side, then their group would gain a new and very powerful ally.

Aru quickly found the air leaving her lungs as she practically collapsed over her office table, only just managing to put the phone back onto its holder before she felt the strength leave her arms from pure exhaustion.

She wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had managed to keep herself together just long enough to not make herself look like a complete idiot in front of the client.

"Aru... you don't look so good" Mutsuki suddenly spoke, concern for her boss and friend overpowering her foul temper and mood, as she looked at Aru with genuine empathy in her eyes.

"What was all that about? You're not planning on starting another fight, are you?" Kayoko asked, her unusual blank expression replaced with one of concern but also perhaps a small amount of anger.

Because while she cared deeply for Aru, that didn't change the fact that she wasn't going to put up with Aru dragging her and everyone else into more unnecessary fights.

Aru didn't say anything for several moments, a look of uncertainty appearing on her face as she tried to think of how to respond. Nevertheless, eventually, she finally found her voice as she tried to get a hold of herself before offering an answer.

"Truth be told, I didn't learn a lot about the client, but I know they're not to be messed with. We don't want to disappoint them..." Aru didn't even try to hide her frustration, as she began to think on how exactly they could get themselves out of the situation.

They didn't have any money to spend, and the abydos students had proven themselves to be way stronger than they had initially thought.

"Those abydos kids were certainly way stronger than we thought they were going to be, plus they have Schale and that... Jerk in their corner. We're not going to be enough" Mutsuki didn't even dignify calling the Hunter by his title.

Her face scrunching up at the mere thought of him, as her anger from earlier returned with a new ferocity that would put the heart of a dying star to shame.

"Sh-should I start looking for part-timers to use as hired muscle?" Haruka suddenly interjected.

The purple haired girl nervously tapping her fingers together as she waited for what her friends would say to the suggestion. After all, from her relatively simplistic point of view, all they needed was enough hired muscle to take out the abydos students.

"It's not worth it, Haruka. It would cost nearly a year's worth of work just to be able to afford that kind of thing again" Kayoko finished her words by letting out a depressed sounding sigh, bringing a hand up to a temple as she felt a headache beginning to come on.

However, that did not stop her from speaking as she cast a critical eye over to Aru, who noticeably flinched at the sudden eye contact.

"Remind me again why we signed a lease for this office? It's just a waste of money" Kayoko didn't even try to hide her contempt, which wasn't necessarily directed at Aru herself but more her reckless actions when it came to monetary spending.

Aru being caught off guard by Kayoko's critical words, couldn't stop herself from retorting. A slightly frustrated look appearing in her eyes as she slammed her hands on the table.

"Sh-shut up! A proper business needs a proper workplace! Nobody would hire us if we didn't look presentable!" Aru accompanied her words by quickly gesturing to the surrounding office, which, despite looking rather well-kept and tidy, was certainly filled to the brim with personal effects and other items that didn't exactly give up a professional atmosphere.

Yet before Kayoko could respond to what she considered Aru's rather weak argument. Mutsuki decided to interject instead, quickly hopping off one of the large couches in the corner of the room that she had been occupying this entire time.

"Aru has a point, but I wouldn't really care if we started doing business out of a tent in the park like we used to" Mutsuki couldn't stop herself from remembering those times.

The mental image of four girls crammed into a tent that was only big enough for two while also using it as a home base and living quarters being incredibly funny to her.

But despite her personally finding it funny, nobody else and especially Aru seems to appreciate Mutsuki's comment.

"Shut up! Just shut your mouth! All of you!" Aru finally lost her temper, quickly jumping up from her seat and smashing her hands onto the table, which made everyone look at her in surprise and shock at her sudden outburst.

Because despite usually being quite happy-go-lucky nature, even Aru had her breaking point which had now been crossed. But as the room devolved into silence, nobody daring to say a thing as to invoke Aru's anger. Eventually, the leader of problem solver 68 let out a breath as she quickly collapsed into her chair.

A look of contemplation quickly appearing on her face as she wiped some sweat from her Brow that had formed from her sudden outburst. But as she did this, a thought suddenly occurred to her, one that was coupled with an idea that made her quickly jump up from her seat once more.

Only this time instead of an outburst of anger, her face remained neutral and calm as she coughed several times before speaking.

"We'll get a loan" As soon as the words left Aru's mouth, everyone turned to look at her as if she was crazy or had somehow grown a second head. Since if there was one thing that criminals never did, it was gone to the bank to get a loan, of all things.

"You can't be serious, Aru! I thought your credit was in the dumpster?" Mutsuki ask with both confusion and slight amusement etched into her delicate features.

"Nuh-uh! My account just been frozen because of the Bounty!" Aru didn't care if she sounded somewhat childish with her response.

She simply just wanted to prove Mutsuki wrong, even if the mischievous little girl was actually correct about Aru's absolutely atrocious credit rating.

Mutsuki didn't say anything for a second, a thoughtful look appearing on her face as she began to cutely sway from side to side, trying to remember who exactly had placed the bounty on Aru's head in the first place.

"Is that what happened...? Oh, now I remember. It was the disciplinary committee that did that" Mutsuki made an expression of realisation as she finally remembered, who exactly had placed the bounty on not only Aru's head but also her and her other friends.

"Those Perfect team jerks... I can't believe they'd stoop so low" Aru couldn't stop herself from cursing under her breath at the mere thought of those bullies.

However, as the though entered her mind she couldn't help but shiver slightly, her anger quickly dissipating when she remembered the head of the prefect team, Hina Sorasaki.

Who, despite being quite short and relatively non-threatening looking, was somebody that Aru do from personal experience was to not be taken lightly or angered in any way.

"Well, either way, try explaining that to the bank. We'd be laughed out of the lobby before you can say Bob's your uncle" Mutsuki said with a small amount of cheekiness in her voice.

Her usual smug and cheeky demeanour returning slightly as she imagined the image of Aru walking into a bank only to exit several minutes later after literally being laughed out of the place.

"Shut up, Mutsuki! We'll figure something out!" Aru didn't appreciate Mutsuki seemingly making fun of her.

Yet instead of losing her call like last time, Aru managed to get control of herself, taking in and then releasing a calming breath as she continued to speak.

"Those stupid abydos twits may think they're better than us, but when I said they hadn't seen the last of us, I meant it!" Aru set with a false bravado, as she quickly jumped up from her chair, catching everyone by surprise as she then exclaimed. "We're just getting started!"

The words were followed by Aru quickly retrieving her jacket and rifle and then exiting the office, leaving everyone in stunned silence as she left. However, after several seconds of silence, Haruka quickly sprung into action, retrieving her beloved shotgun which was resting nearby and quickly exited the room, hoping to catch up to Aru before she got too far.

"What in the world is Aru planning now" Mutsuki set to nobody in particular. With it being just her and Kayoko left in the room.

And after a moment, the black and white haired girl let out a tired sounding sigh, rubbing the side of her head in frustration as she retrieved her own weapon before gesturing to Mutsuki, to follow which she did, although noticeably lacking a weapon considering that a certain jerk had confiscated it from her.

"This place is truly a Labyrinth, I feel like I am in the Forbidden Woods once again" The hunter said to himself, his words barely above a whisper as a growl of frustration escaped his lips.

And while he wasn't physically tired like the rest of his students, who clearly looked exhausted, that didn't change the fact that he felt mentally exhausted from trying to make sense of the absolutely nonsensical layout of the black market.

"Ughh I'm beat" Serika quickly came to a stop, which prompted everyone else to stop as well.

"It feels like we've been walking for days... Seriously, how big is this place?" Nonomi accompanied her exhausted words by quickly putting her minigun down on the concrete below.

Relieved that it's cumbersome weight was no longer wearing her down, as she took the moment to plant herself on the floor next to her weapon, choosing not to care if her skirt became dirty from the concrete.

Hoshino who looked the most exhausted out of everyone, quickly followed Nonomi's example, planting herself on the ground as she let out an absolutely exhausted sounding groan.

"Uheeeee! I'm getting too old for this kind of thing. My knees and back are killing me" Hoshino then followed her words by quickly rubbing her seemingly sore knees, trying to relieve the ache that was emanating from them.

However, as she did this, Hifumi couldn't help but watch with confusion, not quite understanding why Hoshino would call herself old when she didn't look much older than Hifumi herself.

"Hoshino, how old are you really?" Hifumi asked with a raised eyebrow, turning her gaze to the pink headed student who turned to look at her in surprise before a somewhat dopey smile appeared on her face.

Yet before Hoshino could actually respond, Serika quickly interjected, a slightly agitated glint appearing in her eyes.

"Like I said earlier, we're all practically the same age!" Serika finished up her words by quickly sending an annoyed look towards Hoshino who simply giggled, which only made the black haired cat girl even more angry.

"I might be old and worn out, but this oji san is still deserving of respect Serika" Hoshino didn't even try to hide the amusement in her voice, barely managing to contain laughter from escaping her lips.

Serika couldn't stop herself from greeting her teeth, veins beginning to pop out on her forehead as she tried to control her anger from Hoshino practically making fun of her straight to her face.

But fortunately, before Serika could report to Hoshino for making fun of her, Nonomi quickly interjected making everyone turn to look at her.

"Hey, look over there! They're selling taiyaki!" Nonomi pointed to a nearby store, making her friends, the Hunter and Hifumi all turn to look at the stool in question.

And Even though the hunter had no reaction, not quite understanding exactly what Nonomi was referring to, the same couldn't be said for her friends, who all looked incredibly surprised by the fact that street food vendors actually existed here.

"What do you know, they really do! I didn't know they had Street vendors here" Hoshino said somewhat excitedly as she quickly jumped to her feet.

Any notion of her being in pain or exhausted from their long hike through the black market now completely forgotten, as the prospect of having some delicious taiyaki entered her mind.

"Should we get some snacks and take a break? I'm buying!" Nonomi preceded her words by quickly reaching into her cardigan pocket and retrieving a small purse, and opening the purse up revealed a golden yellow credit card that seemingly shined brightly with its own light.

"What! Nonomi, are you really going to use your card again?!" Serika quickly interjected, trying to urge Nonomi to put the miraculously shining credit card away.

Both because they were literally in a black market surrounded by criminals and because she didn't want Nonomi showing off her extravagant wealth like this.

"We could always use sensei's card instead" Hoshino suddenly answered, turning her eyes to look at the hunter who was momentarily caught off guard by the sudden suggestion.

But after a moment of looking at each other, the hunter let out a sigh as he nodded his head, after all the money in his account simply sitting there gathering dust, considering that he had no real use for it.

"I suppose I could spare some change to treat you girls to a snack" The hunter said with a slight chuckle as he saw Hoshino's eyes practically light up with excitement and happiness.

Yet as he reached into his overcoat to retrieve the credit card that he had been given. Nonomi quickly interjected, a thankful look appearing on her face as she spoke.

"No, you don't need to do that sensei, I really want some, so I'm OK buying. I insist" Nonomi said politely, yet there wasn't ever so slight forcefulness to her voice, making it clear that she wouldn't back down on her assistant to buy everyone some snacks.

And instead of choosing to argue with her, the hunter simply nodded his head smiling at her as he withdrew his hand from his overcoat pocket, no longer needing to retrieve his own credit card.

"Of course Nonomi, if you truly insist on using your own money and I will not stop you" the hunter spoke politely as he smiled warmly at Nonomi who reciprocated in kind and absolutely delighted expression appearing on her face as she quickly turned on her heels motioning for everyone to follow.

"Come on, everyone, let's get some delicious taiyaki!" Nonomi exclaimed excitedly as everyone after a moment of looking between each other did as she instructed.

All of them, with the exception of the hunter who decided to remain where he was standing, making their way over to the taiyaki street vendor which thankfully was not busy at this current moment and ordering enough of the delicious fish shaped treats for everyone to have some.

And as the store owner who turned out to be a relatively old and kind cat person began preparing the tasty treats for the waiting students. The hunter from where he was standing couldn't help but smile, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the students wait excitedly for their treats.

However, as he did so he suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye, only to have his eyes widen in surprised when he saw a very familiar face, one who also looked at him with clear surprise as she came to an abrupt stop less than an arm's length away.

"S-Sensei..." Ume said quietly, not quite believing her eyes, as she stared up at the hunter, who looked back at her with an equally surprised and slightly confused expression.

However, after several moments of awkward silence between the two, the hunter eventually smiled warmly, quickly dropping himself to one knee to bring his eyes in level with Ume's as he spoke.

"Ume... it's good to see you again" The hunter spoke with genuine happiness in his voice extending a hand out to the girl who despite still being somewhat shocked of running into him like this.

Hesitantly reached her hand out and grabbed his own, the physical contact immediately making her feel better as she let a small smile cross her face.

"I'm happy to see you as well, sensei... although it's a bit surprising to see you here of all places" Ume said with a slightly confused expression appearing on her face, because in the very little time she had known sensei, he didn't strike her as the kind of person who would visit a black market willingly.

The hunter didn't say anything for a second, a slightly puzzled look appearing on his face before it quickly vanished, being replaced by an almost amused expression as he chuckled quietly to himself, before rising back up to his full height.

"Indeed, an environment like this is not the kind that I would normally visit. Although I must say what exactly are you doing here Ume? Not getting into any trouble I hope" The hunter raised an eyebrow as he watched Ume's face take on a surprised expression.

Before it was suddenly replaced with a look of almost embarrassment. But as the silence hung in the air between them for a moment, the hunter finally noticed an important detail about Ume.

"Ume... what are you wearing exactly?" The hunter asked for with care, not wanting it to seem like he was prying into her business, but what she was wearing had caught his interest.

Simply because the last time he had seen her, she had been wearing a standard helmet gang delinquent uniform.

Ume didn't say anything for a moment, the embarrassed and frantic look on her face disappearing as it was once again replaced by confusion. And after looking down at herself with confusion at what exactly the hunter meant by his question, she finally realised exactly what he was referring to.

"Oh This?" Ume gestures to her uniform, which made the hunter slightly shake his head as a small smile creeped onto the girl's face.

"It's my new uniform sensei, I decided to clean up my act and re-enroll in school!" Ume finished her words by quickly spinning on the spot.

Allowing the hunter to see the entirety of her new sailor type uniform, waiting patiently but secretly very excitedly for his response and hoping that it would be a positive one.

The hunter didn't say anything for a moment, the confusion on his face being replaced by a look of surprise that quickly morphed into a genuinely pleased and happy look, as he abruptly reached his hand out.

Catching Ume completely by surprise as she instinctively closed her eyes, only to have them open again in shock when she felt the hunter position his hand on her head and gently began to move it from side to side.

"I see, I'm very proud of you, Ume. And I'm also extremely glad to see that you are doing much better than when we last met" The hunter said with a warmness in his voice that he didn't even realise he was capable of expressing.

In fact, as soon as the words left his mouth he quickly stopped himself, a slightly surprised expression appearing on his face for just a split second, because of how unlike himself what he just said was.

Yet, thankfully his own surprise wasn't noticeable to Ume as she basked in the glow of his affection, both physical and verbal as a massive smile appeared on her face.

"While I am happy that you are doing well for yourself, I still must ask what exactly are you doing in the black market Ume?" The hunter suddenly asked, catching the girl completely by surprise as the look of happiness quickly melted away, being replaced by a surprised and slightly fearful expression.

But after looking into the hunter's eyes, Ume felt herself calm down, realising that the hunter wasn't judging her, he was simply just curious about why she was here.

"Oh well... You see... I did clean up my act, and it's not a lie I promise!... but, I still have friends who prefer the delinquent life you know, so I wanted to come see them today" Ume managed to say clearly, still slightly nervous about telling the hunter the reason why she was here today.

But much to her relief the hunter simply nodded his head,, a smile returning to his lips as he quickly pulled his hand back from her head.

"I see well, in that case I am glad that you are not here for any nefarious purposes" the hunter accompanied his words by smiling at the girl, genuinely happy at the fact that she was seemingly turning her life around.

However, after a moment of silence between the two Ume suddenly asked a question, that unbeknownst to her, made the hunter's blood run cold and provoked any feeling of happiness to quickly vanish.

"Sensei, have you found Tomo yet? I'm starting to get rid of worried about her" Soon as the words left Ume's mouth, the hunter felt his entire world come to a dead stop.

Everything around him momentarily no longer mattered or even existed from his point of view, as he simply stared at the nervous student in front of him, her concern for her sister palpable in her big eyes.

And it was precisely this that made the Hunter feel a deep sense of horrific shame smash into his very soul. After all, how could he tell her. How could he possibly begin to explain to her that her sister was... dead.

The hunter felt sweat beginning to form on his brow, which itself was very surprising considering that he didn't think he had the capacity to sweat from nervousness any more. Yet whether his body was truly capable of it, that did not stop him from feeling the weight of his actions crashing down under his shoulders to the point where he felt his legs beginning to tremble slightly.

His logical mind was telling him that he should simply just tell her the truth Right Here and Now, so that she could begin the grieving process for her lost sibling. But even though he wanted to listen to his rational internal dialogue, his heart couldn't follow through with it.

Not wanting to imagine the prospect of breaking to this young innocent and impressionable girl that her sister had transformed into a vicious bloodthirsty beast only to have her horrific existence ended by his very hands.

"Sensei?

The hunter continued to battle with himself, his logical mind and his empathetic heart warning with each other, both of them trying to help power the other, leading to his internal turmoil. He hadn't felt like this since... that night.

"Mum, come home... I'm alone ...I'm scared... It's not fair..."

The Hunter blinked, his breathing becoming raspy and ragged as he found himself not on the black market street with Ume. But instead somewhere he never wanted to see again.

Slowly, looking down at his hand, the hunter couldn't stop himself from shaking as he saw clutched in his gloved hand was a small red brooch covered in dried blood.

"Sensei, are you OK?"

Blinking once again, the hunter found himself back in the black market, that horrific night and the events that had carved a hole into his very soul, now thankfully nothing more than a distant yet horrific memory.

Yet despite that, the hunter couldn't shake the Vision from his mind, his breathing remaining hard and raspy for a moment before he suddenly closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out as he tried to calm his racing heart.

And after doing this he opened his eyes once again, quickly bringing a hand up to his forehead to wipe away the sweat that had formed as he tried to smile at Ume who was looking up at him with genuine fear and confusion in her big bright eyes.

"I am fine, Ume I was simply... lost in my own thoughts for a moment" The hunter accompanied his words by giving the girl another smile and even though it was completely fake considering how he felt currently.

Ume seemingly accepted it, the confusion and fear quickly draining away from her face as she breathed a sigh of relief, before she could open her mouth to ask about her sister.

But The hunter held up a hand, silencing her from asking her question again, as he instead interjected.

"Ume I'm afraid that we do not have time to discuss it now... But come by the schale clubroom this evening and I will tell you everything I know about Tomo's disappearance" The hunter felt his heart nearly shatter when he saw the almost excited look appear on Ume's face.

Her smile which before had made him feel incredibly joyous and warm inside now filling him with absolute dread, simply because he was going to be the very one to shatter any hope she had for her sister.

"OK sensei! I'll come by after school!" Ume exclaimed excitedly, utterly excited at the prospect of the hunter knowing something about where her sister had run off to, or in the best case scenario reuniting her with her sister.

"Ok... Now run along now Ume" the hunter managed to keep the smile on his face from faltering, however it was only through considerable effort that he managed to do so.

And it certainly wasn't helped when the young girl smiled up at him with a bright and cheerful smile, before quickly turning on her heels and running in the opposite direction.

However before she disappeared completely, Ume suddenly turned around and wave that the hunter with an excited and happy look in her eyes which finally made his smile falter somewhat, as the feeling of dread in his heart grew even more palpable

Watching as the young girl disappeared behind a street corner, the hunter quickly brought a hand up to his face, as he felt his resolve momentarily crumbling. But He didn't have long to stew in the negative emotions he felt, as footsteps suddenly reached his ears accompanied by a cheerful voice that belong to none other than Nonomi.

"We're back, sensei!" The blonde haired girl said excitedly, as she held a large bag in her arms, while the rest of her fellow abydos students and Hifumi, all excitedly walked alongside her, they mouths collectively watering at the prospect of eating the delicious fishy treats that Nonomi had board.

The Hunter despite being momentarily surprised by the reappearance of his students quickly wiped the look of doubt and sadness from his face, hoping that they didn't notice which thankfully they didn't as the group came to a stop next to him.

"Ok everyone, dig in!" Nonomi said excitedly as she held the bag out in front of her, and motioning for everyone to take some of what resided inside.

"Uheeee, perfect timing. My blood sugar was getting a bit low" Hoshino was the first to take one of the tasty desserts, a pleasant smile forming on her face as she retrieved one of the fish shaped treats before quickly beginning to nibble on it in a manner that the hunter had to admit was quite endearing and almost adorable.

Serika was next as she quickly reached into the bag and took out one of the fish shaped treats, and instead of nibbling on it like Hoshino. The cat girl decided to simply put the whole thing in her mouth in one go, before chewing on it as a pleasant and content smile appeared on her face.

"That's tasty!" Serika said with her mouthful, crumbs flying from between her lips, which she suddenly realised with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face.

"Haha. Thanks. Don't mind if I do" Hifumi accompanied her words by letting out a quiet giggle and quickly reaching into the bag and rustling around for a moment, before retrieving one of the fishy treats and quickly beginning to nibble on it similarly to Hoshino.

Feeling his spirit slightly lifted by watching his students enjoy the tasty treats, the hunter crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Shiroko quickly reach into the paper bag, to retrieve her own fishy treat which was quickly followed by Nonomi has both girls began to munch on their street food.

However after a moment of watching them do this, the hunter suddenly noticed Shiroko stop eating, a surprised look appearing on her face, as she quickly turned to him before abruptly reaching into the bag and pulling out one of the fish shaped treats and quickly offering it to him.

"Nn, Sensei, you should have one too" Shiroko emphasised her words by gesturing with the treating her hands.

the hunter didn't say anything for a few seconds, a bewildered look appearing in his eyes as he looked at the young girl with slight hesitation in his eyes, which didn't seem to go unnoticed by Shiroko, as she tilted her head to the side in an adorable manner before speaking.

"Sensei... are you ok?"

The hunter wasn't sure what to say in response to his student, after all he could not burden her with his true emotions, both because she wouldn't understand and because it would be inappropriate of him to try and seek any kind of comfort from somebody he was in charge of caring for.

However looking into her eyes, the hunter eventually decided that he couldn't keep her waiting as he quickly wiped the uncertainty from his expression, before putting on another smile and responding to his beloved student.

"I am more than fine Shiroko... I was just... Lost in my own thoughts for a moment" the hunter hoped that his response would be adequate for the girl, and thankfully it seems that it was enough as after a moment of looking at him, the wolf girl quickly nodded her head before once again gesturing to him with the treat still in her hands.

And after looking at it one more time, the hunter quickly took the treat, looking at it somewhat cautiously as if it was a dangerous item before turning his eyes back to Shiroko, only to notice that the rest of the students were looking at him with a somewhat expecting look.

As such turning his eyes back to the treat in his hand, he quickly opened his mouth and popped it inside, and after chewing for a moment.

He found his eyes widening ever so slightly because the treat was actually rather delectable and tasty, in fact as he continued to chew he couldn't help but think that it was unlike anything he had ever had before in his life.

"My, what a tasty treat... It's unlike anything I've ever had before" The hunter said as he quickly swallowed what was in his mouth, turning his eyes upwards only to have them widen in surprise, when he saw all the students looking at him with happy expressions on their faces, which he couldn't help but return in kind, as everyone enjoyed the fish shaped treats together.

However, as everyone continues to chow down on the treats, Hifumi suddenly interjected, a displeased look appearing on her face, which in turn made everyone stop what they were doing to look at her as she quickly offered her opinion.

"It's strange that we haven't found any leads about those weapons you're looking for, I mean I'm sure they're out there, but we haven't tracked to down a single clue yet" Hifumi complemented her words by quickly shoving another one of the fish shaped snacks into her mouth before and swallowing it without even seeming to enjoy the flavour.

"It is a bit unusual... Although I can only suspect that whoever is responsible for selling the weapons must have covered their tracks extremely well" The Hunter finished his words by quickly bringing a hand up to his chin and gently stroking it, as he began to contemplate his own words.

If the mysterious seller of these illegal weapons had indeed covered the tracks extremely well then, then he didn't know exactly how easy it would be for him or his students to find out where they had come from.

"Ugh it's so frustrating, there's not even a paper trail. No records of transactions, storage logs... absolutely nothing. It's like somebody's trying to hide the whole operation" Hifumi couldn't help but let out an annoyed huff, as she quickly retrieved another one of the fish shaped treats from the paper bag and began to nibble on it

"It is pretty strange, I think" Shiroko suddenly interjected, finishing off another one of the fishy treats as she spoke. However to the wolf girl's surprise, Hifumi suddenly turned to look at her with a surprised and slightly puzzled expression before quickly swallowing and then speaking.

"I don't know if I would call it strange. It's more like... Why go through all the trouble? This is the black market we're talking about. Corporations of all stripes normally have no trouble or care about doing a legal business out in the open here" Hifumi couldn't stop herself from beginning to pace around as she spoke, her words graduating from simple explanation to almost a full on rant about how none of it made any sense to her.

The black market was a place where companies could come to do all kinds of business regardless of its legal status, so the fact that a company would go out of their way to cover their tracks so brazenly, to the point where there would be no kinds of leads whatsoever just didn't make any sense to her considering how the black market operated.

"For example look over there!" Hifumi quickly directed everyone's attention to a rather nondescript looking high-rise building, pointing at it with an outstretched finger as she continued speaking.

"That's the black market's infamous Stygian bank" Hifumi words solicited a surprised reaction from the abydos students and even the hunter, as they all looked at the rather ordinary looking high rise building before turning back to the Trinity student with clear disbelieve and confusion in their eyes.

"A bank! You're telling me this place has an actual bank?" Serika quickly interjected, a completely flawed expression on her face, because she honestly couldn't believe that the black market had a bank of all things.

After all having its own police force was one thing that while hard to accept was easily evident, but the fact that it had its own separate bank was just ridiculous.

Hifumi quickly turned her attention away from the bank, before nodding her head in agreement with Serika's words as she began to explain, just how influential the bank truly was within the criminal underworld of Kivotots.

"It's one of the largest banks in the black market. I've heard people say that about 15% of all illicit profits from Kivotos' criminal activities flows through that bank. The take from extortion, armed robbery, abduction so on are then used to fund illegal weapons and arms for additional criminal activities... it's like a dog chasing its own tail, it just never ends" Hifumi quickly finished her explanation.

Leaving everyone in completely stunned silence as after looking at her for a moment the hunter and the abydos students collectively turned their eyes back to the bank building, still not quite believing just how influential and powerful the black market, and it's illegal activities truly were.

However after several moments of uneasy silence eventually it was none other than Nonomi who broke the silence.

"Goodness. So so the bank is just as complicit as everyone else" Nonomi said with a clearly dismayed expression on her face as she turned her eyes to Hifumi, who quickly nodded her head an agreement before responding.

"Yeah. You're right Nonomi. If you think about it, the bank is essentially a whole criminal organisation unto itself" Hifumi said with a slightly nervous laugh.

However, she quickly found herself silenced, when none other than Serika quickly interjected with an angry and absolutely outraged expression on her face as she stamped her foot on the ground hard.

"This is ridiculous! Why isn't the general student council doing anything about this!" Serika said with an angry tone as she stamped her foot on the ground once more.

From her point of view, she couldn't understand why the general student council would allow something so illegal and widespread to operate in the open like this.

"That is something I would also like to know, Serika. Some corruption within any system is to be expected, yet the fact that illegal activities like this are happening on such a large scale and completely in the open is not something I can understand, let alone stand for" all the students turned to the hunter as they heard him speak. Each of them feeling a shudder run down their spine as his icy cold words washed over them.

Crossing his arms over his chest, the hunter looked down at the ground with a clearly frustrated expression, because true to his word he had expected some corruption within the city considering that no system was truly immune to it. But the fact that it was so widespread and was able to operate with seeming impunity was something he could not stand for, especially when it directly affected the students under his care.

However after several moments of silence, Hoshino decided to take that moment to speak as she let out a sigh of her own, because even though she knew better than anyone except for maybe sensei, that's the world was not sunshine on rainbows, the fact that the corruption that directly affected her school was so widespread was somewhat surprising to her.

"It looks like the real world isn't sunshine and Rainbows after all… I guess we were too shouted within the safety of abydos" Shiroko suddenly said, making her friends turn to look at her as she shook her head with a disappointed look in her eyes.

Yet before she or anyone else could say anything, a beeping sound suddenly reached their ears as everyone turned to look at its source, revealing that it came from none other than Ayane's tablet which was resting comfortably in her hands.

And after looking down at it for a moment, the glasses wearing student suddenly found her eyes widening in shock as she quickly spoke.

"There are armed forces heading our way!" Ayane's words immediately made all of her fellow abydos students and the hunter go into battle mode, which couldn't have come at a moment too soon as the sounds of multiple footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching their position.

However after a moment the hunter suddenly spoke, motioning for everyone to follow him as he directed to a nearby alleyway.

"I think it is best that we do not choose to standard fight this time, the less attention we bring to ourselves the better" The abydos students considered the hunter's words before ultimately agreeing with him as they nodded in unison.

"Sensei is right, they haven't spotted us yet, but we should be careful not to draw attention to ourselves" Ayane quickly backed up sensei's words as she quickly typed away at her tablet for a moment.

However, as everyone began to shuffle towards the alleyway, keeping that weapons at the ready just in case, Hifumi suddenly noticed one important detail about the approaching armed individuals which made her quickly begin to shake with fear.

"T-those are market guards!" The trinity student said with considerable amounts of fear as her words caught the attention of the abydos students, and the hunter who turned to look at her in surprise before none other than Nonomi responded.

"Market guards?" The well-endowed abydos student said with a surprised and intrigued to look on her face.

"They act as the top and forces for all the groups I mentioned earlier!" Hifumi spoke with evident fear in her voice, as she quickly raced ahead of everyone and motioned for them to follow her as she spoke once more.

"Hurry, before they see us!"

Everyone despite being confused by her nervousness, decided to comply with her request considering that she knew more about the black market than they did, and if she was making a big deal about these black market guards, then it would be best not to make themselves known to them.

Shuffling Into the dead end alleyway, everyone except for the Hunter, quickly took cover behind any convenience object they could find, all of them watching with confusion and perhaps a bit of fascination.

As the group of armed individuals revealed themselves to be robots carrying assault rifles, and surprisingly enough escorting a large armoured van, that had no obvious markings distinguishing what it could be carrying or where it came from.

The hunter couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he watched the group and the van they were escorting quickly pass, before stopping a short distance away.

Something about the van was eerily familiar to him, but he couldn't be quite sure why exactly, considering that he was still relatively unfamiliar with the different makes and models of automobiles.

Yet, quickly turning his eyes away from the van, the hunter looked down only to see none other than Shiroko, assault rifle in hand as she stared intently at the armoured van, with a scrutiny that the hunter had never seen from her before.

"That are much truck is carrying a massive load of cash..." The grey haired wolf girl suddenly said, her words catching the Hunter by surprise, as he quickly looked back up to the armoured van before looking down at her with a questioning look.

"How exactly can you be sure of that, Shiroko?" The hunter inquire with a questioning tone, his words making Shiroko look away from the van and up at him with surprise in her eyes before she turned her gaze back to the armoured van and spoke.

"It's carrying cash because of the amount of guards sensei... if it was anything else they wouldn't need so many people to guard it" Shiroko's words made the hunter turn his eyes back to the van.

However before he could say anything in response to her words, he suddenly noticed the van along with its escorts beginning to move again before suddenly turning to the left.

"Hey, look over there. It's entering Stygian bank" Nonomi suddenly appeared next to the Hunter, along with the rest of the students, as they all followed where she was pointing, and collectively watched the armoured car quickly enter into the bank through a large double door garage.

Watching with a growing interest, the hunter strained his inhuman hearing to be able to pick up the conversation as he saw the driver of the van quickly exit. Only for his eyes to widen when he recognised that it was the exact same robot that had taken the interest payment for this month.

And this wasn't something that was unnoticed by the rest of the students, as they all collectively found their mouths dropping to the floor at the reveal.

"These are the collections for this month" The Kaiser loans employee said as he quickly walked over to a member of the bank staff, who was holding a clipboard.

"Well done, sign the transport papers, and you can be on your way" The bank employee accompanied their Words by quickly handing the Kaiser loans employee the clipboard and a pen, and after quickly taking it and signing it, they passed it back to the bank employee.

"What the heck?! That's the bank employee that takes our interest payment every month!" Serika set with an angry tone.

Her anger almost getting the better of her as she quickly raised her rifle to shoot at the bank employee, only to find herself abruptly stopped by the hunter who despite understanding her anger, quickly shot her a gaze that told her not to do anything rash.

"Hey! No kidding. It really is them!" Hoshino said with a clearly surprised look in her eyes, however turning his gaze downwards, the hunter saw the telltale tensing of her shoulders, indicating to him that she was incredibly outraged by what she saw, but simply chose not to display it openly.

"What in the world is going on!?" Shiroko couldn't stop a frown from appearing on her face as the word exited her lips.

"I just run the licence plate... And it definitely is a kaiser loans truck. In fact, it's the same truck that are cash payment was loaded into this morning! But what's it doing here of all places?!" Ayane quickly typed away at her tablet for a moment, before turning her eyes back up to the van in question. She didn't want to believe what she was seeing, but the evidence was clear as day.

"That unfortunately is a question that I don't think we can answer right now Ayane... however, it is obvious now that something nefarious is afoot" The hunter accompanied his words by quickly crossing his arms over his chest once more, a hard set and almost angry expression appearing on his face.

"Wait! Did you say, K-Kaiser loans?!" Hifumi suddenly interjected, making everyone look at her in surprise, before Hoshino suddenly responded to her with a quizzical look in her dual coloured eyes.

"You've heard of them, Hifmui?" Hoshino said with a slightly critical and questioning look in her eyes as the Trinity student turned to her surprised expression of her own, before turning her eyes downwards for a moment before responding.

"That's the infamous Kaiser Corporation's loan shark company" Hifmui offered with a slightly hesitant look, her eyes darting around in a suspicious manner as if she was looking for anyone who might be listening.

"Infamous? Is it a criminal organisation or something?" Shiroko quickly responded, a puzzled look appearing on her face, as she raised an eyebrow at what the Trinity student had just said.

Hifmui didn't say anything in response right away, her eyes continuing to glance around for a moment, before she suddenly realised with a surprised look, that everyone was now staring at her intently, and even though she felt incredibly awkward with everyone looking at her like that, she eventually found her words and began to speak.

"N-not exactly. The Kaiser corporation doesn't do anything outright illegal, but they are definitely Shady beyond reasonable doubt. They practically play jump rope with the line between legitimate and criminal activities" Hifmui pause for a moment allowing her words to sink in as surprised expressions appeared on everyone's faces. However before she could continue speaking the hunter suddenly interjected.

"So what you're saying Hifmui, is that while they do not do any legal activities in the open, they most certainly are up to nefarious activities behind the scenes?" The hunter spoke with a raised eyebrow as he quickly brought his hands to his chin.

While it was a bit of a stretch to compare the two, if the Trinity student was correct with her words, then the Kaiser corporation and the healing church were similar in that regard, considering that both were incredibly powerful organisations that did not do anything in the nefarious in the open, and kept all of their awful deeds hidden away from prying eyes.

"Yes sensei, that's pretty much it honestly. Kaiser has been trying to extend their reach into the Trinity School District as well, and the tea party has been watching them like a hawk to make sure they don't cause any problems with the students" Hifmui said with a slightly concerned expression.

Although her face did soften slightly at the mention of the tea party, considering that not only were they quite kind girls but also the fact that one of her childhood friends was one of them.

"The tea party... That's Trinity's student council if I remember correctly?" Hoshino suddenly interjected, causing the Trinity student to turn her eyes up from the concrete below, and to look at her in surprise, before quickly nodding her head in agreement with the pink haired girl's assertion.

However, Hifumi suddenly remembered something, that made her eyes widen in surprise as she quickly started to talk.

"This debt you owe, is to kaiser loans right?" Hifumi watched as all the abydos students collectively widen their eyes in surprised, as they all looked at each other for a moment before none other than Nonomi responded to her, with a slightly displeased and saddened expression on her face.

"Well... Technically we want the ones who originally owed the debt, but we're the ones that now have to pay it" As the words left her mouth, Nonomi looked down at the ground with a clearly sad but also slightly frustrated expression, which along of her words only made Hifumi confused.

However, noticing the confused face of the Trinity student, Hoshino quickly walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, which made Hifumi term to look at the abydos student before Hoshino began to speak.

"It's a long story Hifumi... But it's one we don't have time for right now" Hoshino ended her words by quickly turning her gaze to Ayane before continuing to speak. "Ayane, can you hack into their network and give us anything useful to work with?"

Ayane didn't say anything immediately in response, a slightly confused look appearing on her face before she abruptly looked down at her tablet and began to type away at it. However after a moment of this, she suddenly let out a quiet frustrated huff before turning her eyes back up to Hoshino.

"It's no good. They're working on a closed network and their encryption is incredibly sophisticated, I don't have the computing power on me to do it here" Ayane said with a frustrated tone as she cursed under her breath which was very much unlike her.

However, she couldn't help but feel this way, because even though she didn't consider herself much used in a firefight, the one thing that she was good at was computers and everything revolving around them, so the fact that she couldn't be of use this time around didn't make her feel fantastic.

Yet before she could continue to stew in her own self-directed anger, the glasses wearing girl suddenly felt a hand be placed on her shoulder, making her jump slightly, as she turned to see that it belonged to none other than sensei who looked at her with an understanding look in his eyes.

"There is no need to feel angry Ayane... your value to the task force goes far beyond your mere ability to use a computer, and you should take pride and that" The hunter said with a reassuring tone as he padded the young girl shoulder in conjunction with his words.

Which proved to have the desired effect as the angry and slightly self-deprecating expression on the glasses wearing girl's face quickly disappeared as it was replaced with a thankful smile.

"Sensei's right! There's no need to feel down Ayane... we can think of something else" Serika quickly interjected, which certainly made Ayane's spirits lift even more.

"Actually come to think of it, whenever they want us to pay, they are always very adamant about it being cash only. So do you think that's because..." Nonomi trailed off with an uncertain look on her face.

Her words made everyone begin to think, before it suddenly occurred to the abydos students exactly what she was implying, considering what they have learnt about the black market bank and the activities that it used its cash to fund.

"It would seem that the interest payment that you girls pay every month is being used to fund criminal activities... Truly despicable, but I shouldn't be surprised. Criminal enterprises' often prioritise the use of physical money over everything else, because it's less hard to regulate and track" the hunters said with a venom that did not go unnoticed by the surrounding students.

As he quickly crossed his arms over his chest once again before letting out a sigh in an attempt to try and calm his growing anger.

"Wait! So we've basically been funding criminal activities for the black market this entire time?!" Serika quickly shouted, her anger almost reaching a boiling point as she felt an almost sickening feeling in her stomach.

Because her hard work and the money she got from it, was being used to commit crime, and because it was very likely that the people who tried to kidnap her had used the exact money she had accumulated to try and pay off the debt, to ultimately kidnap her.

However before the cat girl could go completely thermonuclear, Ayane suddenly stepped in, a clearly perturbed expression on her face as she tried to calm her friend down before she did something reckless and rash.

"D-despite how it looks, we can't say anything for certain yet. There isn't anything concrete to back it up" Ayane quickly said trying to alleviate her friend's anger with seemingly no success, however suddenly none other than Hifumi quickly spoke.

"Wouldn't the transport papers that the employees just signed tell us for certain?" Hifumi found herself jumping back and surprise slightly when all the students and even the hunter turned to look at her with clear surprise on their faces before they actually began to contemplate her words.

"You know, you're right! Great thinking, Hifumi!" Hoshino expressed with a happy expression on her face as she quickly racked the charging handle on her shotgun, which immediately made Hifumi feel incredibly stupid for saying anything.

Considering that even though she had not known the abydos students for very long, it was very obvious that they were the gung ho type of students who preferred to get their hands dirty rather than sit back and do nothing.

"On second thought, I shouldn't have said anything... those papers inside the bank now so they wouldn't do as much good. Not to mention that it's not just any bank-but the most heavily guarded bank in the entire black market, and it's also crawling with enough armed security to bring down a small school district" If her words had any effect on dissuading the abydos students, then they didn't show it.

As each of them looked at each other for a moment before collectively shrugging their shoulders, after all for them, taking on vastly superior numbers of armed opponents wouldn't be something that was out of the ordinary for them especially as of recently.

However after a moment of silence between her and the rest of the abydos students and the Hunter, somebody suddenly stepped forward, which was revealed to be none other than Shiroko, the grey haired wolf girl having a serious and almost excited look in her eyes.

"There's no other way..." Shiroko said with the eager and serious look in her eyes growing by the second as she turned her gaze to none other than Hoshino and the hunter who were both surprised by the look in her eyes.

"Pardon?" Hifmui responded with a confused face only to be completely ignored as Shiroko urged her senior student and sensei.

"Sensei, Hoshino... it's our only option!" Shiroko said with an almost pleading tone in her voice as she urged the hunter and Hoshino to consider her words which they did.

And even though the hunter did not say anything in response, the look on his face suddenly turned deadly serious as he brought a hand to his chin while looking down slightly, clearly in deep thought about what she was talking about.

"You do make a good point, Shiroko" Hoshino accompanied her words with a deep look of contemplation as she considered her junior student's request.

"C-come again?" Hifmui found herself completely ignored once again as Nonomi, suddenly stepped forward with a excited and almost happy look appearing in her eyes as she spoke.

"Oh, now I get it! We're going to use THAT plan, aren't we?" Nonomi finished her words by quickly hefting her minigun up, and quickly engaging the spinning mechanism as the barrel began to spin, showing its eagerness to begin spitting lead in the direction of its potential enemy.

"Hold on. You can't be serious! You three aren't thinking what I think you're thinking... Are you?" Serika quickly interjected, her anger from before now completely forgotten, as it was replaced by complete and utter confusion and perhaps a bit of frustration, at the fact that her friends were considering such a stupid idea.

However rather than receiving any kind of verbal response from Hoshino, Nonomi and Shiroko, instead of the three simply looked between each other for a moment, before none other than Shiroko step forward with a serious look in her eyes which told the black haired cat girl all she needed to know.

"That was a yes!? Seriously?!" Serika couldn't believe it.

She genuinely couldn't believe that her friends were actually considering something so incredibly insane, however before she could lament any more, she suddenly felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder.

And turning to its source she saw that it belonged to none other than sensei, which momentarily gave her hope that he would talk her friends out of what they were planning to do.

However, her hope was quickly dashed when the hunter actually spoke.

"As much as it pains me to admit. I'm afraid that Shiroko is correct in her assertion, it's an incredibly reckless idea but one that we will be foolish to not utilise considering our circumstances Young Serika" The hunter said with a deadly serious look.

He didn't like the idea of going through with this plan, considering it's more repercussions, but he would not only be a hypocrite considering he had done some extremely immoral things himself in the past, and because it was a sound plan considering that he trusted Shiroko's judgement.

Serika found her cat ears quickly falling backwards as they rested against her head, before she suddenly turned her eyes down to the ground with a defeated expression.

"Not you too, sensei" The cat girl said with a mournful tone as she realised that they were actually going through with this, considering the sensei was on board.

However, watching all of this unfold, Hifmui quickly interjected one more time, her face one of complete and utter confusion because she didn't understand exactly what they were talking about or even what they were planning to do.

"Excuse me, but I'm not sure, I follow. What are you talking about?" Hifmui watched everyone turn their eyes to her. Once again making her feel slightly uncomfortable as everyone looked at her before Shiroko responded, the excitement in her eyes now easily evident to the point where they almost look like they were glowing.

"It's finally time..." The wolf girl said in an almost dramatic fashion, as she quickly reached into her duffel bag which was hanging from her shoulder, and proceed to rummage around in it for a moment before finally retrieving what she needed.

Everyone watched with fascination and confusion, as the wolf girl quickly put on the item she had retrieved, revealing it to be a blue balaclava with the letter number 2 sewn into the forehead.

And after adjusting the balaclava on her face so the eyeholes and mouth hole corresponded with her own eyes and mouth, Shiroko finally said it.

"We're going to hit the bank"

There was complete and utter silence for a moment, before eventually Hifumi found her voice once again a completely shocked expression on her face as she spoke.

"W-what?!" Hifumi couldn't believe what she had just heard. Not only because of how absurd and out of nowhere it was, but also the fact that they were actually considering attacking one of the most fortified banks in the entirety of the black market.

However before she could think of anything else to say, she suddenly felt a hand he placed on her shoulder making her jumper, as she turned to see that it was none other than Hoshino, with the addition of a pink balaclava covering her face with a number one stitched onto the forehead.

"Turns out it was the best plan after all, I guess we shouldn't be so quick to judge our little Shiroko" Hoshino said with a laugh, as she adjusted the mask a little bit on her head, which conveniently enough had a little hole sown into it, for her pink of tuft hair that stuck out of the top of her head.

"Excuse me!? You can't be serious?" Hifumi couldn't believe that they were actually going through with this.

Yet her attention was quickly taken up, when she saw another one of the students, with this one being another then minigun welding Nonomi, put on a mask of her own. This one being a deep green colour with the number 3 sewn into the forehead and conveniently enough, a small hole in the side allowing for her side hair bun to stick out.

"Yippee! Time to teach that evil bank a lesson, that it will never forget!" Nonomi exclaimed excitedly as she began to jump on the spot.

"Th-This is a joke, right?!" Hifumi managed to say, as she looked at the three mask wearing students with complete and utter bewilderment on her face.

Yet suddenly and much to her relief, Serika stepped forward, a critical look in her eyes as she spoke.

"So we're really doing this? Because if you three are serious..." Hifumi found any hope that she had pulled together quickly dissipating as she saw the cat girl quickly reach for something in Shiroko's bag.

"Then count me in too!" The girl exclaimed loudly, as she quickly retrieve a bright cherry red mask with the number four stitched into the front, and two large pockets on top for her cat ears.

And after struggling with the mask for a moment, Serika managed to finally get it on, the only part of her face now visible being her eyes and mouth, as she adjusted it a little, allowing her twin tails to fall freely from the mask that covered her entire head.

Hifumi couldn't believe what she was seeing, she had expected out of everyone that Serika would be the one to object to such a ridiculous idea, but it seemed that she was easily pulled along by everyone else's wims.

*Sigh* "I doubt I'd be able to talk to you guys out of it anyway, so I guess we're just going to have to go for it" Ayane didn't exactly like the idea of attacking a bank, even if it was an incredibly Shady and a legal black market one.

But ultimately she would not back down from this, both because it would potentially give them a clue as to who was doing this to their school, and also possibly disrupt the black market's illegal activities, which was a moral good regardless of how she felt about it.

Happy that all of her friends were on board with the idea, Shiroko quickly reached into her bag and produced one final mask, this one being a bright yellow one with a number zero stitched into the forehead and two extra large eyeholes, so that Ayane could still wear her glasses underneath the mask without any discomfort.

Looking at the mask for a moment, Ayane eventually let out a sigh as she took it from her friend, before proceeding to put it on over her head somewhat cautiously as to not damage her glasses.

And after adjusting it so she could see out of it correctly, she couldn't help but smile a little bit, appreciating the fact that Shiroko, had customised the mask not only for her pointed ears, but also so that she could wear her glasses while wearing it.

Hifumi watched all of this with a completely bewildered gaze, despite the fact that it was obvious that they were not joking or planning to back down, she still couldn't quite believe that this was actually going to happen, however after a moment she suddenly looked up at The Hunter who was simply watching the entire scene with a slight smile on his face.

"Sensei! Are you really going to let them do this?" Hifumi's words made the hunter turn his eyes downwards to look at her, with a slightly surprised look appearing on his face as he raised an eyebrow while looking at her.

However after a moment of silence, he eventually let out a quiet chuckle which didn't give the Trinity student with any confidence as he spoke.

"I can understand your reservation about this Hifumi... I also feel some myself, but not only do I have faith in my students, but I am also not opposed to doing some damage to the despicable organisations that would dare harm MY students" The hunter emphasise the word *my* with enough force that Hifumi found herself stepping back in slight surprise.

Yet before she could respond to him in any way, Shiroko suddenly came over to her, the wolf girl's now hidden face conveying a slightly saddened expression as she spoke.

"Sorry, Hifumi, I don't have a mask prepared for you" Shiroko couldn't help but feel somewhat sad, that the Trinity student didn't have a mask of her own.

However despite Hifumi looking at her as if she had just said the most crazy thing in the world, the Trinity student didn't have a chance to speak as Hoshino quickly walked up beside Shiroko, and began to speak with a contemplated look on her face.

"This is quite the dilemma, they would pin everything on Trinity if they saw Hifumi's little face" Hoshino finished her words by quickly taking on a thinking pose, as she began to wonder how exactly they could get around that horrible scenario from happening, considering that they couldn't just leave Hifumi here to sit out.

"Hmmmmmm, oh! I know, how about this!" Nonomi suddenly interjected as she produce a crumpled up paper bag.

Hifumi didn't say anything in response simply looking at the well-endowed Abydos student with a complete and utterly confused expression, before it suddenly dawned on her, what exactly she was suggesting.

"The bag that the Taiyaki came in? Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that!" Hoshino said with an excited voice, as she should quickly take the bag from her friend, and began to roughly rip out some eyeholes in the paper bag.

Before then proceeding to produce a marker from one of her skirt pockets and scribbling a crude number 5 onto the front of the paper bag now turned improvise burgler mask.

"H-hold on! I never agreed to..." Hifumi didn't get a chance to finish her words as she suddenly found somebody grabbing her by the shoulders, with enough Force to keep her in place but not enough to make it uncomfortable. And abruptly turning her head in surprised, she saw that it was none other than Nonomi with an excited smile visible on her lips.

"A-Ah..." Was all that the Trinity student could say, as she suddenly turned her eyes forward only to have her vision momentarily blocked by something brown and paper feeling being pushed over her head.

And after having it centred so she could see again, she realised that the Paper Bag had been put over her head, turning her into an improvised fifth member of the abydos foreclosure task force now turned bank robbers.

"It suits her perfectly" Shiroko said with a proud look as she scrutinised the newest member to their group, and even though she preferred her own homemade masks.

She had to admit that something about the Paper Bag combined with Hifumi's overall uniform and appearance, gave off a slightly intimidating atmosphere, even if it was completely unintentional on the part of the Trinity student.

"It does doesn't it! Hoshino even wrote a number 5 on the front, which means that she's now the official fifth member of the foreclosure task force!" Nonomi giggled excitedly as she walked around the clearly distressed Trinity student and looked her up and down with a satisfied look.

"Whoa. That mask makes it look like she's our boss. What are leader indeed!" Hoshino said with a slightly joking tone as she laughed about how well the Paper Bag now turn robbery mask fit Hifumi's enter overall appearance.

And despite the fact that she knew there was no getting out of this now that she had the mask over her face, Hifumi still decided to try one last time to talk them out of this crazy idea, not only for their safety but now for her own.

"Are we really going to hit the Stygian bank?" Hifumi really hope that they would listen to her words, yet the reaction she got was exactly what she expected, as Hoshino simply disregarded her concerns with a wave of a hand and a quiet laugh before responding.

"Of course we are, Hifumi? Remember? We're sticking together today" Hoshino finished her words by quickly coming next to the Trinity student and forcefully patting her on the back, which simply made the already terrified Hifumi, let out a completely defeated interjected sigh as she quietly whispered.

"Oh no, how will I ever explain this to the student council and Nagisa?"

However despite whispering at mostly to herself, it seemed that Serika was able to hear her as the cat girl quickly stamped her foot against the floor, with a clearly unimpressed look in her eyes before responding.

"What's to explain? We're hitting a shady and corrupt criminal bank! We're the good guys" Serika could barely contain her frustration and also excitement at the prospect of being able to take some sort of limited and indirect revenge against the people that had kidnapped her, considering that her and her friends were about to target their source of income.

"Serika is more than correct, Not only is attacking this bank morally correct and the right thing to do. But if any negative repercussions come of it, I will use everything in my power to protect all of you" The hunter quickly stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest as he made his declaration.

After all his words were the truth. He was a teacher, and he would do everything in his power to protect all students that were under his care regardless of what school they came from.

Hifumi couldn't help but feel just a little bit better, which she found somewhat strange considering that she was still being roped into attacking a black market bank, but something about sensei's words left no doubt in her mind, that if the worst came to worst he could protect her from anything bad that would come about from this crazy idea.

"Nn, sensei"

The hunter felt somebody quickly tug at his overcoat, forcing him to turn his eyes downwards to see that it was none other than Shiroko who looked up at him with a slightly concerned expression as now that she had his attention she said. "Sensei I'm sorry that I didn't make you a mask as well...We can think of someth-

Shiroko found her words quickly silenced, by the hunter placing a finger against her lips, which made her blushed furiously but thankfully since her cheeks were hidden behind the mask, sensei could not see it.

Although the hunter couldn't help but smile because he could feel her embarrassed emotion from his action.

"There is no need to worry Shiroko, for I always come prepared for any situation" The hunter accompanied his words by quickly reaching into his overcoat, with all the students looking at him expectedly, ready to see what he pulled out this time, only to have their eyes widen in both confusion and intrigue when he pulled out a mask but also a hat.

Turning his gaze downwards, the hunter couldn't help but soften his expression and let a smile appear on his face. When he saw the familiar tricorn hat and balaclava, that he had worn during his early time as a hunter, and even though he had long since preferred over attire.

That did not mean that the hunter cap and mask didn't have a special place in his heart as he quickly put the tricorn hat on his head, before doing the mask up around his lower face, ultimately concealing his mouth and nose and making it hard to identify him by looking at his face.

Giving the mask a quick adjustment and tighten, the hunter looked up at his students, finding all of them looking at him with intrigue and confusion on their faces, which made him chuckle loudly, as Hoshino quickly began to rub her chin thoughtfully before speaking.

"Well it's a bit... strange looking, but I suppose it gets the job done sensei" Hoshino said as she quickly turned on the spot, once again reading her shotgun for the upcoming bank heist.

"I think it makes him look quite dashing personally, it's almost like something out of a gothic novel" Nonomi couldn't help but laugh as she spoke. Even though the hat and balaclava were incredibly unusual looking to her, she had to do admit that it somehow fit the hunter perfectly as if it was precisely tailored for him and no one else.

"Well then now that we're all prepared, would you do the honours, sensei?" Hoshino quickly turned back to the hunter an expecting look in her multicoloured eyes as she waited for him to respond.

And after a moment of silence and looking at all the surrounding students, eventually the hunter let out a chuckle before clearing his throat and saying.

"Everyone let us proceed. We will teach this Stygian bank, that they should have not ever crossed us!" The hunter finished his words by quickly retrieving the Evelyn from his overcoat, holding the long and ornate pistol up to his face, before flicking it to the side in a dramatic manner which everyone took as the sign that it was time to begin.

"Let's do this!"

The five abydos students exclaimed in unison, as they quickly began to rush towards the bank with the hunter and Hifumi along with them, as the group quickly descended upon the unsuspecting black market bank.