Chapter Text
This is ridiculous! Why is it so hard to get a straight answer in this place!?'
Yuuka accompanied this thought by smashing her fist onto the reception desk, causing her to wince in pain from the blow, while also scaring the blonde-haired woman who was currently receiving her anger.
She had come all the way from millennium to find out why the student council was seemingly doing nothing while the city literally fell apart around them. Yet when she got here, actually trying to find the president was completely fruitless and the vice president basically blew her and the rest of the other representatives off.
Meeting with some unusually dressed stranger who she proceeded to take with her to some other area of the general student council building that she despite wanting to follow wasn't allowed to access.
"I'm S-sorry T-T-there's nothing more I can do, T-he vice presid- I mean acting president is currently in a meeting with some-"
"I don't care if she's in a meeting! Get her out here now!" Yuuka felt her blood pressure spike to an almost dangerous degree, a light-headed sensation washing over her and causing her to stumble for a moment before she recovered. Yet before she could continue her rant, somebody interrupted her
"I understand your anger with the situation, but please calm yourself!" Chinatsu said abruptly. "Your blood pressure is dangerously high, if you continue like this you might pass out" Quickly grabbing a hold of Yuuka's wrist as she took her pulse, despite the protests of the purple-haired Millennium student.
"Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down!?" Yuuka pulled her arm free of the Gehenna girl's grip, momentarily catching Chinatsu off guard, a displeased expression making its way out of her features as she adjusted her black-framed glasses.
"While I understand your frustration, getting angry about that isn't going to fix anything or get the vice president out here quicker" Suzumi called over from where she was sitting, crushing her arms over her chest as adjusted her sitting position, trying to get as comfortable as possible on the completely uncomfortable bench that she was resting on.
Yuuka looked towards the white-haired girl, a flabbergasted look on her face, as if Suzumi had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable to her.
"If getting angry is not going to help! Then what the hell do you expect me to do!? I've tried literally every other Avenue, but nothing has worked!" She shouted, her voice reverberating around the lobby and causing the already terrified blonde-haired girl behind the front desk to cower away further.
Suzumi open her mouth to respond, yet before she could do so, Hasumi spoke first.
"Getting angry in this situation is understandable, but ultimately having a temper tantrum like a preschooler, and taking it out on the poor reception woman will not solve anything"
The Trinity student got up from her seat, her wings flapping slightly behind her as they readjusted themselves after being concealed. Walking over to the reception, she quickly extended a hand to the cowering blonde haired reception woman.
"I'm deeply sorry on my acquaintances' behalf... But meeting with the vice president is of the utmost priority, I am afraid that we will not be leaving until we see her again" Despite Hasumi's voice being calm and even, the force behind her words left no illusions that she was willing to negotiate.
There was a silence for a moment as her words seemingly settled into the reception woman's mind, yet the blonde woman simply reiterated what she had already said, much to everyone's displeasure.
"I'm S-sorry there's truly N-nothing I can do... I-if the acting president wants to see you, then she will when she deems it necessary"
Hasumi felt herself somewhat deflate at the words, an exasperated sigh exiting her lips as she stepped away from the reception desk. A miffed look making its way onto her delicate features, as she crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not please.
"It was worth a shot Hasumi" Suzumi said with a sympathetic tone, watching the vice president of the justice committee practically fuming as she began to pace back and forth.
Chinatsu let out a sigh, rubbing the side of her head as she quickly sat down on one of the nearby benches, placing her heavy shoulder pack on the empty half of the bench next to her as she spoke.
"I'm unsure what all of you plan to do. But I am not leaving until I have until I have answers and something concrete to report to chairwoman Hina"She finished by taking off her glasses, her eyes squinting noticeably as she retrieved a silk handkerchief from one of her pockets began to almost reflexively clean her glasses before placing them back on her head.
Hasumi who continued to pace back and forth, let out another frustrated sigh, sitting down next to Suzumi,
Yuuka, who looked like she was about to explode, after a moment let out a sigh, her expression of anger and rage quickly being washed away as a frustrated and tired expression replaced it. Quickly walking over to the same bench that was occupied by Chinatsu, and collapsing into the remaining unoccupied seat, her shoulders noticeably slumping.
Hasumi who by now had stopped her pacing, let out another frustrated sigh as she sat down next to her fellow Trinity student.
All the Academy representatives were plunged into an uncomfortable silence that was almost deafening.
Yet the silence didn't last long as something suddenly occurred to Hasumi, causing her to break the silence that had taken over the lobby
"On the topic of the vice president, did any of you notice just how strange the person she met with was?" Her words caused all three of the other Academy representatives to look at her, confused expressions crossing their faces before realisation suddenly settled in at what exactly she was referring to.
"Indeed, I did notice. They were dressed, unlike anything I've ever seen before" Chinatsu adjusted her glasses as she responded. Her thoughts lingering on the incredibly strange manner that the mysterious individual was dressed. In particular, the thing that stuck out to her most in her memory was the almost witch like hat that sat up on their head.
Yuuka's scrunched up slightly, a frustrated look making its way onto her face as she tried to record the details of the mysterious individual. Yet despite trying to she couldn't really recall much about the mysterious individual considering at the time she was more focused on the general student council vice president.
But one aspect that she could remember immediately jumped out to her about the stranger, something that immediately caused her brain to momentarily halt as she realised just how bizarre that particular detail was.
"Hey... Guys... Did any of you notice that they didn't have a halo?"
Everyone immediately turned to look at Yuuka, confusion spreading across their faces before realisation settled in an exactly referring to. Every single one of them up until now hadn't actually even realised it. But she was right, the mysterious person didn't have a halo of any kind, even though they seemed to be human despite the strange clothes.
Chinatsu's eyes noticeably narrowed, a deep look of concentration making its way onto her gentle features as she thought about what exactly Yuuka had just said.
In Kivotos there were three distinct types of individuals, first were the students like herself who had halos and attended the academies that made up the overall city itself, second was the civilian population of Kivotos which consisted of animal human hybrids and sentient machines. And third was a much more mysterious group one that was rarely seen, those being adults who had no halos to speak of therefore making them different from everything else.
And considering what Yuuka had said, it left no option in the blonde haired girl's mind that the mysterious individual that the general student council vice president had met with was one of these halo-lacking adults.
'Chairwoman Hina needs to know about this development' Chinatsu thought to herself, her contemplation about the haloless adult being shattered by somebody speaking.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, I didn't see any kind of Halo above their head" Suzumi was the first to speak, straightening up in her seat and brushing away some hair from her eyes.
She had heard rumours of haloless individuals existing, but had always disregarded it as nothing more than that, simple rumours and gossip spread among students. But now it seemed that those rumours had a bit more truth to them.
Hasumi didn't say anything, a deep look of concentration on her face as she was absorbed in her own thoughts. She much likes her fellow Trinity student had heard rumours of adults who lacked halos, and even though she was not one to usually partake in gossip, even she listened when these particular rumours emerged.
Of course now with the revelation that the mysterious individual that the general student council vice president had met with lacked a halo of any kind, and was seemingly an adult on top of that, it certainly made the rumours feel a bit more real than she could have imagined.
The general student Council building's lobby was plunged into silence once everyone to absorbed in their own thoughts about the mysterious and haloless adult to even consider talking to each other.
Although as they all sat there, each one of the Academy representatives felt a strange feeling of foreboding overtake them, each one of them reacting differently.
Hasumi's wings straightened out, her eyes narrowing with her body going tense, seemingly ready to react to a moment's notice against any potential danger.
Chinatsu had a similar reaction, although instead of looking like she was ready for a fight, instead she placed her massive shoulder bag in her lap, unzipping one of the many compartments and retrieving a small syringe ready to administer healing to anyone in need.
Suzumi readied her rifle, pulling the slide back and chambering a fresh round, keeping her finger on the safety as her eyes darted around the lobby trying to pinpoint any potential danger.
Yuuka sat straight up in her seat, putting her hands in her jacket pocket and grabbing a hold of her portable calculator, which also doubled as a personal shield generator once the right equation was ended. She also retrieved one of her SMGs, racking the slide and releasing the safety.
Yet as the tense and dreadful seconds ticked by into minutes, absolutely nothing happened the lobby remaining is dead and lifeless as it had been, save for the scratching of pen on paper as Ayumu nervously filled out another document before placing it aside, the feeling of dread and foreboding washing over her as well, making her tremble like a leaf in a hurricane.
Ding!
The sudden sound caused everyone to jump, Hasumi, Yuuka and Suzumi all jumping to their feet as they ready their weapons, pointing at the source of the noise, Chinatsu did much the same reading her syringe as well as drawing her own handgun and releasing the safety.
Ayumu practically jumped under the desk, wrapping her black wings around herself in a feeble attempt to shield her body from any potential attack. However, instead of an attack, what the Academy representative saw was simply the elevator doors opening up, the sound that had startled them being nothing more than the elevator announcing its arrival at the ground floor.
Rin stepped out of the elevator, adjusting her glasses as she did so. However, what greeted her was an incredibly bizarre and slightly disconcerting site. Because all the Academy representatives were pointing their weapons in her general direction, however, after a moment they all lower their weapons, letting out a collective sigh of relief.
Shaking her head she pushed whatever all of that was aside, as she made a beeline for them the good Hunter stepping out of the elevator and falling into lockstep behind her, however as she approached the representatives all of them become somewhat tense, they weapons remaining lowered but clearly at the ready. Which confused her for a moment before her eyes widen as she realised what the problem was.
Turning around, she saw the skeletal mask that adorned the hunter's face, immediately realising that its quite frankly terrifying appearance clearly was the cause for the representatives' trepidation.
In fact, despite wanting to tell herself that she would get used to it, just looking at the skeletal mask was enough to send a chill down her spine. Yet, she pushed away the discomfort as she motioned for the hunter to follow her as they approached the academy representatives.
"Well, well the vice president decided to miraculously reappear after her disappearing act" Yuuka's tone was full of sarcasm and disdain, Crescent her arms over her chest in a disapproving manner, as she glared at the vice president of the general student council.
Rin despite feeling her blood beginning to boil at the comment, decided to let it go as there were more important things to deal with rather than the Millennium representative's bad attitude.
"Hello, guests that represent the neighbouring academies' student councils, disciplinary boards those who otherwise have too much free time on their hands"
Rin didn't even try to hide the disdain and sarcasm in her voice, the facial expressions of the Academy Representatives in front of her showing that her tone was clearly not appreciated. But quite frankly at this moment she didn't care considering how much trouble they had made for her.
"I am well aware why you irksome-I mean, important representatives have come here today" Pausing for a moment, Rin's face took on a strained smile, closing her eyes as she tried to keep her internal anger under control.
"You've come here to blame us for the fuss happening in the academy city. Isn't that right?" She opened her eyes, feeling just a small amount of satisfaction at seeing the insulted looks on the faces of the Academy representatives. Rin was being incredibly spiteful, and she knew it, and it usually wasn't like herself to do something like this, but at this moment she couldn't have cared less.
After a moment, Yuuka was the first to respond, her face flushing red with anger as she jabbed an accusatory finger in the direction of Rin.
"Huh?! What's with that attitude? You make it sound like it's our fault that the city is going to hell?"
Rin managed to control herself and not respond to Yuuka's yelling, yet she's certainly felt her hand beginning to slowly reach for her holster. Of course, shooting the Millennium student in the head wouldn't exactly hurt her much, but still, it would certainly shut her up.
But before she could take such a drastic course of action, she felt a cold and metallic hand come to rest on her shoulder, the feeling causing a shiver to run down and making her jump slightly as she turned her head, only to see that it was the good Hunter.
"You should calm yourself Rin, taking such a rash course of action will not achieve anything" His words had a certain weight and command, yet his tone was soft and gentle which immediately made her listen, her anger and frustration immediately subsiding as she took a calming breath.
Yet as she turned her gaze back to the student representatives, she couldn't help but wonder how exactly he knew what she was thinking of doing.
"Well, I wouldn't say that all of you in particular are responsible for the city's sorry state... the governing bodies of your academies and the resulting actions haven't exactly made the situation any better"
Rin adjusted her glasses as she finished speaking. She chose her words carefully while keeping the condescending tone in her voice to a minimum, but she knew that her words left no argument that the academies were not solely innocent in all of this.
A silent lingered in the air as the academy representatives looked, clearly trying to think of some retort to what the vice president of the general student council had said, but ultimately coming up blank on what to say. Yet after a moment Yuuka finally broke the silence.
"Well... whether the academies are to blame, what exactly has the general student council president been up to during such a sorry state of affairs? For the last time, I demand to see her this instant!" Yuuka lowered her voice, no longer shouting at the top of her lungs like she had been before, but still keeping her voice raised to a level that showed her frustration and anger as well as put her point across.
Yet instead of immediately answering, a look of uncertainty crossed Rin face, her eyes closing as she removed her glasses before pinching the bridge of her nose, she knew that it was finally time to reveal the president's absence.
As such, after putting her glasses back on and taking a deep and calming breath, she finally spoke.
"I'm afraid the president is not here at the moment. In fact to be frank she has gone missing" Rin let her words hang in the air, a deafening silence overtaking the lobby as all the representatives looked at her in confusion clearly not believing her, but as the silence lingered on the more all of them realise that she wasn't joking or being untruthful.
Yuuka was the first to react, stepping back in shock as her mouth practically fell to the floor. Despite rumours going around about the president's absence, she had been under the suspicion that the president was simply hiding from her duties, rather than outright missing .
"W-what?!" Yuuka managed to stutter out, shock and confusion plastered across her face.
Chinatsu had a similar reaction, the c96 Mauser that she had been holding fell out of her hand, cluttering to the floor loudly as her jaw also metaphorically hit the floor along with it.
Suzumi reaction wasn't as expressive as the first two girls, still she was shocked but not as much as the Gehenna and Millennium representative simply because she had been well aware of the rumours circulating that the general student council president had in fact disappeared.
Of course at the time she had simply disregarded them as alarmist rumours, but to know that those rumours were in fact real and the truth certainly was a shock to the system.
Hasumi's reaction was the most subtle out of all of them, sad acceptance Crossing her face as she closed her eyes for a moment before speaking.
"I see... So the rumours were true after all..." Her words were extremely quiet as she spoke to herself, her head drooping down slightly in sad exceptions of the rumours being true.
Rin let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, turning her head, she saw that the good Hunters gauntleted was still resting on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring but gentle squeeze that she appreciated, and after giving him a quick smile she turned her gaze back to the Academy representatives, a tremendous weight finally off her chest about the president's disappearance.
Taking a breath to steady herself, Rin began speaking, "Allow me to cut to the chase. The general student council has absolutely no authority because the top administrator of the Sanctum Tower has gone missing. We had been searching for a way to bypass the need for verification, all to no avail... until recently"
Rin pause, both to collect her thoughts and to make sure the representatives were understanding what she was saying. And thankfully it seemed that they did as they were all intently listening to her.
"Are you saying you've found a way now, chief officer?" Hasumi spoke, stepping forward slightly as she waited for Rin's response.
After thinking of the right words, a smile spread across her face as Rin finally responded, "That is correct. Sensei here is the answer to our problems"
With those words, she stepped aside, allowing the representatives to see the full unobstructed view of the mysteriously dressed stranger that was referred to as Sensei. Just as before, his clothing was completely alien and bizarre, which was only made worse by the terrifying skeleton mask that covered his face from view.
All the gathered representatives, mouths fell to the floor once again at what the vice president of the general student council had just said. The fact that she referred to the mysterious individual as a sensei through all of them through a loop. Yet after a moment of silence Hasumi once again was the first to speak
"This person... Is a sensei?" Her tone was full of confusion and uncertainty, yet there was a distinct twinge of interest in her voice, as she eyed the mysterious individual.
Rin didn't say anything, simply gesturing to the good Hunter who after a moment stepped forward, his ragged and weathered cloak billowing behind him as he quickly performed an elegant bow.
"Indeed I am, young lady. I am the good Hunter, but if you wish to refer to me as a sensei then that is acceptable" Contrary to his appearance which was bizarre and slightly terrifying, all the representatives were surprised by how soft and gentle his voice was and the way he spoke.
His way of speaking was noticeably old-fashioned, to the point where he sounded like he came from a completely different time. In fact, hearing his voice immediately made both Suzumi and particularly Hasumi think of the tea party members, particularly the current leader Seia Yurizono, who spoke in a similarly old-fashioned and formal way.
"Hold up. Who is this "Sensei" you're talking about? What are they doing here in the first place?" Yuuka said with a sceptical tone in her voice, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the good Hunter up and down, clearly not quite sure what to make of him.
"Whoever he is, He doesn't seem to be from kivotos." Hasumi much like Yuuka eyed the mysterious sensei up and down, her posture noticeably stiffening and her eyes narrowing, when her gaze came to rest on the skeletal mask that covered his face.
Seeing a chance to interrupt, Rin quickly cleared her throat catching all the representatives turning their attention back to her, and after making sure each one of their gazes was on her, she began to speak.
"This is Hunter Sensei, or the good Hunter, as he likes to be called. Not only is he going to be teaching in kivotos. But he has also been personally selected by the general student council president" She gestured towards the good Hunter, yet before she could continue speaking before she was cut off abruptly.
"The president chose him? The one who's now missing? Things are making less and less sense..." Yuuka said with a confused and frustrated expression on her face. It didn't make any sense to her how the president could go missing yet somehow choose a sensei to take her place.
Taking a breath to calm herself, Yuuka began speaking again "A-anyway. It's good to meet you sensei, I'm Millennium science school's... I-I mean, why am I even bothering to introduce myself right now?" She said abruptly, the Millennium representative only realising halfway through her introduction how pointless it was introducing herself.
Rin took on a noticeably dark aura, the sinister and strain smile from before quickly making its way back onto her face as she readjusted her glasses, causing the light to glint off them and make it look as if they were glowing.
"Don't worry about that annoying girl, let's move on, shall we..." Yuuka's mouth practically hit the floor once again, not quite believing what the vice president had just said about her, in fact before she could stop herself anger took over.
"Who are you calling, annoying?! I'm Hayase Yuuka! You should remember that name, Sensei!" Yuuka finished her little diatribe by gesturing towards the good Hunter, who after a moment of seeming surprise gave a small and curt nod.
"Indeed I will remember that name, it's a pleasure to meet you Yuuka Hayase" He said with another bow, his hand reaching out for her own before he suddenly stopped as if he realised what he was doing as he quickly retracted it much Yuuka's confusion.
Rin managing to get control of a frustration once again, let out a sigh as she turned to the good Hunter.
"Hunter sensei. You are here to serve as an advisor for a club that was created by the general student council president. The Federal Investigation Club: Schale" Rin finished speaking, she knew that she was needlessly repeating herself, considering that she had already told the hunter all of this information in her office. But she wanted to be absolutely certain that he understood what he would be doing and what his responsibilities now were.
Although, she did notice all the Academy representatives take an interest when she mentioned the name of the club. Which she supposed was an expected reaction considering that Schale's existence up until this point had been completely confidential, with no one outside the immediate general student council members knowing about its existence.
Clearing her throat, Rin continue from where she had left off. "This isn't your average club-more like a type of extrajudicial organisation. Since it's a federal club, you are allowed to register students from any of the academies in Kivotos. Each Academy region can perform battle activities without restriction"
Rin removed her glasses as she finished, a frustrated sigh exiting her lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "How the president was able to create such an organisation with this level of power, I have no idea"
Letting out another sigh, she put her glasses back on, directing her now steely gaze towards the good Hunter, who stared back at her through the eyeholes of his metal skeletal mask.
"As such you have been given a lot of power sensei, more power than anyone in all of Kivotos has ever possessed in its long history, so I expect you to use it wisely and not mistreat it" Rin's was harsh and commanding, making it very clear that she would not tolerate any abuse of the federal investigation club's powers.
The good Hunter for his part simply bowed his head, Rin feeling her cheeks flush just a little bit, as he unexpectedly took her hand into his own. And even though he was wearing a metal gauntlet, she was surprised by just how gentle and soft his grip was.
"I swear on my life, and my honour as a hunter, that I will not abuse this power that has been bestowed upon me" The student representatives watch this interaction with curious fascination, the tone and conviction in his voice left no doubt in any of their mind that he was telling the truth, which itself was bizarre considering that they had no idea who he truly was, but somehow they felt as if they could trust his word.
Rin after recovering from her embarrassment and surprise, gently wiggled her hand free of his grip motioning for him to get up which he did in short order.
"Anyway... The Schale clubroom is about 30 kilometres from here. The building is currently empty, but we had to put something in the basem*nt at the president's request" Rin quickly adjusted her long coat, the representatives watching with confused wild Hunter watched with mild interest as she pulled over her shoulders and clasped the buttons on its front together.
"It's now my job to take you there, Hunter sensei" She said as she quickly retrieved her phone from her coat pocket, seeing out of the corner of her eye at that's the good Hunter was once again watching her intently, his gaze conveying interest and wonder as she speed dialled the number she needed before pressing the call button.
"Momoka. I need a helicopter to take us to the Schale Clubroom" Rin waited for a response on the other end of the line, yet for a moment there was silence, but just when she thought that she might have mistakenly dialled the wrong number, she heard a distinctive and annoyingly familiar crunch from the other end of the line.
"The Schale clubroom? That's over in the outskirts. Things are kind of crazy over there right now... " Momoka on the other end of the line spoke between crunches, causing Rin aggravation to grow because the pink haired girl clearly after all this time had still not learnt basic table manners that even a kindergartener knew.
"What do you mean by "crazy"?" Rin asked tentatively, already not liking where this line of enquiry was going.
"A suspended student escaped from the Corrections Bureau and is wreaking havoc. It's a battlefield over there right now!" Momoka's words immediately made Rin snap to attention, suspended students that it could be, with each one of them not boating well on the current situation.
"They rallied all the thugs in the area and are destroying everything in their path to get revenge on the General Student Council. I hear they even got a Crusader Tank!" Each word that came from the other end of the line made Rin's anxiety and blood pressure spike to an almost dangerous degree. Yet before she could speak, Momoka continued rambling on.
"They must be trying to occupy the Schale building because they know the General Student Council controls it. Maybe they think there's something valuable inside. Oh, well. The city's is already a dump, I don't think it'll make much of a difference anyway..." Rin's hands began to shake violently, the phone clutched in her hand creaking and threatening to shatter under the immense pressure her grip was exerting on it, she didn't appreciate Momoka comment in the slightest.
"Momoka-"
"Oh great! The food I ordered is here, I'll talk to you later!" The line went dead, the lobby being plunged into silence as the good Hunter and the Academy representatives watched Rin simply stand there, the phone still held up to her ear.
Yet the silence was quickly broken by the distinct sound of glass cracking, which was quickly revealed to be the phone in Rin hands, which now had a spider's web of cracks running across the screen.
Rin didn't care that she had broken her phone, the feeling that was boiling inside had long ago morphed from frustration into pure unadulterated rage. The look on her face was almost indescribable, conveying rage, frustration and anger all at the same.
Yet before she could act on the sudden and very irresistible impulse to throw the broken phone clear across the room. Rin felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder, which immediately made her snapper gaze in the direction of its owner, only to come face to face with the skeletal mask of the good Hunter, his gaze conveying understanding about her situation, and more importantly concern.
"Deep breaths now, Rin. Take a deep breath and calm yourself, remember what I said earlier" The voice of the good Hunter wormed its way into her ears, the frustration and rage that had been boiling inside her, slowly beginning to diminish, and after taking in a deep breath and letting it go, her anger subsided to the point where she could think clearly again.
"I'm fine now... Just a minor setback. And one that is no problem at all" Rin said mostly to herself, desperately trying to convince herself that the situation wasn't completely hopeless. However, as she felt the good Hunter take his gauntleted hand off her shoulder, she looked up at the Academy representatives, an idea suddenly occurring to her as she stared intently at them.
"W-what? Why are you looking at us like that?" Yuuka found herself incredibly creeped out at how the vice president was staring so intently at her and the rest of the Academy representatives. And it was only made worse when an almost malicious smile made its way onto her lips.
"It's sooo reassuring to have you trustworthy Academy representatives here with us" Rin put as much false sweetness in her voice as physically possible, taking slow and deliberate steps towards the Academy representatives, who all now collectively looked terrified instead of confused.
Yuuka felt her legs beginning to tremble, confusion and fear racing through her as the vice president stepped closer and closer towards her in particular.
"Huh?" Was all that the purple-haired girl could get out before Rin spoke again.
"We are going to need your help to bring peace back to kivotos. Let's go." Rin quickly turned on her heels, motioning for all the representatives to follow her and the good Hunter as they made their way towards one of the many exits of the lobby. One by one, the Academy representatives began to follow.
First Hasumi, who grabbed her rifle, chambering a round as she did so. Next was Chinatsu who quickly retrieved her pistol from the floor, grabbing her large medical bag and swinging it over her shoulder. Suzumi quickly followed, slinging her rifle over her shoulder as she fell into lockstep with the group.
Yuuka however was left standing there completely confused, her white jacket falling off one of her shoulders, one of the watching the group as they began to disappear through one of the many lobby doors.
"Wait What? Where are we going!?"
….
'What the hell did I do to deserve this!'
Yuuka mentally screamed at herself as she quickly took cover behind an overturned car. Bullets ricocheting off the pavement and the body of the car, sending fragments of rock and metal everywhere as she fumbled with the magazine while trying to reload her submachine gun.
However, just as she managed to insert the mag and press the bolt release, a stray rocket impacted the ground nearby. Exploding in a bright fireball that sent small chunks of debris flying in every direction.
"What's going on!?" Even more thunderous explosions and rapid gunfire drowned out Yuuka's voice. She had got into gun fights before, like pretty much every student her age, but this kind of intensity was something that was completely alien to her.
With a temporary lull in the gunfire coming from the enemy, she quickly popped her SMG over the side of the car, spraying a few rounds down range before pulling it back into cover.
"Why do we have to be the ones to fight them, damn it?!" Yuuka complained loudly as she reached for a fresh mag. Noticing Chinatsu out of the corner of her eye as the Gehenna student, quickly ran from the cover she was resting behind to the very same overturned car Yuuka was using.
"Rin set defending the clubroom is paramount if they're to regain control of the Sanctum Tower" Chinatsu set quickly, as she quickly ducked around the side of the car, aimed her pistol and quickly took out a thug that just happened to be running between cover.
Finally Reloaded, Yuuka did much the same, jumping on top of the car and letting loose a spray of automatic fire, her rounds impacting their intended targets and knocking the delinquents out cold.
"I get that, but I belong to my school's student council! Why is busywork like this falling to me?" Yuuka accompanied her rant by emptying the rest of her magazine in the general direction of the delinquent student. Her bullets quickly finding their target which was a delinquent trying to ready a massive rocket launcher but failing to do so as she was quickly knocked out by the stream of automatic gunfire.
Jumping back behind the cover, Yuuka began to reload once again, yet stopped herself when she realised something. More importantly, a particular somebody that she had somehow managed to lose since arriving at this battlefield.
"Where the hell is sensei anyway? Isn't he part of the reason why we're even here!? Yuuka jammed the magazine into her gun, her eyes scanning around the immediate area, trying to spot the good Hunter. Which shouldn't have been that hard considering his very distinct appearance, but it seemed that he had managed to do some kind of disappearing act, much to her frustration.
Yet as she released the bolt on her weapon she heard a voice that made her jump.
"I am right here Yuuka"
Yuuka snapped her gaze towards the sound of the voice, her heart in her throat as she was caught off guard by the good Hunter standing next to her and Chinatsu, not even taking cover behind the car as a hail of bullets continue to fly in their direction, which somehow all miraculously missed him.
"S-Sensei! What are you doing!?" Jumping to her feet, Yuuka completely forgot about the hail of gunfire coming their way as she quickly grabbed the good Hunter by his cloak, managing despite his much larger frame to pull him to his knees and behind the car that was acting as their cover spot. Although, strangely enough, she noticed that he didn't seem surprised in the slightest by her sudden action.
"What were you doing just standing in the open like that! You could get hurt, Sensei" Yuuka shouted loudly, mostly because of the loud gunfire but also because of the sheer adrenaline running through her system at the fact that the good Hunter could have got himself killed.
Yet instead of saying anything in response, she saw the good Hunter simply stare at her, his mask obscuring his face from view but his gaze conveying confusion and curiosity, as if he was completely unaware that he could have had his head splattered across the pavement by a stray bullet.
"I see, I will keep that in mind Yuuka. But I must say that you should do the same, I would hate to see any of you get hurt or worse on my watch, especially on my first day as your teacher" Yuuka immediately noticed the strange change in his tone as he spoke.
The first part of his sentence was noticeably calm and relaxed, as if the prospect of nearly having his head shot off was something not even to be considered. But the part that caught her attention the most was the noticeable change when he spoke about her and the other representatives being hurt, she could easily pick up on a tone of concern in his voice.
Yuuka try to think of a response to his words, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times before she finally found what she wanted to say. But before she could say it, Chinatsu answered for her.
"The concern is most appreciated, Sensei. But you don't need to worry about us, our halos will keep us safe from most physical damage" The blonde-haired Gehenna student said as she reloaded her pistol, inserting a fresh stripper clip before pulling the slide back and releasing it.
The good Hunter turn to the tension to the blonde haired student, his head tilting up slightly as his gaze came to rest on the crosshair shaped Halo that hovered above her head. Yuuka and Chinatsu both watched him as he stared at it for a moment, seemingly examining every detail of it as if he had never seen such a thing before in his life. In fact, the more he looked at it, the more Chinatsu felt self-conscious, with her cheeks turning noticeably red.
"Even if that is the case, I must implore both of you to stay in cover until we can formulate some kind of strategy to get to the clubroom" The good Hunter said as he turned his intense gaze away from Chinatsu's halo, much to her relief. And quickly poked his head over the side of the upturned vehicle, much to the protest of both students.
"Yuuka, Chinatsu, I will draw the enemies fire while you use the opportunity to incapacitate them" Both representatives didn't have a chance to argue or even really comprehend what he had said before the good Hunter suddenly sprung from the safety of the upturned vehicle.
Yuuka and Chinatsu watched in abject horror as every delinquent on the street turned their rifles towards the good Hunter and opened fire. Yet instead of being gunned down, something almost impossible happened.
Something that was so fast and sudden that in the moment they didn't quite understand what had happened.
One moment the good Hunter was simply standing there, letting the wall of bullets and rockets travel towards him, the next he was several feet away from where he was standing. His cloak flowing behind him, as the bullets that were intended for him harmlessly impacted the street and buildings behind the spot where he had been only a second earlier.
Both Yuuka and Chinatsu's mouths hit the floor, only just now realising exactly what had happened and even though they had seen it with their own eyes, not quite believing it.
The good Hunter had literally dodged bullets.
Something that even the strongest and the most battle hardened of students could not do easily. Yet he somehow did it effortlessly and so quickly that he almost looks like he teleported from one spot to another.
However, before both of them could marvel at this accomplishment any further, the good Hunter quickly shouted over to them, shaking them from their stupor.
"Yuuka, Chinatsu! Fire upon them now! Their guard is lowered!" Both representatives were immediately spurred into action, their shock and confusion at what the good Hunter had just done completely forgotten as both of them jump from behind the improvised cover.
Yuuka quickly took out her second SMG, duel-wielding both of them as she quickly sprayed a hail of bullets at a group of delinquents who were in the process of reloading their weapons. Her bullets landed home and took all of them out in an instant.
Chinatsu held her C96 with both hands, the accuracy of her fire being impeccable as she had no trouble managing to land all her shots on target, with every single one of them being a perfect headshot which was more than enough to complete incapacitate the delinquents as they fell to the ground.
Quickly reloading their weapons, both girls looked around the immediate area, looking for any other delinquents that could be hiding. But thankfully they found none, which made both of them let out a sigh of relief. Both of them taking a moment to rest as the good Hunter quickly approached them.
"That was impeccable work girls, I am very proud of both of you" good Hunter accompanied his praise by putting his hands on both of the girl's heads and gently ruffling their hair.
Yuuka reaction was immediate as she quickly protested, flailing her arms around as her cheeks went rosie red. She was not used to this kind of physical attention from anyone, especially a mysterious male adult that she hardly even knew.
Chinatsu by contrast had a much more subtle reaction her cheeks going rosie red just like Yuuka, but instead of getting immediately flustered and trying to push away the affection, she actually seemed to openly enjoy it, a small smile making its way under her lips as she somewhat shyly tapped the tip of her fingers together.
Finally having enough of the hunter patting her head, Yuuka finally managed to push the good Hunter's hand off her own head, her cheeks now a bright red as she quickly spurted out some words.
"C-cut it O-out Sensei! I'm not a little kid, you know!" The good Hunter was momentarily surprised, but before long he felt a new sensation rise up within him, one that he had not felt in quite some time.
Yuuka's fuming out about the good hunter's actions, was quickly interrupted as she and Chinatsu heard something that caught both of them off guard. A soft chuckle, one that almost sounded like the gentle breeze on a cold night.
Both of them look towards the source of the noise, surprised to see that it was the good Hunter, gently chuckling while shaking his head. Even though the hunter had obviously displayed emotion up until this point, actually hearing him laugh was a strange experience. It filled their very souls with an almost warm, tingly sensation, that made all of their tension and frustration disappear.
After a moment of laughing quietly, the good Hunter managed to get control over himself, speaking between his gradually lessening chuckles.
"Forgive me Yuuka, I let my body control my actions there for a moment... Although I must say that you are particularly adorable when you are flustered" If it were possible, Yuuka's cheeks somehow got even reader than they were before, her eyes dilating rapidly as she quickly grabbed both of her pigtails to try to hide her face with them. This only caused the hunter to chuckle more which was quickly joined by Chinatsu, who despite trying couldn't hold back her own laughter.
Yet before Yuuka could literally die of embarrassment, the group of students and one sensei heard a familiar voice approaching.
"Sensei, I'm sorry that I was separated from you for so long, a particular group of rowdy delinquents had me and Suzumi pinned down the next street over." Hasumi along with Suzumi jogged their way over to the group. The black haired Trinity students, wings flapping behind her, as her... ample assets bounced in rhythm with her step.
Which caused Chinatsu to look down at her own chest, a feeling of inadequacy settling upon her shoulders, despite the fact that she wasn't exactly the smallest in that department.
The good Hunter turned towards the Trinity students, both of them coming to a stop in front of him as they began to catch their breath.
"There is nothing to apologise for Hasumi, we had the situation here under control, and we managed to end it in a swift and decisive" The hunter accompanied his words by gently patting the blackhead girl on the shoulder, making her blushed slightly but other than that she had no reaction to his touch.
"Now that we are all back together, we should make our way towards the clubroom, according to Rin's directions, it should only be a short journey from here" the four students watched as the good Hunter turned his head.
His gaze settling on the distant buildings, as if he somehow already knew where he was going. Which itself was a bit bizarre considering that he obviously wasn't from Kivotos, but they all collectively chalked it up to him simply having a good sense of direction.
And so, after making sure everyone was stocked up on ammo, the group continued on their way towards the Schale club building. Every so often they encountered small groups of delinquents, engaging inlooting and general chaos making, but there was no trouble dispatching any of them. However, as the good Hunter lead the group around one final street corner, the club building finally came into view, but that wasn't all. Gathered outside the building was a large amount of delinquents of various groups, sporting every kind of weapon imaginable, from antiquated bolt action rifles to modern heavy calibre machine guns that were completely illegal to own.
"Everyone! Scatter and find cover!" The good Hunter raised his voice louder than any of them had heard so far, but they didn't need to be told twice, as they all quickly found various pieces of cover.
Which was not a moment too soon as the large gathering delinquents opened fire on their positions, bullets of all sizes and calibres, whizzing past them, impacting the cover they were hiding behind and generally tearing up the street and buildings around them.
"T-this is... Really intense!" Suzumi shouted as loud as she could, her voice being completely drowned out by the sound of bullets hitting the pile of rubble she was taking cover behind. Occasionally poking her head over the improvised cover and shooting controlled bursts at any delinquents that she could get in her line of sight.
Hasumi quickly jump from behind a nearby corner, racking the bolt of her rifle as she quickly put a shot into the head of a delinquent who was running between two pieces of cover. The delinquent instantly being incapacitated as her shot landed home.
Pulling back the bolt and expelling the spent round, she quickly jumped back behind The Wall just in time as a barrage of bullets quickly chipped away at it, but thankfully it held as she chambered the next round.
"I couldn't have said it better myself. I've been in some serious firefights before, but this is on a completely different level!" Hasumi accompanied her words by quickly ducking out of cover, shooting a delinquent in the face, and then quickly ducking back behind cover. Reaching into the slit of her skirt, she retrieved a fresh stripper clip inserted it into her rifle and racking the bolt, the first round being chambered as the now empty strip of metal was sent tumbling to the ground with a loud metallic ping.
Hasumi and Suzumi then look to each other, both of them nodding in unison as they quickly began taking turns at dispatching the delinquents that were currently raining bullets down on their position. Both of the Trinity girls worked like a well-oiled machine as they took out delinquents left and right.
The same however couldn't be said for Yuuka and Chinatsu, who were both pinned down behind the burnt out wreck of what was once a public bus. Yuuka occasionally taking pot shots at any delinquents that she could see without exposing herself to the line of fire and Chinatsu doing her best to do the same despite the fact that her weapon, a c96 pistol, was intended more for self-defence rather than an active firefight like this.
"This is impossible! How the hell are we going to get to the clubroom with all of those troublemakers in the way!" Yuuka accompanied her shouting, by quickly reloading her SMG and shooting at a delinquent who was getting a bit too aggressive and running straight towards their covered position. The delinquent who was wielding a shotgun quickly went down like a sack of bricks, her halo winking out of existence as she fell into unconscious.
Chinatsu quickly expended the last of her magazine, ducking back behind the cover as she reached for a fresh magazine that she kept in her large duffle bag that she had been lugging around this entire time.
"I don't know... all we can hope is that sensei will come up with some kind of plan" Chinatsu said with hopelessness beginning to creep into her voice. Inserting the fresh magazine into her pistol as she turned her gaze over to the good Hunter who was sitting behind an upturned vehicle, his pointy hat along with his head poking just above the improvised cover so he could see the entire battlefield.
Yuuka stop firing SMG talking back behind the cover as she looked at the Gehenna student with a concerned expression. Despite not wanting to believe it she was honestly beginning to think, that the good Hunters ability to direct them in combat earlier was nothing more than a fluke, considering that so far they had been sitting here taking bullets and knocking out a few delinquents without really accomplishing anything.
Reaching into her pocket, the purple haired girl quickly pulled out a small digital calculator, looking at it with an almost forlorn expression as she contemplated actually using it, despite the fact that she hadn't actually tested it under these kinds of conditions.
However, before she could contemplate that line of thought any further, she, along with the other Academy representatives, all suddenly heard the good Hunter speak for the first time since this fire fight had begun.
"Everyone! Come to my position now, I have formulated a plan" the good Hunter's voice carried across the battlefield, easily reaching all the Academy Representatives in the positions they were, and after a small amount of hesitation. One by one, they began to make their way to his position. Using the momentary lapses in enemy fire to quickly jump from cover to cover before finally arriving at his position behind the upturned car.
Chinatsu was the last to go, hefting the large bag strap onto her shoulder as she quickly ran from behind the burnt out bus. Which couldn't have been more perfectly timed, as the bus was quickly enveloped in a fiery explosion by a delinquent that happened to have a rocket launcher on her.
The Gehenna student paid it no mind however as she continued to run, ducking and weaving between broken rubble and burnt out cars as she finally made it to the overturned car that sensei was using as his improvised cover.
Letting the bag drop from her shoulder, Chinatsu quickly fell onto her butt, breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She was never one to skip physical education, After all, skipping classes of any kind was something that could put you on a fast track to becoming a delinquent.
But unfortunately physical education was always her weakest subject simply because she wasn't a very athletic girl, not like her fellow Prefect Team member and friend Iori who absolutely excelled at any physical sport.
"Chinatsu, are you alright, young lady?" The good Hunter turned his gaze towards the Gehenna student who was desperately trying to catch her breath, his gaze even though it was hidden behind his mask conveying concern for her physical condition.
Managing to gulp down as much are she physically could, Chinatsu felt her heart rate beginning to return to a normal pace turn and after taking a couple more deep breaths, she finally responded to sensei.
"I'm F-fine, I'm just not very G-good at physical-activities at all... It's my W-weakest subject" She managed to force a chuckle between her breaths, yet instead of immediately responding, the good Hunter continued to stare at her for a moment before ultimately shaking his head.
"I see, if physical education is your weakest subject, I suppose after all of this mess is sorted out, we can remedy that somehow. After all, a healthy mind isn't of any use if it doesn't have a healthy body to work in tandem with" Chinatsu felt her cheeks turn hot, a vicious blush making itself easily apparent on her face as the prospect of one-on-one lessons with sensei wasn't exactly something she would be against. Yet she quickly shook the embarrassment and that thought away, after all, much like the good Hunter had implied they needed to fix this situation first.
The hunter after a moment quickly clapped his gauntleted hands together, his clap somehow being heard over the gunfire and Explosions and therefore catching all the gathered students' attention.
"I need all of you to listen to me intently, the number of adversaries as many and we are few. But I've come up with a plan" The good Hunter paused for a moment, making sure that all the Academy representatives were listening to him, which thankfully they were as they all intently stared at him.
"I have not acted until now because I was watching you young ladies fight, I needed to know what your strengths were before we proceeded, and now I do, so here is the plan that I have devised"
Yuuka, Chinatsu, Hasumi and Suzumi old watched intently as the good Hunter began to explain his plan, which was aided by him carving a crude but useful visual battle strategy into the pavement with a piece of bent rebar he picked up from the ground.
"Yuuka, Suzumi I want both of you at the front here in the formation, both of you are extremely adept at using those quick firing weapons of yours" Both students nodded in agreement as they watch the good Hunter carve little circles into the pavement that represented them, before moving on to the back line of the formation.
"Hasumi I want you in the backline, that rifle of yours is extremely powerful, and accurate but ultimately slow firing, therefore your accuracy and power would be best suited supporting the front line from a rear guard position" Hasumi watch the good Hunter carved another little circle into the pavement representing her.
Despite the fact that she was an incredibly quick shot with her rifle, being able to empty an entire magazine in less than 3 seconds. She knew that going up against delinquents that had automatic weapons was not the best idea, especially considering that her rifle only held 5 rounds. As such, after a small amount of contemplation, she nodded her head also.
Satisfied with this, the good Hunter then moved on to the final student, who was awaiting her role assignment.
"Chinatsu, I want you to stay close to me, while your weapon is far from useless, unfortunately I do not feel that you could be with much used in the front line, alongside Yuuka and Suzumi" The good Hunter carved one last symbol into the pavement, a small circle alongside a bigger circle that represented himself at the very back of the formation.
He was half expecting the Gehenna student to be somewhat disappointed with her placement in the formation, yet to his surprise she simply nodded in agreement, retrieving her bag from the concrete pavement next to her as she spoke.
"I don't have any problems of that sensei, to be perfectly honest frontline combat isn't exactly my speciality, I've always been more suited for support role" She finished by adjusting her glasses wiping away some dirt and grime that had accumulated on the lenses over the course of the firefight from earlier.
Looking at her for a moment, the good Hunter gave a nod of affirmation, dropping the piece of rebar as he quickly stood up before issuing his orders.
"Yuuka, Suzumi, I want you to make your way over to that building, and stay in that position until I give the word" The good Hunter pointed at the building he was referring to, one that once upon a time was an electronics shop but had now been completely looted and stripped of anything valuable.
Suzumi, Yuuka both nodded, grabbing their weapons and making sure they were loaded and ready before they quickly ran from cover to cover. Both girls quickly arriving at the empty building and quickly taking up cover inside while they waited for Sensei's word.
With the two students and position, the good Hunter turned his attention to Hasumi, who like a well-trained soldier already had her rifle in hand and was waiting for the order to move.
"Hasumi, make your way over to the opposite side of the street where that destroyed wagon is and wait for my mark" The Trinity student was a bit thrown off by sensei's choice of word, considering that she had never heard anyone referred to a car as a wagon.
But shaking her head she told herself that strange things like that were not important right now, she quickly made her way over to the burnt out car which was lying on its side, taking up her designated position as she waited for the word.
With a nod, the good hunter confirmed that every student was in position and prepared to follow his command. He then turned to Chinatsu, who remained seated with her back against the makeshift cover. Extending his hand, he offered assistance to the surprised Gehenna student. Chinatsu accepted, finding herself unexpectedly lifted to her feet with effortless strength.
Seen that everything was in place, the good Hunter motion for Chinatsu to get behind him, which she did without complained as she prepared her pistol just in case she needed to use it.
"Everyone! Let the hunt begin!" the good Hunter's voice carried across the battlefield, his choice of words being bizarre to the academy representatives. But they all quickly understood what he meant as they spring into action.
Hasumi using the destroyed car as cover began to take out as many delinquents as she could see, the accuracy and precision of her shots being almost supernatural as she made sure any delinquent would think twice before stepping out of cover and into the open.
"Yuuka, Suzumi both of you advance now!" The Hunter ordered as he pointed to where they needed to go, both students being momentarily confused at exactly what he wanted them to do before it suddenly clicked. Hasumi's accurate and precise fire had made the delinquents afraid to expose themselves, meaning that they wouldn't see a counter-attack coming until it was too late.
Suzumi's eyes lit up as an idea suddenly occurred to her, Yuuka watching with confusion as the Trinity student quickly retrieved a cylindrical object from her belt. One that caused Yuuka's eyes to widen as she immediately recognised it as a high-powered flashbang, something that she knew most students shouldn't have access to.
Wordlessly but with an excited look on her face, Suzumi quickly pulled the pin on the flash grenade, holding it in her hand for about a second before she quickly tossed it towards the group of delinquents. The flashbang sailing through the air in a perfect ark as it quickly landed amongst the delinquents and before any of them could react they were blinded and deafened by the Exploding flashbang.
"Come on Yuuka's let's go!" Suzumi said excitedly as she quickly grabbed her rifle, rushing out of the derelict store before the Millennium student could give any kind of protest.
"H-hey! G-give me some warning next time, dammit!" Yuuka explained, running after the Trinity student as she readied her smg.
Suzumi and Yuuka quickly made it to the group of delinquents, who was still dazed and confused by the flashbang, and quickly seizing on the opportunity both Academy representatives quickly gunned the delinquents down, making sure each one of them was thoroughly incapacitated before kicking away their weapons and taking their position as their own.
Seeing the two girls move up, Hasumi quickly reloaded her rifle as she moved to another spot, so that she could continue to give fire support to Suzumi and Yuuka. The good Hunter and Chinatsu did the same as they quickly moved to a new cover spot, taking cover behind a burnt-out vehicle that once upon a time was a delivery truck.
Yuuka knelt down, pulling a fresh mag from her coat pocket as she reloaded her smg. Suzumi took the time to do something similar, inserting a fresh magazine into her assault rifle before she clicked the bolt release. But as she did this, both students were quickly knocked off their feet by an explosion that hit nearby.
"Yuuka, Suzumi!" the good Hunter shouted at the top of his lungs, seeing the explosion and fearing the worst, he made to run over to where Yuuka and Suzumi position was. Yet he found himself stopped as somebody quickly grabbed onto one of his arms, turning his head to see that it was none other than Chinatsu, her face full of fear for his safety.
"Sensei you need to stay here, I will go" The good Hunter didn't get a chance to protest her words as the blonde-haired girl quickly ran from the safety of the burnt-out delivery truck.
"Chinatsu! What are you-" The good Hunter tried to call after the student but had no luck as she continued to run between cover, the large bag slung over her shoulder making her movement extremely sluggish as she continued after shift its weight so she wouldn't fall over.
"Hasumi! Cover Chinatsu!" Hasumi immediately did it she was ordered, despite the fact that she and the Gehenna student didn't exactly get along, rivalries between academies could wait until they weren't in a dangerous situation like this.
As such, she began to take out any delinquency she could see, making sure that none of them tried targeting the Gehenna student, as she made her way over to Yuuka and Suzumi's position.
Pulling the bolt back on her rifle, Hasumi quickly retrieved another stripper clip as she inserted it into her rifle, her dark red eyes scanning for the exact origin from where the rocket launcher had been fired earlier. However, as she continued to provide supporting fire while keeping an eye out for the target, she suddenly heard the good Hunter shout loudly at her.
"Hasumi! Target at the end of the street, second building on the left, 4th floor, third window from the right!" Hasumi quickly directed her rifle to the called out location, her red pupils narrowing as she quickly spotted her target. Sat in the window of the building, in the process of reloading her massive rocket launcher as she intended to cause more havoc with it.
"Not on my watch you don't, delinquents like you deserve to be punished" Hasumi spoke quietly to herself as she acquired her target, mentally accounting for both windage and elevation as she aimed for the delinquents head. As she was doing this, a dark aura began to surround her rifle, swirling around the barrel as Hasumi quickly racked the bolt of her rifle, before pulling the trigger.
The good hunter from his position watched with fascination as this happened, his gaze following the trajectory of the bullet now encase in a dark aura as it left the barrel and sailed through the air at supersonic speed, hitting the delinquent Square in the face, a dark explosion surrounding her as she was quickly incapacitated by it before unceremoniously falling out of the window and to the street below.
Letting a small smile spread across her face, Hasumi quickly pulled the bolt back on her rifle, chambering a new round as she resumed her task of providing covering fire to Chinatsu as she made her way over to Yuuka and Suzumi's position.
Chinatsu quickly skidded to a halt, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart as she quickly put her pistol back in its holster, reading herself for the worst as she finally made it to Yuuka and Suzumi's position.
"Yuuka, Suzumi!" Are you two OK?" Chinatsu called as loudly as she could manage, quickly rounding the piece of rubble that had been their cover. Much to her relief, both students were in fact still conscious and didn't look like they had taken that much damage from the explosion, although it certainly had still done a number on them.
Yuuka hearing the sound of the Gehenna student's voice looked in her direction, her purple hair slightly frazzled and noticeably dishevelled from the explosion but other than that thankfully she had very little injuries.
"I'm fine, a few bruises, but I'll live" Yuuka managed to say, letting out a quiet groan, as she managed to get to her feet, her knees shaking considerably as she quickly grabbed onto the of rubble to support herself. Chinatsu seeing this move to help the Millennium student, yet Yuuka quickly shook her hand, trying to reassure Chinatsu that she was alright.
"I'm fine honestly, Suzumi got it worse than I did, so you should look at her first" Chinatsu wasn't convinced by the Millennium student's words about her being fine. But decided to not push the issue as she turned her attention to the Trinity student, who currently had her back up against one of the pieces of rubble that made up their covered position.
Suzumi despite being conscious, and still on high alert, her rifle clutched in her hands. Had much like Yuuka said got the brunt of the explosion, the entire side of her uniform was completely torn up, with her skin beginning to turn black and blue from the bruises that were beginning to form, which wasn't made any better by the numerous small cuts that oozed a small amount of blood.
Kneeling next to Suzumi, Chinatsu exchanged a quick glance with the Trinity student before she put her large bag down next to her, quickly opening up one of the large zippers as she rooted around for the exact items that she needed. Which upon pulling out revealed large medical bandages and a syringe filled with a blue medicine.
Chinatsu quickly unravelled the bandages, looking at Suzumi for permission to proceed, which the Trinity student quickly gave in the form of a small nod. As such, she quickly got to work wrapping the bandages Suzumi's torso. The silver head girl letting out quiet whimpers and groans of discomfort as the disinfectant bandages came into contact with her cuts and fresh bruises.
"Sorry, I forgot to say this with sting" Chinatsu quietly apologised, paying extra attention to the most heavily bruised areas of Suzumi's upper chest and breast area, being sure to wrap the bandages especially tight in that region. Both to give the girl some dignity considering her chest was practically on display, and to make sure the bandages held fast, considering that she had a distinct feeling that this battle was far from over.
"It's F-fine, it's not my first time being P-atched up in the middle of a B-battle like this" Suzumi managed to let out a small laugh between her hisses and groans of pain. Fondly remembering some of the altercations she got into and the fact that members of the Knights Hospitaller would often be there to patch her up after or even during the fight.
Chinatsu finished preparing the bandages, a small smile making it's way on to her face because of what the Trinity student had just said. Patching people up in the middle of battle like this was something that she also had experience with, especially the many occasions when her fellow prefect team member, Iori, got herself caught up in unnecessary firefights while doing her job.
"Alright, the bandages are in place... although, I don't know how well you're going to like this next part" Chinatsu accompanied her words by giving the bandages one last adjustment to make sure they were tight, and retrieving the large fluid-filled syringe which upon seeing Suzumi flinched slightly, a noticeable amount of discomfort and maybe even a small amount of fear in her eyes.
"I'm guessing there's no way I can say no... Right" Despite the slight pleading tone in Suzumi's voice. Chinatsu simply shook her head indicating that was the case, any hope in the Trinity student's eyes completely evaporating, she took a noticeable gulp. Yet, as Chinatsu remove the syringe's protective plastic cap, a barrage of bullets quickly impacted the piece of rocky debris that they were all using as cover. Yuuka quickly readying her SMG as she began to return fire.
"Whatever You're Gonna do, make it quick. We have a metric ton of delinquents coming our way, and they don't look particularly pleased" Yuuka said as she peeked over the edge of the cover, being careful not to get a stray bullet to the face as she counted about 15 delinquents all rushing towards their position.
She couldn't really understand why they would be so stupid as to leave their covered positions and rush them like this, but she suspected it was probably something along the lines of the delinquent getting bored and wanting to cause more chaos and destruction.
Chinatsu and Suzumi both looked at the purple haired Millennium girl for a moment before turning back to look at each other. The look on Suzumi's face being one of complete and utter defeat as a sigh escaped her lips.
"Just do it quickly, I'm not a little kid any more, so I don't know why I'm still scared of needles" Suzumi closed her eyes and turned her head away, grimacing noticeably as she waited for the pain that would come from the needle entering her flesh. Chinatsu for her part simply said nothing as she located a prominent vein on the girl's arm, positioning the needle so it would go in properly.
However, before she jammed the needle into Suzumi's arm, Chinatsu quickly spoke. "If it's any consolation, I still don't particularly like needles myself"
Suzumi turned to look back at Chinatsu, opening her mouth to say something, but not having the chance to do so as the needle was quickly jabbed into her arm.
"Ow! Dammit that hurt!"
In truth, the actual pain from the needle entering her flesh wasn't as much as she had expected, but the suddenness of it was what made her jump. Instinctively trying to pull her arm back, which was prevented by Chinatsu with her free hand as the liquid was quickly injected into her veins.
Yet whatever was in the syringe quickly got to work with the effect being almost immediate, the pain from both the needle going into her arm and the residual ache from her taking the explosion in the first place almost immediately vanished, with it replaced by almost newfound energy, the kinds of which that even trinity's best medicine could never hope to compare to.
As Chinatsu removed the needle, while wiping away some of the blood with a cotton bud, Suzumi found herself almost vibrating on the spot wanting to jump to her feet right away as, the energy that was coursing through her veins was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
The only thing that she could compare it to, was like drinking an entire crate of energy drinks in one go without stopping. But even then the comparison was only flimsy at best, because unlike drinking a crate of energy drinks which shamefully she had done in her younger years, whatever had been injected into her left her completely energised both physically and even mentally without any kind of negative side effect.
"Sorry, I don't have any proper plasters" Suzumi was pulled from her thoughts by Chinatsu voice, her gaze snapping to the Gehana student who was holding a small plaster in her hands, one that she immediately recognised as a Peroro-themed one that was very popular with younger kids.
Looking at the plaster for a moment, Suzumi turn to a gaze back to Chinatsu both students scaring at each other for a moment before Suzumi let out a quiet chuckle.
"If it's all you've got then I suppose it will just have to do, besides its kind of cute in a weird way" Suzumi saw a small smile make its way onto Chinatsu's face, who quickly got to work applying the small bandage over the spot where she had used the syringe, the coldness and stickiness of the plaster making the whitehead Trinity student wince slightly as it quickly stuck fast to her skin and covered up the wound.
Chinatsu quickly zipped up her bag, retrieving her pistol which was laying nearby, quickly rising to her feet as she made sure that it was fully loaded before she offered a hand to Suzumi, who after a moment quickly took it retrieving her own rifle as she was pulled to her feet by the blonde haired Gehenna student.
"Normally I would say that at least 15 minutes of rest is required after such an injection... But it looks like we don't have that luxury right now" Chinatsu words were punctuated by a series of bullets whizzing over both of their heads.
"Yeah... I feel a bit light-headed, but I'm good to fight" Suzumi accentuated her words by racking the bolt on her rifle, chambering a new round as she held her rifle at the ready.
"Guys! Hurry up-" Yuuka didn't get a chance to finish, as the group of delinquents that had been advancing on their position finally arrived, several of them immediately surrounding the free students, with their rifles pointing at them.
"Ha! We've got you now!" A delinquent, with a red painted helmet, exclaimed proudly as if she had just accomplished some kind of great victory.
"Yeah! We're going to fill you full of holes!" another one with a black painted helmet and a very out of regulation uniform accompanied her words by jabbing Chinatsu's chest with the muzzle of her rifle.
Chinatsu didn't appreciate this, as she glared vicious daggers at the delinquent, yet before she could act on the sudden impulse to viciously beat the delinquent over the head with the butt of her pistol, fate decided to intervene.
BANG! BANG!
"Huh!
"What the hell!"
Yuuka, Chinatsu and Suzumi along with several delinquents were suddenly caught off guard by the helmets of two delinquents exploding in a shower of plastic fragments, both delinquent's halos winking out of existence as they fell to the floor like puppets with their strings cut.
Using the opportunity, Chinatsu quickly grabbed the muzzle of the delinquents rifle that was pointed at her, grip and before the Troublemaker could react grabbed it with both hands raising it above her head and bringing the rifle, now improvised bat down hard.
The delinquent's helmet made a satisfying plasticy cracking noise as it's shattered like glass from the force of the impact, Chinatsu quickly dropping the rifle putting some distance between her and the troublemaker as the delinquent stumbled only just managing to stay on her feet as she tried to recover from the sudden blow.
Chinatsu however wouldn't give the delinquent a chance to recover as she quickly brought up her pistol, releasing the safety and somewhat angrily emptied an entire magazine of 9 mm cartridges into the delinquency chest. Which was more than enough to put her out of commission as she collapsed like a sack of bricks. Her halo disappearing as her body hit the floor with a hollowed thump.
Yuuka like Chinatsu used the sudden confusion to charge the nearest delinquent, pivoting on one of her feet as she quickly delivered a vicious roundhouse kick, which was more than enough to disarm the delinquent and knock her to the ground. Giving Yuuka ample time to quickly shoot her several times with her SMG, before emptying the rest of her magazine into another confused delinquent that unluckily happened to be standing close by.
Suzumi, unlike Yuuka and Chinatsu didn't use any hand-to-hand combat, simply choosing to unload the entirety of her assault rifle's magazine into the nearest delinquent, before quickly reloading and doing the same to two more.
In a state of disbelief, the remaining two delinquents gazed upon their unconscious and incapacitated gang members scattered on the ground. They couldn't comprehend how their friends had succumbed to defeat so swiftly.
Moments later, they exchanged glances before turning their attention to the Academy representatives, who now significantly outnumbered them. Despite being at a severe disadvantage, both delinquents stubbornly kept their rifles raised, demonstrating unwavering determination and a disregard for their own safety.
Yuuka Chinatsu and Suzumi all raised their respective weapons, all three of the Academy representatives reading themselves for the gunfight that was about to begin.
The five students all respectively held their ground, nobody daring to take the first shot as they were stuck in a true Mexican-style stand-off. And even though the delinquents were clearly outnumbered and outgunned, they couldn't have cared either way.
However, both of the helmeted students saw the faces of the Academy representatives suddenly change, their expressions of anger and seriousness almost disappearing as they all did something completely unexpected.
They lowered their weapons.
Seemingly just giving up, which the two delinquents couldn't have been more excited by, because it meant that they wouldn't give any resistance when they gunned them down.
"Ha! Giving up that easily, huh?" The delinquent with the purple and black helmet said mockingly. Emphasising her words by both laughing and poking the barrel of her gun in the general direction of Chinatsu, who simply didn't respond but clearly didn't appreciate what she had said.
"Hell yeah! You're making this too easy" the other delinquent, this one wearing a helmet that comprised of various pink and yellow swirls, said with an almost childlike glee that in any other situation would have been considered quite cute.
"You got any last words before we fill you full of holes!" the pink and yellow helmeted delinquent said it in an almost joking manner
After exchanging glances with Chinatsu and Suzumi, Yuuka smirked and stepped forward. The delinquents, caught off guard by her boldness, snapped their rifles at her, clearly not expecting her to take them up on their word.
"As a matter of fact I do, before you fill us full of holes... you might want to take a look behind you" The condescending and smug tone was practically dripping from Yuuka's voice as she tried her absolute hardest not to burst out into a fit of laughter.
Both delinquents were confused and somewhat offended by her tone of voice not understanding what she was getting at, however, that's when a dark shadow quickly loomed over them. One which was accompanied by a menacing, dark aura that made their very souls begin to shake with fear.
Slowly turning around, both helmeted delinquents came face to face with somebody that made their blood run cold. Standing over them was the good Hunter, the shadow cast by his large brimmed which like hat, obscuring much of the skeletal mask from view, yet his six inhuman eye sockets globe with a dull red aura that radiated malice and terror.
Both delinquent's weapons fell from their grasp, dropping to the floor with a notable thump as they felt their knees beginning to give out underneath them. Yet before they could collapse, the good Hunter moved with such speed that it was almost impossible to see what he had done.
But the effect was almost immediate as the halos above the delinquent heads suddenly winked out of existence as their bodies went limp and dropped like stones, but before they could impact the hard concrete, the good Hunter caught both delinquents in his arms, and with a gentleness from that had not been seen up until this point, placed both unconscious girls down onto the concrete softly.
Quickly rising back to his full height, the good Hunter turned his attention to Yuuka, Chinatsu and Suzumi, his gaze conveying both relief and concern as he quickly spoke.
"Yuuka, Suzumi are you both unharmed?" Both students quickly shook their heads. Despite the majority of her blazer being ripped to pieces, Suzumi was thankful that her injuries looked worse than they actually did.
"I'm a little banged up, but I'm fine. Especially after how good Chinatsu patched me up" Suzumi said with a confident tone, twisting her shoulder around in an exaggerated movement to show that she looked fine, as well as sending a thankful glance towards the Gehenna student who looked quite surprised that Suzumi had called her by her first name.
"I'm fine as well sensei, Suzumi got it worse than I did, so I'm still good to go" Yuuka emphasised her point by bringing up both of our SMGs and in one fluid motion releasing the bolt on both of them, the metallic noise that emanated from the guns somehow conveying slight malicious.
The good Hunter looked at both girls, his gaze conveying a deep sense of relief as he let a quiet chuckle escape his lips, quickly and unexpectedly padding both of the girls on the head. Suzumi was incredibly surprised by the sudden action but didn't protest, a small blush and shy smile making its way onto her face. Yuuka's reaction was much the same as before, her face going as red as a tomato as she flailed her arms around, trying to get the good Hunter to stop his head pat.
"I'm glad to hear that you are both safe and sound, as your teacher it is my responsibility to look after you. So I would hate to have you injured on my watch" The Hunter said as he finished giving both girls their head pats,
The sound of footsteps from behind causing him to turn his head, his hand twitching ever so slightly, before seeing that it was none other than Hasumi. Her Raven black hair flowing behind her like a dark waterfall as she joined up with the rest of the group.
"Sensei, the delinquents appear to be retreating" The blackhead Trinity student said as she came to a stop next to the good Hunter, quickly inserting a fresh stripper clip into her rifle before she closed the bolt.
"I see, then I suppose that means we have beaten them for now" The good Hunter turned to Hasumi, raising his hand, and before she could protest giving her a head pat of her own. An embarrassed look made its way onto her face as she tried to push his hand away, her cheeks going a noticeable shade of red.
"S-sensei! Please refrain from doing such things, I'm not a child" Hasumi managed to push the good Hunter's hand away, her cheeks a bright violet red as she tried to compose herself.
"Anyway, even though they are retreating simply regrouping, and even possibly even formulating some kind of counterattack" Hasumi's words made the good Hunter pause for a moment, his gauntleted hand coming up to gently rub the metallic chin of his skeletal mask in seemingly deep contemplation.
"I see... if that is the case, then we must formulate a counterattack of our own" Hasumi, Yuuka Chinatsu and Suzumi all snapped to attention when he spoke those words, listening intently as they waited for whatever plan he was going to come up with.
"It's clear that the club building is within reach, but our path is obstructed by a group of delinquents who have retreated strategically to either regroup or reinforce their defences." the good Hunter much like you had done before quickly got to one knee as he began carving out a crude battle diagram in the pavement, all of these Academy representatives watching intently as he did so.
"As such, here is what we will do, instead of waiting for them to approach us or letting them fortify themselves, we need to eliminate them and punch through their line as quickly as possible" The good Hunter drew a crude line representing the defensive line of the delinquents and then an arrow pointing towards it, which Hasumi, Yuuka Chinatsu and Suzumi immediately understood represented them.
"Yuuka, Suzumi I want you to perform as the vanguard, you two will act as the head of the spear that will punch through their lines. Hasumi and Chinatsu, both of you will remain in the back with me giving as much support as possible to Yuuka and Suzumi as we break through the delinquent's defences" All the students watched and listened intently as the good Hunter finish drawing his crude diagram in the pavement.
It was an incredibly risky plan for sure but considering that the delinquents would either counter-attack or dig themselves so it was the only one they had that could have any possibility of succeeding especially if they acted upon it now.
Without any words, everyone immediately assumed their intended positions, Yuuka and Suzumi taking up the head of the formation as they made sure their weapons were ready and loaded for what was about to come. Hasumi and Chinatsu both formed up around the good Hunter, the students sharing a quick glance with each other before they both nodded in agreement, whatever bad blood there was between their schools could wait until this was over, because they needed to focus on protecting the good hunter from harm and providing as much support as they could manage to Yuuka and Suzumi.
"Alright, is everyone ready for what is to come?" The Hunter said as he looked around at the Academy representatives, he wanted to make sure that all of them were prepared because once they started there was no turning back.
"Yes sensei!" Hasumi, Chinatsu, Yuuka and Suzumi all said at the same time, each one of them emphasising their words by co*cking their respective weapons.
In a moment of suspense, the Hunter stood stoically silent. Abruptly, his arm shot upward, one of his metallic fingers piercing the sky as a resounding shout escaped his lips. "Alright everyone! Let's teach these troublemakers a lesson that they will be sure not to forget!"
As soon as the words left the good Hunter's mouth, the group quickly sprung into action, swiftly exiting the piece of rubble that had been using as cover and quickly advancing on the delinquent entrenched position. The troublemakers for their part were completely caught off guard by the sudden advance, not having time to react as several of them were quickly gun down by the collective fire from Yuuka and Suzumi.
Quickly making ground, the group suddenly ducked behind an overturned vehicle using it as cover as several delinquents Returned fire, the good Hunter waited for the precise moment that they would all empty their magazines, using that opportunity to give an order to Hasumi.
"Hasumi! They are reloading their weapons, seize the opportunity and take them out!" The raven haired student without a word did she was commanded, jumping out from behind cover as she took aim with her bolt action rifle, finding her target and pulling the trigger before racking the bolt in rapid succession 4 times. Each shot was almost unnaturally precise and accurate, every single one of them hitting the delinquent square between the eyes and shattering their helmet visors as a result.
Ducking back behind cover as the delinquent bodies fell to the floor, Hasumi proceeded to reload her rifle, saving the singular spare round that was ejected for later as she inserted a fresh stripper clip.
With the group of delinquents now incapacitated thanks to Hasumi's expert and accurate fire, the good Hunter turned his attention to another group of delinquents which had foolishly jumped out from behind their covered position and were firing wildly in their general direction.
"Yuuka, Suzumi, I want you to advance, incapacitate those troublemakers and procure that position, once you have done this we will follow" Both girls watched the Hunter gesture to where he was talking about, which was currently occupied by about 5 delinquents which were firing haphazardly in their general direction.
Yuuka and Suzumi both turned to look at each other for a moment before nodding, an eager smile making its way onto both girls faces as they brought up their weapons and prepared them for battle.
"You can count on us Sensei" Yuuka said enthusiastically, quickly grabbing her second SMG which she had been keeping in reserve for just such an occasion.
"Yeah we'll clear the way for you, plus I want some payback after what they did to my uniform" Suzumi emphasised her words by pointing at the tattered remains that was once her blazer and shirt.
The good Hunter looked at both girls before giving a nod, which was all the confirmation they needed as they quickly jumped out from behind the cover and quickly went on their way, firing their weapons all the while as they advance on the enemy position.
"Hunter sensei, what should we do?" Chinatsu said with a calm and even tone, although the good Hunter was able to detect a slight amount of eagerness in her voice.
Turning to look at her, he paused for a moment, before finally finding his words. "We will hold this position and provide as much support to Yuuka and Suzumi as we can manage"
If the Gehenna student was disappointed by his response, then she didn't show it as she simply nodded in return, keeping her pistol close as she made sure that her medicine bag was at the ready just in case it was ever needed.
However, as Chinatsu went to retrieve a spare magazine that she kept in one of the many large pouches on her medicine bag, she failed to notice the ever so distinctive glint of a rifle scope in a ruined building not far away. In fact, she was so unaware of the fact that she was being targeted, she didn't have a chance to react as the owner of the rifle pulled the trigger.
Yet where she failed to notice her impending doom, somebody else did, as the rapport of a singular gunshot somehow drowned out every other sound on the battlefield.
BANG!
"CHINATSU!"
Chinatsu heard both the gunshot and her name being shouted, and by Instinct alone she closed her eyes, expecting the worst. However, instead she found herself wrapped up in a pair of extremely strong yet gentle arms, and after several very tense moments, she tentatively opened one eye, only to have both of them shoot wide open when she saw the sight before her.
The good Hunter had wrapped her in a tight embrace, his black and tattered cloak draped around her like the wings of a dark angel, as his massive body practically dwarfed her own. Yet those kinds of details were the absolute furthest thing from her mind.
A wave of horrific dread washing over her as horrific realisation settled in at exactly what had happened, which was only made even worse when she felt the Hunter's body lost most of its strength. His substantial weight now pressing down onto her as he struggled to keep himself upright while also protecting her from any follow-up shops from the sniper.
"S-Sensei!" Chinatsu tried to free herself from his grip, her medical Instincts already kicking in, yet even though his strength continues to dwindle he did not let go of her. And before she could protest even further he quickly barked out an order, which was accompanied by spatters of blood spraying out from the mouthpiece of his skeletal mask, some of which much to her horror landed on her cheek and glasses.
"H-Hasumi! The white-F-faced building at the fire E-end of the Street, 6th floor left window" Hasumi turn her attention to the Hunter when he shouted her name, only for her eyes to widen in shock and her mouth fall open when she saw him protecting Chinatsu. Even though his cloak obscured most of the Gehenna student and his body from view his position, as well as the stutter in his voice, made it horrifyingly apparent what had just happened.
Yet before she could say anything, the good Hunter spoke once again, this time his voice having a noticeable strain to it. "H-Hasumi! T-take out the R-rifleman now"
Despite the horror and worry that was now etched into her mind, she quickly pushed all of it aside, as Hasumi quickly took aim in the general direction, her excellent eyesight straining slightly as she tried to find her target, which she was able to do so when the telltale glint caught her eye, exactly where the good Hunter had said it would be.
Taking a deep breath, she held it as she waited for the right moment, her finger inching onto the trigger as her entire body went rigid. Doing the mental math to correct for both windage and elevation, Hasumi finally pulled the trigger.
The sound of her rifle somehow drowning out the chaos of the battlefield as to her delight, her shot hit the exact mark she aimed for, which specifically in this case was the rifle scope which exploded in a shower of glass and metal as the delinquent that was using it was put out of commission.
Yet any kind of positive emotion was completely forgotten as she almost threw her rifle aside, scrambling to get to the good Hunter's side who was still huddled over Chinatsu, selflessly using his very own body as a shield to protect her.
"Sensei!" Hasumi shouted with concern as she threw her rifle to the ground, not caring in the slightest if it got damaged by the sudden action. Quickly kneeling down next to the good Hunter, and used her considerable strength to prop him up on her own body, which was horrifyingly easy despite his incredible weight.
"G-good work.. Hasumi... That was the most excellent shot" in any other situation, Hasumi would have been positively elated by the complement of her marksmen ability, but right now she couldn't have cared less.
Chinatsu now finally free from the good Hunters protective embrace, quickly got to work as Hasumi with much effort, managed to prop the good Hunter up against the vehicle that all three of them had been using as cover.
"S-sensei, Why... Why did you do that?... I told you that our halos can keep us safe from physical damage..." Chinatsu try not let her emotions get the better of her, especially considering that she needed to focus on treating the Hunter's injuries. But as she began to try and remove the cloak that covered his chest, that was much easier said than done as she felt tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
Even though she did not know the good Hunter all that well, considering that she had only met him a few hours earlier. Seeing anyone hurt, especially because of her, was something that always weighed heavily on her mind, it also didn't help that in the little time she had spent with him, she had seen that the good Hunter was an incredibly decent and genuinely good person.
The Hunter did not say a word, simply letting out a quiet chuckle which was quickly followed by several very wet-sounding coughs, much to the horror and worry of both students as Chinatsu tried her best to see to his wounds and Hasumi simply sat by, unable to do much but watch.
"I suppose my body acted on its own... Even though you informed me that your halos keep you safe from physical harm, I still couldn't help myself when I saw someone so young like yourself in danger... How foolish of me, I suppose... Making such a novice mistake after all this time" His words held a furlong and almost regretful sounding tone, as if he was guilty of some grievous mistake that he could never take back no matter how much he tried.
Chinatsu felt many conflicting emotions, on the one hand she was genuinely touched by the fact that he was willing to put himself in physical danger to keep her safe even though she was practically a stranger to him.
On the other, she was horrified by his seeming complete disregard for his own physical well-being, even if it was from his point of view to seemingly save somebody's life. Although as she rummaged through her medicine bag, looking for the biggest bandages she had on her, the last part of his sentence stuck out to her, particularly the way he said, as if this wasn't his first time doing such a thing.
But quickly shaking those thoughts away, she recentred her focus back to what was most important right now, which was trying to stop hunter from bleeding out in front of her from his gunshot wound.
"Sensei don't talk, try to conserve your strength... I will do what I can, but I think you might need to go to an actual Hospital..." Chinatsu continue to look for the bandages that she needed, cursing under her breath because she still couldn't find them.
Yet both she and Hasumi failed to notice that her words specifically be mention of a hospital elicited a reaction from the good Hunter. It was a slight shudder in his shoulders accompanied by his body going completely rigid. The mere mention of a hospital brought back many unpleasant memories for him, ones that he had tried to forget, but seemingly to no avail.
However after a moment he quickly reached out his hand, and grabbed Chinatsu's wrist with a noticeable amount of strength, which caught the blonde haired Gehenna student completely off guard she turned her gaze to look at the good Hunter's skeletal mask which covered his face from view.
"Chinatsu... I assure you I will be fine... this is not my first grievous injury and I doubt it will be my last... now I need you and Hasumi to stand back and observe... Because I have the perfect remedy for a situation like this"
Chinatsu and Hasumi were both caught off guard by his words, especially Chinatsu considering he said he had the perfect method to treat his current injury, considering that he had a gunshot to the chest which even for a student with their halos was a serious injury that needed specialised treatment methods.
Nevertheless, after a considerable amount of hesitation, both girls quickly moved back as instructed, watching intently as the Hunter reached into his robe before proceeding to pull out the object he was looking for. Chinatsu and Hasumi were confused by what exactly they were looking at. It was a small glass vale containing some kind of red liquid, approximately the size of a medium-sized water bottle. Protruding out of the neck of the bottle, was a strange long projection which was obscured by densely wrapped linen and fabric stained a deep brown colour.
Chinatsu couldn't help but grimace, because the fabric itself looked incredibly unsanitary, but any thought of such things completely forgotten when she saw the good Hunter quickly rip the fabric from the top of the bottle. Revealing a large and very ornate looking needle which had been obscured by the fabric coverings, it was so long and thick that it looked almost like a small dagger rather than any kind of medical needle that she was familiar with.
And before her and Hasumi could say anything, they watched with sudden horror as the good Hunter quickly and without hesitation stabbed himself with the strange glass vial, the large dagger like needle gliding in between the gaps of his armour and puncturing deep into his chest cavity.
Chinatsu by pure Instinct alone quickly jumped to the Hunter's side, not even thinking as she quickly ripped the glass vial from his gut. Completely failing to notice that the contents inside the bottle was now gone as she threw the bottle to the ground, hearing it shatter into a million pieces against the hard pavement below.
"Why did you do that, sensei! You could have only made the injury wo-" Chinatsu found herself quickly silenced by the good Hunter placing one of his armoured fingers against her lips. The cold steel of his gauntlet making a chill run down her spine as he let out a shushing noise, similar to how a parent would silence a child.
"There is no need to threat Chinatsu... What I just did was the perfect remedy... in fact, I feel as right as a hunter on the night of the hunt" Both students confused by his words, but found themselves completely caught me off guard a moment later when the good Hunter shot to his full height, without any kind of struggle whatsoever. As if he's near life-threatening injury that he had had seconds ago had never been there to begin with.
Chinatsu's mouth dropped open, not quite believing what she had just seen. One moment the good Hunter was on the verge of death from a gunshot wound to the chest, and the next. After injecting himself with whatever was in that vile, was somehow completely healthy once again, as if the gunshot had never actually happened.
"H-how... How did you do..." Chinatsu's words completely failed her, not understanding in the slightest how what she had just seen was even possible. Even the most advanced and experimental medicine and medical technology could heal somebody with that kind of injury in such a short time. It was completely impossible, and yet it had happened right in front of her.
As the Hunter remained silent, his gaze shifted towards Chinatsu, seemingly locking onto her for an eternity, though in reality, it was only a fleeting moment. Despite the obscurity of his true eyes, veiled behind the empty sockets of his skeletal mask, Chinatsu felt as if she were gazing into the vast and infinite abyss of the cosmos, a feeling that lingered long after the Hunter's eyes had returned to their original position.
"I'm afraid Chinatsu that we do not have the time to discuss it in detail... let's just say that it's a remedy from my homeland" Chinatsu's sheer bewilderment did not abate even with that answer, simply because it was not a true answer, it was a deflection, a polite one definitely but still a deflection nonetheless.
Yet just as she opened her mouth to protest his non answer, an explosion went off nearby most likely courtesy of a stray rocket fired by one of the delinquents, small bits of rubble landing all over her, Hasumi and the good Hunter like rocky rain.
She wanted to protest, she wanted to demand an answer to something that quite literally shouldn't have been possible. But despite how much it pained her to do so, the good Hunter had a decent point, right now was not the time or the place for in-depth discussions about seemingly almost a miracle like medicine.
As such, after metaphorically picking her jaw up off the floor, she quickly retrieved her duffle bag, zipping it up before grabbing her C96 pistol which was lying nearby.
"I suppose you're right sensei... but after this is over I want an explanation!" Chinatsu emphasise her point by jabbing one of her fingers towards the good Hunter, a fiery looking in her eyes that was one of burning curiosity but also deep confusion and maybe even just a little bit of Fear.
"While I would also like an explanation, I do think that we should get moving. Yuuka and Suzumi seemed to have secured their position" Hasumi got to her feet, retrieved her rifle from the ground as she gently pulled back the bolt just far enough to see if a round was chambered which thankfully it was.
"Very good of them I must say, those two are really earning their keep" The Hunter said with a quiet chuckle, quickly turning his gaze to both students who after a moment both nodded, which was all the signal he needed.
"Hasumi, you will need the way. Chinatsu and I will follow you, I'm counting on you to protect us both" Hasumi despite a small amount of hesitation quickly gave a confirming nod, a serious and confident look making its way onto her elegant and beautiful features as she held her rifle close.
With one final nod between all three of them, Hasumi quickly sprang out from behind the improvised cover they had been using, both the good Hunter and Chinatsu, following closely behind as she kept a very good eye out for any potential threats as they moved from cover to cover.
All three of them quickly ducked behind a piece of rubble, Hasumi motioned for the good Hunter and Chinatsu to stay put, as after a second she quickly jumped out from behind the piece of rubble, bringing her rifle up and quickly dispatching a group of delinquents with two very well-placed shots.
"We've clear, let's keep moving" Hasumi said as Chinatsu and the hunter quickly emerged from behind the piece of rubble, all three of them continuing to snake their way through the destroyed streets.
"That was most impressive Hasumi, your senses of the surroundings are impeccable" Hasumi couldn't stop the slightly prideful smile from etching its way onto her face, as the good Hunter came beside her.
"Thank you sensei, being second in command of the Justice Committee, means that I must always be vigilant for any kind of unlawfulness" Despite the proud tone in her voice, Hasumi tried to suppress both it and the incredibly proud smile that was currently on her face.
She wasn't one to usually gloat, after all, it was unbecoming of a young lady like herself and the second in command of The Justice committee. But still, receiving a compliment for her performance as a result of her dedication to her work certainly boosted her ego.
However, just as she opened her mouth to say something, Hasumi suddenly found herself abruptly pulled back by something grabbing onto the back of her shirt. Just as a bat wrapped in chains and studded with nails was quickly swung down hitting the ground directly where she had been standing just a moment ago, with enough force that the asphalt beneath it cracked and broke upon impact.
Hasumi's eyes widened as she looked at the bat, before she suddenly turned her gaze to the source of whatever had just pulled her out of harm's way. Only for her eyes to widen even further as she saw the good Hunter was the one responsible, his hand still tightly clenching the fabric of a shirt.
"Put down the weapon!" Chinatsu shouted as she raised her pistol to eye level. "In the name of the disciplinary committee, and by extension the student council, you are under arrest!" The commanding tone and forcefulness of Chinatsu's voice made both the good Hunter and Hasumi, both of them had not expected to hear such a tone from the soft-spoken Gehenna student.
The delinquent however didn't seem intimidated by this, simply scoffing as she raised the bat above her head and rested it on her shoulder in a very nonchalant manner.
"I don't give a sh*t who you work for, girly! And I ain't as hell put down my bat, especially considering that I haven't smacked all three of you over the head with it yet" The delinquent girl's mocking tone and overall attitude were certainly enough to rile up Chinatsu, as her usually bright and kind eyes dangerously narrowed, the pistol in her hands beginning to shake as she tightened her grip on its handle.
Which wasn't helped when the delinquent let out a mocking laugh, cackling loudly as she spoke. "And I think I might start with this freak over here" She accompanied her words by pointing the bat in the direction of the good Hunter.
Her laugh only grew louder as an incredibly sarcastic and mocking tone entered her voice. "What do you think, big guy! How would you like to be the first to get smacked over the head by my little bat huuuuuh?"
Chinatsu looked like she was about to explode, her face having gone as red as a tomato which was accompanied by a vicious and dangerous fire in her eyes, that would have most likely already put the delinquent girls 6 ft under if looks could kill. However, before the glasses wearing student could act on her sudden and very violent Impulse to smash the delinquent repeatedly over the head until she stopped moving.
Somebody place a hand on Chinatsu's shoulder, causing her to look at the owner of the hand, being somewhat surprised to see the Hunter with what she could assume was an expression that was meant to calm her.
Staring into the good Hunter's skeletal mask, Chinatsu felt a strange calming sensation wash over her, one that made all the anger and rage inside her quickly dissipate and vanish as if it had never been there to begin with, it was both relieving and also quite strange. But before she could comment on it, the good Hunter quickly spoke.
"Hasumi, Chinatsu, both of you stand back, I will deal with this wrongdoer myself" The Hunter turned his gaze towards the bat wielding delinquent, both Chinatsu and Hasumi looked at him for just a moment before they quickly opened their mouths to protest such an action.
"Absolutely not / You cannot do that!" Both girls spoke at the exact same time, not caring that they had talked over each other as they quickly tried to get between the good Hunter and the delinquent who was tapping her back against the ground, looking almost bored at the entire interaction.
However, before they could draw their weapons, the good Hunter quickly stepped Past both of them. Waving one of his gauntleted hands nonchalantly.
"I can assure both of you that I will be fine. Now... As for you" the hunter pointed one of his metallic fingers at the delinquent who had stopped tapping her back against the ground. Her face which was hidden by her helmet taking on a slightly excited look as she prepared to teach this strange looking adult a lesson he would never forget.
"It's time to issue your punishment and teach you a lesson" Chinatsu and Hasumi felt a chill run down their spines as the good Hunter spoke. His voice didn't discernibly sound different from before, but there was something in his tone, something dark and sinister, that was enough to send a chill down their spine.
And they were not the only ones, as the delinquent who had been excited noticeably shivered, her hands along with the bat noticeably shaking before she managed to get control of herself.
"Oh yeah? Those are some big words, coming from a guy who doesn't even have a weapon!" the delinquent half laughed and shouted, whatever momentary hesitation and fear from before completely gone as she pointed her bat at the Hunter who simply stood there, his body being so still that he almost looked like a statue.
Growing annoyed by his continue silence, the delinquent quickly rested the bat on her shoulders, putting her other hand on her hip as she began to tap her foot on the ground in a clearly annoyed but consistent rhythm. Her eyes, which were hidden by the visor of her bike helmet, looking the good Hunter up and down as she quietly sized him up.
"Well then, come on, big man. Why don't you come put me in my place like you said you would?" The mocking tone in the delinquent's voice was even more palpable, as she let out a sarcastic but slightly forced sounding laugh. Both Chinatsu and Hasumi who was standing by behind the good Hunter, felt the Intent to smack and otherwise brutalise the delinquent increase considerably with each word that left her mouth.
Yet before either girl could act on these impulses, the Hunter raised a hand, ushering them to stand down as if he somehow was able to read their emotions, before he turned his attention back to the delinquent in front of him.
Instead of speaking, he simply raised one of his gauntleted hands, ushering the delinquent to make the first move with a simple flick of his fingers, indicating that he wanted her to come at him first.
The delinquent for her part to let out an annoyed snarl, her plan to annoy him and get him to make the first move so she could counter-attack had not worked in the slightest, in fact as she grabbed the bat with her other hand, now holding on to it tightly with both. She felt an almost calming aura radiating from him, as if he was a beacon of light in pitch black nothingness.
"Fine then! Have It Your Way! I'm going to beat you senseless and turn you into a red stain on the pavement!" The good Hunter did not retaliate as the delinquent shouted those words, instead simply letting out a quiet breath as he prepared himself.
The delinquent, scraped one of her feet against the cracked and broken pavement, exactly like a bull that was ready to charge at a red object. And with a scream, she quickly charged at the Hunter, throwing the bat above her head as she intended to bring it down squarely on the Hunter's pointed witch-like hat.
"Sensei! / Hunter Sensei!" Chinatsu and Hasumi both screamed at the same time, watching with fear and horror has the delinquent charged at him, her bat swinging down aiming directly for his head as if it was an out of control freight train that couldn't be stopped.
Yet before the bat could make contact with the good Hunter and both academy representatives could move to defend him, something unexpected happened as the bat quickly and unexpectedly smashed into the concrete. The delinquent as well as Chinatsu and Hasumi, blinking in surprises, as they tried to process what it just happened.
The delinquent was the first to react, pulling her bat out of the concrete in a somewhat confused state as she began to look around, trying to locate where the Hunter had gone because from her perspective one moment he was there about to get his skull crushed by her bat and the next he was just... gone?
"Are you perhaps looking for me, young missy?"
The delinquents eyes widened behind the face shield of her helmet, her entire body quickly whirling around as she located the source of the voice. The good Hunter was standing in the same spot she had been only seconds ago, completely unscathed, as his tattered cloak gently swayed in the breeze.
"H-how, How the hell did you do that!" the Hunter did not respond to her, choosing to remain silent as he simply stood there, his overall posture despite being calm and relaxed still somehow inviting the delinquent to try again, which she quickly did. Letting out a loud yell as she quickly charged at him again.
"I've got you this time, you old bastard!" The delinquent girl shouted triumphantly as she took a sideways swing at the good Hunter, again aiming directly for his head. However, much like before, the bat hit absolutely nothing as the momentum from her swing and the overall heavy weight of the bat caused her to lose her footing, making her tumble to the ground as the bat fell from her hands and landed nearby.
"W-what the hell!" the young delinquent shouted incredulously, her eyes scanning round trying to locate where the Hunter had gone this time. Yet as she did so, a shadow quickly loomed over her, one that she immediately noticed as she turned to look at its source. Her eyes widening and her teeth clenching an anger as she saw that it was none other than the good Hunter, offering a hand to her in an almost mocking manner.
In the blink of an eye, the delinquent reached for her bat, grabbing hold of it with one hand as she swung it wildly without any real target. Only for it to actually connect on something, specifically the good Hunter's gauntleted hand, which was quickly thrown aside by the sudden action.
Seeing and utilising the opportunity this gave her, the delinquent quickly sprung to her feet, much quicker than anyone had expected her to, taking the bat in both hands as she swung the bat as hard as she could possibly manage. This time aiming for the Hunters' abdomen area, which she hoped would put him down long enough so she could finish him off with a blow to the head.
Yet much like before he was able to somehow dodge her attack, but this time she actually managed to see exactly what was happening and quite frankly it through her through a loop.
This mysterious adult was somehow dodging her attacks, that part she had already figured out, but seeing how he was actually doing it just made no sense to her. Simply because he was moving so fast that it almost looked like he was teleporting from one place to another. In fact, the only reason that she even noticed at this time was because she was focusing all of her attention on him, and even then she only just barely caught him moving.
"Stay still, god dammit!" The delinquent yelled, trying again and again to hit her target but failing every time as the good Hunter simply and effortlessly sidestep and dodged every single one of her attacks.
"I see you're beginning to learn" The hunter said with an almost amused tone to his voice as he sidestepped another one of the delinquents attacks, noticing that her attacks were becoming slower and more sluggish, meaning that she was becoming tired from overexerting herself.
"W-what... (pant) T-the hell are you... (pant) T-talking about?" The delinquent said between breaths, her legs wobbling beneath her as she used the bat as an improvised stand to try and keep herself upright.
The Hunter did not immediately respond, instead of choosing to move towards her at a slow but even pace, seemingly not caring if the delinquent tried to attack him, which she unsurprisingly did as with the little strength she could muster, quickly and somewhat sloppy picked up the bat and swung it with both hands, hoping that it would find its target.
"The lesson I am teaching you is that you should never underestimate an opponent" The Hunter said as he suddenly and unexpectedly caught the bat with his hand. Surprising both the delinquent, as well as Chinatsu and Hasumi who had been watching the entire ordeal from the sidelines with bated breath.
The delinquent eyes widened behind the faceplate of her helmet, her gaze slowly tracking to the bat, which was currently gripped tightly in the hunter's hand, disturbingly and somewhat morbidly she noted that the clawed tips of his gauntleted were digging into the bat. Which was enough to make her blood run cold.
Yet as her gaze snapped to look at the good Hunter's skeletal face mask, her blood turned even colder when she saw that the eyeholes of his mask were glowing a dim yellowy orange, one that sent a feeling of malice, hate and fear coursing through her body.
"Remember this lesson well young urchin, even if an opponent is unarmed or lacks a weapon you should never underestimate them, always treat them as if they are the most dangerous beast you will ever face, and fight like your very life depends on" His voice was enough to make her legs tremble, the way he spoke and the tone of his voice was somehow elegant and refined yet paradoxically complete the alien and inhuman.
It made her head spin to the point where she felt her legs beginning to buckle beneath. However, before she could collapse the good Hunter quickly backed away from her, releasing the bat which quickly tumbled from her grip and clattered to the ground.
"I believe it is time to end this lesson" The hunter said with an almost melancholic tone to his voice, as he backed up from the half scared to death delinquent. Yet despite being terrified she somehow found the inner strength to quickly retrieve the bat from the ground, the terrified expression never leaving her face as she raised above her head and charged at the good Hunter, screaming all the way.
The good Hunter beneath his face mask smiled sadly, even though she was a very misguided young girl, he could respect her perseverance to fight to the very last in spite of her own fear.
Chinatsu and Hasumi held their breath, as the fight had gone on the fear that the good Hunter would actually be hurt had slowly dissipated, considering how effortlessly he had dodged the delinquent attacks up until this point. Still, as they watch the delinquent charge at him for one final time. They couldn't stop themselves from shouting out in fear that the good Hunter would be hurt once again.
"Hunter Sensei! / Sensei" Both students screamed, their bodies moving on their own as they try to run to the good Hunter's aid.
Yet instead something completely unexpected happened. Something that was so quick and sudden that they almost didn't even perceive it in the moment and only understood what had happened after it had concluded.
The good Hunter allowed the bat to come closer to himself, yet just when it was about to strike he did something completely unexpected, with a speed and swiftness that was completely inhuman, he reached inside his cloak, retrieving an object which he drew out into the open.
What he had in his hand was truly a work of art, the deep red coloured wood engraved with elaborate patterns and ornamentation that suggested a nobility long-lost time. The metal of its frame and other intricate components, was composed of a shining metal, that paradoxically was as black as the infinite expanse of the Cosmos itself, and much like the wood, every piece of the inky black metal was engraved with some elaborate ornamentation that caught the light exquisitely, giving it the illusion that the engravings were almost the dancing as they sparkled.
With inhuman speed the good Hunter pulled back the Hammer, time slowing for him as he waited for the exact millisecond that he needed and once it came he did what was necessary, pulling the elegantly curved trigger which initiated a chain reaction resulting in his pride and joy the Evelyn firing for the first time in this new world.
BANG!
The delinquent's ability to process what was happening was completely non-existent as the Evelyn unleashed fury upon her. The blood infused Quicksilver bullet exiting its muzzle in a bright flash and a millisecond later impacting directly in the centre of her chest.
Even though the delinquent's halo kept her safe from the bullet actually penetrating her chest cavity, the sheer force and energy behind the Quicksilver bullet, was enough to completely cripple her body, her legs giving out from under her as she felt her knees.
The good Hunter moved as fast as a lightning bolt, crossing the small distance between him and the delinquent as he drew his right hand back. His fingers and thumb held together in a sharp almost a dagger like shape as without a moment of hesitation, he thrusted his hand forward aiming directly for the delinquent's chest.
Yet at the very last second before contact, he seemed to hesitate for just a singular microsecond. His hand instead redirecting and aimed for the delinquent's neck, delivering a swift and precise karate chop to her neck. Which was forceful enough to instantly render her unconscious, but not hard enough to cause any lasting physical trauma or damage.
By the time Hasumi and Chinatsu actually could perceive what was happening, it was already all over. The delinquent now on her knees, and quickly collapsing to the floor with a loud thump as her halo winked out of existence. The good Hunter stood over her triumphantly as smoke billowed out of the barrel of a very old-fashioned, but very elegant and ornate flintlock pistol that had not been in his hand a moment ago and had seemingly just materialised out of thin air.
Chinatsu was the first to move, quickly running to the good Hunter as she shouted for him.
"S-sensei"
Coming to his side, she quickly and somewhat methodically began to look him over, trying to locate any possible injuries he could have sustained during whatever he had just done. Yet she found nothing, causing her to let out a sigh of relief as Hasumi also quickly came to the good Hunter's side.
"Hunter sensei. What did...? How did you-" Hasumi tried to articulate her words, she couldn't understand how he was able to move that fast. The first time, when she saw him move that quick to dodge a barrage of bullets, she simply disregarded it as a fluke or even a trick of the light. But seeing him move at a similar speed repeatedly made it very apparent that this was something he could do consistently.
The good Hunter for his part did not say anything for a moment, his gaze still lingering on the delinquent who was currently passed out on the concrete below. Both students could see that despite his face being obscured from view, there was a noticeable sadness in his gaze, one that was quite strange. However, as quickly as it came it disappeared as the hunter abruptly and unexpectedly knelt down, much to the confusion of both Hasumi and Chinatsu.
He quickly, somewhat hesitantly, began to rummage around in the delinquents pocket seemingly searching for something which he abruptly found as he pulled his hand back. Both students were surprised to see that it was the delinquent's original student ID card, which by the amount of creases and cracks in the plastic card certainly showed that it was worse for where.
The Hunter flipped the card over in his fingers, staring intently at the student picture that was on the delinquents card, seemingly studying every detail of the photo, before he abruptly stood up surprising both Hasumi and Chinatsu as he put the student card somewhere inside his cloak before turning to them.
"We should hurry, I feel as if the battle is going to come to a crescendo soon" Both students, despite the strangeness of what it just happened, quickly obliged. Hasumi making sure her rifle was loaded, and Chinatsu hefting the massive duffle bag on to her shoulders as she prepared to move.
Seeing that both students were ready, the good Hunter motion for them to move, as the Hunter and two students quickly but cautiously began to make their way over to where Suzumi and Yuuka were currently occupying.
However, as the group moved, Hasumi and Chinatsu both shared a side eyed glance with each other, both mentally agreeing that they needed to ask a question that had been on their mind.
"Sensei..." Chinatsu started, trying to think of what to say next before Hasumi spoke for her instead.
"Sensei... Why exactly did you pick up that delinquent's student card?" Even though the good Hunter does not stop walking, both students could tell that he had acknowledged their question, by the ever so slight tilt of his head. The Silence dragged on for a moment, the only thing breaking it being the sounds of their feet against the broken concrete below, the good Hunter finally responded.
"I suppose you could say... it's to satisfy my own curiosity" Both girls found themselves confused by his words, mostly because his response did absolutely nothing to actually answer the question. But before Hasumi and Chinatsu could voice these thoughts, the good Hunter quickly spoke again, a barely perceptible haste in his voice as if he wanted the subject to be changed.
"Both of you prepare yourself, we are here" `Despite still wanting an answer as to why he picked up the delinquent's student card. Both girls did as they were told as they ready to their respective weapons just as the group finally made it to their destination.
Both Suzumi and Yuuka turn to their heads and raised their weapons, the sound of the sudden approaching footsteps making them think it was a potential ambush. However, both students immediately relaxed when they saw that it was none other than the good Hunter along with Hasumi and Chinatsu approaching their position.
"Sensei, you're finally here" Yuuka said with a small amount of relief in her voice.
"Yeah, you guys were taking so long I was beginning to get worried" Suzumi quickly followed up Yuuka, sending a thankful and relieved smile towards the good Hunter and the other two students beside him.
Despite his face being covered, both Yuuka and Suzumi could feel the smile in his gaze as he looked at them. A quiet chuckle escaping his lips as he quickly spoke.
"Well, I can assure you that I, as well as Hasumi and Chinatsu are very much in fine order. We had a momentary scrap with a couple of delinquents, but we taught them a much-needed lesson... didn't we girls?" The Hunter turned his head slightly towards both girls in question.
Hasumi and Chinatsu both being momentarily surprised before they quickly spoke in response.
"Of course sensei / Hunter sensei" Both students said at the same time. The good Hunter quickly gave a nod of approval, however before he could speak Yuuka decided to speak first.
"Say... I heard a loud bang earlier... one that sounded more like an explosion than a gunshot" Yuuka said tentatively, wanting to know if the strange explosion like bang that she had heard earlier was also heard by the Hunter as well as Hasumi and Chinatsu.
The good Hunter looked at Yuuka for a moment, momentarily perplexed by her question, before it's suddenly clicked on what exactly she was talking about. Letting out a quiet chuckle, the Hunter gently shook his head, as he reached into his robe and pulled out the Evelyn, as well as answering Yuuka's question.
"Well my dear, that awful loud bang you heard was probably from this" Yuuka found her eyes immediately drawn to the object, quickly realising that it was in fact a very elegant and elaborately decorated flintlock pistol.
Despite not being into historical firearms or art for that matter, even she couldn't help but marvel at the sheer artistry and beauty that was displayed on the pistol in the hunter's hands. The pistol in its entirety was a work of art, one that looked like it belonged in a museum, both because of its age and because of its sheer beauty.
However, as she continued to marvel at the work of art of a pistol in front of her, a sudden thought occurred to Yuuka one that made her face scrunch up as she spoke.
"Wait a minute... you've had a gun this entire time!" the hunter did not immediately respond to Yuuka's outburst, remaining completely still and Silent as the purple head girl began to fume.
However, before she could continue on her rant, the good Hunter held up one finger, silencing the girl as a chuckle escaped his lips.
"I must apologise, Yuuka. The reason for me not using the Evelyn before, was because I was unsure whether it would actually severely harm any of the delinquents" Yuuka despite wanting to argue the point from before couldn't help but be a bit confused by what exactly the good Hunter meant by his weapon being able to severely harm be delinquents. His wording implied that it was an extraordinarily powerful weapon, but to her, it just looked like an incredibly ornate but otherwise very ordinary flintlock musket pistol.
However, before the hunter could actually explain his point and by extension what he meant, Suzumi quickly interrupted, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"Guys, you might want to take a look at this!" Suzumi motion in the directions she was talking about, causing everyone's gaze to turn to look in that said Direction. At the end of the street was a truly massive collection of delinquents of various different gangs, standing in incredibly loose and haphazard formations, all of them wielding rifles, rocket launchers and everything else in between.
But what caught everyone's attention the most, was what was at the centre of the formation. It's incredible size and glistening black frame, shining brightly and menacingly in the sunlight.
"Is that... What I think it is?" Yuuka said, not quite believing her eyes.
"It would look very much that way, I suppose those rumours about prohibited equipment falling into the wrong hands were true" Hasumi's eyes narrow dangerously, the thought of delinquents of all people having access to such destructive hardware. Set a light of fire Inside her that burned with rage and anger.
"A Crusader Tank..." Chinatsu was the last to speak, her words not being directed at anyone in particular as her golden eyes remained glued onto the tank at the end of the street. The sound of its engine even from at the end of the street sounded like the rumbling of a great armoured dragon.
With his gaze unwavering, the Hunter stood in Stoic silence, his eyes locked onto the armoured vehicle. As time passed, the students surrounding him could almost tangibly feel the intensity of his inquisitiveness as he meticulously scrutinized every facet of the Black Crusader tank, absorbing every detail without uttering a word.
However, this was interrupted when Yuuka quickly grabbed onto the Hunter's cloak, pulling it hard and vigorously, trying to get his attention.
"Sensei! We need to run!" Yuuka said with urgency in her voice, desperately pulling on the good Hunter's cloak to try and get him to move. The hunter however did not budge, but he did turn to look at her, his gaze convenes confusion at her request.
Hasumi immediately snapped her gaze to look at the purple head Millennium student, a look of almost indignation Crossing her face, as she quickly shouted.
"Are you really suggesting that we turn and run like cowards!" Hasumi's voice had a noticeably dangerous edge to it as she squared up to Yuuka. Her massive black wings flaring out dramatically and angrily as she jabbed an accusatory finger towards the Millennium student.
Yuuka looked slightly taken aback, an angry expression crossing her face as she turned to the Trinity student, not intimidated in the slightest by her imposing height and stature.
"I'm no coward! The reason we need to get out of here is because we simply don't have the firepower to take that head on!" Yuuka accompanied her words by jabbing a finger directly into Hasumi's voluptuous chest. Which only served to further aggravate the Trinity student as the angry looking her eyes turned almost murderous.
"I shouldn't be surprised the only thing that Millennium is good at is getting their little toys to do everything for them, instead of putting in hard work and perseverance like a real Academy and its students should" Hasumi accompanied her words by folding her arms under her chest, her red eyes continuing to glare daggers at the Millennium student directly in front of her. Yuuka's blood pressure raise to an almost dangerous level, her face going completely bright red as the look in her eyes turned from frustration to complete incandescent rage.
However, before the two students could continue their argument or even progress it to a physical one, somebody quickly stepped between them, somebody that was none other than Chinatsu, who quickly pushed both girls away from each other with her hands.
"Would you both stop now, for crying out loud! Arguing like this isn't going to get us-"
"Stay out of it, Chinatsu/Four eyes!" both Hasumi and Yuuka shouted at the same time, trying to get past the blonde haired girl as they wanted to continue their argument uninterrupted.
However, just as both of them open their mouths to continue shouting at each other everyone was quickly silenced by a loud and powerful voice, one that carried such an authority and heavy tone that it immediately made everyone stop in their tracks.
"ALL OF YOU, STOP THIS INSTANCE!" Everyone immediately turned to the source of the voice, all of them feeling a shiver run down their spine when they saw that it was the good Hunter, his stance and his gaze conveying extreme disappointment and frustration.
"Please forgive me for raising my voice. But arguing like small children is not going to get us anywhere, that armoured behemoth is quite the obstacle, one that even I am quite unsure how to tackle as of this moment. Yet resorting to violence amongst ourselves will not solve or help us think of a way to overcome this great obstacle" Hasumi, Yuuka, Chinatsu and Suzumi listen to the Hunter's words. Hasumi and Yuuka in particular still giving each nasty side glasses, yet this was stopped when the good Hunter stamped his foot on the ground, the sound of his metal boot connecting with the concrete causing their attention to immediately snap back to him.
"Now I want all of you to listen carefully, and I don't want any interruptions, do I make myself clear?" The students all nodded as the good Hunter began to walk back and forth in front of them, pacing up and down similarly to a drill instructor, as his gaze remained locked onto them.
"While, I have never faced anything like an armoured wagon before. I have faced and defeated heavily armoured foes in the past, as such I know of a modified strategy that can be used" pausing for a moment the good Hunter made sure that all the students were following along and once satisfied he continued.
"Hasumi I want you to take out as many of the delinquent as you can with your rifle. Make sure to prioritise the ones with heavier weapons." Despite the slightly aggravated look on her face, remaining and sharing one last side glance at Yuuka. Hasumi nodded, bringing her rifle up and reading it in anticipation of what was to come.
"Chinatsu, I want you to stay with Hasumi and provide her as much support as you can" The hunter pointed at the blonde haired Gehenna student, who was momentarily taken aback by what he had asked as if it was the strangest request in the world.
"But who will protect-" Chinatsu didn't get a chance to finish her words as the hunter held up a hand to silence her.
"I will be fine, Chinatsu. This plan hinges on my ability to operate alone, and also I promise that I will not come to harm" Despite her nervousness at the prospect of the good Hunter having nobody to protect him, especially after his almost near-death experience earlier.
Chinatsu couldn't help but feel her worries somewhat soothed by his words, because even though a promise like that could easily be broken, somehow she was convinced that he would keep that promise no matter what.
"Yuuka, Suzumi both of your roles in this plan are incredibly important so listen carefully. I want both of you to cause as much mayhem in the delinquent ranks as possible, do everything you can to distract them for as long as possible"
Yuuka and Suzumi both nodded in unison, a somewhat excited look making its way onto Suzumi's says as she readied her assault rifle. The slightly aggravated expression on Yuuka's face remained as she quickly prepared both of her smgs. Although the prospect of being able to inflict some pain on a bunch of delinquents without any ramifications did make her feel somewhat better.
With the plan now put into place and everyone having their assigned roles, the good Hunter gave a final nod, standing up to his full height as he turned towards the large gathering of delinquents, all four of the students by his side as they waited for his word to proceed.
"Now everyone!" as soon as the words left his mouth everyone did exactly as they were instructed, splitting up into two groups comprised of Yuuka, Suzumi in one group and Hasumi, Chinatsu in the other.
Hasumi wasted no time as she, along with Chinatsu who struggled somewhat to keep up, quickly found a perfect spot and took up residence. The loud echo of her rifle immediately ringing out as she began firing into the group of delinquents, taking out each one, causing chaos amongst their ranks as they tried to figure out exactly where the fire was coming from.
Which was exactly what she wanted, as the delinquents began to run around like headless chickens, causing a sad*stic smile to make its way onto her face as she continued to take them out one by one with impossibly precise shots.
Chinatsu tried her best to assist as much as she could, using her pistol to take out any delinquents that didn't go down to Hasumi's scarily accurate fire. However, as she reloaded her pistol, she spotted something that immediately made her gasp.
"Hasumi! Over there, one of them has a rocket launcher!" Chinatsu pointed to where she was referring to. Which immediately made Hasumi snap her gaze to the indicated location, her eyes coming to rest on a delinquent who was being assisted by another who acted as the loader for the rocket launcher on her shoulders.
"I don't think so" As the words left her lips, Hasumi quickly fired two shots in rapid succession, both of them landing home on their desired targets as both delinquents helmets exploded in a shower of colourful plastic fragments, with both of their bodies falling to the floor like puppets with their strings cut.
Hasumi quickly pulling her rifle's bolt back and inserted a fresh stripper clip, her gaze turning to Chinatsu as she quickly spoke.
"Chinatsu, keep calling out targets for me!" Chinatsu didn't need to be told twice or even have an explanation of what exactly the Trinity student meant, as she quickly got to work. Calling out the locations of the various delinquents who were wielding heavier weaponry than the rest, which Hasumi then proceeded to unceremoniously gunned down as she and Chinatsu worked to fulfil the good Hunters orders.
Yuuka and Suzumi unlike Hasumi and Chinatsu didn't settle for staying in one place and gunning of delinquents down. Instead, they decided to take the fight to them, using the various pieces of scattered rubble and overturned vehicles as cover while they advanced towards the large gathering of the liquids.
Skidding to a stop, Suzumi quickly aimed and let out a controlled burst from her rifle, her shots landing home and taking out a delinquent who unluckily was caught in the middle of reloading her light machine gun. Ducking behind a large pile of rubble, the silver head Trinity student proceeded to dump the empty magazine from her rifle and then swiftly insert a fresh one.
However, instead of jumping back out into the open to fire at more delinquents, she instead quickly pulled something from her belt, a familiar cylindrical object which she quickly pulled the pin on before throwing clean over the piece of cover. The familiar metallic clank of it landing on the floor some distance away reaching her ears as she quickly shouted to Yuuka, who was still in the process of gunning down several delinquents who were still in the open.
"Yuuka! Get down" Yuuka turning to the source of the voice, did immediately as instruct as she sprayed a few more rounds from SMG before jumping behind the same large pile of rubble that Suzumi was using as cover.
BANG!
Yuuka covered her ears, as the flash bang went off, not wanting to go deaf from how loud the explosion was. Suzumi however didn't bother doing so, simply letting be sound of the incredibly loud flashbang roar through her ear drums, before she jumped up and unleash the hail of bullets towards the stunned and dazed delinquents. All of them going down after her onslaught ended.
Ducking back down, she quickly reached for another magazine, only to catch Yuuka looking at her with a slightly unimpressed expression add she put a new magazine into her submachine gun.
"Perhaps give me a bit more of a warning next time" Suzumi didn't say a word, instead simply nodded her head in agreement as she resumed firing upon various delinquents who were running around like headless chickens.
However, as Yuuka and Suzumi continued firing their weapons, Yuuka suddenly turned to the silver head Trinity student next to her, a slightly concerned and questioning look making its way onto her face.
"You know...where was supposed to protect Hunter sensei, but he's just gone off and done his own thing" Yuuka said quickly, following up her words by quickly jumping up and unleashing a spray of automatic fire from her SMG which managed to catch a delinquent who was in the process of running between two different pieces of cover.
Suzumi didn't immediately respond, a slightly thoughtful look crossing her face as she reloaded her assault rifle once again. However, after a moment, she finally responded.
"I mean yeah, but at the same time..." Suzumi let her words trail off, her hands slowly raising and pointing to somewhere off behind Yuuka who quickly followed the pointed finger, her eyes coming to rest on none other than the good Hunter who was in the process of running between various pieces of cover.
"He seems to be handling himself just fine" As the words left Suzumi mouth, both she and Yuuka watched in fascination as the good Hunter proceeded to effortlessly dodge several bursts of automatic fire from a group of delinquents. His movement almost looking like a choreographed danced as he effortlessly manoeuvred his way around the bullets as if they were not even there. Before quickly closing the distance between him and the delinquents and, in a flash, incapacitating all of them with a precision and swiftness that was inhuman.
"Yeah... I guess you're right" Yuuka set after a moment, watching the delinquents fall to the floor at the feet of the good Hunter who after a moment of observing the incapacity delinquents quickly took off like a speeding bullet once again.
The Hunter continued to push himself forward, using his superior speed and agility to run literal circles around the delinquents, and only using his martial arts skills to take them out when absolutely necessary. After all even though all the delinquents had halos and therefore could survive severe bodily harm that would kill a normal person, he was still unsure exactly how much they could take before perishing, as such deciding to restrain himself was for the best.
"Hasumi! Give me some covering fire!" The good Hunter shouted, the black-haired Trinity student in question immediately answering his call as she quickly sighted and then gunned down the delinquents that the hunter needed to be dispatched.
With one more obstacle now out of his way the good Hunter quickly resumed dashing between various pieces of cover, using his pride and joy the Evelyn to take out the odd delinquent here and there, as he manoeuvred his way towards his ultimate target, the large crusader tank which was idling menacingly at the end of the Street. Although as he drew closer to it, he couldn't help but wonder why it hadn't opened fire just yet, considering its canon could most likely penetrate and destroy any piece of cover that his students were using as protection.
However before he could issue another order to the students, the Hunter saw the large armoured vehicle turn its turret to face directly at him, it's barrel perfectly in line with him as for just a singular moment everything slowed to a snail's crawl. Allowing him to observe every single detail of the armour behemoth from the smallest nut and bolt up to its massive cannon barrel, but eventually it finally happened.
KABOOM!
The sound was deafening, sounding more like a powerful thunderous clap of thunder rather than a tank cannon, everyone delinquent and student alike was almost deafened as the sound washed over them and the very city itself.
The good Hunter, despite his impressive reaction time, barely had a moment to dodge the projectile as it zoomed past him. Time slowing from his perspective, allowing him to watch with fascination as the projectile slowly lumbered past him before time resumed its normal course.
Instantly the shell impacted several hundred feet away, resulting in a large explosion that completely levelled an already partially destroyed building, resulting in its complete collapse as it kicked up a massive dust cloud.
"S-Sensei!"
Yuuka and Chinatsu both shouted at the same time, the wave of dust from the buildings collapsed washing over them and obscuring most of the battlefield from view. Most of the gunfire stopped as the dust cloud rolled in, leaving the Battlefield in an eerie silence that was only punctuated by the residual and the almost ghostly Echo from both the buildings collapsing and the tank gun firing
For a moment Yuuka, Chinatsu along with Suzumi and Hasumi feared the worst, dread pouring into their hearts as absolutely no response was heard from the good Hunter.
"Sensei!" Yuuka suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping that her voice would be able to find the good Hunter, however much like before the only response given was silence.
Yet just when she along with the other students were beginning to lose hope, an explosive noise suddenly erupted from somewhere in the dust cloud. It sent a shiver down her along with everyone else's spine, as it almost sounded like the deep rumbling roar of some great, vicious Beast. And as the sound washed over them the dust cloud suddenly evaporated, pushed away by an immense wind that almost knocked the four Academy representatives off their feet
Yuuka, Chinatsu, Suzumi and Hasumi all shielded their eyes from the sudden wind, the dust rushing past them as the entire street was cleared almost immediately, revealing a site that made all of them immediately feel more relieved.
Standing in the epicentre from where the wind had come from, was the good Hunter, completely unharmed. His tattered and torn cloak blowing in the residual breeze in an almost eerie and ghostly manner. Clutched in his left hand was a small furry looking object, one whose identity could not be ascertained entirely before the good Hunter quickly concealed the strange object inside his cloak.
For just a moment the good Hunter stood there motionless, his cloak continuing to billow in the slight breeze, yet before any of the Academy representatives could shout to him, the hunter suddenly raised his pistol into the air. The glistening silver colour of its metal components shining brightly as he quickly pulled the trigger, an impossibly loud bang emanating from the pistol as he quickly accompanied it by shouting.
"Everyone advanced now! While they are still stunned" all four students were momentarily confused by his words, not quite registering what he had said. Yet before any of them could say anything, the Hunter suddenly took off at a full sprint, which quickly compelled all four Academy representatives into action as
Yuuka, Chinatsu, Suzumi and Hasumi, all spring from their positions, quickly forming up with the good Hunter as all five of them ran straight at the few remaining delinquents and their tank.
Despite being momentarily caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, the remaining delinquents quickly raise their weapons, intent on gunning down the group of students and strangely dressed adult as they advanced towards them. However, just as the delinquents are about to pull the triggers on their weapons, Yuuka quickly jumped in front of the group much to the Confusion of the good Hunter, as well as everyone else, and she quickly retrieved a small device from her pocket.
"Yuuka! What in your right mind are you-" the good Hunter did not get a chance to finish his words, as the gathering of delinquents opened fir. The bullets flying through the air towards him and his students. However, something miraculous happened, something that he couldn't have expected.
Quickly tapping away at it, the small device in Yuuka's hand began to emanate a strange aura, the bluish glow growing stronger and stronger until eventually a large hexagonal shield seemingly made of light itself materialise the round the purple haired student. Which couldn't have come out at a better time, as the bullets fired by the delinquents quickly impacted against it, and much to the good Hunter's amazement completely and harmlessly bounced off, protecting him and the other students from harm.
"Everyone, stay behind me!" Yuuka accompanied her words by quickly retrieving her second SMG and unleashing a hail of gunfire directed at the delinquents, as she and the group continued to advance forward.
"Good thinking Yuuka!" The hunter shouted as he and the rest of the students gathered behind her, while they advanced towards the few remaining delinquents and the black crusader tank.
"Hasumi! Dispatch those delinquents on the right side! Suzumi do the same with the left!" Both students followed his command. Hasumi channelled a dark aura around her rifle, and then fired several well-placed shots, each one of them finding their desired target and subsequently taking them out of the fight.
Suzumi quickly retrieved the large flash-bang from her belt, pulling the pin and tossing it as hard as she could manage. And as it sailed through the air, it somewhat comically bounced off the turret of the tank, before clattering to the ground and exploding in a bright flash accompanied by a loud bang. Blinding and deafening several delinquents as they tried to recover. Yet the silver-head Trinity student would not allow it as she quickly let loose with her assault rifle, firing in controlled bursts and subsequently incapacitating the 5 or 6 delinquents that were in the little group, she had stunned with her flash grenade.
With almost all the delinquents now incapacitated and out of the fight, the good Hunter held up the Evelyn, pointing it forward as a sign for everyone to advance. Which all the students quickly did. Yuuka leading the way with her hexagonal light barrier protecting her and by extension the Hunter, as well as Hasumi Chinatsu and Suzumi who huddled around the good Hunter both to protect him and stay within the protective vicinity of Yuuka's shield.
However, as all of them continued to advance towards the now completely undefended tank, Yuuka suddenly spotted something that made her blood run cold. The tank's turret had turned to face them directly. She knew that her shield could stop bullets and maybe even a grenade or two, after all, that's what she had tested against, but she didn't need to test to know that it couldn't stop a tank shell.
"Everyone scatter! The tank is about to shoot!" Yuuka shouted with absolute panic in her voice, her words immediately causing everyone to begin to scramble. However, before they could actually get far doing so, the good Hunter suddenly intervened, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone! Stay close to me now" Despite the absolute absurdity of his request, considering that a tank was literally staring them down with its gun ready to fire. All the students found themselves unable to move for a moment, before somewhat hesitantly gathering back around the hunter in a close hubble.
Yuuka was the last to do so, noticeable amounts of hesitation on her face as she seemingly went over her options, yet ultimately as her shield finally dissipated the charge on the little device that generated it now completely dried up. She made a split second decision and joined the group of four students all huddled around the good Hunter. All of them waiting with bated breath as to how the hunter was going to get them out of the situation.
The hunter let out a quiet breath, the sound of it passing between his lips almost sounding like a gentle night breeze as the tension in his body left. He needed to wait for the right moment otherwise this plan would not work, after all, this particular tactic that he had in mind had only been used a handful of times. As such, he could guarantee that he was a bit rusty when it came to its use. But with the safety of his new students on the line, he knew that he had no room for margin or error.
"Everyone" the hunter's voice was soft and quiet yet still managed to catch everyone's attention as they all turned to look at him. Various emotions ranging from fear to panic etched into all of their faces as they waited for what he had to say.
"Stay close to me... and make sure to cover your ears, this might get a bit loud" All the students looked at him slightly perplexed, before hesitantly doing as he instructed. Each one of them covering their ears to some degree, as they waited with a growing sense of dread for what was going to happen next.
For the hunter, time itself seems to slow as he waited for the exact millisecond he needed. Which came in not too short order as he saw the slow-motion cloud of fire and smoke explode out of the tank's gun barrel, the shell moving through the air slowly and lazily from his perspective as it travelled towards him and his students.
A smile made its way onto his face under his mask as he reached into his cloak, pulling out the object he needed, which was the same small fairy object he'd used before. It was a forbidden tool, one that Hunters were forbidden from using due to its beastly nature, but its usefulness outweighed its blasphemy as he quickly activated the Beast roar, clutching down onto the severed hand of what was once a deadly and powerful silver Beast.
Yuuka, Chinatsu, Suzumi and Hasumi, all by reflex, closed their eyes as the sound of the tank's canon washing over them. Expecting to be blown into oblivion by a tank shell moving thousands of feet per second. However, that was far from what actually happened.
A truly horrific sound washed over them, somehow managing to penetrate their eardrums, even though they all have their ears covered. Yet this wasn't all, as the four Academy representatives found themselves nearly blown off their feet, by a strong force/wind that accompanied the horrific sound. Which almost resembled a choir of screaming damn Souls and the vicious roar of an ancient, long-dead beast.
Yuuka was the first to recover, hesitantly opening her eyes only to have them practically full out of her skull once she saw what had truly happened. The good Hunter stood defiantly in front of her and the other students, his flintlock pistol in one hand and the other, clutched a large hairy object that upon closer inspection was revealed to disturbingly be a large severed hand, that look like it came from some large vicious Beast.
However, as the rest of the students opened their eyes and saw the site before them, what caught all of their attention the most was the aftermath of what looked to be a massive explosion off to their right side. The building that had been there moments before now nothing but a pile of broken steel and rubble
In front of them the tank, which was still staring them down, noticeably had its barrels still smoking from the shell in it just shot at them. However before any of them could truly comprehend the mind-bending feat That The Hunter just accomplished, his voice suddenly rang out forcing all of them into action
"Everyone! Scatter now!" Yuuka, Chinatsu, Suzumi and Hasumi all did so without any hesitation, as they all scattered in various directions, each of them taking cover or preparing themselves behind whatever they could find as they prepared for whatever was about to happen.
However, they all suddenly noticed that the good Hunter had remained motionless, his body is still as a statue as he seemingly waited for his inevitable end at the hands of the tank in front of him.
"S-sensei! What are you doi-" Hasumi began to shout but was quickly silenced by the hunter's other hand quickly shooting up, the sudden and quick motion causing his cloak to billow behind him almost majestically as he quickly spoke.
"There is no need to fear Hasumi, I will be perfectly fine" His words somehow soothed her and all the other Academy representative's worry despite the fact that the rational part of their minds, telling them that there was no way he could stand up to a fully armoured tank like this and expect to win.
"Now all of you watch closely... I will show you how a hunter deals with such matters!" The good Hunter accompanied his words by quickly plunging the Evelyn and the hand that was holding it deep into his still billowing cloak.
All the students watched closely, as after a split second his arm quickly retracted from his cloak, revealing something so preposterously large and ridiculous that it should have been impossible for it to be inside his cloak, let alone it attached to his arm.
It's gleaming silver surface sparkled in the sunlight as the good Hunter with a flick of his arm quickly aimed it directly at the tank, somehow having the inhuman strength to hold it up at arm's length. Much like the Evelyn, its surface was covered in engravings and ornate patterns that gave it an almost beautiful quality.
Yet unlike the engravings on the Evelyn which suggested a nobility lost to time, the engravings on the long and cylindrical tapered object were of a different nature, looking more like something that would be found on a religious and deeply revered holy artefact.
"Is that..." Suzumi said quietly under her breath as she only just now realised, along with the other Academy representatives, to realise what exactly was strapped to the good Hunter's arm.
Yet before any of them could truly comprehend the sudden revelation the good Hunter finally pulled his finishing move, waiting for the exact moment when the tank's cannon barrel aimed down to look at him which was when he pulled the trigger on one of his favourite weapons.
The Church Canon!
KABOOOOOOOM!
The explosion that came for from the now revealed arm mounted cannon, was truly deafening. In fact, as the sound from the weapon washed over all the students they found themselves momentarily deafened by it, as well as almost knocked off their feet by the force of the muzzle blast from the church Canon.
The tank which was designed to face against other vehicles of a similar type stood no chance as the Quicksilver-infused cannonball flew towards it at supersonic speed, and completely bypassed its armour as if it wasn't even there.
The cannonball tearing right through the armoured vehicle as if it was made of nothing but paper and cardboard. Ultimately resulting in the tank exploding in a bright fireball and ultimately bursting into flames afterwards.
The good Hunter found himself pushed back considerably by the muzzle blast from the canon. Even though he was one of the very few Hunters to ever master such an unwieldy weapon, he was not immune to the tremendous recoil from such a weapon. But with a change of stands and a quick flick of his arm, he managed to regain his footing. The Canon letting out a hollow clunk as the second and last cannonball was loaded into place.
Although looking at the tank which was now in the process of uncontrollably burning, the good Hunter knew that a second shot from the church Canon was not necessary, it would be a waste of silver bullets which he was now in short supply of thanks to the weapon. After all, despite its immense weight and unwieldy nature, the only real problem he ever found using the church Canon was its absurd appetite for Quicksilver bullets.
"It looks like this Hunt has come to an end..." The hunter said quietly to himself, his eyes scanning over the Battlefield and observing every detail of it, as he heard four sets of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.
Turning around he was greeted by the sight of his new students, Yuuka, Chinatsu, Suzumi and Hasumi staring at him with various expressions on their faces, ranging from confusion to utterly dumbfounded about what they had just witnessed.
"S-Sensei H-how... How did you do that?" Chinatsu was the first to speak, she had seen the Hunter do many strange and impossible things, from taking a bullet to the chest and surviving to moving at speeds that no Ordinary human could move at. Yet seeing him quite literally destroy a tank with a handheld cannon for all intents and purposes took the cake for both impossibility and strangeness.
It also didn't help that her eyes didn't know where to look exactly between the now burnt-out and destroyed tank and the Canon which was responsible for said destruction, strapped to the good Hunter's arm.
The hunter looked at the strawberry blonde haired Gehenna student for a moment, seemingly choosing his words carefully before speaking. Yet before he could actually do so, Yuuka quickly interrupted him.
"S-Sensei! Why must you act so recklessly! You could have got yourself killed!" Yuuka shouted with an incredibly agitated edge to her voice, accompanying her words by jabbing her finger into the good Hunter's chest. On her youthful and elegant face was a noticeable look of worry and concern for the good Hunter's safety. It completely overrode everything else, including the very, very big fact that the hunter had taken out a literal tank with a handheld cannon.
The hunter was momentarily surprised by the purple haired girl's sudden outburst, momentarily not quite knowing what to say. Yet after a moment, a quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he used his free hand to gently pat Yuuka on the shoulder. Which, despite catching her off guard, only made her more aggravated, causing her to stamp her foot against the ground in an almost childlike manner.
"Seeenseiii! Take this seriously, dammit! You could have got yourself badly hurt or even killed doing a stupid-" Yuuka quickly found her rant silenced by the Hunter placing one of his metallic vintage fingers against her lips and letting out a quiet shushing sound. The sudden and almost intimate nature of the gesture caught her completely by surprise and made a bright red blush make its way onto her pale cheeks.
"Please Yuuka contain yourself. While your worry over my safety is much appreciated, I must assure you that I was never in any danger. This is not my first run-in with seemingly impossible odds, and I highly doubt it will be my last" The good Hunter spoke softly and quietly, momentarily casting his gaze towards the now mostly quiet and deserted battlefield that had once been a street, as well as the now completely burnt out husk of the tank that had stood in his and the student's way.
Yuuka wanted to protest, after all she and the other representatives had been directly tasked with the hunter's safety, specifically because he didn't have a halo, meaning that theoretically could be taken out by a simple stray bullet in the middle of a firefight. Of course, though that seemed very unlikely after seeing what he could actually do in combat, but still, it didn't change the fact that she still felt responsible for his safety and well-being.
Yet somehow she simply couldn't bring herself to argue against his point, it was as if his words how they much deeper weight and meaning than she could have possibly imagined. In fact, the way he said it wasn't his first time against impossible odds, left an odd feeling in her gut because his tone conveyed that he had plenty of experience with encounters that are seemingly could not be overcome.
Which ultimately reinforced one of the biggest questions that had about her new sensei since first meeting him. Where did he come from, and who exactly was he?
"Hunter Sensei... if I may be so bombed to ask... How exactly is that weapon on your arm able to take out a tank in one shot?" Hasumi quickly broke the silence that was hanging in the air, her eyes practically glued to the church Canon, which was partially hidden behind the hunter's billowing cloak. The hunter for his part down at the weapon attached to his arm, momentarily surprised by her sudden question before a loud and jovial chuckle escaped his lips, which immediately made all the gathered students fuel incredibly calm and relaxed as if he was a beacon of pure and positive energy.
"Well you see Hasumi, why I can't give away all of my tricks, I will say that the lethality of this weapon is entirely reliant on its special manufacturing, and it's even more special ammunition" The hunter accompanied his words by hefting the church Canon up so it was held out at arm's length in front of him, allowing the students to one by one gather around it and inspect it closely.
Suzumi and Hasumi in particular found themselves almost mesmerised by the elaborate engravings and inlays that made up the entirety of the cannon's body. In fact, the longer they looked at the iconography that made up the engravings, the more it made them think of Trinity and the Sisterhood, specifically it was the use of crosses and other elaborate almost religious-like symbols that made them think of such connections.
Chinatsu while not being as enthusiastic about inspecting the canon as the Trinity students, she still marvelled at how the surface of the Canon and all of its elaborate engravings glistened in the sunlight. In fact, its surface was seemingly polished to an almost mirror shine, allowing her to see a slightly distorted reflection of herself as she pushed her glasses up and adjusted them.
Yuuka despite still being somewhat flustered from senses complete disregard of her feelings about his safety and his recklessness in battle, eventually and begrudgingly begin to inspect the Canon, any residual anger directed at The Hunter quickly disappearing as her face quickly turned into one of Wonder.
Just like his pistol, the Evelyn, as he called it. This arm Canon, which itself was still a strange concept to her, was practically a work of art in itself, it's surface completely covered in engravings and reliefs that depicted various different things that she couldn't quite understand.
There was also engraved writing in various places, which even though she looked at closely she couldn't understand for the life of her because it was in a language she simply didn't know. However, as she continued to look at the weapon, a sudden thought occurred to her, as her gaze slowly lingard up and down the entire length of the church canon.
"Sensei... How exactly do you reload this thing, I don't see any breech or magazine catch?" As the words left her mouth, the other students looked at her surprised for a moment, before their eyes quickly traced up and down the church Canon, only to widen when they didn't see any obvious method of reloading the Canon.
"Well, you see it is..." The hunter paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, the students practically leaning in as they waited for what he was about to say.
"A secret!" The words were quickly accompanied by a hearty chuckle, which caught all the students completely off guard as they almost fell over from the sheer surprise of his answer.
"Sensei! What kind of answer is that" Suzumi said abruptly, mock anger making its way into her voice, as she tried and ultimately failed to resist the urge to laugh.
The rest of the students despite trying to resist themselves ultimately followed suit as they all broke out into various fits of laughter, with the battle for the Federal Investigation Club building now thoroughly concluded, all of them could finally relax and let the tension leave their bodies and Souls
Yet their laughter was quickly silenced by the quiet yet quickly growing sound of helicopter blades, the familiar chopping sound growing louder and more unbearable as a familiar pure white helicopter quickly came into view over the tops of the buildings.
The hunter gestured for everyone to stand back, which they all did, but they quickly noticed the hunter place his arm along with the church Canon deep inside his cloak, before retracting it and to their surprise revealing his arm was now completely free of the giant weapon, it had seemingly just vanished into thin air beneath his cloak as if it had never been there to begin with.
Yet before any of them could question this, the pure white helicopter which had quickly circled around a few times in the air above the tops of the buildings came in for a landing, the familiar symbol and text on the side revealed that it was a helicopter that belonged to the general student council.
The dust kicked up by the helicopter began to assault everyone's face and eyes, forcing these students to protect themselves with their arms and hands as the helicopter finally touched down with a noticeable thumb. Despite the dust and wind kicked up by the helicopter's prop wash, the hunter did not need to shield his face as he approached the helicopter, the side door quickly opening up and revealing a very familiar young lady.
Rin Nanagami, adjusted her glasses as she stepped out of the helicopter, the wind and dust kicked up by the helicopters prop wash, causing her long hair to whip around like crazy making her curse under her breath as she tried to keep her hair under control while it was assaulted by the dust and wind.
"Sensei! Excellent work reclaiming the Schale clubroom building!" Rin had to shout over the sound of a helicopter blades so she could be heard, as the chopper quickly took back off into the air, blowing around more wind and dust, much to her annoyance.
As the helicopter disappeared over the tops of the buildings the noise from its rotor blades gradually diminishing, the good Hunter responded to her words by Simply doing another one of his elegant bowels holding one arm out to the side and another on his chest, in much the same manner as he had done when he first met her.
"While I appreciate the praise Rin, I couldn't have done it without the help of my four lovely students here" rising from his bow, The good Hunter gestured to the four Academy representatives standing close by, all of them to some degree looking dishevelled and slightly grimy, both from the battle to reclaim the clubroom Building and as a result of the dust and grime kicked up by the helicopter.
Yuuka step forward, not caring in the slightest that her usually white jacket was noticeably grimy and dirty, as she puffed out her chest with a proud look making its way under her face.
"That's right, WE helped sensei take back the clubroom building" Yuuka closed her eyes and puffed up her chest even further, an incredibly smug and proud smile making its way onto her face as she put her hands on her hips.
Rin didn't immediately say anything, a slightly unused expression appearing on her face as she looked the slightly scruffy Millennium girl up and down.
"I see... Well done then, I suppose you're not as useless as I initially thought you were" Rin let her filter slip for just a moment, allowing what she true thoughts to come out instead of more corporate and less insulting response she had meant to give.
Yuuka's proud expression and posture completely evaporated when she heard those words from the general students by the council vice president. For a brief moment her face was blank, yet the blank look was quickly replaced by one of almost incandescent anger and frustration.
"M-Me useless!? H-how dare you, all you did was sit in your pretty little helicopter, while I busted my ass trying to retake this stupid clubroom of yours!" Yuuka abruptly snapped back, her face going slightly red as she clenched her gloved hands hard.
Rin didn't immediately respond, but the twitching in her right eye only grew worse, as a very frustrated and exhausted sounding sigh escaped her lips, the vice president of the general student council, truly looked like she wanted to fall into the world of dreams and never awaken again.
However, before either Rin or Yuuka could continue their argument, the good Hunter quickly stepped between them. Using both of his hands to gently push them away from each other, just in case in the very rare unlikelihood that the argument would progress to a verbal one to a physical one.
"Both of you stop, now is not the time for arguing, we should be celebrating our victory instead of pointless squabble" The hunter said with a stern authoritative tone, looking at both of the girls with slight disappointment.
Both Rin and Yuuka looked at him for a moment before looking at each other, Rin's completely tired and forlorn expression quickly disappearing as she let out a quiet sigh, composing herself into the much more professional composure that she usually kept as a member of the general student council. Yuuka eventually let out a sigh of her own, the angry and Furious expression on her face quickly vanishing as she took a couple of deep and calming breaths and composed herself.
"That's better, now Rin, while your frustration with the situation before my arrival was understandable, you mustn't take it out on other people, especially those like Yuuka who are directly responsible for helping remedy the situation" Rin didn't say anything in response to The Hunter, his toe reminded her of a father gently disciplining a child who had misbehaved.
And despite wanting to argue his point, she had to be gradually admit that he was correct, in fact his words reminded her of the general student council president, because she had once set something to Rin that was eerily identical to this.
With his point made, the Hunter exchanged one more glance with the black haired student council vice, before turning his pension to a certain purple haired Millennium student.
"Yuuka, while taking pride in your accomplishments is understandable, you must understand that boasting needlessly about your accomplishments is a very sure-fire way to aggravate those around you. Take pride in your accomplishments, but be sure to remember that being too prideful can lead to one's own undoing" The good Hunter said with a calm and gentle tone, he didn't want it to sound like he was trying to punish her for having pride in her accomplishments.
But he knew, from both personal experience and several events in his past, that being overly proud of oneself and their accomplishments to the point where it bordered on arrogance always ended in tragedy.
Yuuka didn't say anything, listening intently to the hunter's words as he spoke, while she was still a bit annoyed at the way that the general student council vice president had spoken to her and had basically disregarded her accomplishments in taking back the clubroom. She had to admit that sensei had a point, taking pride in one's work was something that was to be expected and even encouraged, but bragging about your own accomplishments could easily make you look like a self-centred person. Which she knew she certainly wasn't.
"Now both of you, I want you to apologise to each other, after all, this is a time when we should be celebrating our Victory instead of squabbling amongst ourselves" Both girls and question looked at him oddly for a moment before turning to look at each other, the tension leaving their bodies as they both like out of sight.
Rin was the first to speak. "I'm sorry Hayase Yuuka, the amount of stress I've been under has made me forget how to be polite and considerate..." She paused for a singular moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts, before she quickly opened her mouth and continued.
"As such I must thank you how wholeheartedly for helping to reclaim the schale clubroom building, the general student council as a whole is in your debt" Rin finished by quickly grabbing one of Yuuka's gloved hands and giving it a thumb but vigorous shake, much to the surprise of said Millennium student who looked almost flabbergasted at the exchange.
However, after a moment Yuuka opened her mouth to speak as well. "Thank you vice president, your praise...is appreciated" Yuuka paused opening her mouth several times as she tried to find the right words before eventually managing to do so. "I'm sorry about how I spoke earlier, I should have known better than to disregard the general student council so lightly" she finished by tightening her grip on Rin's hand, using her own strength to give it a firm shake as both girls made up with each other. Much to the pleasure of the good Hunter who crossed his arms and nodded his head slightly.
"Now with things settled, I think-" The hunter started but then quickly and abruptly stopped as his head suddenly snapped in the direction of the clubroom building, much to the surprise of the gathered students who all looked at him strangely. They immediately noticed that his stance and posture was completely rigid, he was now so still that he almost looked like a statue.
"Sensei, what's the matter?" Rin was the first to speak, reaching out for him and grabbing onto his cloak and giving it a firm but gentle tug, yet it didn't seem to elicit any response, his gaze still lingering on the entrance of the clubroom building.
"Sensei... Are you alright?" Suzumi much like the vice president, gently pulled on the good Hunter's cloak, only for it to elicit a reaction but not the one that she or any of the other students expected.
The hunter quickly turned his entire body on the spot and without missing a beat began to march towards the clubroom building entrance, his cloak billowing behind him as he advanced towards the building.
Despite the momentary surprise, Rin the first to react, quickly running to keep up with the Hunter as she tried speaking to him.
"Sensei! Where are you-" Rin found herself quickly silenced by The Hunter as he stopped, turned and put a finger to her lips all in one motion, it momentarily surprised her because of how quick and smooth the entire thing was, but before she could recover and continue speaking the good Hunter spoke instead.
"Rin, I want you to wait here, there is something that... I need to attend to inside the clubroom" she wanted to ask what exactly he meant by that, but before she could, he quickly turned and began walking towards the entrance of the building again. Not giving her any time to react or even attempt to try and follow him, as he entered the building and disappeared from sight.
Leaving her standing there completely dumbfounded as well as the other Academy representatives who all couldn't understand what it just happened.
….
"I don't see what the big deal is about this place"
Somebody said to themselves as they continue to walk around the basem*nt of the Schale building, somewhat aimlessly. The individual was revealed to be none other than a young girl wearing an elaborate oriental style uniform, complete with a white and red painted fox mask that covered her face from view. Over her shoulder was slung a rifle painted in a similar manner to her black, white and red uniform.
Wakamo let out a quiet sigh, her gaze continuing to slowly and somewhat aimlessly wander around the somewhat dark and almost dreary looking basem*nt. She had been given the task of completely levelling this place to the ground, but that was about all she had been told.
"What am I even supposed to destroy here? It just looks like a bunch of junk to me" True to her word she really didn't see anything much of value in this place, of all the general student Council Buildings and facilities that she could have been tasked with destroying, she couldn't for the life of her understand why this one in particular needed to be destroyed, considering that to her eyes least there was nothing value actually here.
Wandering further into the dark and dreary basem*nt, Wakamo continued inspecting the various objects scattered around time, most of which either had fabric coverings haphazardly thrown over them or were covered in a thick layer of dust. Yet, as she continued to do this, the fox girl failed to notice that she was being followed by someone or something.
In fact, as Wakamo stopped to examine one particular object that almost looked like an old antiquated street lamp, haphazardly hanging from a rusty metal stem. She completely and utterly failed to notice a dark shadow quickly fall over her, the owner of said shadow towering over her as he silently observed her.
"What is this?" Wakamo said quietly, as she bent down slightly to get a better look at the strange lamp-like object. The only reason it caught her attention was because of how out of place it looked, compared to all the other mundane and boring objects that surrounded it.
"Annnnd what exactly are you doing, young missy?" Wakamo felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end as a shiver run down her spine. Instantly jumping to her feet as she turned on the spot in a flash, reaching for her rifle as she prepared to confront the person who would somehow manage to sneak up on her.
However, even in the dim light of the basem*nt, her eyes widened considerably when she saw who was standing just feet away from her. He was tall, incredibly so to the point where she had to crane her neck just to see his face, yet what she saw was not a human face, in fact it was a skull, a silvery metallic skull that had six pairs of dimly glowing orange eyes that seemingly stared into her very soul.
Any thought of reaching for her rifle was completely forgotten, staring into those dimly glowing orange eyes. Every single Instinct in her body was telling her one thing, something that she never ever would do in a normal situation.
Run...
Run as fast and as far as you can...
"If I may enquire young missy, you wouldn't happen to be the leader of those delinquents that my students and I took care of outside would you" His voice had a paradoxical nature to it, on the one hand it sounded almost angelic, with a calm and refined air to it that suggested civility. But on the other, something almost imperceptible in his voice sounded wrong... as if it was an unknowable entity imitating a human voice almost perfectly, yet failing to capture the essential essence of what made a human being.
Wakamo didn't respond, not because she couldn't, but because she simply couldn't bring herself to. Every instinct in her body was still telling her to run and hide, yet paradoxically her body refused to move, as if even the slightest movement would trigger some unforeseen event that would result in her demise.
"You seem to be looking rather pale, young lady... Are you perhaps unwell?" Wakamo cringed, her body beginning to shake violently as the sound of his voice washed over her. His words held nothing but concern, yet that somehow made his voice even more eerie and off-putting.
She felt the sweat beginning to pour down her face, her legs felt like they were going to tumble out from under her. But as the mysterious individual in front of her reached out a metallic gloved hand, Wakamo's body finally reacted.
In a flash, she turned on her heels and sprinted, making a desperate beeline towards one of the many exits that she had memorised before entering the building.
She needed to get out of here. She needed to get away from whatever... HE was.
The good Hunter, watched with visible confusion as the young fox girl quickly dashed away from him and disappeared out of sight. Even though she was most likely up to no good, considering that she was most definitely the leader of the delinquents that him and his students are taken care of.
He hadn't actually intended to do anything or even fight her, in fact he intended for quite the opposite, hoping for a peaceful negotiation and possible surrender. After all, if he was going to become a teacher in this strange land, then he simply couldn't abandon a student who had fallen off the wrong path.
"How unusual and troublesome" The hunter muttered quietly to himself, as he began to look around at the various objects scattered about the dark basem*nt, at the centre of the room on top of a large podium was a strange and slightly eerie-looking stone obelisk, floating quietly in the air by some unknown arcane means.
However, looking down where the Fox girl had been a moment ago, he saw something that he would rather have forgotten. An unpleasant and unsightly that had many unpleasant memories and moments attached to it that he would have been happy to completely forget.
Getting down to one knee, the hunter gently wiped away some of the dust that had gathered on the lamp, it was the very same style of lamp that he would have awakened at and utilise throughout his travels when he was a hunter connected to the workshop.
"Such an unsightly thing... How did this get come to be here I wonder" The good Hunter spoke quietly, his metal-gloved hand almost caressing the lamp in a gentle manner. He wanted to destroy it, to permanently sever any connection between him and that cursed nightmare.
Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it, even though the lamp was a symbol of the nightmare, it still had some fond memories attached to it, particularly of the little ones, who like the loyal companions they were had always been there to help him throughout his journey.
Giving the lamp one last look, the hunter quickly rises to his feet, his eyes lingering on the lamp for a brief moment before he suddenly became aware of footsteps approaching from behind.
"Sensei! What made you run off like that?" Rin said with a slightly aggravated tone to her voice. Her face conveying disapproval as she crossed her arms over her chest in a disapproving manner. However, as she stared at the Hunter waiting for a response, she became aware of the almost strange atmosphere in the air, as if she had interrupted something important.
"Sensei... Did I miss something important?" Rin ask cautiously, looking around somewhat awkwardly as she waited for the hunter to respond.
The good Hunter did not immediately say anything, continuing to look off in one particular direction of the basem*nt, before ultimately a sigh escaped his lips as he turned to the general student council vice president.
"No Rin... nothing in particular that you should worry about" The hunter said with a completely nonchalant tone, yet there was something in his voice that made Rin not entirely sure if she could believe his words, but ultimately she decided to disregard that self-doubt because there were more pressing matters to attend to.
"If you insist. Well this building and everything in it was left specifically to you by the general student council president, but if I can find it, that was one object that was the most important for you to have" Rin accompanied her words by quickly beginning to rummage through several boxes that laid nearby. Her eyes momentarily coming to rest on the strange lamp, before she disregarded it and continued rummaging through the boxes.
"Ah found it, thankfully, there isn't a scratch on it" Rin quickly pulled the object from the box it resided in, gently blowing on it to remove a thin layer of dust that has accumulated on its surface. She looked at it with a slightly sad smile, almost gently caressing the rectangular object, as it was probably one of the very last things that the general student council president interacted with before she disappeared.
"Please sensei. Take it" Rin held the rectangular object to arm's length, revealing that it was a generic looking white smart tablet. The hunter, despite being quite perplexed by the strange object, gently took it into his hand, being careful that his metallic gauntlets wouldn't scratch the delicate surface of the rectangular device.
"So this is what was left for me?" The hunter said as he looked at the object in his hand, it was completely and utterly alien to him, much like the rest of the strange and otherworldly devices that he had seen during his short time in this new world.
"Yes, sensei. This is what the general student council president, left for you. The sh*ttim Chest" Rin quickly adjusted her glasses, watching the Hunter with growing curiosity as he inspected the tablet. Despite his face being hidden, his body language was more than enough to tell her that he was completely confused yet intrigued by the tablet, as if it was his first time singing such a thing.
"It may seem like a normal tablet, but its origins are a mystery, it's manufacturer, OS, system architecture and components are completely unknown" Rin let out a sigh as she spoke, even though she had had the tablet examined by some of the best and brightest minds in Kivotos multiple times already. The tablet was still a complete unknown and a massive thorn in her side.
"I see... Quite the little mystery box I suppose, although forgive me, but I failed to see how I equate into all of this" The hunter turned his attention to Rin, momentarily disregarding the strange little rectangular device in his hand.
Rin didn't immediately respond to his words, in all honesty she didn't quite know herself where exactly the hunter fit into all of this, but she did remember something that the president had told her in regard to the tablet before her disappearance.
"Before she disappeared, the general student council president said that you, and only you would be able to access the sh*ttim Chest. And that with it, you would be able to control the sanctum Tower" Rin paused for a moment, trying and failing a few times to find what she wanted to say before ultimately she managed to do so.
"No one else in all of Kivotos has been able to activate or access that tablet... but if the tablet was left for you sensei, then maybe you're the one that is able to access it" Rin didn't care in the slightest if she sounded like she was pleading. If sensei was indeed the one that could restore order to the city with whatever the tablet was, then she would happily get down on her knees and kiss his shoes if it meant that he would do so.
The hunter didn't say anything, turning his gaze back down to the tablet in his hands, even though he was completely unfamiliar with whatever the strange little device was, clearly it was a great if not the diet important to the very future of this world itself.
Rin felt herself beginning to fidget on the spot, sweat forming on her brow as she watched the good Hunter, silently observed the tablet in his hands. The deafening silence was beginning to weigh on her like a 10 ton weight pressing down on her shoulders, she didn't think that the good Hunter would refuse her request, but watching him examine the tablet made it very clear to her that he had absolutely no clue how to activate the strange little device. And that's when it finally dawned on Rin, her eyes widening as her mouth almost fell open in shock, the hunter truly had no idea how a smart tablet worked, judging from how he was turning it over in his hands repeatedly clearly completely confused on how the device was meant to be operated.
"Sensei... do you know how to use a smart tablet" Rin ask cautiously, not wanting to make it sound like she was insulting his intelligence or demeaning him. However, if she actually meant it or not, the hunter didn't seem to register it, his gaze quickly turning to look at her as his body language and gaze conveying confusion and slight frustration.
"I suppose you could say I am, I have never encountered such a strange device... But as a hunter I am a quick learner" The good Hunter said as his finger traced over the screen of the device before coming to rest on a singular large round button, and after a singular moment gently pressed it.
*Beep*
With a gentle sound, the tablet quickly sprung to life, the screen which had been black and dead moments ago quickly lighting up in a bright and vibrant white hue. And after staying like that for a moment, the white screen quickly transitioned into something else.
The good Hunter behind his mask squinted his eyes slightly, his keen and sensitive Vision not used to such a bright and a natural light shining into his eyes. But after a moment he quickly adjusted, a strange almost S like symbol in blazoned on the screen which was quickly followed by a string of text that surprisingly he could actually read.
Connecting to the sh*ttim Chest...
The hunter waited for a moment, watching as the text quickly was replaced by different text, along with a small rectangular box on the screen.
Please enter the system password.
In any other situation, he would have been absolutely amazed by the sheer vibrancy being displayed on the display. But right now that was the furthest thing from his mind as he felt almost a familiarity with this device, which was bizarre considering he had never seen such a thing in his life before.
Rin felt a massive surge of relief race through her, a sigh escaping her lips as her shoulders noticeably dropped, it seemed that the tablet was indeed meant for sensei all along, considering that he was able to effortlessly activate.
"I will leave you to this sensei, I'll step away as to not interfere" Rin quickly stepped away from the good Hunter, moving to the opposite side of the room as to not interfere with whatever was going to happen next.
The hunter gave the vice president one last glance, before turning his attention back to the tablet in his hands, gently tapping on the display brought up a keypad which despite momentarily surprising him, he was able to quickly figure out how it worked. Yet, staring at the empty text box and the keyboard, the good Hunter was completely at a loss as to what the password for this strange little tablet could be.
Passwords had always been something he was especially bad with, especially when it came to important ones that needed to be remembered.
However, as he continued to stare at the empty text box, something suddenly popped into his mind, a distant memory that was foggy and indecisive yet somehow paradoxically as clear as day. His fingers moved by themselves as the text box was quickly filled.
We thirst for the seven wailing
We bare the koan of jericho
The Hunter pressed the enter button, the strange memory of whatever those words were and what they could possibly mean disappearing from his mind as quickly as it came. Leaving him momentarily perplexed at what he had just done, which was very much unlike him.
A small confirmation message popped up, alerting the hunter that the password had been accepted and that the tablet had been fully unlocked and was now ready for him.
Password accepted. User identified as k̷̡͍͍͖̼͎̠͔̝̱͎̺̘̳̺̳͓̰̠̉̃̍̔̆̄̀̔̈́͑͆̊͝e̵̩̫̘̤͙̤̹͉̭̭̳̗̻̠̱͓̙͗̿̓͗̌̕͜ͅn̶̨̨̛̻͍̮͚̹͊̾̇͊͆͗̇͋̅́̉̏̌̚͘͝j̸̛͈͉̳̮̹͓͓̰̇̍̍̈́̾͛̈́̑͌͊̒͛́̊̀̚i̴̝̻͓͋ Confirmed
Welcome to the sh*ttim Chest, k̷̡͍͍͖̼͎̠͔̝̱͎̺̘̳̺̳͓̰̠̉̃̍̔̆̄̀̔̈́͑͆̊͝e̵̩̫̘̤͙̤̹͉̭̭̳̗̻̠̱͓̙͗̿̓͗̌̕͜ͅn̶̨̨̛̻͍̮͚̹͊̾̇͊͆͗̇͋̅́̉̏̌̚͘͝j̸̛͈͉̳̮̹͓͓̰̇̍̍̈́̾͛̈́̑͌͊̒͛́̊̀̚i̴̝̻͓͋ Sensei.
Converting to operating system ARONA for biological authentication and generation of verification certification.
The Hunter didn't actually have a chance to read those words, as he suddenly felt a strange sensation come over him. The world around him beginning to distort and ripple like water that have been disturbed on a pristine pond, and for just a moment it felt like his mind was being tugged along by some invisible force. This feeling was eerily familiar to him, to the point where for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, he felt a sense of apprehension well up from deep within his soul.
'This is… just like before... just like that night'
Was the last thing that the hunter thought as his entire world and existence went momentarily black.
….
The Hunter slowly felt his senses return to him, his eyes opening slowly as he gradually took in the strange environment he had found himself in. Despite its otherworldly architecture compared to what he was used to, the hunter could easily identify to some kind of classroom, which was helped by the abundance of desks, lockers and other classroom related accoutrements scattering the surrounding floor.
Taking a step, the hunter heard a small splash beneath his foot, looking down revealed that there was a small amount of water on the floor, just enough to be noticeable when he walked but not enough to be an inconvenience.
One side of the classroom was entirely absent, unveiling a stunning vista of a crystal-clear blue ocean and a soft, pale blue sky. The beauty of the scene was mesmerizing, but it wasn't the primary focus of his attention.
At the centre of the room was a small young girl, her head was resting gently on one of the many desks that littered the classroom. Was topped by a mop of pale blue hair, tied up in a white hairband that almost resembled a pair of rabbit ears.
The hunter gradually approached the young girl, the sound of water under his feet almost imperceptible as he quietly observed the young girl, not quite sure what to make of her. If her height was anything to go by, then she was incredibly Young, possibly even barely a teenager. Her uniform, for a lack of a better term, consisted of a blue sailor style dress shirt, and a short white poofy skirt.
Leaning in but being careful not to disturb her, the hunter observed what he could see of her face, which was partially obscured because she was resting her head on her arms, using them as a makeshift pillow. However, as he watched her, he suddenly heard her mumbled something in her sleep.
*nom* "Castella cake... banana milk... goes better then strawberry milk...
That made the Hunter do a double take, staring at the young girl for a couple of seconds before a quiet chuckle escaped his lips, clearly this girl had a vivid imagination, her dreams being one of endless culinary delights based on what she mumbled about in her sleep.
Although the smile that was on the hunter's face under his mask quickly faltered when he remembered his own experience when it came to the world of dreams. The realm of dreams and nightmares had been an unpleasant experience, to say the least, one that he tried his hardest to forget about every moment he had.
"Heehee... There's so much left..."
The hunter was pulled from his musings by the young girl mumbling again in her sleep, a wide smile making its way onto her face as a small amount of drool began to slowly drip from the side of her mouth.
He felt his smile quickly return, watching the young girl sleep peacefully while experiencing a truly relaxing and pleasant dream, genuinely calmed his nerves like nothing else ever had.
Yet as she continued to mumble her sleep about all kinds of various desserts, the hunter stood up to his full height, and surprisingly removed the silver metallic gauntlet from his hand, revealing pale flesh where the gauntlet had been a moment previously.
With care, the hunter slowly reached for the girl with his now bare hand, using one of his fingers to gently poke the girl on her cheek. He wasn't exactly sure why he did this, but something compelled him to do so as he continued to gently poke her soft and squishy cheek.
"N-not now... I still have so much to eat..."
The girl mumbled as her expression turned from a pleasant one to a slightly perturbed and aggravated one, clearly what the hunter was doing was disturbing her pleasant dream. But he decided that that was for the best, considering that something compelled him to wake the girl from her slumber.
"Mmm... But... heehee" With a few more careful cheap pokes, the young girl finally began to stir, her eyes fluttering open slightly before she quickly closed them, and before the hunter could say or do anything. She shuffled from her seat, groggy, getting to her feet as a small bright blue Halo quickly materialised above her head, she began to rub sleep from her eyes.
*Yawning* "What's going... on" The girl said in between a yawn, as she stretched her arms over her head.
The hunter only just now realising that clutched in one of her hands, was what looked to be a small wrapped white umbrella, with strangely enough a rifle stock poking out of where the handle for the umbrella should have been.
The small girl continued to rub the sleep from her eyes, opening them after a moment to look at who had awoken her from her slumber. However, when her eyes came to rest on the hunter, he saw her blink several times, clearly somewhat bewildered, before she quickly rubbed her eyes again.
"Huh...?" Was all that the girl managed to say as she rubbed her eyes once again, clearly still not fully believing what she was seeing.
"Uh... Huh? Wha…?!" The hunter watched with slight amusem*nt, as the girl stumbled over her words, above her head the Halo which had been a bright blue ring before began to change, taking on a noticeably jagged appearance seemingly in reflection of her current emotion.
"Are you OK, young missy?" The hunter inquired after a moment, his words seemingly catching the girl off guard as her halo continued to alter shape, becoming increasingly jagged, and a completely perplexed expression enveloping her face.
"S-Sensei!? If you're here, does that mean that you're Kenji Sensei?!" The girl asked abruptly, completely ignoring his question. Yet the hunter did not immediately respond, mostly because he for the first time in a long time was caught completely off guard, specifically because she knew something that not many people ever knew.
"Yes, I am... but first of all, how exactly do you know my name?" the hunter asks with a cautious air to his voice, his body going noticeably rigid, seemingly in preparation for something. Despite the fact that she was just a young girl and could pose no threat to him, he didn't want to take any chances, considering that she somehow knew a piece of information about him that almost nobody in existence did.
The girl however didn't seem to care about his question or his body language as her Halo continued to spike wildly, the bewildered expression on her face only growing stronger as she quickly spoke.
"What? So I'm right? What time is it" the small girl began to look around frantically, seemingly trying to figure out exactly what the time was.
Hunter, despite still being somewhat wary of the fact that she knew his name, noticeably calmed himself, taking a deep relaxing breath as he managed to regain control over himself. However, the girl knew his name, he highly doubted that the girl knew his name for any malevolent reason.
Opening his mouth to speak, the Hunter, found himself quickly silenced as the girl spoke first, gently slapping her cheeks seemingly in an attempt to get a hold of herself.
"Wait. Calm down..." As the words left her mouth, her halo changed once again, this time noticeably beginning to droop in certain places along its circumference as if it was made of some kind of liquid.
"Un, so... Oh, that's right! I forgot to introduce myself!" The girl paused for a moment, clearing her throat as her halo return to what the hunter could presume was its default normal state. "My name is Arona!" She said with an energetic tone, a bright smile making it's way on to her face as the words left her mouth.
"I am the system manager that lives inside the sh*ttim chest. I serve as its main OS. Think of me as your trustee secretary, Sensei!" The hunter wasn't exactly sure what she meant by main OS, considering that the term was completely foreign to him. But her mentioning that she lived inside the tablet resonated with him because it reminded him of a certain somebody that he cared for deeply who was in a similar predicament.
"So I have somehow travelled inside the strange little device that I was given?" The hunter said after a moment, the prospect of being inside the smart tablet not being entirely unusual to him, considering some of the strange things he had experienced during his time as a hunter.
"Yep! I'm so glad to finally meet you! I've been waiting a long time!" A bright and cheerful made its way onto Arona's face, her halo changing to a bright pink hue, as well as taking on the shape of a stereotypical love heart.
The hunter found her cheerfulness almost infectious as a smile made its way onto his face, something about her bright and bubbly nature genuinely soothed him in a way that almost nothing else could.
"I see... You've been waiting here so long that you fell asleep?" The hunter asked out of curiosity more than anything else. But Arona's reaction was not what he expected, her halo changed once again resembling the spike pattern that it had been earlier as a slightly embarrassed blush made its way onto her face.
"Well, uh... I guess I might have dozed off there" Arona's embarrassed face as well as her general nervousness as if she had been caught sleeping on the job. Made the hunter chuckled loudly, much to the surprise of the young girl who looked at him with a small pout, clearly not appreciating him laughing at her expense.
*Haha,* "Please excuse me Arona, it's my pleasure to make your acquaintance" The hunter gave a slight bow as he spoke, the slightly aggravated and embarrassed expression on Arona's face disappearing as the hunter introduced himself, her halo also returning to its normal state before again taking on the shape of a purple love heart with a smile quickly accompanying it.
"I'm happy to meet you as well, Kenji Sensei" Arona replied with a bright smile. The hunter couldn't help but flinch slightly when she used his name but decided that if she wanted to call him that then he wouldn't stop her.
"If I may enquire Arona... How exactly do you know my name" The hunter enquired cautiously, not wanting to make it sound like he was going to punish her for knowing or using his name. If anything he was just curious of how she could know such a thing about him, especially when to his knowledge he had never met her before, and the fact that almost nobody both in the dream and waking world knew his name.
Arona didn't immediately respond, her face taking on a noticeably confused look as her halo changed colour from blue to green, clearly mirroring her slightly confused state. Yet, after a couple of moments of silence, she finally responded.
"I'm not sure... I kind of just know, I guess?" Her Halo quickly changed once again, this time taking on a noticeably spiky appearance, with the colour changing from Green to Blue. This was accompanied by her facial expression, which took on one of noticeable frustration. Clearly, she was trying to remember how she knew the Hunter's name, but it seemingly completely escaped her, which was causing her frustration.
The Hunter watch her fume for a moment before a quiet chuckle escaped his lips, he reached out with his unarmoured hand and gently patted her on the head, his fingers passing through her halo as he gently patted her on the head. This also served to confirm his suspicions that the student's halos were indeed intangible objects, despite the fact that some of them looked like they were made of solid matter.
Arona's face took on a noticeable blush, as her halo changed once again to mirror her emotion. This time it changed to an even lighter blue than its base form, taking on a noticeably jagged and slightly unclear appearance as the young girl began to flail her arms around.
"S-Sensei! My physical form is small, and my voice could use a serious upgrade but don't treat me like a kid!" Arona stated with a noticeable pout on her face. Which only served to make the good Hunter chuckle and ultimately pat her head more, making her even more embarrassed and frustrated.
"Your size matters not to me, Arona. Your value and usefulness to me is not based on your size" the hunter said with an almost fatherly like tone as he removed his hand from the young girl's head. Her embarrassed and slightly frustrated expression immediately vanished as a smile quickly replaced it her halo as well returning to its default state.
However, this did not last very long as it suddenly changed once again, taking on a noticeably green and spiky appearance as her face turned into one of realisation and shock. "Oh, right! We haven't completed your biological authentication yet?"
The hunter was a bit confused by her words, he wasn't exactly sure what biological authentication meant, but he could make an educated guess that it most likely revolved around some function of the tablet that he was unaware of.
"How exactly do we go about this... biological authentication that you speak of Arona?" The Hunter asked Arona, and she was surprised for a moment.
"Um... This is a little embarrassing, but it's all part of the protocol. Would you mind standing a little closer" Arona said somewhat shyly, idly tapping her fingers together as she averted her gaze from the good Hunter. Her halo also took on a noticeably pink hue, signifying her embarrassment.
The hunter didn't say a word but complied with her request, as he quickly got down to one knee, the height difference between them reduced somewhat, but even then she still barely came up to his chest. As such, the Hunter hunched his back, lowering himself even further until he was nearly eye level with her.
Arona now looking for hunter dead in the eyes, let a smile cross her face clearly. The hunter was thoroughly surprised by this, considering that he was still wearing his bone ash mask, which itself had quite a frightening visage. Even so, the young girl didn't seem phased or even care in the slightest about the quite frankly horrific appearance of the bone Ash mask.
"Sensei. Now place your fingertip against mine" the hunter went to do as he was instructed yet noticeably hesitated as his finger came within millimetres of hers. The prospect of sharing any kind of close physical contact with anyone being somewhat alien and uncomfortable to him, yet after the momentary pause he followed through. Gently placing his much larger finger against Arona's small and delicate one.
Arona couldn't stop herself from letting out a quiet giggle, the strange coldness of the hunter's skin, making a slight jolt run down her spine. But it wasn't unpleasant for her, if anything it was like being tickled all over at once.
"Heehee. It's kind of like we're making a promise or something, isn't it" Arona said letting out another giggle. Yet the hunter didn't say a single word, being oddly quiet as her words roused something deep within him. It wasn't her fault she couldn't have known, but her words stirred up unpleasant memories, one of a promise that he had made to a certain young girl that he had failed to keep, ultimately leading to her demise.
"Sensei... Sensei? Are you OK?" The hunter was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of her voice. Arona was looking at him, obviously worried by his abrupt silence, her halo reflecting this as it had taken on a noticeably sad colour and shape.
"I am... Fine, Arona. I was just... recalling some unpleasant memories as all" The hunter said after a moment of quiet, he didn't see a need to lie to her, but he did keep the true nature of his thoughts to himself simply because he didn't want to upset the young girl or worst traumatize her.
"Oh..." Was all that Arona uttered as she did something completely unexpected and abrupt. Without warning and yet still keeping her finger pressed against the hunters, she came in closer to the hunter's face, and before he could respond, she placed her forehead against the metallic surface of the bone ash mask, closing her eyes as a soft and content smile made its way onto her facial features.
The hunter was completely taken off guard by this, he wasn't used to close physical contact like this, particularly of such an intimate and thoughtful nature from somebody so young and innocent. Nevertheless, as her forehead remained in contact with the bone ash mask, the hunter felt a calming sensation come over him, one that truly made him feel calmer and more relaxed.
He wasn't sure exactly how Arona was able to do this and make him feel this way, it could have been because she had ultimate command over the domain of the tablet where they were currently. Or it could have just been a positive side effect of her genuinely calm and peaceful nature.
Still either way, despite these things racing through his mind, the hunter did not interfere with the gesture, allowing the young girl to do whatever it was to him that was having this calming effect on him.
Yet as quickly and suddenly as she performed the gesture, she quickly pulled away, the pleasant smile on her face never wavering as she looked him dead in the eyes and then spoke.
"There Sensei. Do you feel better now?" Arona ask, the beaming smile never leaving her face as she waited patiently for the hunter to answer her inquiry.
While still being confused on how exactly she was able to make him feel this way, the hunter couldn't help but smile under his mask as he opened his mouth to respond to her question.
"Yes Arona... my nerves feel soothed" The hunter spoke, the smile never leaving his face as Arona let out a small laugh, her smile somehow growing even wider and brighter.
"Heehee. I'm happy I could help Sensei!" Arona beamed cheerfully, continuing to hold her finger against the Hunters for a couple of months longer. Before a satisfied smile made its way onto her face, are she pulled her finger away from the Hunters.
"All done!" She said excitedly, an almost sing-song like tone creeping into Arona's voice as her halo changed a noticeable pink as well as changing into the shape of a love heart.
I see... if I may enquire Arona, what exactly does this biological authentication actually do?" The hunter asked, very curious about what this biological authentication actually was and what it did. Evidently, from the way that Arona talked about it. It clearly had an important function, even if he currently wasn't sure what it was.
Arona didn't instantly answer, her face morphing from bright and cheery to a very confused expression. From her point of view, it was an incredibly strange question to be asked considering that biological authentication was a commonplace thing, especially with all the up-to-date technology nowadays.
"Well Sensei... Biological authentication is a security measure, which makes it the only you can access the sh*ttim chest..." Arona explained it in the simplest way possible, fearing that the hunter would be somewhat offended by the almost infantile way that she had described it to him. However, despite not being able to see his face, his body language suggested that he wasn't insulted in the slightest, in fact he seemed almost eager and curious.
"I see... most fascinating indeed" the hunter said mostly to himself as he did something completely unexpected. Reaching into his cloak with his unarmoured hand, Arona saw him quickly pull out a dark brown object, one that was tied together with a piece of gnarled and frayed cord.
Yet before she could inquire about what it was, the hunter quickly unraveled the object, revealing that it was a leather-bound book, the pages which had most likely been bleached white once now stained with various dark brown and yellow splotches.
Arona continued to watch as the hunter reached into his cloak once again with his other hand, producing what appeared to be a small, ornate looking fountain pen, the likes of which she had never seen before in her life. He then began to quickly scrawl something in one of the open pages in a form of writing that despite her considerable and almost infinite knowledge was completely unreadable to her.
"Sensei... what are you doing?" Arona asked with curiosity, following as the hunter continued to scribble down intelligible script on the paper in front of him, before quickly flicking to a new page once he had run out of space on the previous one.
The hunter did not immediately answer her question, still scribbling down something he could only read on the paper in front of him. Yet after a few more quiet moments of this, he at last stopped, returning the pen to the inside of his cloak as he slowly started to curl up the twine and wrap it around the leather book.
"Well my dear Arona, I was simply writing down all the things that I need to learn more about, when I have the time to do so" The hunter replied as he finished tying up the twine around the book before placing it back inside his cloak.
Arona didn't speak, but she made a definitive *Oh* sound as she now understood exactly what the hunter was doing. Though, before she could open her mouth to say something that was on her mind, the hunter interrupted her.
"Arona, now that all the formalities are out of the way. I must ask, is there any way for you to return control of the tower to the general student council" The hunter asked quickly, any form of jovial and calm nature completely gone as his voice took on a hard and disciplined tinge.
It took Arona a couple of seconds to process what the hunter had just said, before her eyes noticeably widened as her Halo took on a green and spiky appearance.
"Sensei... I'm a bit lost" Arona said quietly, the look in her eyes conveying confusion and not understanding.
With a deep sigh, the Hunter began to recount the events that had led him to this strange land. He started with a condensed version of his journey, describing his encounter with the general student council and learning about the president's disappearance and the fact that he was to become a teacher. He then moved on to a brief account of the battle for the clubroom and how he arrived in this mysterious place with her.
Arona absorbed all the information that he told her, the stupefied and slightly bewildered expression on her face, fading away as a look of understanding replaced it.
"Got it. A lot's been going on, hasn't it?" Arona said softly, the hunter shaking his head in agreement with her, as she continued to speak after a short pause. "The general student council president went missing, and there's no way to control the Kivotos tower now..." She merely said that last part to herself, seemingly in attempt to retain the information in her mind.
"Arona, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the general student council president, would you?" Arona immediately picked up on the Hunter's query, her halo transforming once again into a spiky pattern as its colour remained mostly the same as it's default appearance.
"I have lots of dater on Kivotos, but I know very little about the president, I don't know who she is or why she disappeared, unfortunately" A very dejected expression made its way onto Arona's face as she became noticeably dismayed at the fact that she couldn't fulfil the hunters request for information.
"I wish I could be more helpful, Sensei..." Arona said with sadness, as her halo took on its sad appearance once again, beginning to noticeably droop down in places again as if it was made of some kind of liquid.
The hunter scene that she was clearly upset, about not being able to help him quickly reached his hand out, and once again began to gently pat her on the head. This time she didn't complain or push his hand away, the sad expression on her face slowly faded as the hunter finally spoke.
"There is no need to feel downtrodden Arona, you are more useful to me than you could imagine" The Hunter didn't stop to gently stroke her hair, beginning to make it look somewhat dishevelled and messy. Yet Arona didn't seem to mind as a smile made its way onto her face, her halo transforming into the pink love heart once again.
"Heehee. Sensei. I might not know anything about the president, but I can help with the sanctum Tower, at least" Arona said with a cheerful expression on her face stars practically filling her eyes as she patiently waited for the hunter to respond. Her behavior reminded him of an overexcited pup just waiting to execute its master's commands.
"That would be very much appreciated Arona" With an audible chuckle escaping his lips, the Hunter spoke, he found her enthusiasm can help with the situation quite refreshing and endearing, again likening it to an overexcited puppy.
"Alright! Just let me restore permissions to the sanctum Tower!" Arona closed her eyes as she spoke, a look of intense focus making its way onto her soft and delicate features as she did her magic. "This will be just a minute, Sensei!" She giggled excitedly, never opening her eyes as the look of concentration on her face grew deeper.
In the real world, unbeknownst to the Hunter, the lights in the basem*nt where he and Rin had met up, and he had interacted with the tablet, suddenly came to life along with the entire building. But this wasn't all, as everything across the city that was even slightly plugged in to the sanctum Tower all simultaneously shut off and then a second later relaunched.
Back within the world inside the tablet, the hunter could do nothing but patiently watch as Arona whatever she was doing. However, he didn't have to wait very long as Arona abruptly opened her eyes. A somewhat dopey and innocent smile made its way onto her face as she quickly spoke to him.
"Sanctum Tower admin privileges acquired, we've successfully regained the sanctum Tower, Sensei! The tower is now under my control" Arona's smile suddenly grew even wider as she looked at the good Hunter with an almost expecting look, as if she was waiting for him to do something with the new powers that she had just given him.
"That means that all of Kivotos is in the palm of your hand, Sensei!" The hunter found his eyes growing wider behind his mask. When Arona said that she had restored the tower to its former operation. He had not expected her to outright give him, an outsider for all intents and purposes, such authority over something that fundamentally he did not understand.
The hunter didn't say anything for a few seconds, causing Arona's excited and expecting look to subside somewhat as she tilted her head to the side in an inquisitive manner, similar to that of a puppy or kitten. However, after letting an uneasy silence hang in the air for a moment, the good Hunter finally responded.
"Arona, I want you to transfer authority over the sanctum Tower back to the general student council... I am here as a teacher and not as a conqueror or a tyrant, and even if I was a worthy recipient of such powers, I am a stranger in these lands and I would not know how to govern them" The hunter said his peace, he did not need to have power and authority over the city itself when he was not from here. It would be unbecoming of him and Incredibly arrogant to suggest that he could run these lands better than its inhabitants could.
Arona didn't immediately answer him, the look of excitement that had been there moments ago had now completely gone, leaving a genuinely confused expression on her delicate features. The fact that the hunter refused to have such powers was is confusing to her, but it also warmed her heart slightly, knowing that he wasn't some kind of power hungry psychopath.
"I can do that, Sensei, if you want... But are you absolutely sure that's what you want to do? You would be giving total control to the general student council" Arona wanted to make completely sure this is what the hunter wanted. Even though she could most likely brute force her way back into the sanctum Tower system if she really wanted to. She would have nowhere near the level of control she did now if she were to do something like that in the future.
The Hunter instead of speaking simply nodded his head, the large pointed hat on top of his head wobbling slightly as he did so. Arona was about to ask one more time if this is what he really wanted, but before she could do so he interrupted her seemingly having read her mind somehow about her unspoken question.
"Yes Arona, I would like you to transfer control... However," Arona immediately perked up, looking at the hunter in intently as he paused for a few moments, making sure that she was listening before he continued speaking.
"If you can do so... I would like you to make some kind of emergency access for me. I pray that it will never have to be used, but having a safeguard in place can prevent this kind of scenario from happening in the future" The hunter said with a slightly weary toned, he truly hoped never to use such a thing, but it was in his nature as a hunter to have a contingency plan and backup plan for every conceivable scenario imaginable. It was one of the biggest things that separated a novice and unskilled hunter from a master of the craft.
Arona didn't immediately respond to his words. But a smile quickly made its way onto her face regardless, even though the hunter was for all intents and purposes a stranger in a strange land, he genuinely seems to care about the well-being of all or Kivotos.
"All right, then, sensei! Control of the sanctum towel will now be transferred back to the general student council, as you requested!" Arona beamed with pride as she closed her eyes once again, however, something unexpected happened to the Hunter. He felt his head beginning to spin, much like it had done before he had woken up in this strange place, yet closing his eyes for a moment and then opening them again. He was completely taken aback to find himself back in the now lit up basem*nt of the clubroom building, the tablet still clutched in both of his armoured hands.
"Good. Understood" the hunter heard a voice off someone he couldn't see, one that for just a brief moment he didn't recognise. Before he realised it was none other than Rin, her expression one of immense relief and satisfaction as she quickly presses the button on her smartphone before placing the device back in her pocket.
"Control of the Sanctum Tower was just confirmed. This will allow us to manage the city as well as we could before the president's disappearance" Rin relieved expression turned somewhat sour as the prospect of her friend still being completely and utterly absent washed over her. But before the hunter could try and console her, she quickly picked herself up, taking a deep calming breath as she turned to The Hunter.
"Well done, Sensei. I want to thank you on behalf of the entire general student council for preventing Kivotos from falling into utter chaos" Rin quickly extended one of her hands, gesturing for the good Hunter to take it, which he did without hesitation as they both firmly shook each other's hands.
"I'm glad I could be of help Rin" Was all about the hunter remarked, his mind was currently preoccupied with the experience he had inside the tablet and the question whether or not it was actually real. He was no stranger to dreams and nightmares that felt like reality and everything in between, but he was 100% sure that whatever he had experienced with Arona was real.
"You don't need to worry about the suspended students and thugs that attack you before. They will be tracked down and punished before long" her words instantly caught the hunter's focus, causing him to break from his internal musings, looking her dead in the eyes as they both broke the handshake that they had been doing moments ago.
"I see... I don't know if this is over stepping my boundaries, but if you do find any of them, perhaps you could refer some of them to me. If I'm going to be a teacher here, I must do everything in my power to teach and guide all students, regardless of their pasts" The hunter spoke with a confident tone.
His request made Rin's eyebrow raise, in her personal opinion students who acted like Thugs and received suspensions didn't deserve second chances, as such she did briefly consider denying his request, but ultimately decided against it considering that the good Hunter had been instrumental in returning law and order to Kivotos.
"I suppose we could try and make some arrangements, but I can't make any promises, Sensei" Rin said with a slightly bated breath, a quiet sigh managing to escape her lips, the good Hunter's body language conveying acceptance and just a little bit of happiness.
"I see, thank you, Rin" The hunter replied with a noticeably chipper tone to his voice, as he quickly and unexpectedly reached up and planted his hand on top of the vice president's head. Rin being completely thrown off guard as the hunter proceeded to give her a head pat as if she was a child or worse some kind of pet.
Yet despite the embarrassment making itself visible on her face and the slightly angry expression that followed, deep down Rin couldn't help but find some amount of enjoyment in the gesture, a small part of herself actually enjoying it despite not wanting to admit it
Rin quickly cleared her throat, making the good Hunter stop his action as she quickly spoke. "My duty was to only see that you received and activated the sh*ttim chest, so my job here is done... But there is one thing that we should do before I leave" She concluded by gently but firmly removing the hunter's hand from her head, the blush still evident on her cheeks as she turned and gestured for the hunter to follow.
"Follow me, Sensei. I'd like to properly introduce you to the federal investigation club: Schale" Rin began to walk, the hunter swiftly following after her as he fell into lockstep beside her. The tablet which had by now gone into sleep mode still in his hands because he feared that putting it in his personal storage would somehow damage these strange and fragile device.
Rin took the Hunter on an abbreviated tour of the entire building, showing him all the important rooms and facilities that he had access to now that he was the official head of the club. She didn't show him every room, simply because the vast majority of them were empty or being used as storage for student council things, which she would get cleared out eventually once she had the manpower.
Finally, the tour came to the very last room of importance, she had saved this one until last considering it was perhaps the most important one in the entire building and the very same room where the hunter would probably spend the majority of his time.
"This is Schale's main office and lobby. It's been empty for a long time, but now it finally has an owner" Rin quickly brushed away some dust that had accumulated on the plaque next to the door before she opened it. Revealing a richly stocked office with everything a teacher could need, and surprisingly much to her satisfaction it looked as if somebody had come for and cleaned it recently.
"You could consider this to be the Schale clubroom. This is where you'll be working starting now, Sensei" Rin swept her arm around in a wide arc, motioning to the entire room as the Hunter took in everything around him.
'It certainly isn't a Hunter's workshop, but still impressive I must say' The hunter thought to himself as he examined the entire room closely.
It was very large to the point of being almost comically huge, it was so big in fact that it even had a second level filled with cabinets and closets containing various equipment and stationery that was alien to him, yet he had a distinct feeling he would become intimately familiar with very soon. One thing that did catch his eyes the most though was in the far corner of the room, it was a workbench, one that was currently empty. Yet the racks above it held several weapons of unfamiliar design, but looked similar to the ones that he had seen the students using.
"This is most impressive, I must say though that I'm a bit at a loss of what I can do with all of this" the hunter continues to observe the room, his eyes somehow managing to catch and find new objects and details that intrigued his curiosity to know end.
"Schale may have authority, but it has no particular goals at the moment. But even though you don't have a specific job to do, you can freely enter any academy districts in Kivotos. From there you can register any student you wish as a club member, amongst other things" Rin couldn't help but smile a little, watching the Hunter somewhat aimlessly observing the surrounding room, clearly somewhat overwhelmed. In fact, a small part of her might even said it was slightly adorable, considering his usually somewhat Stoic and overly formal nature.
"Though... isn't it fascinating? It may be called an investigation Club, but the president to never actually specified what it would be investigating or what it's purposes" Rin pause for a moment as she felt a slight ache entering her chest as she thought about her friend, but she quickly pushed to the side as she regained her sense of calm.
"In a sense Sensei... You have a lot of freedom don't you" Rin looked at the hunter as she spoke, noticing that he was now looking dead at her. Clearly, her words captivated his attention and had momentarily ceased his observation of the surrounding room.
"Indeed, it seems like I do... But with that freedom comes power, and with power one must always be mindful of when and when not to use it" The hunter said after a moment of silence, his words striking a chord with Rin and further demonstrating to her that despite him being an outsider to these lands, he could be trusted with the power he had been given.
"Indeed sensei... However, if the president was still here I'm sure she could clear up your purpose much more than I could, I'm afraid... though of course she remains missing, despite our best efforts" Despite trying to not let it do so, Rin could hear the bitterness and resentment creeping into her voice.
The fact that even with all the power at the disposal of the general student council, her friend could not be found anywhere made her angry and Incredibly upset.
"We have and are still using everything I got disposal to look for. Yet that's just left us short-handed for dealing with all the other problems around Kivotos" Rin let out an exasperated huff, she never meant for things to get as bad as they did, but the situation simply moved too rapidly for her to keep track of it all. And once she had realised what was happening to the city around her, it was pretty much too late.
"Even now, the general student council is being inundated with civil complaints of every type. Requests for support materials, environmental aid, makeup work for failing students, requests to save clubs, and so on..." She couldn't stop ranting, the words continuing to simply fall out of Rin, as all the stress from the last couple of weeks finally got the better of her. Even with the fact that the sanctum Tower had been restored to full operation and as such the city could hopefully be put back together again, it didn't distract from the fact that the general student council was up a creek without a paddle.
Yet before she could continue speaking, Rin suddenly felt a firm hand be placed on her shoulder, and looking up, she wasn't surprised in the slightest to see it was the Hunter, gazing at her with a look that radiated understanding for her situation.
"Rin, while I can't promise that I will be the most effective, I would like to pledge my assistant to you and the student council in dealing with your workload. Considering I have an excess of free time, I think it would be best to put my newfound role as a teacher to use" The hunter said with a calming tone, his words sounding like music to Rin's pointed ears. The thought of him lessening her workload by even a microscopic amount was something that she would not pass up, even if it made her look and sound a little bit selfish and lazy.
"I would like that very much, Sensei!" Rin didn't care if she sounded overly excited, the prospect of having her and by extension the rest of the student council's workload decrease by any noticeable degree being something that genuinely lifted her spirits and improved her overall state of mind.
The hunter let out a chuckle, blackhead girl genuinely put a smile on his face, especially considering that for the little he had known her, she had presented herself as professional, well-disciplined and proper.
"Well Sensei, I will send over the documents as soon as I get back" Rin managed to finally get control of herself, letting out a couple of coughs to clear her throat as she kept on speaking." I will leave you to get acquainted with the clubroom" She said as she turned to leave, pausing mid-step as she looked over her shoulder, apparently trying to make sure that the hunter was indeed real and not some figment of her imagination that would disappear as soon as she turned her back.
"Sensei" Rin call suddenly, getting the full focus of the hunter as he turned to look at her one more time. She opened her mouth, yet no words came out for a moment, but quickly she managed to find her voice.
"The best of luck with your new position, Sensei... If you ever need anything, feel free to let me know, ok?" Rin waited for the good Hunter to give an answer, which he quickly did in short order.
"Thank you Rin, and if I ever do need anything I will be sure to let you know" the hunter replied, giving her one final bow, much like how he had done when he first met her and introduced himself. Rin couldn't help but smile brightly as she turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her and leaving the hunter completely alone.
The hunter stood in the centre of the room for a moment, before an audible sigh escaped his lips, despite not tiring easily, he was mentally and physically worn out from the days activities, navigating to the nearest chair, and looking at it somewhat suspiciously before he planted himself in it, being sure to place the tablet which was still in his hands gently on the desk next to him.
He sat there silently for several long moments, so still that he almost looked like a life-size statue, as he silently contemplated each and every thing that had happened to him in such a short amount of time. This waking world was different and far more alien than the one he remembered, but in contrast to the nightmare of yharnam, this world was positively pleasant. In fact, he might have even stated that it was a paradise simply by comparison, but that would be far from the truth considering that this world had its own problems.
The hunter immediately stood up and began to take off the bone Ash mask and its attached hat, and once he had done so he gently laid the entire assembly down on the table next to him before turning to the large double windows that displayed the bright city outside. The sun beat down on his exposed face as a small smile made its way on to his lips.
"Well, I suppose even a hunter deserves a break from time to time"
