Chapter Text
“Shishiro Botan-sensei,” Botan’s ears twitched as she heard her name. She still wasn’t exactly sure why she was here, or even why she took this job. For all intensive purposes, she was supposed to be dead. She had no idea how the school had found her, but yet here she was. Botan looked up at the woman who had called her name. She had long, black hair and her ocean blue eyes shone behind her glasses. Her ears were long and pointed, similar to that of an elf’s This wasn’t anything new to Botan. What humans once considered supernatural were in fact very real, but that’s a story for another day. What Botan was perplexed by was what she could only describe as a blue halo hovering above the woman’s head.
“That’s me,” Botan yawned before standing up from her chair. It was a shame she had to get to work. Her chair was a very comfortable one.
“Are you aware of the current situation?” The woman asked. Botan tilted her head. Situation? As far as she knew, she was being hired as a teacher, albeit for some sort of combat school. After all, why would the administration go out of their way to hire such a prolific assassin?
“Please do remind me,” Botan spoke professionally and politely. She had no idea who the woman was, but since she was the one to greet her, she assumed she was a coworker.
“Yes, Sensei,” The woman dipped her head before starting her explanation. “My name is Nanakami Rin. I’m one of the General Student Council officers from Kivotos, the Academy City. And you’re the teacher that we have summoned here… or so it would seem.”
Summoned? Botan pondered the odd choice of words. She got here on a plane, right? She could remember the first-class flight. It was… was…
Ah… Botan put a hand on her head as she felt a splitting headache. Was that really how she got here? She couldn’t remember.
“Sensei?” Rin’s voice was laced with concern.
“Don’t worry about me,” Botan forced a professional smile as she regained her bearings. “I’m just surprised you’re a student. I thought you were one of the other teachers.”
“Y-you flatter me, Sensei, but now isn’t the time for that,” Botan could see the light red tint in the young woman’s cheeks. “I don’t actually know how you got here. Do you have any idea how?”
“No,” Botan shook her head. When she tried to think about it, she just felt another headache approaching. “I apologize.”
“It’s okay,” Rin dipped her head once more. “I understand that this must be very confusing for you.”
“Confusing” is an understatement, Botan thought mirthlessly.
“I apologize about this situation, but I must request for you to follow me for now,” Rin looked up to meet Botan’s eyes. “There’s something urgent that requires your aid.”
“Lead the way,” Botan nodded. After all, Rin definitely knew more about this place than she did. Rin then led her to an elevator. After she activated it, she turned around. Botan mimicked her movements and froze. The view was breathtaking. The city was futuristic in a way. The sky was blue and the buildings were built in a way that Botan wasn’t familiar with. She would never live in a place with so much glass.
“Let me be the first to welcome you to Kivotos, Sensei,” Rin turned to look at Botan with a small smile. “The city is home to thousands of different academies. This is where you’ll be working.”
“Thousands?” Botan’s eyes widened. “So this city… It's dedicated all to study?”
“Yes,” Rin nodded. “I’m sure it is very different to what you once called home, but I have confidence that you will have no problems adjusting. You were chosen by the General Student Council president, after all.”
I was hired by a student? Botan thought to herself. What kind of backwards school was this?
Before Botan could open her mouth to speak, the elevator dinged. As the door opened, a girl from the other side flinched before making her way to the pair.
“There you are,” The girl walked straight up to Rin. She had navy blue hair and matching eyes along with a solid black halo with a blue-streaked interior. What really put Botan on edge was the modified SIG MPX that she was holding. Botan tensed her muscles and prepared to subdue the girl at the first sign of violence. “We’ve all been waiting for you, Miss Acting President. Where’s the real —”
She cut herself off when she saw Botan. “Is that an adult? Who are you?”
Another woman then walked up to them. She had long black hair and pitch black wings. Her halo was crimson with 4 arrows pointing outwards. She held a bolt action rifle with gold engravings.
“We’ve been waiting, Chief Officer,” The woman was curt and respectful.
“Excuse me,” A woman with peach-colored hair and yellow eyes made her way to the group. She was holding a Mauser M712 and had a disgruntled look on her face. “I’m here to meet with the General Student Council president. The head prefect has a few terms she needs to discuss.”
Who the hell are trusting these weapons with high-schoolers? Botan thought to herself. The worst thing was that she didn’t have a weapon of her own. She felt almost naked as she stood around all these armed young girls.
“Well…” Rin looked away and pushed her glasses up with her index and middle finger. “Well… this really isn’t the best time…”
Rin took a deep breath and addressed her peers.
“Welcome, esteemed guests. I understand that you all have too much time on your hands,” Rin said passive-aggressively. Botan almost snorted. She didn’t expect this out of Rin, but she had to admit, It was entertaining, “I am well aware why all you troublesome— I mean important representatives have come here today. You have come to blame us for the current situation, aren’t you?”
“Well if you’re well aware, then why haven’t you done something about it?!” The bluenette said indignantly. “You represent the General Student Council! You should have things handled! Thousands of academy districts are in a complete panic! The wind generator in our academy shut down a few days ago!”
“There are also rumors that one of the students under the Federal Correction Bureau’s custody has escaped,” One of the other girls spoke up.
“There has been a sudden increase of thugs attacking students on their way to school,” Another girl spoke up. This one had white hair and red eyes. She was also carrying a rifle.
“Illegal distribution of tanks, choppers, and other weapons have increased by over two thousand percent. At this rate—”
“Stop!” Botan shouted, grabbing the attention of all of the students. Tanks? Really? What kind of job did she find herself in this time? “I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but we’re not going to get anything solved by squabbling.”
“You know, we never addressed something,” The bluenette narrowed her eyes at Botan. “Who in the hell are you and why are you here?”
“This is Shishiro Botan-sensei,” Rin swiftly interjected. “Not only will they be teaching here in Kivotos, but they’ve also been personally selected by the General Student Council President, who has since disappeared. We have not been able to make any administrative decisions since her disappearance, but with Sensei here now, we can finally get to work.”
That got a reaction from everyone. All of their eyes widened. Botan took the opportunity to take control of the situation.
“Alright, I need all of your names,” Botan said with a commanding tone. “If we’re going to be working together, I should at least know that.”
“A-ah!” The bluenette flinched before… pouting? This was a high school, alright. “M-my name is Hayase Yuuka and I’m the Millennium Science School’s treasurer.”
“Hanekawa Hasumi, vice director of the Justice Realization Committee,” The angel’s tone was cold and blunt.
“Morizuki Suzumi, a member of the Vigilante Corps,” The girl with crimson eyes introduced herself.
A vigilante corps? Just what I needed to worry about right now, Botan thought to herself.
“Nice to meet you, Sensei,” The woman in glasses bowed respectfully. “My name is Hinomiya Chinatsu and I am in charge of medical aid for the Prefect Team.”
“Alright, I’m Shishiro Botan and apparently I’m your teacher,” Botan nodded to each of them before turning to Rin. “Now, let’s start by cataloging the issues.”
“Actually, Sensei, we have something in mind already,” Rin said, directing the attention of the group to her. “Sensei was tasked by the General Student Council President to be an advisor of a new club known as the Federal Investigation Club, otherwise known as Shale.”
This can only go one way, Botan clenched her fists. They planned for students to solve the issue?
“The club, however, is more of an extrajudicial organization,” Rin continued on. “Since this is a federal club, students from any academy can join and you will be able to conduct battle activities in any academy district without permission. How the president was able to make a club like this is beyond me.”
“I… alright,” Botan shook her head. She can ask questions later. From what she heard, the situations were quite dire. “Where is this club?”
“The club room is about 30 kilometers from here. The building is empty, but the president prepared something for you,” Rin then put a finger to her ear. “Momoka, I need a helicopter to take us to the Shale club room.”
“There?” Although the other girls probably couldn’t hear the new voice, Botan’s lion ears were able to easily pick up the sound. “The outskirts are kinda crazy over there. You sure?”
“Crazy?” Rin raised an eyebrow.
“A suspended student escaped captivity and is wreaking havoc. It’s a battlefield over there right now!” The voice replied. “They rallied all the thugs in the area and are destroying everything in their path, swearing revenge. They’ve even gotten their hands on a Crusader Tank! Word has spread that the Shale building is occupied by the council, so they’re trying to occupy it.”
There was a pause.
“Yeah, you’re better off—” The voice cut off. “Ah, my food is here! Talk to you later!”
The line went dead. Rin grabbed the earpiece and crushed it in her fist.
“Rin, calm down,” Botan tried her best to take on a soothing tone. She really wasn’t the best for these kinds of situations.
Rin then took a deep breath before eyeing the students.
“What do you want?” Yuuka raised an eyebrow.
“It’s so reassuring to have such trustworthy students here with us,” Rin did a complete one-eighty and smiled at the other students.
“Eh?” Yuuka said with a blank expression.
“We’re going to need your help to bring peace back to Kivotos,” Rin pushed her glasses up once more. “Let’s go.”
“W-wait!” Yuuka shouted as Rin started to walk away. “Where the hell are we going?!”
Botan scowled as she looked at the destruction. The sound of gunfire filled Botan’s ears. Whatever the hell was going on, it wasn’t good.
“What the hell is going on?!” Yuuka shouted as an explosion went off behind her. “Gah! Why do we have to be the ones to fight them?!”
“Rin said that defending the club room is of utmost importance in retaking control of the Sanctum Tower,” Chinatsu interjected.
“That’s nice and all, but why do I have to do all the busywork?” Yuuka looked dejected. “I belong to my school’s student council!”
That was when Yuuka was hit with several bullets.
“Yuuka!” Botan shouted. She expected to see her fall over, but she just looked irritated.
“Ah, that hurts!” Yuuka grumbled as she rubbed her shoulder. “What the hell? Are they using JHP rounds? That’s not fair!”
Botan was stunned at the scene before her. JHPs… Hollow-points? These kids were using live ammunition?
“Just take cover already,” Hasumi grabbed her rifle. “Plus, hollow-points aren’t illegal.”
“Well they’re illegal in my academy starting now !” Yuuka shouted back. “That could have left a mark!”
“We need to remember that sensei is here with us,” Hasumi’s eyes flicked over to the woman in question. “Her safety is our top priority, Reclaiming the building is secondary.”
“Hasumi is right,” Chinatsu nodded her head in agreement. “Sensei isn’t from Kivotos. Unlike us, a single bullet can kill her. Please keep that in mind.”
So they can shrug off bullets? Botan thought as she eyed the thug that shot Yuuka. The thug was a woman with a ponytail and a mask, laughing while shooting at a car until it exploded.
“Sensei, you can’t join us on the battlefield, so stay put while we—” Yuuka was cut off when Botan dashed towards the thug. “Sensei!”
The thug whirled around as she noticed Botan and opened fire. TIme slowed down for Botan. There was a reason why she was a prolific assassin, after all. She was many times stronger and faster than a human in their peak form. Botan easily sidestepped the bullets before grabbing her wrist and pulling her arm behind her back, causing the submachine gun to fall out of the thug’s hands. Botan grabbed the weapon and kicked the thug before placing four bullets in her back, sending her to the ground.
When she didn’t get up, Botan walked over to check for a pulse. The girl was still alive. Normally she wouldn’t care, but she was above killing kids. She stood up and turned to look at the awestruck faces of the students. Even Hasumi looked surprised. Botan just smiled in response.
“So what are you waiting for?” She asked. “Let’s go.”