Fandom SRT's Justice Never Wavers - A Blue Archive RP

[s0ufflecake]

Blue Archive - SRT's Justice Never Wavers
In Character Thread

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Spoiler: Story Menu Theme

Current Story:
Chapter: 01 - A CAT's Dream

Finally, you are here.

Ever since SRT started accepting recruits, you've been dreaming of becoming a enforcer of law and weapon to protect the city of Kivotos, just like that girl in the news reports and television.

Out of your wish to reach the ideal that the captain of the FOX Platoon presented, you had applied to go in SRT Special Academy, and you have been accepted!

You've just been recruited into a newly-formed squad called CAT Platoon, a team that's still in training, and alongside other students just like you, they have also been accepted as well.

Now at the entrance of SRT Special Academy, you walk in alongside with your trusty firearm, and look at the school before you.

---

Previous Chapters:

Welcome to The SRT!
(Current)

Mission and Formation:
Training Platoon CAT
SRT Special Academy, Shiratori Town, D.U.

1. Situation: Training Platoon CAT is to assemble at SRT Academy for General Orientation.

• Weather: Fair.
• Terrain: Urban. Shiratori Town Suburbs.
• Enemy: Your own Procrastination. Hostile Helmet Gangsters.

2. Mission

• Who: SRT Academy Staff and Training Platoon CAT Recruits
• What: Recruits arrive at SRT Academy for timely processing, orientation, and house into dorms by end of the day.
• When: 0800 Hours.

3. Execution

• TACOM's Intent: Complete CAT Platoon's Orientation and Recruitment in a timely manner.
• Concept of Operation: Recuirts will report to SRT Academy and follow the instructions of the Academy Staff, and be breifed on SRT Academy's expectations before the start of Evaluation Drills the following week.
• Coordinating Instructions: SRT Recruits are to exercise extreme professionalism the moment they enter the grounds of the academy. Recruits prior to arrival are encrouaged to not engage or provoke any local delinquents and arrive to the academy in a timely manner, but are nonetheless allowed to practice self defense if attacked as per standard Kivotos Law.

4. Service and Support

• Recruits should have had their belongings based upon SRT Guidelines, shipped to the academy prior to the date of their arrival. Recuits should arrive with their transfer paperwork and identification. Students bringing their firearm should be prepared to turn it into the armorer at the school gate. Parking permits for helicopters and vehicles must be put through administration after orientation.

Unit 01 - Striker Echelon
STATUS: Unit Forming

 

[s0ufflecake]

(Art by mormormorp on Twitter.)

As Kihachi looks around her, taking in the unfamiliar yet grand-ish environment around. Unlike the long plain of land and buildings she usually saw back at Hyakkiyako, this was rather organized.

The girl puts her hands in her pockets, wondering where she was supposed to be. Kihachi muttered to herself, ''Oh, I guess I got lost again, Haha..?'' As she walked to the right hallway, she wondered to herself in her own thoughts, thinking about what would happen next now that she left Hyakkiyako and ended up in this strange environment where the elite forces were from, apparently.

As the girl scratched her head, she looked at the large window on the wall, seeing the outside part of the school. Kihachi said to herself, ''Maybe this school wouldn't be that bad.''

 

[Ehb]

"Yeah. It wouldn't be bad. Not bad at all I would say."


Behind Kihachi, a student with a very girlish sounding voice made herself known by commenting on the cat-eared girl's thoughts. Certainly, the girl behind her was probably a fellow student, also intending to join the SRT Academy. This girl had sort of appeared behind her rather suddenly, which was a little unsettling. But it was also reasonable given that she was in some rather new surroundings. The academy was pretty recently built. The sheer pristine state of the building and grounds just seemed to indicate that everything was practically state-of-the-art. Modern enough to even rival facilities at Millennium's Campus.

In any case, it was about time to greet this fellow student. The perspective SRT recruit was in the middle of doing this when she realized something very serious.

Kihachi found that she has a gun pointed at her.

"Hi~. My name is Shiina Manato, SRT Academy Applicant." The pink haired student. Despite the friendly tone though, the context was far from being amiable. "I bet you were looking into breaking into the school and dreaming of stealing all the brand new equipment waiting to be pilfered and repurposed in order to commit crime, huh?"

Who the heck was this student that just snuck up and pointed a gun at her without provocation!?
Surely there was some sort of misunderstanding going on here!?


"Well it is too bad! I've already gotten intel that the Helmet Gang was up to no good today. Did you girls really think you could walk up to the academy and just steal from the General Student Council? But I have to thank you though. I'll definitely make Squad Captain if I thwart that plan on before I've even transferred!"

The girl, Shiina had the look and air of a Trinity Student. But like the stereotypical girl from that school, it seemed like she was lost in whatever misinterpretation of reality she had come to belive.


In any case, getting into a gunfight right in front of the academy before even checking into orientation was going to look bad for both of these girls no matter who came out on top of a fight! This conflict was in need of a clearing of misunderstandings - and a gentle solution! Taking around from a pistol like that wasn't deadly due to the caliber, but getting hit with a bullet was still getting hit with a bullet - even with a Halo!

Maybe there was someone who could help mediate and clear things up?

---

---

From nearby and afar...
other students arriving to the academy was seeing an amusing scene of misunderstanding playing out before them.

This is supposed be the next generation of SRT Elite to follow Yukino's Example? One of those two was clearly not the brightest. they must've thought.


s0ufflecake November Witch Nellancholy Chibistaryuu

 

[November Witch]

Evelyn Andahlia

Status: Interested & Amused.

Evelyn had rode in public transportation to arrive at the school. The girl wasn’t a fan of walking or biking such a long distance. It’s not that she wasn’t in shape, cardio just wasn’t her thing… And maybe she was slightly heavier than she wanted to be, but that didn’t mean anything! She was just as capable as everyone else! Besides the normal inconveniences of public transportation, her ride was rather uneventful, thankfully. It wasn’t long before she would arrive on the campus. 99% of her belongings had already been shipped to the school. All she had on her were her weapons and the clothes on her back. Although, her firearm was soon taken as she arrived at the school gate. Turned over to the armorer. She was promised she could pick it up later. But for now, she would continue up the path and into the school towards the classroom designated for them.

Mere minutes later would Eve stumble into a very precarious situation. Her yellow, vaguely heart shaped halo slowly turned above her head as she contemplated the situation before her. Definitely some sort of misunderstanding. How would someone from the Helmet gang be able to infiltrate the school for the best of the best? Especially on a day with new recruits, where security was bound to be higher than normal.

“Ms. Manato, do you really think they would let someone who broke the rules on the first day be promoted to squad captain?”

The maid looking girl spoke up as she approached the girl from behind. Her left hand grasped the shield on her back, just in case the girl was a little jumpy and decided to fire at Eve herself. Though, the girl was confident that she wouldn’t, as to her knowledge, only the best were accepted and invited to SRT.

“All firearms were to be turned into the armorer at the school gate.”

Her tone was one that was informational and supportive. As if a teacher giving information to a close student. However, there was a slight hint of something behind it all. Smugness? Satisfaction? Amusement? Mischief? Or possibly some combination of the four? Whatever it was, it shone brightly in her golden eyes.

“I get that it's the first day and everyone is eager to prove themselves. But I implore you, Ms Manato. Please take a breath and calm yourself. Or perhaps you would like me to guide you in breathing exercises?”

Evelyn asked as she finally came up to stand beside Shiina. The tall maid would place a hand on the shorter one’s shoulder, and offer a gentle, innocent smile. But once more, her eyes showed some sort of amusement or entertainment she was finding in this situation.

Ehb s0ufflecake

 

[Nellancholy]

"Oi, jou-chan! Where do you think you're going to?"

Furiko exhaled deeply as she held her position for the moment, her gaze not wavering from the two Helmet Gangsters barring her path. The one further back didn't have a gun out, but the nearer was already brandishing a handgun in Furiko's face.

"I'm headed to school." she answered dryly. "Something you have long forgotten about."

"Haaah?! Are you trying to insult us?"

"That's not as smart as you think!"

"In fact, for trying to bully us when we were so nice to you...how about you pay us a toll? 1000 credits for each of us should be just fine!"

Furiko pursed her lips. "I don't think so. I'm going to walk through here and you are going to be more responsible with the money you do have."

"Oh? A smart mouth and a dumb ass! You won't be in the mood for talking once you get a taste of THIS!!"

The gangster leveled her gun at Furiko.

Her own hand was already in motion, drawing her blade.

Her first, swift cut in such close quarters sliced a long, thin gash across the front of the gangster's clothes. A single drop of blood was drawn.

In the next milisecond, the blade in motion caught the fired bullet with a loud CLANG as it left the barrel, deflecting it aside. It was good fortune that a pistol was all this thug could scrounge together: this stroke of luck would be impossible against a shotgun or an automatic.

"Gyaaaaaaah!"

As the assailant she struck screamed and crumpled over, Furiko took another step forward, pulling her blade back downwards in an approximation of the tsubame-gaeshi maneuver.

The second gangster's helmet CRACKed like a coconut struck by a machete. Furiko twisted her weapon slightly, opening the cleft slightly to emphasize her displeasure before delivering a fierce straight kick into her foe's gut.

She fell as well.

As satisfied with her course of action as she was, a quick glance at her watch indicated that she had lost a minute of time to this intolerable behavior.

Should she run, and risk arriving sweaty and disheveled? A bus would be unreliable for time, and forget about any other mode of transportation...

"Over here! Someone's fighting over here!"

The calls of passers-by (likely other gangsters) made that decision for her.

Turning and vaulting over a low wall, Furiko continued to SRT as briskly as she could on foot.

---

Miraculously, she arrived a bit ahead of schedule, joining the group of new recruits milling around one of the hallways, not far past the school gate.

How disorganized: the moment she knew her assignment, she'd make sure all her squadmates stayed in line.

Not far from where she was, a pink-haired girl appeared to have gotten into an altercation with a girl in a wool cap and a...maid? Of course, a transfer student would not yet have a chance to get a suitable new uniform...was she from Trinity, perhaps? They were the ones who dressed like that.

She appeared to be trying to smooth things over between the other two, and Furiko hovered a short distance away in case things went bad. Hopefully, she'd be able to intervene without violence this time...

 

[Ehb]

It was a natural outcome that the scene was going to attract a crowd.
When Shiina identified this potential perpetrator, her heart was prepared for anything. An immediate retaliation? The rest of the Helmet Gang infiltrators were rushing in to back up their operative. The dropping of a Flash Grenade? Who knows what sort of scheme the helmet gang was planning?

But a staff member wearing a maid uniform, which Shiina immediately found strange, approached. The maid implored her to disengage. However, Shiina wasn't keen to do so right away. After all, she hadn't just decided to point her gun at the first student just because that recruit looked suspicious.

"I apologize for the trouble, Miss Cleaning Lady." Shiina said, still unaware this maid or cleaning lady really was just another recuit. "One of the staff working the entrance was informed me that a criminal was planning to use today's orientation day in order to infiltrate the academy grounds and rob SRT of its equipment."

The Trinity student's eyes met with Evelyn's for just a moment before she continued. Did she just size the maid up?

"The criminal, Wakamo apparently hired some of the local gangs to infiltrate the academy in order to create enough chaos to make that heist successful. That staffer gave me the authority to try to prevent that from happening by helping scope out and apprehend those infiltrators. The staffer refused to take my backup pistol when I offered it to them, but I suppose that's expected when you're dealing with somone with the title: Fox of Calamity."



Dumbfounded.
The students listening to this girl were simply dumbfounded.

Maybe Shiina was putting up a good act, but that entire explanation was oddly concise, especially in the way she had said it all. There was a distinct sense stemming from Shiina's conviction that she really believed that a staff member had warned her of an impending raid on the SRT Academy.

"FOX Platoon is conveniently being distracted by a train hijacking occurring all the way at the edge of Kivotos right now. So, it's up to us recruits to stop it. A girl who looks almost exactly like the Fox of Calamity is conveniently hiding her ears and present on the grounds."


Shiina now addressed the student (Kihachi); she still had her pistol pointed at her. Seeming to follow Evelyn's call to deescalate, she lowered the handgun. It gave the Evelyn some relief. As she had thought, Shiina wasn't entirely trigger-happy.

"I don't want to shoot you. But I still need to make sure. I'm sorry if I'm incorrect, but can you please identify yourself? If you're not Wakamo the Fox of Calamity, then I don't have any reason to point a gun at you anymore."

The words of the maid seemed to have reached Shiina, as she had lowered her weapon. This was creating an opening for taking her down without triggering an immediate response of her shooting the other student.


All around Shiina and the student (Kihaachi), other recruits were starting to gather. Looking at Shiina like a crazy person for the most part is a normal response. Students are now realizing that they had to stop this crazy girl before bullets started flying. Even though they all had halos, nobody wanted to get shot at. Confirming glances and shared nods quietly communicated who was going to go and try to grapple Shiina down to take away her gun. But they didn't attack right away. There was something else about her.

The pink-haired student was very aware of what the other recruits were steeling themselves to do as well. Her gaze was saying she was expecting to be attacked any moment now. Alarmingly, there was experience in those eyes. Something about them said she wasn't at all afraid of the prospect of being outnumbered, despite being aware she had no chance of being able to outfight a whole group of students on her own.


There was another, even smaller group of students realizing something as well. The things that Shiina was saying are, on paper, complete nonsense. But somewhere, they were feeling that this overzealous Trinity student was telling the truth. There was another thing they were realizing about her as well.

Shiina Manato, SRT Captain Hopeful, was very far from being captain material.

She'd gotten this information about the impending attack, and her immediate response was to try to solve the entire problem by herself, just for the sake of getting good recognition. Many of the applicants knew that while Yukino was the star operator—literally, miss perfect—it was FOX Platoon as a unit that made them so effective. As hard as Shiina might've wanted it, she couldn't possibly solve this problem—whether real or misinformed—on her own.

If she couldn't even understand the basic concept that SRT operates as a team, then she had no place in this academy. The rest of the academy, together would be able to solve whatever infiltration or upcoming raid situation arose even without her. Whether it was a real threat or a fake one.


Actually, on that note

It felt like there was a piece of this story that was missing. Why did it seem like no one else in the academy knew about this supposed plot except for one staff member? Wasn't that strange? Who exactly was the staff member who told Shiina all of this?

It was at this fateful moment that one of the SRT Academies squads got its start from a group of students whose first instincts weren't to tackle down their clumbsy teammate like the others.

s0ufflecake November Witch Nellancholy Chibistaryuu Crow

 

[s0ufflecake]

Kihachi was, well, rightfully confused by the pink-haired girl lowering down her weapon due to a certain student in a maid outfit talking her out of it. But now that she had the chance to talk, she started doing so.

''Hibana Kihachi. A transfer from Hyakkiyako.''

Strangely, she was calm about this. Despite the fact that she was wrongfully mistaken as a known terrorist, as well as being potentially shot even if she was practically immune to bullets, Kihachi simply smiled, and reached her hand out to the other pink-haired girl, while the other was in the right pocket of her white sweater.

This was very strange behavior concerning the standards at SRT, a person willing to forgive another even if they were intending to cause harm to them originally. But Kihachi only focused on the fact that the pink-haired student simply had some misunderstandings about her.

Even though the result of her actions may be the opposite of what she wanted to happen, Kihachi wanted to try being friendly to her anyway.

''What's your name?''
Ehb Chibistaryuu November Witch Crow Nellancholy

 

[November Witch]

Evelyn Andahlia

Status: Concerned & Curious.

A staff member? It was awfully vague compared to the rest of her story. Not the Armorer? Not the gate guard? Someone had refused to take her backup weapon? That also seemed rather odd. After all, no one would have a weapon to defend themselves with or fight back. Perhaps there really ***was something going on. But it may not have been what this girl was led to believe. Could there really be something serious happening? Perhaps it wasn’t so. Bullies perhaps playing a trick on the poor girl? Or maybe she really was up to something. Evelyn thought about it for a moment, only to notice those around her. Being from C&C, the girl was used to being observant no matter the situation and thinking on her feet.

Well, time to test the girl, and see if she had really just been fooled by someone claiming to be a staff member. Evelyn would use her tall stature for her age and her disciplined, mature demeanor to her advantage.

“Miss cleaning lady? That’s a rude way to speak to an instructor. That’s Ms. Andahlia to you.”

Evelyn would try impersonating a staff member. If she could do it, or even succeed for only a few moments, then she would assume it possible for this girl to have been deceived earlier. But if she didn’t fall for it at all, it would rule that possibility off the table. Her right hand slid down Shiina’s shoulder and to the middle of her back when the gun was lowered. Evelyn would begin to walk down the hall, towards Kihachi, who she would also usher along. Thankfully, it seemed Kihachi was levelheaded and didn’t escalate the situation.

“Let’s talk somewhere where we won’t draw a crowd, yes?”

However, if Shiina really was up to something, numbers would be their best advantage against a firearm. So, she decided to grab another nearby student or two, while exiting the currently volatile environment around them.

“You, come too please.”

She would beckon Furiko to come along, and possibly two other students who may or may not happen to be in the area at the time. Evelyn would simply lead them around a hallway corner or into a stairwell. Whatever was closer.

“Now, who exactly told you this information, and why didn’t you raise the alarm once you learned of this secret infiltration?”

Evelyn questioned the girl, genuinely concerned and curious at this point. She certainly had her guard up now, knowing something might actually be afoot. Her questioning did, in fact, come off as if a staff member was scolding a student. Even if Eve wasn’t trying to play the part anymore. Anyone who would have seen her come through the gate would know for sure that she was a student as well, and definitely not a staff member.

 

[Nellancholy]

The tall maid lady took charge of the situation, quickly sweeping up the others into her pace. She was now attempting to impersonate a member of staff (as if a modern academy like SRT would make use of such affectations in attire), though Furiko could spot a hole or two in that. Other than her non-standard uniform, there was also the fact that she did not seem to be carrying a firearm (though no one could rule out one hidden in a holster or slide somewhere). Only students were assigned firearms (something that would seem quite absurd to someone from outside Kivotos), with teaching assistants and other support staff generally not carrying any such armament. Really, the only exception to this trend that she knew of was the student instructors of Shanhaijing, though that was unlikely to be the case here. Therefore, she had likely turned any in hand over at the school gate, as per the rule she cited.

Furiko's own sword had escaped notice, like most people couldn't even see it was there. How they could remain ignorant of such fine craftsmanship and the potential it could bring out in a person's technique, she would never understand.

With that, the maid aimed to pull the previously squabbling group aside, for some plan of her own.

It put Furiko rather in mind of the way the leaders of the Yin-Yang Society tended to talk: there was no need to weave a perfect lie when you could prevent anyone from pointing out the holes in it.

Still, she followed along. She'd figure this out one way or another.

Nodding along to the maid's questioning, she glanced at the pink-haired girl.

"And why would they choose first to tell you, a new recruit, before anyone else?"

November Witch Ehb s0ufflecake

 

[Crow]

"Heh, looks like your Emperor of Destruction isn't even half as destructive as one of us!"

A girl with centipede-like traits was being surrounded by a good bunch of helmet gang members.

"But I do know what's as destructive as one of you!"

"Really?" one of them peered towards her, "what would that be?"

A desperate, swift kick to the bottom of one of their necks incapicitated one, as she proceeded to use her as a battering ram.

"One of you! OUT OF THE WAY!"

She was smacked with bullets on the way, but managed to grab another unconscious helmet ganger, dual-wielding them as shields as she charged.

~~~

"I look pretty unpresentable," the centipede lady chittered as she looked at herself. While she was immune to bullets like all who lived in Kivotos were, the damage they stacked still took a good toll on her as she dragged her feet to her new school, crawling like a centipede.

That was when the announcement popped up, and when she popped up.

She wasn't hearing things, right?

Kousaka Wakamo was who she was referring to.

Kousaka Wakamo was a Hyakkiyako Student who turned to a life of crime.

Kousaka Wakamo was someone pretty damn dangerous.

''Hibana Kihachi. A transfer from Hyakkiyako.''

"I'm from Hyakkiyako myself. Recognise me, miss?"

Her antannae began to flap about.

"And why would they choose first to tell you, a new recruit, before anyone else?"

"Huh? Huh? Detective work this early? Or is someone trying to get us to act exactly like this? To get us distracted from the even bigger picture."

November Witch Ehb s0ufflecake Nellancholy

 

[Ehb]

"My name is Shiina Manato. Didn't I, uh, already say that just a minute ago?" Shiina replied, a little disconcerted that it seemed like her introduction from earlier seemed to have been forgotten already.

Regardless, Kihachi extended out her hand for a handshake. Sadly, the Trinity student would find herself whisked away by the instructor, who looked like a cleaning lady and was simultaneously dissatisfied that her attire was getting her recognized as a type of sanitation staffer. 'Ms. Andahlia' sought to get away from the group of SRT recruits who seemed to be itching to witness or directly participate in some action.

Under normal circumstances, Shiina's feeling of noticing herself being physically coralled away by even the likes of an instructor in such an immediate situation would've triggered her flight or fight response. As with most normal instructors, getting blown apart wasn't too much of a deal for them since they could usually be put back together. But Ahnadalia was not a normal instructor by any means. She didn't even have a screen for a face.

In fact, her couple of moments of actually being able to focus on the maid instructor were only adding more questions. What was the deal with the attire this person was wearing? Why a maid?


Shiina pondered this as she was whisked away by the teaching maid.
Mulling over her thoughts...

---

Once in a different location, with fewer students surrounding her, Shiina was beset with questions.


“Now, who exactly told you this information, and why didn’t you raise the alarm once you learned of this secret infiltration?” Evelyn asks.

"A robot staff member in a SRT jumpsuit handling SRT supplies." Shiina replies back plainly. Giving extra emphasis on robot.

There was again, a growing tension. The few seconds that Evelyn had spent feigning her identity as an SRT staff member were enough to get Shiina away from the crowd without bullets going off. But that same move was already starting to bite back at her, as Shiina seemed to start suspecting she was being lied to.

As if to buy more time, another student who had come along asked Shiina a question.

"And why would they choose to tell you, a new recruit, before anyone else?"

"That's new information to me. I showed my identification and transfer papers to that staff member to prove I had the credentials to attend this orientation. I was under the impression that there were other students working to uncover possible infiltrators without informing the perpetrators and igniting violence. Or, in other words, since Yukino and FOX were out, it looked like the staff was clumbsily drawing in whoever they could to try to prevent the raid from occurring without triggering the raid immediately."


Shiina, looking uncomfortable, shrugged herself free from being in Evelyn's immediate grasp. Since resistance to that move would've been perceived as an attempt to arrest her and lead to bullets flying, she was let go. She turned to look at the maid.

"The staff (robots) should be able to pass information like this raid around in an instant. But the actual in-person instructor is the only one out of the loop even though they should've been informed immediately? It would make sense, though, if the instructor herself wasn't a part of the SRT."

This. This was it.

This was the moment that Evelyn should've tried to disable Shiina before a firefight broke out, given that her cover had been blown. - Though it really wasn't the exact magnitude of 'cover identity' as it would've meant if this was a C&C mission,.


"Huh? Huh? Detective work this early? Or is someone trying to get us to act exactly like this? To get us distracted from the even bigger picture." Chimed in another student. There was still a way. Just as the antennae student said, they were all (presumably) here to join the SRT. Not destroy it from the inside out. Her decision to dig deeper into the pretense that she was a teacher was a temporary solution, and she was now having to unwind that deception in the context that there was a lot of misinformation and susupicion going around.

"Ms. Andahlia, there's only one combat unit known for using maid outfits. And I wouldn't be sure of it if it weren't for the patch scar of your old callsign on your uniform. But there's no mistaking it. What business do Millenium and the Cleaning and Clearing Club have with an SRT orientation?"


And just like that, Shiina had turned the questioning completely around. That was sort of curious, though. The Cleaning and Clearing Club (C&C) is a notable club at the Millenium School. The average Trinity student wouldn't be too privy to the special services clubs of other schools unless it was something they were interested in. So why did someone like Shiina know about them enough to call this random instructor out on it? How much did she know?

Evelyn was probably aware that, at some point, her previous association would be brought into question. But she was probably not expecting it to occur this quickly or in this exact sort of situation!

The thing the other recruit said earlier was probably true. They were starting to get distracted away from what was really important—the possible raid on SRT. Working together to solve it was going to be difficult if everyone was questioning their loyalties. So, for this moment, she had to smooth out questions about her loyalty right here and now!



s0ufflecake November Witch Nellancholy Chibistaryuu Crow

 

[November Witch]

Evelyn Andahlia

Status: Surprised & Concerned.

Once they were away from the tense situation that had just been building, she would let go of Shiina, seeing no reason to keep a hold on the girl. The situation was, thankfully, less volatile than it was just moments before due to the change in setting. Now it was only a small group of, what looked to be, levelheaded students. As far as Eve could tell, no one seemed to be planning to jump this girl, so that was already a plus. However, she felt like it would be time to drop the instructor facade. She had gleaned the information she needed, and her deception had no more use. In fact, the longer she kept it up, the more she felt it would hurt her in the long run.

Evelyn, at this point, wished she hadn’t spoken. Because, with the other two students chiming in, it sounded alot more like an interrogation than anything else. However, thankfully, the other was answering their questions.

A staff member gave this information to her as everyone was out, in hopes she could help them… But why note more people? More importantly, did the school really not have any plans or systems in place in case something like this happened? Well, if that was the case, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. An oversight on the procedural staff within the school. Eve hoped they got chewed out for this.

However, there was still the question of whether it was actually happening. If Eve, a fellow student, could trick this girl so easily, it meant many more could have as well. Perhaps the robot was hacked, or fake or any number of things. Evelyn wasn’t about to believe so easily, however, she was also on guard just in case something was, in fact, going to happen. Thankfully, she also had her mace and shield still. Firearms were meant to be turned in, but nothing had been said about these.

It was then the other girl turned on Evelyn and started to question her. Evelyn smiled and gave a small curtsey at the other’s skills in deduction. This raised more questions though. She was gullible but seemed to quickly recover. She would have been deceived for a short amount of time. Short enough that Shiina couldn’t grow suspicious. Meaning her interaction with that staff member, if deceived, had to be very small, if at all.

This was quite the interesting case so far.

“My apologies Ms. Manato. I had to test something.”

Evelyn said truthfully and continued.

“I also got you away from those students, because they were about to attack you for flailing a firearm around. You’re correct in your deduction Ms. I used to be affiliated with C&C, and I see no reason to hide it. However, I am now a recruit here at SRT. If I was really up to something nefarious, why would I do something so risky as to wear a recognizable outfit here? Or pretend to be a staff member when I’m clearly not? My apologies for deceiving you, but I was simply testing how easy it is to fool you, in an attempt to gauge how probable it was that you were deceived by some fake staff member. Whether you choose to believe me is up to you or not. But I would suggest we put aside our differences for now and attempt to figure out what is really going on. After all, the Helmet gang is an enemy of us all.”

Evelyn would explain to not just Shiina, but the whole group. If they didn’t believe her, or turned on her for lying, it was fine with the maid. She would leave them to this themselves and go about finding her own way to verify these claims. But if these students didn’t…

“Now, if what that staff member said is true, I may have an idea on how to approach this situation…”


s0ufflecake Ehb Nellancholy Crow Chibistaryuu

 

[Chibistaryuu]

Tsuyoi Tachibana
​

Mood: Freaking out, Somewhat Embarassed
Having ridden her bike out towards her new school the young Kivoto was late having woken up late all because of staying up playing video Thus the dark-haired red-eyed girl was petaling as hard as she could as Tsuyoi rushed towards school. She was not far from the Academy.

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! I knew I shouldn't have continued playing those games!"

So she petaled as quick as she could as several other students noticed a dark-haired riding bike with a Rocket Launcher strapped on her back startling them as she yelped from that fast biker, as the breeze blew her hair from her speed. With the SRT Academy in sight, She looked happy as she could be as she ends up pulling the breaks and halting the bike and immediately locking it up next to a pole so it won't be stolen. The Former member of the Pandemonium Society in Gehenna rushed into the building.

She ran down the halls of the building accidentally shoving and pushing aside a couple of the fellow kivotos while saying "Excuse me!" and "coming through!" That was until she stopped realizing she was finally and actually here.

"Yes! Finally I'm here! Possibly on time!" She exclaimed loudly pumping her fist into the air. That well caught the attention of other students that was within her proximity, as she suddenly noticed that she was making a scene and looks a little embarrassed. "Uhhh.... Hi?" She said confused, as those was the first words to come to mind... Well that was one way on how to make an entrance.

Mentions: s0ufflecake Ehb November Witch Nellancholy Crow

 

[Nellancholy]

If she was more prone to expressing her bemusement, Furiko would have raised an eyebrow. In any case, today's orientation was very far departed from how she'd considered it going. She spared a glance at the girl with the wriggly head parts; she looked kind of familiar. On the other hand, the pink-haired girl...she seemed to display a certain level of insight, though the girl with the shield was basically wearing a big, obvious clue on herself. Even so, it was clear that the pinkette had applied her surprising deductive reasoning from the wrong premise, and was therefore off track.

Furiko raised a cautious hand towards the pink-haired girl. "Hold it. Before you go off on some hare-brained tangent and make fools of us all."

She let the maid give her own explanation as well, though she felt that she of all people was in no position to be "testing" anyone, especially considering she had just been proven to NOT be in any position of authority.. It seemed quite the duplicitous move to pull. She had more things to say to Evelyn, like "do you think it behooves you to withhold the truth from prospective partners?" but she left them unsaid for now. Instead, she chose to support Evelyn's argument.

"While it may be unbecoming to mislead others about one's goals...there are several reasons to believe her." Furiko didn't know a whole lot about Millennium or this "cianci"; in fact, until a few minutes ago she was under the impression that she was a Trinity transfer. "For one, units like this never work alone. Given her conspicuousness, we'd have noticed any compatriots she had by now." That was what the experience of working as the Yin-Yang Society's enforcer told her; there would always be at least one other person for backup...and to keep each other in line. That was the game they played, keeping their agents looking over each other's backs and never trusting each other more than one's commanders.

"Second of all, we've yet to establish any motive. Millennium is firmly neutral in its dealings, unlike Trinity and Gehenna. Nor have any incidents remotely involving them happened within SRT's walls recently. What reason could they have to send...someone here?" This was the weaker argument, but it lined up with what she knew. If Millennium had a problem with SRT, they'd probably start addressing it with a 20-page letter (not that she would know anything about that). Or maybe send in robots before maids.

"And finally, if she had some kind of plan to carry out, she'd have found a way to smuggle her entire panoply of equipment in." Furiko figured the pink-haired girl would barely acknowledge the mace and shield on the maid's back. But she noticed. "If she was on an operation, we'd probably find a gun on her. Just like-"

And then the girl with the rocket launcher barged in.

"-that."

Reflexively, Furiko turned towards the new arrival, her hand swiftly moving to the scabbard of her sword.

Just as quickly, she let go, hoping her habitual movement wasn't noticed. Didn't want to draw here.

Ehb November Witch Chibistaryuu Crow

 

[Crow]

"Oooh boy," our antannae'd comrade commented, glancing towards Shiina, then towards to Gehennoid that popped in, "I am not looking forward to this."

Her head was a blank for the most part, and now that it was, she could let other thoughts flow in.

"Be right back. Your four settle this between yourselves for a bit, I'm going to devise a plan amongst our very surprised bystanders."

She steps away, away from the smaller gang and towards the larger pool and shouts towards the rest - our mobs and the like.

"First thing you think of when you hear of a potential terrorist attack is to shiver and panic and chitter-chatter and... stand there? You don't need this arbitary motivational speech to know that you're all armed fighters who'll live through stuff like this at the end of the day anyways! All seven days of the week could be like this and you'll be laughing about it in a month in a restaurant with your buds! You know why I look pretty darn messy right now? Because I am amongst the worst militants in Kivotos - put me in the middle with my partner and I'd need to call a chopper! As luck would have it, the Helmets that may be coming with the big culprit got in my way - and despite everything, I beat their butts on the way here! That fight barely ended ten minutes ago, and I'm still on two legs! Maybe we won't win, but if this Academy's anything like advertised, then I know one thing - when there's a big threat on the loose, we'll damn well try until they're caught! Who's with me!?"

Nellancholy Ehb November Witch Chibistaryuu Crow

 

[Ehb]

"Hold it. Before you go off on some hare-brained tangent and make fools of us all."

Shiina raised her eyebrow at one of the students who had come along with her and Evelyn. The stranger urged calmness, wanting to hear an explanation from the maid.



Evelyn admitted her association with C&C. Or, rather, her former association. According to her, she had arrived at SRT to transfer to the school as well. For the time being, that explanation was going to have to suffice. It was still odd for Shiina, though. The SRT Campus was nice enough, but everything in Millenium was practically state-of-the-art. The cleaning and clearing club was something of a premiere club, as far as she understood it. Was she dissatisfied with all of that somehow?

“Now, if what that staff member said is true, I may have an idea on how to approach this situation…”



The maid concluded her statements, but the other student spoke up.

"While it may be unbecoming to mislead others about one's goals...there are several reasons to believe her. For one, units like this never work alone. Given her conspicuousness, we'd have noticed any compatriots she had by now."

Shiina, turning her attention to the speaking student, could agree with that. While it wasn't normally her style to work in a team, she'd seen plenty of teamwork from all walks of Trinity - some more effective than others. But what was really striking Shiina right now was how this still unknown student was going really far to defend the maid. In any case, the maid had several chances to strike at her with that presumably bulletproof shield and chose not to, so whatever her real intentions were, if she was just here to destroy or raid SRT...

"Second of all, we've yet to establish any motive. Millennium is firmly neutral in its dealings, unlike Trinity and Gehenna. Nor have any incidents remotely involving them happened within SRT's walls recently. What reason could they have to send...someone here? And finally, if she had some kind of plan to carry out, she'd have found a way to smuggle her entire panoply of equipment in. If she was on an operation, we'd probably find a gun on her. Just like-"



If Evelyn was involved in trying to do something to the school, she wasn't the one directly involved with the actual raid. What if, just like the distraction that was pulling away FOX Squad, there was also a distraction for the students and staff on site at SRT? Would that explain why this random student was going so far to...

"Yes! Finally I'm here! Possibly on time!"
"Uhhh.... Hi?"

Nearby, another arriving student had arrived, practically materializing before them. Notably, they had on them a rather conspicuous-looking type of rocket launcher.

"-that." Concluded the Justice Task Force Looking Student.


"Oooh boy, I am not looking forward to this. Be right back. Your four settle this between yourselves for a bit, I'm going to devise a plan amongst our very surprised bystanders."

The buggy looking student was off. Very soon, echoes of her seeming to rally or address the students left behind in the crowd.

Spoiler

"Woo! Let's goooo SRT!"

"I'm in!"

"Uh, so what happened to the others who went into that hallway with you?"
"We turned in our guns, though."
"The helmet gang is going to attack us? What else is new?"

"I didn't sign up for this... yet!"

"Oh yea? This is what I did sign up for!"

"Can we just go to our dorms now?"

The other students were getting varying degrees of fired up.



"I don't know who that person with the sticks on their head is, but it looks like they're organizing a defense. I'm willing to hear what plan Evelyn has. For me, though, I know what I have to do. I'm going to go find that staffer and ask them for clarification on what's going on here."

Shiina was the only one who could confirm which of the identical robot staffers was the one with whom she spoke when she arrived at the academy. Talking to that individual was likely the only way to clear up any misunderstanding—or uncover what was actually happening here—before a real raid on the SRT began.

Next, Shiina suprised everyone. She holstered her handgun.
That single, simple action communicated to all of them that she'd decided to put her trust in them.

"If you think I'm going to shoot you in the back, then it's fine. I'll go ask them alone. Evelyn, Kihachi, um, you. Why didn't you introduce yourself yet?" Referring to Furiko. "Could you all be so kind as to help this girl who seems to have forgotten to turn in her rocket launcher?"



Evelyn still had her chance to say what her plan was. But for some reason, some of the students there felt like they wanted to protest Shiina going after the robot staffer alone. Perhaps it was because they thought she was off to do no good on her own?


No, that wasn't the exact reason.

At that moment, they wanted to believe that Shiina Manato wasn't necessarily a bad person. Even if she seemed prone to possibly being decieved easily and making rash decisions, what worried them was what sort of trouble she was going to get herself into if she was allowed to continue on her own. Was the next student, whom she thought looked like the Fox of Calamity, going to have the patience to not start a gunfight right then and there? Probably not.

"It's fine." Shiina closed her eyes, almost in a resigned fashion. "I can do it alone."



That was really one of those real-life pivitol moments, wasn't it?

A group of people are brought together under the precept of a misunderstanding. But when the basis of that misunderstanding is cleared up, the reason for them being together becomes null and void. There was a distinct possibility that Shiina had somehow misconstrued something a staffer had said and that this whole attack on the school was nothing. It was growing into something, as one of the recruits was already rallying other students to prepare to defend the school.

The chance to walk away was already gone. The moment they walked onto the SRT academy grounds, they became SRT students.



SRT is the elite of the elite.
FOX Platoon is the most elite unit in all Kivotos.
Just like them, each SRT unit works as a team.

"I can do it all alone, so... if it was all a misunderstanding, I'll take full responsibility."



Evelyn, Furiko, and, by some happenstance, Tsuyoi had this certain feeling well up inside them.

How could they ever hope to look Yukino Shichido in the eye and call themselves fellow SRT operators if they abandon a teammate on their first day at the academy?

---

s0ufflecake November Witch Nellancholy Chibistaryuu Crow

 

[s0ufflecake]

''Hold on.''

Kihachi declared so boldly. The four other students tilted their heads to the cat-eared girl suddenly appearing, even though she technically wasn't left behind, it was surprising to see hear her suddenly. She sighed, and thought of something to say, and then her brain finally came up with a idea.

''Doing it alone? Listen, the Helmet Gang and Wakamo is dangerous and all, but it wouldn't really be safe for you to go fight against that guy alone.''

The girl then paused to wonder about if her words sounded stupid in this situation, but she continued on, anyway. Kihachi felt bad a little about trying to stop the pink-haired student from going alone, but also didn't just want to let someone go fight dangerous enemies so carelessly, especially if there was some uncomfortable memory of what happened the last time Kihachi simply lets someone do that.. She pushed that memory crawling up in her mind and then continued talking.

''Numbers aren't everything, but strategic and careful planning is important. Fighting recklessly can't always work in a situation like this. You really can't just swoop in and rashly attack someone randomly and expect it to successful. Even worse if you're alone.''

She paused again, and then continued talking calmly.

''I'm not the most reliable person on this topic, but are you really sure you should go do it by yourself? There's a reason why almost all units in this school work together as a team.''

Ehb Nellancholy Chibistaryuu November Witch Crow

 

[Nellancholy]

Furiko wasn't terribly pleased to see the pugnacious pink-haired girl turn so...contrite. To her, it seemed as if the embarrassment of possibly being misled and the frustration at not being believed (made worse in part by her being the first to draw a gun) was getting to her head. The truth was that one way or another, something was wrong. Whether or not there was an infiltrator from Millennium, or an invasion by the Helmet Gang (which she considered unlikely, at least here), someone was planning something.

She raised her hand in a conciliatory gesture, though she did not actually touch the girl. "It's noble of you to aim to take responsibility, and I won't let you do it alone. The rest of the recruits are becoming anxious, and no mob like that is worth anything when it comes to investigation. Speaking of..."

With that, Furiko hooked her finger into Tomie's collar, pulling her back to the group. "...you." Recognition flashed in her eyes, but she chose to (mostly) put that aside for the moment. "Still haven't learned your lesson? I'll have to remind you as many times as it takes. Now, if you intend to do something about the 'bigger picture', come with us." She bent her arm, pulling Tomie in front of her and closer to the others. "Let's track down that robot. Miss? Where'd you meet them?"

Ehb Crow

 

[November Witch]

Evelyn Andahlia

Status: Frustrated & Exasperated.

Evelyn was still focused on the pink haired girl mainly, but also the rest of the group around herself in the small seconds she waited for a response, only to hear footsteps thundering towards them. She turned instinctively towards the source only to see a girl skid to a halt before them with a rocket launcher on her back… Were they seriously just letting the worst equipped students to handle a situation like this keep their firearms? The first had held up an innocent student at gunpoint. And this one wasn’t even trying to hide the massive weapon on her back.

Evelyn’s eyes flashed with annoyance, but with a blink, they were gone and difficult to read once more. Though, at least with this, they would have a chance to verify Shiina’s story.

“Yes, you’re on time.”

Evelyn would tell her.

“Were you also alerted of the danger posed by an infiltrating force? I assume that’s why you still have your weapon?”

But it was different from Shiina. Her weapon had been taken, but she was allowed to keep her backup... Was this girl really afforded the luxury of bringing her main weapon inside? Had she snuck it in?... Or perhaps... Evelyn eyed her suspiciously... While awaiting an answer, she’d get dragged back into the conversation with the others. The black-haired girl with a halo seemed to be stepping in to help defend Evelyn. She certainly seemed to be an observant one as well. She would have to find a way to thank the girl later. But for now, all she could do was voice that sentiment.

“Thank you, miss, I appreciate it.”

Evelyn let out a sigh, the annoyance clearly visible on her face now as the girl with the antenna went and blurted out what was supposed to be secret to literally everyone, for them all to hear. That girl needed to learn to read the room… Or self-control… Or both. Both wouldn’t hurt. Maybe she’d offer to teach the other girl some. If this infiltration situation was really happening, she could have just made things 10x worse. If it was fake, they just caused a massive uproar for nothing. If it was real, well, the jig was up, and they had now lost the element of surprise. No matter how Evelyn looked at it, it wasn’t good.

As Tomie was brought back over, Eveyn grabbed her upper arm with frightening strength and spoke to her.

“Please, keep your voice down, miss. This stays between all of us over here.”

Evelyn’s voice was as it had been before although it was said through slightly gritted teeth as she kept herself calm. But her icy, frustrated glare and the strength at which she held Tomie’s arm made it clear She wasn’t happy with the girl. Not one bit. The maid loosened her grip on the girl’s arm but still held it firmly. She wasn’t going to let Tomie run off and run her mouth about whatever they decided to do. Not when she had already jeopardized her plan.

“My plan may not function as well now that the element of surprise is lost. But miss rocket launcher here might also help. Assuming there are multiple members of the gang within the school undercover, it’s likely they saw your weapons. Meaning you two would be the first targets. If someone with a weapon were, say, isolated, alone, or in a disadvantageous position, it’s likely they would attempt to strike, and neutralize any possible threats to their mission. So, theoretically, we could lure them out. Though with word now spreading, they may just come in guns blazing.”

When Shiina turned to leave, and everyone jumped in to accompany her, Evelyn offered another idea. Her mood calming significantly, though her eyes watched rocket girl suspiciously.

“Why don’t we just ask her?”

She said, referring to Tsuyoi.

“You got your weapon in. So surely you were informed too, right?”

 

[Chibistaryuu]

Tsuyoi Tachibana​

Mood: Calm... For now.



"Phew..." She said sighing in relief. She was glad for not being late having just woken up and was in a rush that some like her would be if they ever woke up late for school and freaking out. "I thought I was late, Man... and I didn't want to show up to class late on mah first day." Tsuyoi chuckled a bit.

Tsuyoi on the contrary rubbed her head sheepishly as she was embarrassed as she had forgotten to turn in her... Rocket Launcher in when she got in the school. "Hehe.... Oops, I forgot." She said sighing a bit. But she listened in on the conversation looking a little confused but at the same time curious as of them talking about an inflitrator in the school. "Whaddya mean there's an Infiltrator in da school?" She asked raising a brow slightly as it answered the question that Evelyn had asked. But looking at Evelyn and noticing the look of suspicion on the taller girl's face Tsuyoi was obviously lost with her halo slightly tilting to the right following the dark-haired expression.


"But I'm here to help, if there's an infiltrator or probably more than one Infiltrator in school, Seriously doesn't that mean that more peeps have to accompany you in this? Because who knows something bad might happen." Tsuyoi said looking at Shina. The teen didn't even mention who she was much less bothered with that as she was focused on the topic ahead anyway.

Ehb s0ufflecake Crow November Witch

 

[Ehb]

The girl Shiina had mistaken for Wakamo offered to go along with Shiina. Believing the possible threat was real, she advised that it was best not to go investigate alone, as she would easily get outmatched if a confrontation with the infiltrators happened. At the end, the cat-eared girl concluded:

''I'm not the most reliable person on this topic, but are you really sure you should go do it by yourself? There's a reason why almost all units in this school work together as a team.''

"I'll be fine." Shiina said meekly.

"It's noble of you to aim to take responsibility, and I won't let you do it alone." The girl who spoke up for Evelyn declared. "The rest of the recruits are becoming anxious, and no mob like that is worth anything when it comes to investigation. Speaking of... .you." With almost uncanny effeciency, she managed to drag the buggy girl away from the rest of the recruits. "Let's track down that robot. Miss? Where'd you meet them?"

Shiina blurts out her immediate thought:

"That was over at the - Wait. Do you two know each other or something?"



Evelyn advised that it was best to keep this still-evolving plot to themselves. Well, that might've been hard at this point since most of the recruits out there had just been briefed and were now visibly looking ornery. The word of the antennae girl's call to arms was probably going to be making its rounds about the school as fast as students could text about it.

The weight of that fact wasn't lost on Shiina. An infiltrator was likely going to hear about how their plot was now being actively investigated. Evelyn summed up this sentiment effectively as she laid out what she had originally conceptualized for a plan.

“My plan may not function as well now that the element of surprise is lost. But miss rocket launcher here might also help. Assuming there are multiple members of the gang within the school undercover, it’s likely they saw your weapons. Meaning you two would be the first targets. If someone with a weapon were, say, isolated, alone, or in a disadvantageous position, it’s likely they would attempt to strike, and neutralize any possible threats to their mission. So, theoretically, we could lure them out. Though with word now spreading, they may just come in guns blazing.

“Why don’t we just ask her?” Evelyn says. All eyes then wander to the rocket launcher girl. “You got your weapon in. So surely you were informed too, right?”

"Hehe.... Oops, I forgot."

Shiina looked at the rocket launcher girl with a very mixed disposition. The girl appeared to be not too far off from a street thug by the way she was carrying herself. She must've either been an infiltrator from the Helmet Gang or from Gehenna. Maybe both?


"Whaddya mean there's an Infiltrator in da school? But I'm here to help, if there's an infiltrator or probably more than one Infiltrator in school, Seriously doesn't that mean that more peeps have to accompany you in this? Because who knows something bad might happen."

The not-late student looked at Shiina, her face now awash with conflicting emotions.

"Well, I'm sure that even this student knows that this isn't the proper engagement distance for what she's carrying if she was trying to really take us out. I hope that your rocket launcher is currently unloaded at least."

Confident that this student did not want to blow all of them up, including themselves, in such close proximity, the Trinity student looked towards the others.


"But even if she was running to get to the school on time, oblivious to everything, she should've been stopped at the school gates by someone on staff. Even if she just somehow ran through the gate, someone should either be tripping an alarm or staff trying to catch up to her should be here at this point." Scanning the area around her with her head, Shiina confirms her suspicion. "I'm not seeing anyone else aside from us and the other students. I'm now thinking something is going wrong at the front gate."

Right. The front gate.

Everyone who had passed it earlier had to explicitly turn in their firearms. There was this entire process, which, in a nutshell, saw them unload and submit their weapon. The weapon was logged by the presumed robot armorer at the gate, who, in turn, took their information so that the article could be matched with its owner. The weapons were then loaded onto a rack on a cart, which would presumably have them put up in the on-site armory for the academy. Each student should've had A Tag to match them to their property later.

Hearing Shiina say that something that indicated that the 'process' by which they had entrusted their weapons to the front gate had possibly 'gone wrong' sent a dull shrill of concern through them. Those were their weapons. Things that most students knew how to take apart and maintain. Some of them might've even known the inner workings of their firearms better than they knew about taking care of themselves. The thought that anyone would try to steal them was practically unthinkable.

Thus, It was unanimous.

They needed to see what was going on at the front gate.

---

Shiina took her turn to try opening the electrically locked door to the gate kiosk.

The students' worries were now confirmed. That robot clerk who was at that station, exchanging the new arrivals' weapons for tags, was not there. Neither was the cart that their things had been loaded on. There were a couple of boxes visible in the kiosk, but unfortunately, those were probably just basic supplies.



"This was where you all turned in your weapons? Well, no wonder Rocket Girl waltzed right in. There isn't anyone to stop her or anyone else at this point." Shiina concluded, looking at the signage over the bulletproof glass—the most recent ones detailing the process for SRT orientation and submitting their weapons. She made one last fruitless attempt to turn the locked handle in the other direction before resigning in her inability to open a door. "This kiosk is definitely empty. It's like they closed shop but left the doors to the academy open."

In their gut, the students knew that they had stumbled on something. The entrance isn't supposed to be unmanned on orientation day for any academy in Kivotos—or at the very least one as prestigeous and new as SRT.

"What's the call? Do you guys think it's too late?" Shiina asked as she took a step away from the door. She observed that the door had a lock, which was one of the more modern types that would open up via some RFID scanner right beside that door. So, presumably, a guard or staffer would get in by simply scanning a chip on their SRT-issued ID or badge. The counter where the clerk was is now closed, with both bulletproof glass and metal bars pulled down behind it.

Looking even more closely at the door. It looked like it could actually be kicked down.

In other words, the inanimate obstacle was almost challenging them to do it.

---

s0ufflecake November Witch Nellancholy Chibistaryuu Crow Tau

 

[November Witch]

Evelyn Andahlia

Status: Interested & concerned.

Evelyn’s eyes would only narrow further as the girl feigned ignorance. There was absolutely no way she ran through the main entrance without someone stopping her. Unless… It seemed the maid and Shiina came to the same conclusion. The front gate or entrance area. Something had to have happened there in order for her to get through. While she still wasn’t exactly convinced of her innocence yet, Evelyn had to agree with Shiina. There was no way she would use a weapon like that at this range unless she also wanted to be caught in the blast radius. She’d let go of the girl who shared traits with a bug and nod at Shiina’s assessment. Something had to be amiss at the front gate.

When they arrived, she would stand near the back of the group, mostly observing their surroundings and listening to Shinna go on. However, after the question was posed, Evelyn would step forward and study the door. She was the biggest of anyone else in their current group. If anyone were to force their way through, it would be her. She had studied the glass and decided if it was bulletproof, she’d be no use against it. But against a door, then maybe. Worse comes to worse, they did have an AT weapon on hand.

“We won’t know until we’ve searched everywhere for information. And I feel as if there may be some behind this door. If there are no objections, I think force may be our only tool.”

Evelyn removed her mace from where it rested horizontally across the lower portion of her back. She raised it and tapped the door a few times with it, as if knocking. After all, being polite and at least seeing if someone was on the other side couldn’t hurt.

“If anyone is in there, I kindly ask you to open the door. If not, then please stand back.”

Evelyn would, however, wait until everyone had said their peace and make sure there were no objections before brute forcing the door open. For now, she stood, ready to swing the heavy mace into the handle of the door. Hopefully, it would break the lock mechanism letting the door free. That was the plan for when she did swing.

 

[Tau]

Kiyone Uzumori

Some students arrived late, most students arrived on time, a few eager ones arrived early. Then there was Kiyone, who arrived several months in advance. An elite academy, under construction in this very district? Well now that was something special. In a way, it was like the ultimate prize! If she could cheat this one, she could break just about anything.

But absurd challenges require absurd preparation. So, over the next few months, the beautiful grounds of the SRT facilities went from scaffolding to structure, and Kiyone was there to familiarize herself with every tiny piece of it. Who built it, how was it laid out, who was to be in charge, and most importantly, how would the tests be carried out.

And so, when the time came, a tiny little transmitter, embedded into the very concrete foundation underneath her, fed her just the right information to turn her into an A+ recruit! Having finished what she set out to do, Kiyone was now all giddy off her own cleverness. Worse still, she was giddy, and didn’t much care for setting a good impression, having already ‘won.’ Now was simply the time to have fun with her prize.

And what fun it was! This wasn’t merely an orientation, but a real-world heist, right before her eyes! The ruse had been almost flawless, too: she’d nearly handed in her own, precious weapon, but for the arrival of a "staff member" she hadn’t recognized. Alas, Kiyone wasn’t the perfect girl she pretended to be: one who could take on who-knew-how-many infiltrators, singlehandedly. Instead, she’d take a seat at a nearby cafe and watch, as she always did.

---

"Hmm~? Are we all looking for something?" Kiyone stood at a distance, leaning on her sniper rifle as she taunted the first ones to figure out their predicament. Truthfully, it wasn’t meant to be a taunt at all. Rather, Kiyone had the misfortune of always looking and sounding like she was up to something dubious, mostly because she was always up to something (dubious or otherwise).

She clapped her hands a few times.

"Congratulations on being the first to notice~! You’re very observant. Maybe one of you will even make Squad Captain! Of course, you might end up awfully tardy at this rate…"

Regardless of her intentions, Kiyone’s voice sounded like pure mockery. The calm, relaxed way she was addressing them, the overeager smile in the midst of a disaster, and the relative confidence with which she seemed to carry herself. All of it came together in a rather unfortunate way.

 

[Nellancholy]

Back straight, steps steady. Furiko followed Evelyn and Shiina's lead (more or less), proceeding across the ground they'd already covered to reach the security booth at the entrance. The way things were shaping up, she didn't expect much praise from her seniors by the time this day was done. She did expect to be able to catch the intruder and their compatriots, however. And anyone evaluating their suitability as recruits and a prospective team would have to sit up and take notice of them.

A brief examination of the entrance booth yielded several insights: namely that the room had been vacated when it shouldn't have been, and the collected weapons were nowhere to be seen (but they were likely to be stored inconspicuously anyway). On top of that, the door was locked, but this was no locked-room mystery. The electronic lock had simply been engaged.

Evelyn made to break the door open; the possibility of a good first impression became smaller and smaller.

Before Furiko could give her assent, yet another interloper appeared, one also in possession of a large, conspicuous firearm and a bad attitude. Furiko took a step to the side, eyeing her cautiously. At this range, a bullet from such a weapon might knock her unconscious. But she had the advantage of maneuverability...

"And do you presume to claim the position of squad leader for yourself, from your lofty perch?" This girl was not necessarily their target, more likely a beneficiary of...carelessness or manipulation, just like Tsuyoi. But the fact that she knew and chose to follow them specifically despite the chaos brewing due to Tomie's provocation was suspicious all on its own. "Nonetheless, you must be searching for the same quarry as us; why not join us and volunteer what you know?" Subtly, she tried to corner her. An unwillingness to cooperate would show her hand.

Tau Ehb November Witch

 

[Tau]

Kiyone Uzumori

Nellancholy November Witch​

Kiyone laughed softly as a girl with raven-colored hair was first to respond. "I said one of you, didn’t I? I’m not looking for that kind of responsibility right now… or ever." With a shrug, Kiyone watched the girl inch closer, passing it off as an idle wandering. Maybe she noticed, maybe not. Either way, she didn’t raise her weapon, nor shift her stance to make it easier to run.

"Hm… I suppose that’s what I should do, but I barely even know you! You can’t expect me to give away my secrets to a complete stranger~" Kiyone smirked, before turning her eyes to the maid in the distance. "Speaking of which: Evelyn, if I were an infiltrator who knew that door would have to be forced, I’d leave a special package behind for whoever did it. Then again, we Millennium students often make the mistake of overestimating our opponents’ plans, don’t we?"

Evelyn would’ve been especially familiar with Kiyone, both being Millennium students of similar ages. A girl with a reputation for being theoretically brilliant, but in practice, a thorn in the side. And that was before one factored in her obnoxious personality.

Regardless of how Evelyn felt about her, Kiyone liked Evelyn! A doting medic was a refreshing oasis in a desert of snobs and geeks. Plus, her skills in reading people helped her understand that Kiyone didn’t live in a constant state of mockery, even if every word out of her mouth seemed to imply otherwise.