Kize returned to the office. The stacks of paperwork officiating his title as Replacement Sensei was in full display, as he finally took a seat. A small sigh left his lips, a release from the past that he wish no divulgence. Instead, his eyes focused towards the desk and chair of who he was supposed to replace, placed right in front of him. Only when he truly focused on it, ignoring the fact he hyper concentrated on his first day on paperwork, did he notice something.

Without a shadow of a doubt, no one escapes paperwork. Sensei was no different, with a few stacks on his desk. And even then, there was the due diligence of not his work, but his heart. A half finished cup of coffee, more than likely to be cold from his lack of appearance for the past week or so. A stress ball, deflated from overuse.

A picture frame facing away from him, yet Kize could warrant a guess. His guess involving the Sensei, with him surrounded by girls that adore and admire his determination.

"SENSEI!! CHEESE!!"

He exhaled sharply. And then his eyes darted to the corner of the desk.

An limited edition action figure clearly bought by him from his first day of resolution as a replacement. Still in a box, still in mint condition. Kize's eyes twitched slightly at the misuse of funds Sensei did, and yet, there it stood.

"Sensei, I know it sounds stupid buying this, but--"

"Dew it."

"Sensei! That action figure looks so cool!" Arona noticed the action figure, despite their distance being so substantial. Then again, she must have access to the deliveries to and fro SCHALE, so maybe that made sense.

"Didn't you buy that?"

"Correction: Kize Sensei did not keep it. He simply processed the paperwork."

Plana's correction, while accurate, was not exactly something Kize should be hearing.

As he began to pick up his pen, he blinked. His brain reminded him of something, as he fished into his pocket. Within it, a small trinket haphazardly shaped like a pistol was fished out.

'That first year Arius student...'

"Sensei! Here! Thanks for teaching me!"

Another forced exhale from Kize, something Plana had noticed.

"Observation: Your productivity decreases by 23% when visually fixating on non-work-related objects."

"Oh, Sensei got a gift from Arius!"

Kize questioned why he didn't throw it away. He should have. He wasn't going to stay there long.

And yet...

He merely placed the trinket to the corner, before picking up his pen again.

"Focus on the task."

"Sensei...?"

"Query: Do you require emotional processing assistance?"

The AIs' questions weren't exactly the most profound, but it was within the spot that matters. But he was a Replacement Sensei.

So why should they care?

"No."

An answer of which was equivalent to a slammed door. The AIs flickered in place, with Arona being more emotionally affected, with how her shoulders droop, her eyes, wide eyed and full of that bright optimism, now half lidded, slouching, before the two disappeared.

He was alone again.

"Sensei! How do I do this?"

His eyes stole a glance towards the action figure again. A second too long, before he scoffed and picked up his pen for the third time.

His work wasn't done yet.

———

It was night by the time Kize had finished his work. The light of his office desk slowly faded as he stood up and took the Shittim Chest with him. He left no commentary, but his eyes did glanced at the trinket. He seemed to consider something, before shaking his head, muttering something about 'irrelevant' before heading out of his office.

He moved through the halls silently, a ghost that loomed without presence or purpose. His steps echoed faintly in the halls, but he knew that there was little way for him to be noticed at this hour.

He then noticed a sliver of light before his very eyes. Against his judgement, especially against the very foundation of his own sense of self, he took a closer look. It's source was a simple one.

An office room of her own, built to ensure that she gains the maximum amount of progress, ideas and paperwork space for the masses to expect to finish, approve and deny on a daily basis. In the center of it all was Rin, asleep, her chin on her desk, her glasses askew. Her clothes disheveled from clearly too much scuffles against herself, and the sheer amount of paperwork... Well, it spoke to her role as the Acting President.

And as Kize paused to look at Rin in a more closer detail, he could see a damning detail.

She was exhausted. The very paper she was about to sign was the intent to patent the particle accelerator generator that he had approved and backdated with Rin's signature.

The exact same one he promised a permit for the Engineering Department.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, something flickered. Not quite sympathy. Perhaps... It was closer to recognition.

"Sensei, you should take a break."

He frowned. These thoughts are getting impulsive lately, as he shooed them away mentally. It worked. Somewhat. And yet, that very same thought gave him his own revelation to the situation.

Rin. Aoi. Ayumu. Haine. Momoka. Sumomo. Yuuka. Noa. Saori. Atsuko. Hiyori. Misaki.

Those Arius students.

They were students. They were just kids. Children being given guns and essentially kevlar throughout their bodies in the form of a halo. While Rin has the capabilities to use a gun and shoot without flinching...

She still suffers the plight that all children would have to face eventually. Growing up.

A cycle he was all too familiar with.

He exhaled silently.

—————

When Rin woke up the next morning, Ayumu greeted her first.

"Vice President! It seems you've... Made quite the improvement."

She blinked, adjusting her glasses to fully assess her situation. Her office, once filled to the brim with paperwork... Messy, messy paperwork, it was replaced by a compilation of neat stacks, organized by association and priority. Processed and stamped papers ones were gone, alongside many others she wasn't able to do either, but from what Ayumu had stuttered on, something... Or someone had processed the papers already into the system. A coat, one she recognized from as her own due to its particular shape (and the fact it was once hung at the coat rack nearby) was wrapped around her back. And the most damning evidence of them all?

Right there, right beside her sleeping form, was a rather fresh, warm cup of tea, most definitely brewed in the early sunrise.

"........"

"Vice President?"

"You are dismissed."

"V-very well."

As Ayumu took her leave, she straightened her composure, before taking hold of her tea and taking a sip.

"...."

Strange. Just the way she liked it.

——

It didn't take her long to find Kize, as he was working through the motions of online bureaucracy.

"Sensei."

A formality, or perhaps a bit of recognition from Rin. Regardless, Kize never bothered to look up, still invested in ensuring that SCHALE's audits were on constant check, constant certainty that there was no such thing as imperfections.

"The district representatives have arrived. They're waiting in the conference hall."

Kize's fingers stilled. His tired eyes glanced at Rin, and she could tell immediately who the culprit was.

"Everyone?"

"All of them."

He blinked, before he turned back to the Shittim Chest to sign away a line of writing before sighing. Adjusting his coat, the trinket dangling from the pocket he fished out of the day before, he stood up, further adjusting his coat.

"Let's not keep them waiting."

Rin nodded in acknowledgement, before she proceeded to walk out of the office, with Kize following suit. However, he stopped briefly. His eyes glanced once more towards the various gifts Sensei had from his students.

"........"

He blinked once before the door closed on him. He closed his eyes, and he swore he could hear something else. Not Rin's voice, not the Shittim Chest's hum.

But something haunting.

He snapped his eyes open. There was a meeting he had to attend to.