Rin never specified how long he had to take a vacation.

Or that he should even take it in the first place.

The Shittim Chest hummed on his desk as Kize's handwriting lifelessly decorated yet another piece of paper, before moving to another one.

Efficient.

He didn't let out much noise when the door slid open with a whirr, the clacking of footsteps slowly coming to a stop.

"Sensei."

"Rin."

Kize didn't look up initially, focused on ensuring the signature matched with the other form. Then, he noticed the pungent smell of roses. It didn't come from her. She was too sterile.

"Trinity is requesting for your assistance. Their patrol had observed unusual Arius activity at the border.

Kize's eyes flickered, sparing only a glance towards Rin, whose expression remained the same as it was before his eyes traveled to the file she held out before his very eyes. Trinity's symbol was stamped onto it, officiating their request as genuine, and the source of the smell was immediately solved.

Rin's thumb brushed the file's edge, worn from rereading. She'd debated handing this to anyone else. There were no better options.

Kize looked back down to yet another paper written off.

Mortgages.

"Why need me? It's between Arius and Trinity."

"Beatrice."

The name slithered through the room. Somewhere, the Shittim Chest's hum pitched higher, like a warning.

Kize's breathing, a constant rhythm, shifted ever so slightly, indiscernibly. His free hand stiffened, nearly clutching the edges of the desk, held back by his sense of sanity. His expression, neutral, was now frozen in place. His pen dented the paper. Hyakkiyako's hot springs festivity approval would need reprinting. Again.

The ink didn't spread far.

Rin took his silence as a question.

"You've heard of her, haven't you?"

"Several. They talk of her. None pleasant."

'Arius,' Rin discerned quietly.

"That is why Trinity is requesting your assistance. Apparently they have contacted Arius Satellite School, but they have yet to respond." Rin's voice was flat. "You will."

Not a request. A bet.

Kize didn't blink. And yet, his hand was raised to take hold of the file Rin held, discerning its contents as much as he could register.

The Shittim Chest glowed, before its two AIs peeked their heads from the screen. Kize noticed this, before he grabbed the Shittim Chest and used it to scan every single statement within the file.

Much to Arona's dismay.

"Sensei, you shouldn't do that without our consent!" She exclaimed with childish pout.

"Observation: Sensei's action indicates an ensured understanding of the request. Inquiry?" Plana questioned.

"Analyze the files." Brief, terse. From Kize. A grumble from the Shittim Chest later, and the two AIs disappear, the screen now filled with statements pertaining the files.

Kize's eyes focused back on the request form.

The request form by itself was not unusual, with Schale's emblem always at the top left corner, with the typical request of name, school, reasons and signature boxes.

Kize noticed immediately the sickeningly beautiful cursives every letter had been written. Prim, proper... Polite.

A facade he saw through since the meeting in Arius's recognition summit.

'Subject: No Man's Land, Depot

There has been sightings of unusual Arius activity, including, but not limited to:

Laughter of insanityRandom GunfireGraffiti depicting us as savages

While we acknowledge Arius's sovereignty, we firmly believe that these are subject to suspicion. However, there is also another pressing matter. An abandoned depot residing in no man's land, one between the border and clearly one beholden with malice. There was a report that Beatrice made her base there.

We ask you personally to allow us an audience for Arius Satellite School to clear our differences.

Tea Party'

Kize held his contempt. His expression was blank, as the list was... As much as he hate to think of it, plausible.

Arius's actions saved themselves. But salvation, he knew, was a fragile thing. And Beatrice had a talent for breaking fragile things.

But the lack of photographs as evidence was perhaps... Suspicious. Did they plan for his arrival and made it inevitable?

Kize stood up, the Shittim Chest in hand before slipping the thermos into his pocket.

Rin noticed that small act.

As she watched him leave the office, the door shutting behind him, Rin observed.

Kize Seikato.

Rin's eyes lingered on the empty space where the thermos had been. The faintest hint of a smile formed.

For a man who worked in shadows, he carried light where it mattered.

——

The train ride to Trinity was dull. The seats were stiff, the windows too clean to glare. His reflection in the glass fractured as the train slowed; a ghost split into shards. Kize barely registered the stop.

Before him, Trinity's gate loomed, its emblem embossed like a royal decree. The roses welded into the ironwork stank of perfume. He pushed it open, the hinges screaming to reward his attempt. A fitting welcome.

A voice called out from the side.

"Sensei!"

Kize didn't blink, but slowly glanced to the side.

A small girl in a a nun's dress, with a habit that did nothing to conceal the outlines of what he can assume to be cat ears with how they poked out under it, called out out to him. The closer she got to him, the more detail he could see.

She had waist length, orange hair with bangs on each side, with a loose ponytail, ending in a braid that was tied on her right side with a gold ribbon, the ribbon in her hair catching the light, a spark of real gold in a city of plating. She had sky blue eyes, one he saw as unfiltered sincerity.

His first impression of Trinity was one full of facades, one filled with plenty of masks that hide their intent, based from the meeting he had during the Arius recognition summit.

The girl before him wore her heart on her sleeve, the joyful smile on her face a genuine article in a sea of lies, a sunlight on a knife's edge. Kize's fingers curled in his pockets, his right hand gripping the thermos.

Too pure for Trinity.

Too easy to break.

"My name is Iochi Mari. I am glad to see that you are here."

Kize looked at her, her hands clasped together. His expression had been unreadable.

"The president of Tea Party has been awaiting your arrival too. She seemed rather concerned, though. Maybe because you won't arrive? I don't know," she continued, her expression now filled with worry. Kize only blinked once.

This was starting to get too familiar, and his bandages were starting to twitch against his forearm, giving a tickling, familiar sensation of a past he desired long forgotten. He slowly moved his arms closer to himself, breathing slowly to regulate himself.

"Why are you here?" He finally voiced out. Her expression quickly brightened.

"I was tasked to bring you to the Tea Party. But... If you don't mind, can we perhaps converse our way there?"

"........"

Kize blinked again. His eyes closed, he exhaled slowly. In his mind, the seconds were being wasted.

"Get it over with."

The words tasted like gun oil. Mari, bless her, didn't flinch. Instead, her expression brightened even more somehow, before she bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, Sensei! I will make it quick!"

Relief was a foreign weight in his chest. She hadn't noticed.

Good.

The last thing he needed was another curious soul. But the air between them curdled, sweetness rotting into saccharine.

Soon enough, Mari guided him along, allowing himself slight seconds of silence to observe the school in its pristine grandeur.

The plaza area was filed with students of all kinds of races. Some who seem human, some seem like elves, with their sharp ears... And more catgirls.

Trinity General School. He perhaps should have expected the diversity of the school, what with how large the area is. And this was just the plaza.

Mari hummed a hymn to fill silence, but her braid trembled. Perhaps she noticed something he doesn't.

But the one constant they all had was the undeniable fact that eyes were upon him. Few leaned in to each other, whispers wisped to the air.

"Isn't he the Replacement?"

"He rebuilt Arius Satellite School in three days."

There was a pause. Then, a hushed tone: "Do you think he made a deal with her?"

"Didn't he also reform SRT? I saw them with new badges in DU."

Kize's thermos warm in his pocket, as if warning him of what's to come. His grip tightened. It left no dents, for he had no strength to do such a thing, and yet, his grip fit right into the dents. Mari glanced back to him, and for a few moments, she wondered why he was tense.

"Sensei? You're not fine, are you?"

"......."

He didn't answer her. He didn't have much in him for it.

Nor for her.

"... Sensei. Please tell me if the whispers distract you."

He blinked, before looking down towards her. Her hands were clenched together in a sort of prayer, and the look of worry wasn't even written all over her face.

It was a genuine article of sympathy.

He glanced away just a second too late.

"Just move."

Mari's ears slightly flopped, her expression somewhat crestfallen.

The conversation ended before it could even begin.

—

The grand doors loomed, predictable as a sermon. Chapel spires, gilded libraries, students polished like communion silver. Trinity's politeness was a well-rehearsed lie.

Then, the anomaly.

A girl, drenched. Pink hair plastered to her cheeks, fountain water pooling at her boots. She stared at Kize, unflinching, as if she'd drowned herself just to prove the saints were hollow.

Mari faltered beside him. "Ah... That's just Hanako. She's... expressive."

Kize thought that he found a kindred spirit... And then Hanako started streaking.

Their steps had never been faster, while the sisters desperately attempt to cover her. The sisters chasing Hanako weren't enforcers, just embarrassed teenagers

"I guess here is where I'll leave you be."

He glanced at her, as she clenched her hands together.

"I hope that whatever the problem is, it will be resolved with no bloodshed or ill will."

His left hand twitched, slightly raised out of his pocket before immediately shoving it back down to his pocket. And yet, he could hear faint utters of prayer. Her whispers were soft as chapel lace.

A kindness he couldn't bear to wear.

His bandages itched. Natural, or memory?

Kize took a small breath of the rosy air, before pushing forward, his left hand palming against the door. The handle was polished smooth, with no fingerprints daring to linger. A creak came through, and Kize slipped in.

He was greeted by the sight of the two members of the Tea Party, sitting on their chairs while two were left empty. Between them, left upon the table, were small tea sandwiches, with scones and sweets filled within transparent jars of beautifully crafted designs. Three pristine white cups of teas and teapots also provided a sense of imagery that a meeting as important as this one required an afternoon tea.

The setting was no less different, with a balcony overlooking the large courtyard deigned with flowerbeds. Kize could almost see that same pink haired girl now sitting on a bench, looking uncomfortably comfortable in her position.

Their club name was certainly befitting the occasion and setting.

One of the empty chairs seemed intentionally so, as if there should be one more member that was to be present, but not yet. It held a teacup, steamless, untouched. A saint's portion, left to cool.

The other...

"Sensei."

Nagisa's spoon clinked against porcelain. A bell tolling for him, while Mika sat with the rigidity of a gorilla. And yet, her own posture was stiff, with no hint of calm or analysis she had previously.

"Was wondering where you'd have been, Sensei! Nagisa's been worried that you wouldn't actually come."

Mika's cheery tone was.. Strained. Was this the same Mika he saw before? The one who stood up for herself in Arius's summit?

"Mika."

Nagisa's voice was cold, and slowly, he watched as Mika shrunk ever so slightly.

Kize didn't react. He simply walked over, but never sat, his posture straightened while eyeing the two members of the Tea Party.

The teapot breathed out steam, curling like incense between them, while Nagisa's spoon clinked once more.

Deliberate. Like a metronome for composure.

"You've seen the request, I reckon. Beatrice's name along warrants..."

Caution. Unspoken, yet known between the two parties.

"And you need me to communicate with Arius Satellite School as a sort of mediator."

"Indeed."

A dossier that was previously unseen, laid upon Nagisa's lap, before holding it out to him.

"That is proof. However, understand this, Sensei."

Their eyes met. His initial instincts told him of performative kindness. A kind of coercion that forces him to act against Arius Satellite School.

Instead, he saw a kind of rawness that was unlike the one he saw before.

For once, the Tea Party's porcelain mask slipped. Nagisa's lips trembled.

"We do not request of you just for your association with Arius. We just... Want to make sure that Beatrice really does not influence them any longer."

He blinked, his eyes meeting Mika's, whomst had a hand down to her right side, her fingers digging into her skirt, where fabric hid a scar no sacrament could cleanse. A memory. A reminder of her actions left unsaid, yet left an undeniable regret within her soul.

The kind he didn't want to acknowledge, but is needed to.

His breathing stopped for a moment, grabbing the dossier. The edges were dog-eared, thumbed in the dark by someone desperate for answers. But he didn't pull. Instead, he waited until Nagisa let go.

She did.

Silently, Kize flipped through it, the waft of gunpowder and rosewater a kind of smell he ignored with efficiency.

Images of students in masks. The same masks that Arius students once wore, now no longer. Their uniforms were tattered, sleeves loosely holding to the cuffs of their wrists while their weaponry, assault rifles, seemed new.

He quickly discerned them rifles as modern M4s, with how much attachments he could see within the photos. The rifles' serial numbers had been filed smooth; ghosts, like their wielders.

He flipped, and this time, it was genuine proof.

Images of graffiti painted the walls of Trinity's chapel, a caricature of their 'liberation'. Anecdotes of gunfire erupting in the night, awakening students in fear of what's to come. The glass walls of the music hall shattering from something unseen, never to be caused by their own kin.

"I am not asking for your forgiveness."

Nagisa's voice brought him back, as he glanced towards her. Her expression said nothing, but her hands trembled as she picked up her tea and saucer.

"I am asking you to understand."

".........."

Kize closed his eyes, his breathing steady, before he responded.

"You have no reason to ask forgiveness from me."

He turned around, dossier in hand, before taking his leave. The door creaked, then clicked shut. In the silence, Nagisa's teacup rattled against its saucer - the only concession to his impact.

Like a ghost, he intruded.

Like a ghost, he left silently.

Nagisa slowly heaved a shaky sigh, before taking a sip. The chamomile tea did little to soothe her nerves, but it served its best.

"He's... Different," Mika pointed out, her hands now clasped around her own teacup. "Arius's Ghost. That's what they call him, right?"

"Correct... But the very fact he has such a title means much more than just trust."

Nagisa glanced outside. Mika followed soon after. Despite the masks they wear, even they slip.