8 PM sharp.

The agreed time for all the student representatives to come about to the conference hall due to the agreement of two important factors to force their arrival, as it was. They could also bring other club members, should they need to.

Imagine Rin and Miharu's surprise to see several of the school districts arriving with at least one other club with them.

Hyakkiyako was the first to arrive, early at that, the Yin-Yang Club practically ensuring that whatever it was they had to attend to, they attend to it now, much to the chagrin of their President, Amachi Niya.

But they weren't the only club of Hyakkiyako to be there.

The Hyakkaryouran Conflict Resolution Council came with them, with Goryou Nagusa the interim President standing firm alongside them, keeping sure that Niya kept appearances all the same with them.

They couldn't let a debt be left unpaid.

Abydos was next, as they head straight to their seats, a mix of calm, nervousness, and perhaps, a hint of restlessness.

This was the man that effectively cleared their debt and then some, the one thorn on their side that even Sensei couldn't resolve. All by the virtue of paperwork, laws and a cold expression.

Shiroko Terror emerged right above and then beside them. No one questioned it.

Gehenna's Pandemonium Society and Prefect Team followed, since they followed Miharu to the conference hall. They, of course, took their time initially due to 'their own wants', as was stated by Hina.

Miharu could clearly see that Makoto had to be beaten into submission first before she could comply.

Shanhaijing followed soon after, with Ryuuge Kisaki arriving with her posse from the Genryumon. And like Hyakkiyako, there was another club with them.

Plum Blossom Garden's Sunohara Shun. The one woman who was the calmest and most patient to Kize than anyone else. The one woman almost everyone expected Kize to get together with, to no progress.

Miharu and Shun's eyes met. Shun smiled. Miharu sighed.

Red Winter was absent. Or at least, the Red Winter Office members were. The ones that walked in certainly came from Red Winter, their thick outfits practically built for such a purpose. However, they weren't Cherino.

"Spec Ops 227, Amami Nodoka, reporting!" A girl carrying both a large backpack and a telescope peeking out stated. Behind her was a girl with blue hair.

"Mayoi Shigure. Kindly." A swig from her flask, and they both proceeded to their positions.

Whispers began. 227 were known to be outcasts, which was questionable as to why it's not Red Winter Office and instead, them.

Nodoka answered it for them.

"We intercepted your message. Red Winter Office is down at the moment from a strike."

They didn't question it. Red Winter was inevitably chaotic with its governance. But then, why--

"He also helped us when no could. 227's dormitory is being refurbished as we speak, and I would like for Sensei to see it for himself."

No one had questions after when Shigure chimed in with that. Even his reach could get to the taigas.

Even at his coldest, he was still warm after all.

Trinity's Tea Party came after, their prim and proper appearances coming through all the same. They didn't come alone, naturally.

Arius Squad came right at their tail, as they were placed next to each other, with bandages and wounds still visible on their body. A reminder of what it was they fought for and against.

"Are you sure you're okay, princess?" Seia questioned, her expression unreadable.

"I will be once we take back Arius."

Seia's lips curved upwards.

"So shall it be."

Millennium's Seminar came next. The lack of Rio was understandable, as she was supposedly recovering from her injury. So here, it was Yuuka and Noa, the former continuing their calculative spree due to the meticulous budgets she needed to juggle for Millennium's nonsense.

"I wish she can get better..." Yuuka muttered under her breath.

"Have faith," Noa replied with a smile. An unreadable one. It seemed like there was all that was left, until the doors opened.

"SRT Platoon."

Rin's brief comment caught everyone's attention. FOX Platoon and RABBIT Platoon marched in as a collective, saluting to Rin before Miyako, leader of RABBIT Platoon, spoke up.

"We would like to be involved in this mission, President Rin."

"You know you don't have to ask for permission," Miharu interjected.

"We know." Yukino chimed in. "We're doing it anyways."

Rin, for her part, only nodded. A small sign of acknowledgement that allowed them to stand to the side, facing the rest in the conference hall.

A flicker of a monitor came to life on Rin's desk. Kanna's face was the prevalent one on the screen, her razor teeth in display with a tired sigh.

"Ogata Kanna, Valkyrie Police Academy, reporting. Sorry couldn't attend personally. These paperwork can burn in Hell."

From closest to farthest, on Rin's left side, was Trinity, Arius, Abydos and Hyakkiyako. And the right, Red Winter, Millennium, Shanhaijing and Gehenna.

The council had been called.

It shall now begin.

"I have called upon each and every one of you for two simple reasons. Both tangible to each other." Rin took in a breath. "Beatrice returns. And she seemingly had overtaken Arius district. Arius Squad, if you will."

Eyes slowly went towards Arius Squad, with Saori standing up, adjusting her cap with an affirming gaze.

"She came with a group. Loyalists. There were no drones that evening. Scouts noticed them early and we prepared against them. Tried to radio anyone, but... Jammed. So we stood out ground."

Her hands slowly curled into fists, her teeth clenched together as her brain forced the memory up to the facets of her mind.

How quickly the students fell to the ground in their own blood, halos flickering like dying lights. A confused conundrum of disorientation that caused the sweep of Arius Satellite School.

Bullets that pierce through concrete. Through body armor. Bullets described as almost totally black that it was distinctive in its design.

"They... Had armor piercing bullets, so our body armor and buildings didn't do much against them..." Hiyori spoke up, her voice almost like a whisper that echoed in the conference hall.

"These bullets," Hina interjected. "Are they the same one struck upon the students of Gehenna, caused by these Beatrice loyalists?"

"Undeniably," Misaki stated in her tired stature. "We're not that high tech-ed, even with the Engineering Department's help. And we've only gotten our 5G tower just a couple weeks back."

"I'm sorry, this old man needs clarification," in came Hoshino, hand raised and all. "What are these bullets you speak of?"

"An excellent question, if I am allowed to interject," Rin stated. Saori glanced, and nodded. In no time flat, the center of the hall opened a projector, a hologram of a bullet coated in black being the center focus.

"These are called and known as halo-breaker bullets. They do exactly as its name intended; break, or perhaps pierce through the natural defenses brought upon by the halos."

"Properties include tungsten carbide, which is why they're armor piercing rounds as well. How they got this much money, I can only assume from one source. Or two."

Miharu's statement echoed silently in the halls.

"... Wait, didn't Kaiser Corporation shut down?! Went bankrupt and all that?! How'd they fund Beatrice to get Arius back?!!" Serika exclaimed in disbelief.

"She wasn't funded by Kaiser Corporation directly, per se," Miharu declared. "If Kaiser Corporation truly had went bankrupt, it didn't mean their assets could just be left out in the dust. Someone took them, sold them, made a profit off of it, and someone collaborated with Beatrice to make it all work."

A beat of silence passed. Miharu continued.

"And who's to say they haven't been in production since Abydos's debt fraud? Because clearly, there's been prototypes that had been perfected over the course of a month or two."

"Where's the financier, then?!!" Serika angrily screamed.

"Behind bars," Kanna replied with a straight face. "We're planning to get him deported as soon as possible. Haruto Kuzaka's the name, by the way. He's 'The Stranger'. Tech expert and all. Never answered what he did for a living."

"For the better," Miharu interjected. God knows what he does for a living. And frankly, she didn't want to bother with the thought.

"..... So we're up against a force that can basically bypass everything we could build up against. Well that's neat," Fuwa Renge, member of Hyakkaryouran, dryly stated. "And now what? Kize-Sensei had been kidnapped by them?"

"Indeed. We know little of what they plan to do to him, or the other Arius students that might have hidden themselves. This is why, as I apologize for summoning you all tonight, I require each and every one of you to be here."

"Really? What... Happened?" Shiroko Terror quietly spoke up.

"He was heading off to Gehenna to save me and FOX Platoon from a heatwave inside a trapped train car," Miharu replied. "He... Fought and won against The Stranger but his body... He's not built for fighting."

"So they took him when he's at his weakest?" Shun questioned, albeit one that they understood as a rhetorical one, as she shook her head. "Such an evil woman."

"Look... I know that this is a lot. It is. I'm not going to deny that. But he matters to me. I know he matters a lot to you, too. And Arius can't save itself. Not anymore," Miharu stated.

"You want us to risk more of our people in the hopes that, what? A district is saved?" Makoto questioned, standing up to her feet, much to the consternation of Iroha. "No! That's too risky of a maneuver to even accomplish!! We're already full in the bleeding at home!! Sensei wouldn't even think about doing that--"

"I would."

A familiar voice filled the halls once again. The doors, left opened, allowed a silhouette of two shadows forming. One sitting, the other standing behind them. But the voice was undeniable. They all knew who it was.

"Sensei?!!" A collective cacophony, followed by his appearance proper, sitting on a wheelchair as he was pushed in by Rio.

"Thank you Rio. Please, head back to Seminar."

Rio nodded only slightly, clutching her stomach slightly. The pain was there, only very slightly by that point, however. Her hand ghosted on Sensei's armrest, before she walked onwards, back to the worried Seminar members before Sensei raised his head.

They couldn't believe their eyes. Sensei, sitting on a wheelchair like he was a cripple, yet had so much confidence, so much kindness still visible in his eyes that he may as well have been unchanged. His hands gripped the armrest softly, his smile still the warmth they saw all those months ago.

He was awake all this time?

"I wasn't supposed to be here, honestly. I should've been on a hospital bed, recovering. My muscles aren't that strong to hold my own weight, unfortunately." He sighed. "But. I'm here anyway, because if there's anything I know of Kize Seikato, is that he had shaped Kivotos into a new landscape. Sure, I'm not going to deny that he's cold. He's detached. He's probably a bit vague on information and doesn't say much."

He leaned against the chair. "But what I can say, and what I've seen so far. He brought results. And those results helped you. Especially you, right, Arius Squad?" Sensei looked up at the four particular members. The representatives of not just Arius, but of Kize's tether themselves. A reminder of his accomplishments. A well known knowledge of his feat.

The one district that will move heaven and earth just to help him.

All eyes slowly turned to Arius. They knew what he meant. A school hellbent in nihilism, one under Beatrice's control for who knows how long.

"He asked us what we needed. He had us point to the infrastructural damages of Arius Satellite School. He brought us food and water from Gehenna's excess..." Atsuko closed her eyes, and breathed. "He made sure we existed to live for ourselves."

"... He did so to us, too." Nodoka spoke up, standing up slowly. "227's motto had always been to never take one step back. And here we proudly proclaim that we will not take another step back to support you."

"Either we stand with you, die trying, or take that one step forward to something new, we'll take it." Shigure smiled. "You have our support."

Arius Squad looked at 227. A pair of strangers that they knew nothing about, yet gave their full support for them. Hiyori began to sniff, trying to hold back her tears.

Hoshino spoke up next.

"Hah~ this old man thought she'd seen everything. But seeing a Sensei actually clearing our debts with interest is an impressive feat. What do you guys think?"

"Nn."

"Nn."

Both Shirokos gave their support to the cause.

"He's... Not bad, I suppose. He could at least be a little more considerate of opinions..." Serika commented, hands crossed.

"I think he's fine the way he is," Nonomi cheerfully commented.

"He's left an impact to us. I think it's fine if we repay the favor again," Ayane replied.

Abydos was in full agreement.

"He's done a lot of statistical miracles I didn't think was possible," Noa began, smiling at Yuuka, who let out a frustrated sigh.

"See, that's what makes him so annoying. Like a variable we can't even figure... Mmmrgh...." She crossed her arms, before hissing in a breath. "But he did save Kivotos. And Rio-senpai. He has my vote."

"....." Rio didn't speak. She simply raised her hand in agreement. She still remembered what he said.

'Put your faith in them.'

Despite her injured state, she didn't want to disappoint him.

Millennium had calculated, and concluded that their best course of action was to support the cause.

"The Hyakkaryouran provides all the support you will need," Nagusa proclaimed.

"Indeed! It is through his virtue that Hyakkiyako is saved! To save a district is a feat we shall be willing to partake in!" Kadenokouji Yukari proclaimed.

"... He saved us from dissolution. I suppose we should repay the favor, yeah." Renge agreed. Kiryuu Kikyou gave only a nod.

"N-nyahahaha... Didn't even try to ask us, did you?" Niya questioned, even if it was an inevitability.

"The moon's gaze... Has brightened beautifully." Waraku Chise stated softly.

"S-senpai?" Kuwakami Kaho questioned.

"Hm? The moon's quite bright, isn't it?"

Hyakkiyako was willing for the cause.

"Shanhaijing's Spectre," Kisaki began. "He has done much to prevent tension between factions."

"The children in Plum Blossom Garden are missing him," Shun replied, arms crossed together. "And this time, I'm not going to let him stay the way he is."

"You're not alone there, sister," Miharu interjected, squint eyed and all. Shun chuckled.

"I'm not opposed to that."

Shanhaijing had sworn in their support.

"Our obligation comes first," Nagisa joined along, a slight raise of her teacup. "For the alliance, we shall join with the Justice Task Force."

"For friends," Mika seemed to correct Nagisa. For that, Sensei and Mika met eyes. He knew that girl and what she did. And he still remembered how she faced off against the crowd of Arius students with nothing but her sheer strength and submachine gun and won.

And now here she fights for the same cause against the same students.

That's the princess he knew.

"We'll set up a perimeter around the district by the time you guys are done planning. Valkyrie will hold the line," Kanna stated, before the monitor flickered off. There was nothing more to be said.

"We will assist in any way we can. Recon, sniping, anything," Yukino came about. "We'll do what it takes, for him."

"Do you know what you're getting into?" Rin questioned.

"Didn't stop us before," Otogi chimed in. "Don't stop us now."

"Kize-Sensei has done things even we couldn't anticipate. For that, he has our thanks," Saki followed up.

"..." Rin nodded, before the hologram shifted. It became the district of Arius as a whole.

"Then, shall we discuss strategy?"