Kize didn't understand the appeal of Jesus Christ on a cross. A crucified man of God hung there under the sun was indeed a sign of suffering. But to Kize, it seemed more like God was testing the resolve of man itself, and that was a personal gripe he had against it.

And now, he couldn't help but understand the pain he actually went through by each passing second.

His arms, already being outstretched to its limit that it strained his muscles to even hold, were tied by those red vines with his neck etched upon it. He hung upon the wooden beam with the illumination of tinted glass of what was once the basilica that shaped Arius of its past and present.

His muscles were being torn the longer this went on, to the point that his shoulder joints threatened to rip itself off. Add in the fact that his legs had virtually no support, it left him hanging by his arms. A painful process that truly tested his body's ever deteriorating condition.

His left hand, still injured from Haruto's knife, was basically screaming at him that the pain was too much to bear for his body. And Kize, as much of a human as he was, slowly began to fade from consciousness the longer he was stuck in the position he was in.

A painful, suffering torture of a perverted imagery.

His last moments that he remembered well was just one moment. The very moment he felt that he missed out on his own feelings.

How he might not see Arius Satellite School.

Or how Hyakkiyako's festival a reminder of a life he could be a part of.

He might never see Abydos beginning to flourish.

He might never be able to comprehend how important he was to 227.

Shanhaijing... He never said goodbye to those children...

For some reason, he thought of Miharu. How that woman in the past seemed so bright while hiding something behind those eyes. He wasn't sure what, but he wanted to know. The way she kept smiling like she meant it whenever she was in the faculty lounge with him. The many times he was dragged out by her midway through his marking assessment.

And then, that one memory at the train. A reminder of his past that he ran from, and now the one that was running to him.

Was she about to finish it if he'd still be alive?

The light slurred into colors, as some incantation was spoken by the loyalists, with Beatrice at its center. Was it Latin? It had to have been a language he wasn't familiar with.

"Vanitas vanitatum, dixit Ecclesiastes; vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas--"

His eyelids fell heavy, knowing that he might not be conscious enough to truly understand what they would say. His hearing slowly became echoes that began to snuff out his consciousness--

A loud explosion rang through the basilica, a hole formed with the rays of dawn shadowing a single individual. One he couldn't see, as his entire body almost jolted in place if not for the pain being overwhelming. And yet, his consciousness clung.

"Kyrie... Eeeeeeeeee..."

A hymn? Or a prayer? Either way, why did it sound like it came from the hole?

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee..."

A symphony of voices. But they weren't from the hole, but from above. Like a declaration of archangels upon a prophet.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeelei.... Sooooon."

He could faintly see the loyalists trembling, and Beatrice visibly taken aback by the chants that took place. Then, the figure at the hole walked closer. And the next voices came from above like hallowed apostles.

"Christeeeeeeee Elei... Sooooon."

"Hello again, Beatrice."

It was Mika.

"FOR ARIUS!!!"

Saori's voice.

And then, a stream of bullets rained down upon the loyalists and Beatrice, the sound akin like the break of dawn as his head hung low in pure hell of all the pain he was accumulating.

He heard glass shattering and a shadow. And then, a gunshot, followed by a calming voice that had tethered him to Kivotos for so long.

"Deep breaths, Sensei."

Shun's voice was like an oasis in a desert, as he felt the weight of the cross slowly being brought down to his back. He could barely see her face, but he could still see it. Her green eyes looking down at him in that same, soft smile he always gave her as they unfastened the grip of the red vines laid upon him.

"ENOUGH!! Fire!!"

The loyalists, trembling and now being pelted by bullets, suddenly aimed their rifles upwards and began their suppressive fire, while Beatrice began to make haste.

"You're not going anywhere!" Mika declared, firing away at Beatrice, who blocked the bullets with her forearms before grabbing hold of Mika and attempting to lift her.

Attempting was the emphasis.

No sooner did she try that, and then she found her strength being overpowered by a mere child, twisting her wrist away as if Beatrice's strength were mere whims. All the while, the member of Tea Party smiled.

"Can't have that now, can we?"

She proceeded to spin the tall woman and threw her straight to the doors out of the basilica, with said doors completely destroyed and Beatrice being dragged out to the front yard.

She was quick on her feet, growling, until she noticed her circumstance.

Surrounded on all sides. Guns aimed at her an innumerable quantity. The most audacious of the bunch was the fact that there was a tank amongst them, aimed down her way.

And that woman was there, megaphone in hand. Yoshikawa...

"We got you surrounded," Miharu called out. For a moment, she didn't say much else, as she had a bit of a head tilt, as if considering something, before finally declaring.

"And no, there's no mercy for you. FREE FOR ALL, EVERYONE!!!"

In a matter of seconds, bullets flew.

Bullet casings fell to the ground in gravity's behest. M134 miniguns, Type 99 rifles, HK416s, anti-material rifles, Uzis. All weapons aimed to the bringer of ruin to the point that a dust cloud formed right where Beatrice were to be.

And the culmination of it all?

Iroha opened fire. A tank shell flew and exploded right into the dust cloud, and the shooting slowly came to a stop. They waited, anxiously, as if preparing if she even tried to stand back up again.

"Just in case!" Shigure declared, followed by a 'THWOMP'.

In less than a second, a blazing flame exploded in the epicenter, clearly away the dust and revealing the culprit of all the suffering, her clothes absolutely torn and burned. She bled on all sides, the bullets undoubtedly dealing innumerable damage upon her body that without a doubt, leave the deepest impact into Beatrice's cranium.

And yet, that was the problem in of itself.

She was somehow still alive. She couldn't move, granted, but the fact that they could see her breathing with bated breath still was an indicator. But just as Kivotos began to reaffirm their assault, they stopped.

Someone was clapping, but it was none of them. Then, they saw him.

A man in a suit. No, perhaps it wasn't apt to call him a man, but a thing that was humanoid in a suit. He had black, glossy skin with cracks strewn over. None more prevalent than his own face, where the deformation of his 'face' merely formed a smile. Black smoke seemed to emanate on his head, and what seemed like a single right eye glowed like relentless blue flames.

"Black Suit..." Hoshino managed out. Abydos knew him. Sensei knew him, too. The man who instigated Abydos's debt, and now he's here?

"Black Suit?" Sensei questioned through the comms.

"Well well well," he began glancing at Abydos first, before bowing. "I must admit, watching from the shadows had been nothing but an indelible sight. To see a man slowly find himself be appreciated by the students he oh so clearly rejected."

"Why the hell are you here, dumbass?" Miharu interjected, megaphone still prevalent. She wasn't here for theatrics, so what the hell was the man doing here?

"Oh, don't mind me. I am merely... A debt collector," Black Suit clarified, before noticing Kize slowly being carried out on both sides by Shun and Saori.

'He's still conscious. Good.'

Before anyone could anticipate his next action, he simply touched Beatrice. No sooner did he do that, Beatrice disappeared in shades of pixels.

"Hey, hold on what the hell were you planning on doing?!" Miharu yelled out, pointing a finger and guns raised once again.

"Beatrice caused the Kivotos Disaster. Granted, because of her, Chroma came about and all those disasters happened. And she was the reason why Gematria had to temporarily disband. You've had your fun, and it's time we have ours," Black Suit stated, turning towards Kize again.

"Rest assured. I play by the rules and my words. And by my words, she will never emerge to terrorize anyone ever again."

"And the bullets?" Hina inquired.

"What bullets?"

It sounded like a genuine question, but majority slowly figured what he meant.

He's pretending the halo breaker bullets don't exist in the back of his mind... Which meant he had no interest in them.

"......"

The silence was palpable, only cut out by Sensei's simple authority.

"Let him go."

"Wait, wha--" Miharu was cut off quickly.

"Black Suit is a man of his word. Let him go. He won't cause any more trouble than it should worth," Sensei reasoned.

"That doesn't mean he'll cause trouble in the future."

"Oh, but I won't," Black Suit reassured. "I've seen what your students could do. Even you know, don't you Sensei?"

"......."

Kize could barely hear their conversation, but the fact that the man was 'staring' at him felt very uncomfortable.

"Well, nonetheless. You've cleaned up our mess, and Gematria cannot be any happier. So, thank you, Auxiliary Sensei. For perhaps providing some of the most profound story that has been witnessed by the masses."

And then, he walked once again. Past the students and then fading away into the distance.

But everyone's concern went to one person. The one Shun and Saori were gently carrying out in full view of the world to see.

This was a man who held on for so long to life, that to see him being in such a pathetic state felt wrong. The bruises, the muscles of his shoulders and wrists a dark red that was most definitely from the crucifixion he was inflicted upon, ever so present.

Soon enough, GSC emergency medics made way, a gurney was rolled into view, with Kize being put upon it.

The last thing he remembered seeing was Saori's face, a stern reminder of the leader who was now questioning what she could do with Arius.

Of Shun, who seemed to want to stay with him, but understood that someone else would be better off with him.

And finally...

Miharu.

He felt her hand hold onto his, a warm, almost numb sensation, as he slowly was pushed into the ambulance. And just as fleeting as her face was in his memory, so was the warmth, before the white colors streaked into darkness.

——————————————

In that endless darkness, he still remembered how it has life. Just as he laid in that battered land in his endlessly bruised body, here he stood in the darkness that slowly pulsed to life.

"You're doing well," spoke a voice. One that, by this point, he was familiar with in the dream itself. He turned to face Kuzunoha, a slow sigh leaving his lips.

"How long has it been?" He began to ask.

"Our meeting? Or your body's unconscious state?"

"......"

Kuzunoha sighed.

"4 months. Of course, someone out there is making sure you're awake," she assured, a smile on her face. "I must ask, Sensei. Why keep her at arm's length?"

"... I was scared."

Kuzunoha tilted her head.

"Why is that?"

"Of what she'd do if she found me."

"I meant before this. Before you were Sensei... Before you closed yourself from the world. From her."

"........ You know why."

"I find hearing you say it far more therapeutic to yourself than it is to probe."

"......"

Was it strange that he found it difficult to speak about it? As he stood in that darkness, he reminded himself. That very reminder of that scene. Of her hand holding his, like a fleeting dream that he didn't think hard on, yet still is.

"I wasn't scared. I was just non-committal."

"Non-committal?"

"The signs were all there. How she kept approaching me daily just to ask how I was doing. Pulling me out of work. Always asking about my parents, but never saying anything about her own."

"So she has feelings for you."

"Suppose she did."

He closed his eyes, a surrender to the emotions he closed off for a long while.

"And you didn't go for it... Why?"

"Because I couldn't. I was a teacher."

"You're a workaholic."

"Some things never change."

"But some other things did."

He blinked. An acknowledgement to her words that he couldn't help but silently agree with.

As much as he regressed. As much as he tried to stay as neutral as he could, even he could see it. How every single student wanted to cling onto him. Wanting him to be something for them.

None more so than Arius, who claimed him first and actively so.

"So, Sensei. Will you keep up the charades? Or, for once, you'll let them into your life?"

"... Can't you tell?"

Kuzunoha was about to ask if he was deflecting, until she noticed a slight glow upon the nonexistent floor. Beneath, two figures appeared. Both girls, one with blue hair, the other white. Both in sailor uniforms, yet so intrinsically connected to each other.

Arona and Plana.

Her eyes widened, before the smile she had before widened ever so slightly. Then she saw it. The very first time that he let someone into his life.

"How do I know the password?"

The AIs' halos acted accordingly, before Arona smiled.

"Because we chose you!"

Kize's hand, hidden in his pocket, twitched. Plana noticed this better than anyone did.

"We decide who gains access to the Shittim Chest, and we see your credentials and character. Inquiry: You do not abuse students, do you?"

"I don't."

The very fact he responded instantaneously said as much of himself, even if he didn't show much else. Arona smiled.

"Perfect! That makes you a decent Sensei at least!"

"Analysis: 100% truthful." Plana made a small smile on her face. "We will help you in your endeavors, Sensei."

"... Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what, Sensei-- Ohh..." Arona tilted her head. "Isn't that who you are now, Kize-Sensei?"

"......"

"I see... So they've already been a part of you," Kuzunoha concluded.

"They never stopped believing," Kize stated.

"And they never will..." Kuzunoha sighed, her body beginning to glow its bright colors again. Kize didn't react in the slightest, as he watched.

"Sensei, just because you're accepting who you are as a person, it doesn't mean you don't stop growing," Kuzunoha stated, as the brightness seemed to fade slowly. "Just know that I'm always watching you. And with every step of the way..."

"I'll find you somewhere," Kize finished. Kuzunoha giggled, just as her bottom half dissipated.

"Indeed. Goodbye, Kize Seikato. Katashi Sekai..." And just as she faded fully, her single word whispered like the wind into the mindscape.

"Sensei."

He looked up, noticing a glow of light that began to grow brighter and brighter by the second. One that he knew meant one thing. Slowly, the light consumed him...

—

The first thing he saw was white, before colors slowly began to blur into view. The tint of fluorescent light, the smell of antiseptic, the sound of beeps at a steady rate, the emblem of Trinity, and the warm sensation of his hand being held. His eyes slowly moved down to look.

A respirator placed upon him. Tubes. And right beside him...

A woman with black hair in a shoulder length braid, holding his hand while asleep, her head on his lap.

His eyes slowly darted to the side, to the nightstand, where flowers, gift cards and small, ornate designs of paper and origami were strewn about.

"Mmm....."

His eyes moved again, this time to the stirring individual who began to open her eyes. He watched intently, breathing silently, as their eyes slowly met.

They were silent. Miharu looked in disbelief, as if she was witnessing something impossible. But then, the impossible did happen.

She felt his fingers twitch, before slowly curling around her own hand. A reciprocation like no other.

"....." Her lips quivered, as tears threatened to escape. And it did, as it gradually flowed down her face, before she managed out something before she could fully break down:

"Welcome back, Katashi."