Blue Archive - An Otherworldly Sensei

As the trip to the Black Market loomed overhead, Ja'vassa had joined Ayane in the school's storage room to ensure they were adequately supplied. They had plenty of ammunition, tools to repair their weapons, and with the help of Sjel Blad Castle, plenty of medicinal supplies just in case someone got hurt. They had since eaten lunch, they were well supplied for the coming mission, and they were all together. It seemed as if everything was finally starting to go the right way. As their main supporter, Ayane had taken some time to pack away extra supplies, made sure her drone was charged and ready for anything that might happen. Neither of them expected to face too many problems, but it never hurt to be prepared. "I think that's everything, Sensei. Are we ready to meet up with the others and get this show on the road?" Ayane asked as she stood up, holding her drone and tablet close to her. Ja'vassa nodded as he stood up alongside her. "I believe so. I'm impressed with how organized you are, Ayane. Maybe once you've graduated, I can hire you to be one of my bookkeepers in Sjel Blad Castle, hm?" He suggested somewhat playfully. Ayane blushed softly, but giggled at his suggestion. "I'm not so sure I'd do well at that, but, I'll keep the offer in mind." Once arriving back in the meeting room, Ja'vassa glanced towards the other students who were taking care of their usual weapon maintenance and cleaning. "Good. I'm glad to see the rest of you are taking this as seriously as I had hoped. So long as we stick together, we should be fine. Try not to draw any unnecessary attention." Hoshino nodded in confirmation, an excited grin crossing her face. "Yeah! Let's not waste any time and get on the---" A sudden alert on Ayane's tablet had interrupted them, warning them of the arrival of yet another group of attackers. "Is it the Helmet Gang again?" Ja'vassa asked, an annoyed sigh escaping him. "No matter, prepare yourselves for combat! Looks like our trip is being delayed again." There was an equally annoyed sentiment shared amongst the students; they were eager to get this Black Market business behind them, and yet, it seemed like every time they were ready to do so, something had gotten in their way. Nonetheless, they readied their firearms and joined Ja'vassa at the school's entrance, waiting to get a glance at the invaders. As they came into sight, Ja'vassa's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Is that... Problem Solver 68? What are they doing here?" He knew they routinely took on different jobs for less than reputable people based on what they told them, but to see them here was quite the surprise. It seemed the Problem Solver 68 team were just as surprised to see him; or at least Haruka and Aru seemed surprised, Mustuki and Kayoko appeared to have expected this meeting with them. "S-Sensei?! What are you doing here?" Aru asked, looking towards him with uncertainty. "I'd like to ask you the same thing, Aru. Don't tell me you're here to cause the Abydos students problems, too." Ja'vassa looked back towards the school, not entirely sure he'd be able to raise his weapons against Aru and her friends, even in the defense of his students. "I... I... I was hired to deal with the Abydos students after the Helmet Gang failed. They never mentioned that you'd be here, Sensei." Though it seemed as Aru was quickly losing her composure, she just as quickly regained it. "I'm sorry, but this isn't personal. If you've got the dime, we'll do the crime. That's Problem Solver 68's motto." Mutsuki laughed softly as Aru regained her usual demeanor. "You seem to come up with a new motto every day, Aru. Maybe this one will stick around this time." She teased before turning her attention to Ja'vassa. "I know we promised to meet up for ramen next time we met, Sensei, but circumstances are different this time. This is strictly business.. I hope you don't think it's because we don't like you." It didn't seem as if Ja'vassa would be able to talk them out of this, he let out a saddened sigh before speaking up again. "It doesn't seem we'll be able to avoid a fight, but can you tell me who hired you? I need to know who's been so eager to turn their lives into a living hell." Kayoko shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sensei, but that'd be giving away confidential information. It's not like they told us much beyond our targets, anyways." Aru offered him an apologetic smile. "I wish we could've met under more pleasant circumstances, Sensei, but we have a job to do. I am sorry, honestly." Despite being genuine in her apology, she raised her weapon in the air. "We can't afford to fail this mission." As she raised her firearm in the air once more, the students that she had brought alongside the rest of the Problem Solver 68 team had begun their assault. The sudden, rapid fire coming from their weapons pinned the Abydos group behind the walls of their makeshift fortress. "I knew I shouldn't have let them come in for ramen that night." Serika growled, occasionally firing a few rounds towards their unexpected weapons. Ja'vassa seemed hesitant to join in on the fight; he knew that they stood in the way of their mission, but he's genuinely become attached to Problem Solver 68 in the short time that he's spent with them. Though he had no problem raising his magic against the underlings that Aru hired, he deliberately avoided striking at Problem Solver 68. His students seemed to take note of it, Serika glaring towards him. "Are you seriously holding back against them, Sensei? They repay your kindness by attacking us and you're holding back. After the stories you shared, I find it hard to believe you'd be this soft..." Serika growled. Ja'vassa clenched his teeth, his fists trembling slightly. "I'm not holding back, I'm... I'm trying to separate them." Despite the obvious lie, it suddenly looked to be the perfect strategy for the current battle. "Hoshino, you and Shiroko should focus your fire on Kayoko and Mutsuki; the two work well as a team, if you can separate them from each other, that'll be one less worry on our part. Serika, you take Haruka. She's a great shot, but you're fast. I'll disarm her; you immobilize her from there. Nonomi, you'll stay here with me and provide support from the back." Despite the brief annoyance with his hesitancy, Serika seemed relieved that he had some kind of strategy to deal with them. Ja'vassa quickly employed his Thunderbolt spell, striking at the ground with a powerful blast of lightning, kicking up clouds of dust in the process. The clouds provided the Abydos group with enough cover to get into position for their assault. "Dammit..." Aru grunted, covering her eyes to prevent the sand from flying into them. "This won't be easy, but don't let them get you worked up! Stay calm! I'll worry about keeping Sensei away from the battlefield!" She yelled out. Shiroko took up herself to contend with Mutsuki; using her superior speed to overwhelm her opponent. There was little time for Mutsuki to resort to her beloved explosives, or do much of anything beyond defending herself from Shiroko's mixture of close quarter combat and the occasional use of her rifle. In most cases, Kayoko would be the first to defend her companion, but she was held up by Hoshino. She had heard the rumors of the lone third-year student of Abydos, hearing stories of the terrifying force of nature that Hoshino supposedly was. Witnessing the girl's prowess first hand would've been exciting if it weren't for the fact that she was the target. Barely avoiding the relentless gunshots was all Kayoko could do; she was carefully keeping her distance, her eyes never leaving Hoshino. As they fought on, Serika quickly rushed over to Haruka in an effort to catch her off guard, but the exact opposite had happened. Without warning, numerous blasts from her shotgun were fired off, with several bullets grazing against her arms. Even with her shots failing to properly make contact with her target, Haruka's advance never stopped. Various explosives were dropped to the ground, bursting with a furious energy as Serika got closer. As the first explosive went off, the Abydos students halted their advance, glancing towards Serika's direction. "Serika!" Ja'vassa yelled out. "Answer me! Are you alright?!" He found his reservations about attacking Problem Solver 68 were diminishing with each second. Using the moment of distraction, Kayoko had dropped her own explosive; the grenade bursting as it hit the ground. Clouds of dust surrounded Hoshino and Shiroko, making it difficult to determine their condition. "Shiroko! Hoshino!" Ja'vassa had quickly jumped out from being the makeshift fortress, now fully prepared to join the fray. As the dust settled, it was revealed that Hoshino managed to pull out her riot shield just as the explosion went off, protecting her and Shiroko from most of the damage they would've taken otherwise. "We're fine, Sensei! Go check on Serika!" Hoshino yelled out, resuming her relentless assault on Kayoko. "Right." Ja'vassa nods, quickly dashing over towards the disappearing cloud of smoke that had come from Haruka's explosive. As the dust settled, it was plain to see that Serika was in less than perfect condition; the first explosion caught her off guard and set her to the ground, and it looked as if Haruka was planning for yet another attack, holding another detonator in her hand. Seeing that there was little time, Ja'vassa quickly employed his Whirlwind Sprint shout. "Wuld... Nah Kest!" He yelled out, rushing forward at great speeds. Once in position, he raised a barrier around him and Serika. As Haruka's second explosive went off, both of them were safe. Relieved to see that all she had was a few scratches from the ordeal, Ja'vassa had turned his attention to Haruka. "I am sorry, Haruka. It seems all I do is cause you trouble.. knocking you over in Gehenna, now this." Ja'vassa sighed softly as he worked on disarming her. They were much too close to each other for her to use her shotgun toward him, and she was hardly able to keep up with him enough to use any of her explosives. Haruka gave him a weak smile despite the ongoing battle. "It's okay, Sensei. I know none of this is personal..." At first, it seemed that she was hardly able to avoid Ja'vassa's quick movements, but after a few moments, it quickly became apparent that she was baiting Ja'vassa into following her as she moved back. Ayane seemed to notice this as she glanced towards Haruka, and then towards Aru who had her rifle firmly pointed for Ja'vassa. "Sensei! Look out! Haruka's leading you straight into a trap!" She yelled out. But, her warning was much too late. As her words hit his ear, Haruka had deftly moved away from him and now, he was just a few feet away from Aru's antique sniper rifle. She pointed it directly at him, though despite the danger he seemed to be in, Ja'vassa hadn't seemed all that worried. He had a Thunderbolt spell in hand, prepared to launch it at a moment's notice. The two stood there in tense silence, watching and waiting for the other to make the wrong move. The tension in the air could be felt by everyone staring at them with great concern; unlike the students, they knew full well that a gunshot wound could be potentially fatal to Ja'vassa and they knew that being struck with a blast of lightning could be just as harmful to Aru. "You don't want to do this, Aru. You don't have to do this. Think about who your employers are. Targeting these innocent girls." Ja'vassa stated, staring her directly in the eyes. "I know you're working hard to keep that outlaw image up, but... you're more than that. You've got a good heart. Lower your weapon and walk away. Please. I... I don't want to hurt you." Though his tone was stern and serious, his eyes told a different story. Aru's rifle trembled in her hands as she stared back at him. "If I had known you'd be here, Sensei, I would've refused the job, but... we can't turn back now. We have a job to finish." Her finger lingered around the trigger and it seemed she was ready to fire at a moment's notice. "I don't want to hurt you, Sensei... we've only known you for a short time, but.. you mean a lot to us. Back away, please. We're here for the Abydos students, not you." Ja'vassa's expression softened, his hand trembling slightly. "Please, listen to me, Aru. There's no turning back once you pull the trigger. Please, lower your weapon and back away. Return to Gehenna with the rest of your friends. You don't have to do this." His tone was a bit softer now. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I can't do that. But, you can still walk away. Don't make me be responsible for hurting you." Aru responded weakly, unsure of how else she could convince him to leave. Both of their pleas fell onto deaf ears and it seemed they'd have no choice but to attack the other. Aru's finger moved closer and closer to the trigger while Ja'vassa came closer and closer to firing the bolt of lightning. The tension between them increased more and more with each passing second, and it was likely there'd be no repairing their friendship if they were forced to attack. Seconds felt like an eternity, everything around them had come to standstill. The Abydos students, the other Problem Solver 68 members, and even their entourage watched them in tense silence. The sun continued to dip below the horizon, and as the dying light bathed the sky in various oranges, blues, and pinks, the only sound that could be heard was the echoing of the school's bell going off. The suddenness of it caught them off guard, and Aru's hired help had suddenly lowered their weapon without warning. "Look at that.. I guess it's time we called it quits." One student chimed in, glancing towards her friends. "I'm hungry... should we go get something for dinner? I'm thinking burgers sound good tonight." Another student nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm buying for us tonight." Despite the tense standstill, Aru managed to utter a few confused words. "W-Wait! Wh-Where are you going?! The job isn't done!" She reminded them. "You said no overtime pay, so we're clocking out here." One of the other students reminded her. Without much of another word, their hired help had left the battlefield to go about their nightly routine. The tables were turned and now, they were the ones that were outnumbered. Seeing this, Aru let out a defeated sigh, lowering her weapon. "This isn't over. We'll be back to finish the job soon. Just you wait." She turned to leave, briefly shooting one last glance at Ja'vassa. "I'm sorry, Sensei. Until this mission has been completed, we'll face each other again. I'd understand if you wanted to cancel that ramen date with us." Ja'vassa was able to release a sigh of relief, seeing that he wouldn't be forced to harm his student. "No.. we'll just have to push it back for another day. Just... consider dropping the mission, Aru. Think about who your employers are. A real outlaw would never take on work that clashes with their ideals." Aru hadn't responded and simply began to walk off, a great deal of uncertainty surrounding her. Though she had little affection for the Abydos students, Ja'vassa had become important to her. No one else had believed in her goal to become a great outlaw; he had encouraged her to keep moving forward and even promised to uphold their ramen date despite what had just transpired. The mission had to be complete, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to finish it, especially if Ja'vassa intervenes again. The other members of Problem Solver 68 soon followed behind Aru; Kayoko paused, briefly turning back to them. "We'll see you soon, Sensei... I'll look forward to our ramen date." With her final words, she waved towards them and left. With the battle over, Ja'vassa turned to his students. "I'm glad that's over... get some rest for the night and hopefully, we'll be able to make our trip in the morning." They were victorious in the end, but Ja'vassa wasn't all that happy with it. His students left for their home while he returned to his office, contemplating his future in Kivotos. He had to see this to the end, but he wasn't all that interested in trading blows with Aru and the others again. Pushing that out of his mind, he'd mentally prepare himself for the next day, silently praying that they'd have no further interruptions.